Evenings out
London for the evening, without the last train setting your curfew
Theatre, a concert, dinner or a match — collected from your door in one vehicle and brought home at a time you choose, for a price agreed before you book the tickets.
The case for it
The train is cheaper. The car is the reason the evening works.
Worth being straight about: two returns to Liverpool Street cost less than a car. What they also do is put a deadline on the end of your night and a change at Colchester on the end of your journey.
By train
Cheaper for one or two
- Fine if the show finishes in good time and nothing overruns.
- The last service decides when you leave, not the performance.
- A walk or a tube to the terminus at the end of the evening.
- Then a taxi from Colchester station anyway, at whatever the hour costs.
By car
Better value from about four
- One fixed fare for the vehicle — £181.50 to central London in a saloon, whether one travels or four.
- Door to door at both ends, with no station leg to arrange.
- An overrunning show is a phone call, not a missed train.
- Nobody in the party has to stay sober to drive.
How the night runs
Four moments where a booked car earns its fare
- Before you book
Name the venue, not just the city
The West End has a hundred addresses and half of them have restricted access after 19:00. The venue name is what lets us pick a drop-off that works.
- On the evening
Collected from the door
From home, or from a restaurant if you are eating first. One vehicle for the party rather than a convoy of separate cars.
- After the curtain
A pickup point agreed in advance
Central London kerbside is contested at 22:30. Agreeing the point when you book beats six people on a phone in the rain.
- Getting home
No last train
The 23:00 out of Liverpool Street stops deciding what time your evening ends.
Central London
Published fares, per vehicle
Read from our price list. The fare is for the vehicle and the journey, not per seat, and there is no card fee on top.
- Saloonup to 4 passengers
- £18150
- Estate / MPVup to 6 passengers
- Ask us
- Minibusup to 8 passengers
- £24150
The estate and MPV price into central London is not on the published list, so it is not guessed at here. Call the office and it will be quoted properly.
See every published fare
Larger parties
Ten or twelve people, sensibly split
Above eight the answer is two vehicles travelling together, not a coach. The office prices them as one arrangement so the party arrives and leaves together.
Up to eight
One minibus, one fare, one pickup point. The simplest version of the evening, and usually the cheapest per head.
Nine to sixteen
Two vehicles quoted together, leaving from the same place at the same time. Tell the office the full headcount and it prices the pair.
Several pickups
A route round three or four addresses in Colchester before setting off. Possible, and quoted as a route rather than a set of separate jobs.
Questions
Asked before an evening out
Will the driver wait through the performance?
That depends on the booking, and it is worth settling on the phone. A return leg can be booked for a set time after the final curtain, or the driver can be released and a second car arranged. Waiting-time terms are being confirmed and are not published yet, so the office will tell you what applies to your evening rather than pointing you at a page.
What if the show overruns?
Shows run long, encores happen and getting out of a full auditorium takes fifteen minutes on its own. Call the office as soon as you know — the number is answered through the night, which is the entire point of booking a car for an evening in London.
Can we be dropped at the theatre door?
As close as the street allows. Much of the West End is pedestrianised or on a one-way system with loading restrictions after certain hours, so the practical drop-off can be a street or two away. Tell us the venue when you book and we will name the drop-off point rather than discovering it on the night.
How many of us can travel in one vehicle?
Up to 8 in the minibus, up to 6 in an estate or MPV, up to 4 in a saloon. For a party of ten or twelve the office will price two vehicles travelling together, which usually works out better than one coach.
Is the fare per person or per vehicle?
Per vehicle. A saloon into central London is £181.50 whether one person travels or four, which is what makes a group trip worth pricing properly rather than buying four returns.
Do you cover events outside London?
Yes — racing at Newmarket, concerts in Birmingham, weddings anywhere. Those have no published fare, so the office quotes the journey before you commit to it.
Also from Colchester
Other journeys
Airport transfers
Fixed prices to Stansted, Southend, London City, Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton, agreed before you travel.
Seaport and cruise transfers
Southampton Port sailings, with the luggage room a fortnight away actually needs.
Executive and corporate travel
Accounts for firms in and around Colchester, billed monthly against a reference you choose.
Local journeys
Station runs, appointments and errands across Colchester, priced by the office.
Book the car when you book the tickets
Central London from £181.50 for the vehicle. Price it online, or call the office and settle the return time and the pickup point in one conversation.