[Anonymous]

[BoardTurnLeft]

I will be arriving LHR (terminal 5) on Christmas Day and have been informed much of public transportation will be closed due to the holiday. Please advise if I may realize any problem getting a taxi into the city. Note: Travel is for two persons with a pile of suitcases.
Thank you.

[DavidGordon10]

I doubt if you will have any problem. Many of London’s excellent taxi drivers are Jewish and are happy to work on Christmas day. Their non-Jewish colleagues cover for them very effectively on the Jewish holidays. It works very well (I am a doctor and used to have to work on Christmas day, and found it very easy to get a taxi).

[ImissConcorde]

This company mentioned on Tripadvisoe

http://www.minicabsinlondon.com/

Website states that they do not charge a premium for Christmas Day.

[HonestCrew]

Your regular London Black Cabs will be available at Heathrow no problem.
A recent poll in the UK showed 44% of Brits said they had no religious affiliation, so don’t worry if you wish to crack open that BLT sandwich from Mark’s & Spencer’s on your journey 😉
Fare will be the same as normal plus £4.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/businessandpartners/taxi-fares-and-tariff-consultation-2013-easy-read.pdf

Pre-booking a mini-cab may be cheaper, London Black Cabs are great but pricey!

[NameRemoved-18/12/14]

Hello BLT

I would just like to add that it is the best day of the year to use LHR.

Just how many suitcases are we talking about 😉

[BoardTurnLeft]

Thanks to all for the information. The mini-cab option sounds ideal, as I can pre pay without a PIN credit card at a competitive rate.

Note to alexpo1: 2 huge, hard sided suitcases [that push the 70 lb limit]; 1 massive garment bag; 2 carry on cases. All this for 11 days – don’t ask. Regards

[ImissConcorde]

BoardTurnLeft …. And then she’ll hit the post Christmas sales while you’re here!! Good luck!

[NameRemoved-18/12/14]

That’s what I call forward planning. You will have T5 all to yourself and Mrs BLT….well almost.

I won’t ask, but I don’t know what a garment bag is.

London taxi drivers are invariably chirpy, even on 12/25.

Bye for now

[GudFella]

Public transport is usually available on christmas day but not on boxing day. Check http://www.tfl.gov.uk for travel details.

I would recomment you book a mini cab (fixed fare and a lot cheaper than black cabs) in case you’re worried about using public transport. I have used http://www.london2airports.com/ in the past and have found them to be reliable and a lot cheaper than other mini cab companies for airport transfers.

ps: I have no affiliation to this company.

[tanielle123]

We have used this mini cab company to book clients taxis on Christmas day, and you can specify the luggage, number of people and also book by cc if you want to avoid the hassle of cash on the day.

http://www.promptexecutivehire.co.uk/index.php?affKey=jGad6Kod

There isn’t any public transport and very few restaurants and shops open on Christmas Day. But if your in central London you should be fine.

[AnthonyDunn]

Definitely recommend a pre-booked minicab. They are often MPVs (that’s a multi-person vehicle i.e. can carry 7-8 people) these days with substantial bag carrying capacity. It sounds as if you will need this. You can ask for one at the time of booking.

Beyond that, for clarity regarding public transport, this last Christmas/New Year season 2012-13, Transport for London provided the following services:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-16243450
http://www.londonbusroutes.net/christmas.htm

So, there was nothing at all on Christmas Day but (subject to bl**dy strike inaction on the tube) there was a Sunday service on both tubes and buses on Boxing Day (the 26th). Trains, tubes, buses, ferries, shank’s pony et al over the New Year. I would anticipate it being much the same this year albeit preferably without the threat of yet another piece of Bob Crow (don’t ask!) inspired p*ss taking at the expense of tube users.

[MarkCymru]

Minicabs are cheap but the drivers may have no idea where they are going. Official (“black”) cabs cost a little more but the drivers are tested rigorously and supervised very closely. You will save a lot of time and may even save money as the black cabs know the most direct routes and have access to bus-only lanes (which the minicabs do not)

If you ever want a black cab anywhere in London, use the Hailo app on any smartphone (https://hailocab.com/london). Register before you arrive and then open it on your phone. When you hit the booking button, it will locate the nearest cab in its system (it has signed up over a third of all black cabs); book it; show you its progress on a map as it comes to pick you up; and send you the driver’s name and picture and his mobile phone number. You can pay by pre-registered credit card or in cash. It usually takes only a few minutes for a cab to arrive. It is 100 percent reliable and quite brilliant!

[davey1234]

Found that when in London I have normally used http://www.londontowncars.co.uk and actually was pretty surprised by the quality of cars and drivers for what was really quite reasonable prices for airport transfers

Agreed though you cant beat a black taxi for reliability and in some cases can be a lucky dip with a lot of minicab companies depending on driver. This is the reason I will always use the same driver from a cab company though whatever city in the world I am in

[SimonS1]

“GudFella – 08/08/2013 13:29 GMT
Public transport is usually available on christmas day but not on boxing day.”

In my experience it’s the other way round.

If you don’t fancy stumping up for a cab, last year National Express ran coaches to Heathrow from London on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

[Author]

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