Long-distance transfers
A private car from any London address to any Southampton address, priced before you book and held whatever the motorway does. About 1h 40m on a clear run.
London to Southampton is 80 miles by road, about 1h 40m off-peak and up to 2h 25m in traffic. A Saloon is £245 fixed, an MPV £310, an eight-seater £345. One driver, one vehicle, door to door.
| Vehicle | Capacity | Fixed fare |
|---|---|---|
| Saloon | up to 4 passengers, 2 large cases | from £245 |
| MPV | up to 6 passengers, 4 large cases | from £310 |
| 8-seater | up to 7 passengers, 7 large cases | from £345 |
Fares are per vehicle, not per person, and cover fuel, tolls, the congestion and clean-air charges, and the driver's hours for the whole journey. Nothing is added at the end.
The route is the M3 south-west to its end, then the M27 and the A33 into the city and the docks. It is 80 miles, and on a clear run that is about 1h 40m including the break the driver is legally required to take on a journey this length.
The stretch that decides your arrival time is the M3 around Winchester and the M27 to Junction 3 when a cruise ship is boarding. Leaving London before 06:00 or after 19:00 avoids the worst of it, and on a bad afternoon the same drive stretches to 2h 25m.
Your driver plans the break around you rather than around the schedule. If you want to stop for food, or not stop at all beyond what the rules demand, say so when you book and that is how it runs.
Worth setting out honestly. South Western Railway from Waterloo takes roughly 1h 20m city centre to city centre and costs 25 to 75 pounds. That is quicker than the car on pure journey time, and for one person travelling light it is usually the right choice.
The comparison changes with numbers and luggage. £245 split between three is about £82 each, and that is door to door - no getting to the terminus, no waiting on a concourse, no taxi at the far end. Add a fourth passenger and the car is clearly cheaper.
It also changes with what you are carrying. The people who book this run are cruise embarkations at the Mayflower, Ocean, Horizon and City terminals, and Southampton Airport connections.
Four situations come up again and again. A group of four or more, where the per-head maths tips. Anyone with luggage that will not go on a luggage rack: instruments, sample cases, filming kit, sports equipment. Anyone travelling outside the timetable, whether that is a 03:00 start or a Sunday-evening engineering closure. And anyone making several stops, which a train simply cannot do.
If you are visiting the cruise terminals and the Ocean Village marina and two other places in a day, one car for the day is both cheaper and far less trouble than three separate journeys.
The return runs the same way and the same price. Book both legs together and the driver either stays with you or comes back on a set date. For an early flight or an early meeting at the London end we will set the Southampton pickup from your arrival time rather than guessing.
On a same-day return the driver waits. On an overnight or longer, it is usually cheaper to book two one-ways, and we will tell you which is better for your dates rather than selling you the more expensive option.
We collect from homes, hotels, offices, hospitals and serviced apartments across London. The fare is calculated from your actual postcode to Southampton rather than from a fixed central point, which is why we ask for the full address up front.
A second or third pickup on the way out is fine. If it is near the route it does not change the fare; if it is a genuine detour we say so and requote rather than adding it quietly at the end.
Pick the vehicle by luggage. Four passengers with four large cases need the £310 MPV, not the £245 Saloon, whatever the seat count suggests.
On a journey this length comfort is not a luxury. We will tell you at the quote stage if your party and luggage really need the next size up.
Child seats and boosters are free but must be named in advance with the child's age, since the seat is fitted before the vehicle leaves. Skis, bikes, instruments, golf clubs, flight cases and wheelchairs all travel when flagged at booking. Parties above seven go in several vehicles routed together.
Booking takes a couple of minutes by phone, WhatsApp or the form. You get written confirmation immediately and driver details in advance.
Card, bank transfer or cash, with corporate accounts and monthly invoicing available for firms that run this route regularly. Nothing is added at the end - no meter, no checkout fee, no fuel surcharge, no surge.
