Car Services (Taxis) in the Cotswolds
Use a Car Service (taxi) to pick you up from the airport or train station and drive you to the Cotswolds (to avoid driving when jet-lagged) or to do day tours of the Cotswolds.
Most of the larger Cotswolds towns have a taxi service. To find them, go to the Tourist Office websites or do a search for "car hire", "taxi" or "chauffeur" and the name of the town where you will be staying. These car services usually offer airport or train pickup/drop off, service to Cotswolds destinations and day tours of the Cotswolds.
Airport Pickup
Book your airport pickup several weeks ahead. Ask if they take credit cards (some can only do credit card processing through their office ahead of time). Get the mobile (cell) number of the driver who will be meeting you and give them your cell number, in case you cannot find them at the airport.
We have done airport pickups many time and it has always worked out well. The driver is waiting for us (with a sign with my name on it) where we come out of customs. He takes us and our bags to his car which is close by and we are on our way in minutes. (We are allergic to the chemicals in air fresheners and colognes, so we always request a "fragrance-free" car.)
An airport pickup is expensive but is worth it. We don't like to start our vacation in London (we are not city people) and we don't want to put our jet-lagged bodies behind the wheel of a rental car (especially since you are driving in the mirror-world), so having a driver take us to Bath or Oxford or right to our first vacation rental in the Cotswolds works well for us. We take a few days to recover, then pickup a rental car.
Touring the Cotswolds
I always thought you had to have a car if you wanted to stay in and see the Cotswolds, but recently I was talking with a woman planning a trip without a car and she convinced me that a rental car is not a necessity. Take a train to a Cotswolds station and have a taxi take you to your vacation rental. Stay in a good sized market town, like Stow-on-the-Wold or Chipping Campden, where there are lots of shops, tea rooms, pubs and restaurants that you can walk to. Spend a couple of days exploring on foot, use public transportation for one or two day trips, use a car service for a couple of day trips, maybe take a tour to one of the popular sites like Stratford or Bath. There you have it, a week in the Cotswolds without a car.
Bath
Drive-U Chauffeuring Services: We have used Clive to pick us up at Gatwick airport, in the early morning, and take us to Bath three times and will use him again on our next trip. We highly recommend Drive-U.
Northern Cotswolds
Cotswolds Horizons: Broadway/Chipping Campden
Chipping Campden Cars: Chipping Campden
Cotswold Taxis of Moreton in Marsh: Moreton-in-Marsh
(also listed as www.taxismoretoninmarsh.com and www.moretoninmarshtaxis.com)
Moreton Taxis: Moreton-in-Marsh
Stow-on-the-Wold Taxi Service: Stow-on-the-Wold
ETC Private Car Hire: Cotswolds
Cheltenham
Day Night Private Hire: Cheltenham
Oxfordshire
Jack Davis Chauffeurs: Oxfordshire
My Chauffeur Oxford and London: Oxfordshire
Southern Cotswolds
Cirencester Taxi Service: Cirencester
Stroud Taxi Company: Stroud/Stonehouse
Five Star Taxis: Stroud/Nailsworth
Hilltop Taxis: Stroud
Minchinhampton Taxi: Minchinhampton
Omega Private Hire: Nailsworth
Express Taxis of Tetbury: Tetbury
Resources
Taxi Register: Search for taxi companies by county, town or postal code.
Car Rental
AutoEurope: Pick up your rental car at the airport when you arrive or take the train to Oxford or Bath and pick up your car there. If you are staying in London before going to the Cotswolds, take the train from London Paddington Station to Oxford and pick up your rental car there.
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