Victoria is one of London's busiest front doors, and has been since the railway arrived. Trains come in from Gatwick and the south coast, coaches arrive from all over the country and Europe at the coach station on Buckingham Palace Road, and hotels line the streets in every direction. Minibus hire Victoria groups book is mostly about arrivals and departures, with Gatwick runs, onward transport from the coach station, theatre nights and sightseeing tours.
From our base in SE1, Victoria is about fifteen to twenty minutes outside the rush hour.
Minibus hire Victoria for Gatwick
The Gatwick Express from Victoria takes about half an hour, and for a couple with light bags it's hard to beat. For a group of ten with suitcases, the station walk, the platforms and the transfer at the other end are a lot more work.
By road, Gatwick is around an hour to an hour and a quarter from Victoria outside the rush hour, via the A23 or the M25 and M23. On Friday afternoons in summer, allow a good deal longer. Southern trains from Victoria also run to Brighton and the south coast, but for a group day out with bags, chairs and a picnic, a minibus that waits at the seafront is easier. The minibus collects from the hotel and drops the group at the right terminal.
Arrivals at the coach station
Victoria Coach Station is the biggest coach terminal in London, with services from across the UK and Europe. Groups arriving on a long-distance coach often need onward transport, to a hotel elsewhere in London, a cruise terminal or an airport.
Cruise passengers sometimes arrive here too, on coaches from the north or from Europe, and need onward transport to Southampton, Dover or Tilbury with all their luggage. For any of those, give us the coach's expected arrival time and the number of passengers. The roads around the coach station are busy and tightly controlled, so we'll agree a pickup point a short walk away, and the driver will message with the exact spot.
Theatres on Victoria Street
The Apollo Victoria and the Victoria Palace Theatre both run long-running musicals that draw coach parties and school groups. When a show finishes, the pavements fill with families and groups heading for the station.
For a theatre group, we agree a pickup point a few minutes from the theatre and the driver waits there. Pre-show dinners around Victoria Street work well, as long as the table is booked early enough to finish before curtain-up. Westminster Cathedral, a short walk along Victoria Street with its striped brick tower, also draws visiting groups, and its piazza is an easy landmark for meeting points.
Tours from Victoria hotels
Buckingham Palace is a few minutes' walk from Victoria station, and plenty of sightseeing tours start from the hotels around here. A private minibus tour can take a group past the palace, through Westminster and out to the Tower, with stops planned around where the vehicle can legally pull in.
For tours, give us the hotel, the group size and what you'd like to see, and we'll suggest a plan for the day. Changing the Guard draws big crowds on the mornings it happens, and the roads around the palace get busy. The Royal Mews and the King's Gallery, both on Buckingham Palace Road, are popular stops for groups who want more than a photo at the gates.
Pimlico, Belgravia and the quieter streets
Pimlico, to the south, is a grid of white stucco terraces, quiet and residential, with schools that book us for trips. Belgravia, to the west, has embassies, private homes and some of the most expensive streets in London. Embassy events and private parties around Eaton Square and Belgrave Square sometimes need guests collected and taken home at the end of the night. Both are close to Victoria and easy for a minibus outside the rush hour. Tate Britain, on Millbank at the edge of Pimlico, is a popular school trip and a good stop on a tour of Westminster.
The gyratory and the Congestion Charge
Victoria sits inside the Congestion Charge zone, and the charge applies during charging hours. The roads around the station form a busy one-way system with bus lanes and bus stations, which makes stopping difficult. Victoria Street has bus lanes for much of its length, enforced by camera.
The thing to know about minibus hire Victoria groups book at rush hour is that the area around the station is one of the slowest in central London. For pickups between 5 and 7pm on weekdays, allow extra time, or meet the vehicle a few streets away where traffic is lighter. Pimlico's quieter squares, a short walk south, are often the easiest place to board.
For minibus hire in Victoria, call 020 7183 0567.