Move the booking and the price moves with it, not upward. Same route, same fare, whatever the new time says.
We go to the door, not to the city boundary or the station. Any Southampton address works, and a stop on the way in costs nothing if it is roughly on the route.
If your destination sits outside Southampton proper - a village, a site, a venue further on - we quote that distance rather than charging the Southampton fare and adding a surcharge on arrival.
For a day of several stops around Southampton, ask for a day rate. It normally costs less than the individual legs and keeps one driver with you.
If you are travelling alone and light, take the train. We would rather tell you that than sell you a £245 car you did not need.
The car's advantage is not speed, it is the absence of everything around the journey: no terminus, no check-in, no connection, no taxi at the far end, no luggage limit.
It also removes the part nobody costs properly: the time either side. A 1-hour train becomes considerably more once you have reached the terminus, waited, and travelled from the far station to where you were actually going. Door to door is the only comparison that means anything, and it is the one this page is priced on.
Not much, and all of it short. Which door you will be at, not just the postcode. How many people. How many large cases, counted separately, because that is what decides the car.
Tell us when you need to be there rather than when you want to leave. The timing is our job, and so is allowing for the roads.
That is the whole of it. Route, traffic, timing, vehicle choice, where the driver waits - all ours, and the quoted price does not move while we sort them out.
The £245 is the £245. It does not move for traffic, for the hour, for the day of the week or for how busy we happen to be.
Someone has to carry the risk of a bad road. We think it should be the firm that picked the route, not the person sitting in the back.
It also means the number works before the journey: you can put it in an expense claim or split it between the people travelling without waiting to see what the meter says. There is no bank-holiday rate, no weekend premium and no surcharge added at the end. The only thing that changes a quoted fare is you changing the journey.
From £245 in a Saloon, £310 in a six-seat MPV and £345 in an eight-seater. That is the whole fare for the vehicle, not a per-person rate, and it is fixed when you book rather than metered.
About 1h 40m for the 80 miles on a clear run, and up to 2h 25m if you leave in a weekday peak. The driver takes a break where the hours rules require it, and that is already inside the time quoted.
For one person booking early, usually yes - South Western Railway from Waterloo takes about 1h 20m and costs 25 to 75 pounds. For three or more the car is level or better: £245 split three ways is roughly £82 each, door to door, with no luggage limit and no connection to miss.
Yes. There is no night rate, no weekend rate and no surge. A 04:00 departure on a bank holiday is quoted at the same figure as a Tuesday lunchtime.
Yes, and a return booked at the same time is the easier arrangement. The driver either waits or returns on a set date, and you get the registration and driver details in advance either way.
It includes all three, plus any congestion or clean-air charge on the route. There is nothing to settle at the end and nothing added at checkout.
Up to four with two large cases in a Saloon, six with four cases in an MPV, and seven with seven cases in an eight-seater. Larger groups travel in several vehicles routed together.
Yes, and if the extra stops are roughly on the way out of London they do not change the fare. Four people from four addresses is one booking. A genuine detour gets requoted before you commit, not added afterwards.
We do. The fare was fixed when you booked, so a closure or a long queue at the M3 around Winchester and the M27 to Junction 3 when a cruise ship is boarding costs you nothing extra. The driver re-routes and keeps you informed, and if the delay threatens something fixed at the Southampton end we will tell you early rather than late.
Usually yes. If you are making several stops in and around Southampton on the same day, a day hire normally costs less than the individual legs and keeps the same driver and vehicle with you throughout. Ask and we will price both ways.
A few days is comfortable, and it is when the fare is at its most competitive against a walk-up rail ticket. We do take same-day bookings on a 80-mile run when a car and a driver's hours allow it, but the choice of vehicle narrows.
Fares are fixed at booking and shown per vehicle. Distances and journey times are approximate and vary with traffic and the exact pickup address. Page reviewed 25 September 2026.