12 Private Pub Crawls in London to Build a Night Around

1.Private Group: Historical Pub Walking Tour of London

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 660 reviews · 3 to 4 hours (approx.) · from $173Our pick

Walk from Cheapside toward Holborn with a private guide such as Lyndon, Lachlan, Adam, John, or Ricky. Visit historic pubs including Black Friar, the Old Bank of England, and Princess Louise, while hearing stories about London’s churches, courts, Dickensian streets, and wartime survival. Drinks cost extra.

“Lyndon was a most personable and knowledgeable host. He made sure that everyone in our group had a great time -- and we did!”

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2.Private Tour of London’s Historic Pubs

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 55 reviews · 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $306

Join beer expert Jane Peyton for a private 3.5-hour walk through Fleet Street, Holborn, and Blackfriars. Visit four old London pubs, taste a half-pint in each, and hear stories about beer, architecture, scandals, and local customs. Groups are limited to six, and the route can be shaped around your interests.

“I loved all the pubs on this tour! I would never have found them on my own, but I will definitely go back to visit them again. I learned a lot about British beer and breweries from the guide, who answered all my questions. The beer tastings were fantastic and it was nice to hear from the guide what the pubs were known for so I could order that and try their classic beer. Such interesting history and pubs, a great time!”

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3.Historic London Pubs Private Walking Tour With Free Drinks!

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 41 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) · from $260

Join Stephen or Kevin for a private four-hour walk from St. Paul’s to Fleet Street, with hotel pickup available. Visit historic pubs including the Viaduct Tavern, Ye Olde Mitre, the Seven Stars, and Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. Drinks are included, and the guide can shape the history and sightseeing around your interests.

“We thoroughly enjoyed our walking tour with Kevin. He met us at our hotel to bring us on the tube to our destination. Area. He shared his knowledge of history and interesting points of comment along the way which was very insightful and added a tremendous amount to this tour. It was just the right balance of enjoying a pint, learning unknown facts about the pubs we visited and walking. We would highly recommend this tour and Kevin!”

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4.Private Pub Tour of Central London

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 19 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)

Spend about 2.5 hours walking from Embankment through central London’s old pubs, including the split Ship & Shovell, Sherlock Holmes, The Harp, and Gordon’s Wine Bar. Your private guide may be Ian, Michael, Tom, or another guide from Tours of the UK. Drinks and food cost extra.

“To say Tom is spectacular is an understatement. He is entertaining, very knowledgeable and a joy to be around. So grateful for him to show us around London. Cheers from Tennessee!”

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5.London Food & Drinks Private Tour – British Taverns & Pubs

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 11 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $213

Spend about three hours with a private English-speaking guide in London’s East End. Walk through Shoreditch, Brick Lane, and Spitalfields, then sample fish and chips, a Scotch egg, steak pie, three drinks, and coffee at local pubs and cafés. Expect tasting portions, street art, markets, and a personal look at London food culture.

“I have no words for the inappropriate talk, unpreparedness and waste of my time. He no showed on the first day and he rescheduled and we met him. He seemed lost, and only talked about his home country. We heard about his sexual preference, beatings by his parents and abuse by a priest. In front of our daughter. I have already started a charge back on my Amex. I hope this man finds some peace and sticks to talking about street art because he clearly doesn’t know the “pubs and grubs” of London. We drank wine from slovakia (his home country) and visited a bagel shop run by Russians. It…”

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6.Private Walking Tour: Historic and Hidden Pubs of London

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 10 reviews · 3 to 4 hours (approx.)

Join Richard or another local guide for a private 3 to 4 hour walk through up to five old London pubs. You will hear stories of the Mayflower, Shakespeare, Dickens, Churchill, sailors, smugglers, and eccentric regulars. Drinks cost extra, and the route uses London streets plus some Tube travel.

“Wonderful.. Richard was so knowledgeable and showed us so much history in hidden old pubs thorough London. He was so knowldgeable, I would definitely use him again for future fun outings!”

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7.London: Private Pub Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 4 reviews · 3 hours

Meet your English-speaking guide at Embankment Station for a private three-hour walk through central London pubs. Visit the city’s only pub split in two, Sherlock Holmes Pub, acclaimed local favorites, and London’s oldest wine bar. Drinks and food cost extra, and all guests must be 18 or older.

“A good time. Ian was an excellent host. He took us to 6 pubs from Embankment to China Town. He was very knowledgeable about the history of each. The 4 of us were roughly Ian's age so we connected with him in many ways. A fun time for all.”

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8.Private Secret Gay Bar Hopping Tour in Soho

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 4 reviews · 4 hours

Meet your private guide outside Boots at 44-46 Regent Street, then walk through Soho to four gay bars over four hours. Expect casual pubs, dance floors, LGBTQ+ history, and a final venue where you can keep the night going. Diana is one guide named in recent feedback. Drinks and food cost extra.

“This is the best bar hopping tour we have done and clearly the highlight of our trip in London. Diana knows all the best spots and stories about London. It was so much fun! She was extremely friendly and engaging. She adapted to what we wanted to do. I can only highly recommend this bar hopping tour.”

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9.The Oldest Pubs of London (Private tour)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $374

Walk from the Charles Dickens Museum to five historic London pubs in about two hours. Expect stories of Dickens, Lenin, Elizabeth I, journalists, and legal workers, plus a drink at selected stops. Guide Dani is known for adapting the route when pubs close, especially on Sunday evenings.

“Because it was a Sunday evening, many of the “typical” pubs were closed. But that didn’t stop my guide Dani. She was awesome, rerouted the tour and brought me to pubs that were indeed open. She knew so much about the London pubs, the lagers, the bitters and she knew pretty much everyone.”

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10.Private Royal London Bike Tour with pub & street art

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $266

Ride a hand-built British bicycle through Westminster, St. James’s Park, Covent Garden, and along the Thames with a private guide. Edward and Katie are among the named guides, and your 3.5-hour outing includes luggage storage, a pub stop, and spray-painting at Waterloo’s legal graffiti tunnel.

“We had a fantastic time with Edward and Katie. We booked a private bike tour for 16 of us. It was a typical rainy London day, but Edward and Katie brought us ponchos and it was honestly the best time we could have had on a bike tour of London. We saw all the top sites and the explanations, stories, etc. at each stop were hilarious. And because of the rain, nothing was terribly crowded so we lucked out! Highly recommend this tour to see the best sights in London and get a little exercise at the same time. The bikes are well maintained and the tour was safe and…”

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11.Private Secret London Pub Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $242

Spend about three hours walking from Temple to Covent Garden with a private English-speaking guide. You’ll see legal landmarks, Temple Church, Lincoln’s Inn, Freemasonry, and old pubs, with a beer-tasting tray and samples included. The tour starts at 2:30 pm and ends near theatres, restaurants, and transport.

“Great guide. Very knowledgeable about history and the area. He knew the history of all of the pubs and have insightful stories of the various budings.”

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12.Private tour of Whitechapel and East End Pubs

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · from $226

Meet guide Stephen in Whitechapel for a private four-hour walk through London’s East End. Visit The Blind Beggar, The White Hart, The Ten Bells, and Dirty Dicks, with a pint, half-pint, soft drink, tea, or coffee at each pub. Hotel pickup is offered, though transportation is not included.

“We had such a brilliant day with Stephen - one of the highlights was a drink at the infamous Blind Beggar. En route to each pub, Stephen told us so much about where we were, and it was especially fascinating to learn about Jack the RippeRead more”

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