Jack the Ripper walks and haunted London tours after dark, from $27 on foot. What each one covers, where they meet and which suits a first evening.
A guided walk after dark through one district, where the subject is the history rather than the skyline. Three of the four here are on foot; one is driven. All of them trade on streets that are barely lit, which in this city is a deliberate choice rather than an accident.
Two run in Whitechapel and Spitalfields on the Jack the Ripper case; one crosses the royal parks with duels, executions and hauntings; one covers grave robbers and phantom highwaymen from the back of a cab. They are the cheapest guided evenings in London and the most reviewed.
Under $31 a head buys between one and three quarters and two and a half hours with a professional guide. Nothing else in London after dark comes close on price, and the walking products carry the highest review counts of anything here.
Whitechapel after dark is illegible on your own. There is nothing floodlit, nothing signposted and nothing to tell you which doorway matters. This is the clearest case on the whole market where the money buys something the free version cannot approximate.
Travellers name them constantly in the feedback, which on shared departures of up to thirty-five is unusual. The praise is almost entirely about the telling rather than the route.
The walking tours state that they operate in all weather conditions, and rain arguably improves them. There is no vehicle to sit in and nothing to see through a window.
A completely different purchase from a bus or a cab, and the choice is about what you want to remember rather than about money.
| Open-top bus | Private black cab | Ghost or Ripper walk | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $39–$42 per person | $356–$633 per vehicle | $27–$31 per person |
| Length | 1 hour 30 | 2–4 hours | 1h 45–2h 30 |
| Stops | None | Wherever you ask | On foot throughout |
| Pickup | You go to the stop | From your hotel | You go to the meeting point |
| Covers | The whole floodlit centre | The whole centre, slowly | One district, in depth |
| Warm? | Not upstairs | Yes | You are walking |
| Accessible | Neither route is | All of them are | One of the two walks is |
If your list is Big Ben and Tower Bridge, take a vehicle. If you would rather come home with a story, take a walk — and the decision guide covers the middle ground.
You get: a professional guide for the whole walk, one district covered properly, and on the Ripper walk with projections a set of hand-held projectors throwing period photographs onto the buildings that replaced the originals.
You do not get: anywhere to sit, at any point. No hotel pickup on the walking versions, no food or drink, and no gratuities in the fare. The private cab version is the exception on all of those.
The Ripper walk with projections leaves Aldgate East at half past seven year round and asks you to arrive ten minutes early. Aldgate East is not Aldgate; they are different stations five minutes apart and the listing warns about it specifically.
The royal-parks walk meets at the Diana fountain by Green Park station, where the guide carries a blue flag, and finishes near Tower Hill. The private Ripper booking meets at Tower Hill under a red umbrella and takes up to fifteen on one booking.
Wear shoes you can stand in for two hours and bring a coat rather than an umbrella. The map page has every meeting point with its nearest station.
If standing for two hours is difficult. There is nowhere to sit on any of the walking versions. The haunted black cab route covers similar ground with a seat under you, and the other cab tours cover the floodlit city instead.
If you want the landmarks. These walks stay in one district and mostly avoid the postcard views entirely. The open-top bus is the format for a first visit with a list.
If you are bringing young children. The murders are described in detail on the Ripper walks and one listing warns about the graphic content. The Christmas routes and the cab tours are the family evenings on this market.
If you need step-free access. The Ripper walk with projections states that it is not wheelchair accessible, though the royal-parks walk describes itself as accessible. late night London tours lists everything.
From $27 to $31 a head for the shared walking departures, which makes them the cheapest guided evenings in London. The private group booking is $364 for up to fifteen people, and the haunted cab route is $549 for up to six.
Atmospheric rather than frightening. The Ripper walks describe real murders in some detail and one listing warns about graphic content, so they are a serious history walk rather than a haunted house.
The one with RIPPER-VISION projections has the highest review count on this market by a wide margin and is the cheapest. The private booking suits a group who would rather not join a shared departure of up to thirty-five.
Aldgate East for the Ripper walk with projections, the Diana fountain by Green Park for the royal-parks walk, and Tower Hill for the private Ripper booking. The haunted cab route collects you from your hotel.
Year round, and winter is the better season for them. Dark by five in December means an evening walk is a genuinely dark walk, which is not true of these routes between May and July.
Not on the walking versions, at any point. If that is a problem, the haunted black cab route covers comparable ground from a seat and includes hotel pickup.
One hour forty-five for the Ripper walk with projections and two hours for the private booking. The royal-parks walk runs two and a half hours, and the haunted cab route four. None of them schedules a break.
Every departure of this kind, with the operator's own rating, review count and starting price. London Night Tours lists the rest.
Hand-held projectors throw Victorian photographs onto the buildings that replaced the originals. Leaves Aldgate East at half past seven, year round, and finishes beside Spitalfields Market.
From $27 per person
A kilometre on foot through Green Park and St James's after dark, with the duels and executions the daytime walks leave out. Finishes near Tower Hill.
From $30 per person
Up to fifteen people on one booking, which makes it the birthday and work-night option. Meets at Tower Hill under a red umbrella, ends in Spitalfields Market.
From $364 per group (up to 15)
Four hours of grave robbers and phantom highwaymen, driven rather than walked. The guides work from several routes, so two evenings out are never the same one.
From $549 per group (up to 6)
From $39 per person
From $247 per person