December 09-18, 2026
Double Occupancy: $6350 per person
Single Occupancy: $6850 per person
Airfare is not included.
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Travel Dates: December 9-18, 2026
An exuberant traveler said it best:
Some cities sparkle, but London shines brightest at Christmas.â
We heartily concur! The city bubbles over with music, art, theatre, cuisine, and Christmas adornments everywhere at this special season. We had such a joyful time last year that, thanks to Go Learn, weâre returning to our favorite city at our favorite time of year in 2026. Come with us!
Letâs share ten days of jollity, inspiration, and friendship together amidst the twinkling lights (300,000 of them) of Regent Street, the happily bustling Christmas markets, the sweet harmonies of a lessons & carols service, great and grand art exhibitions, and the delicious yuletide fare of Londonâs eateries. OF COURSE weâve lined up a scintillating sextet of playsâwith great seats, naturallyâas some of the shiniest ornaments on our 2026 Christmas tree. As this tripâs piĂšce de rĂ©sistance, we have a very special seasonal tripâas youâll read below.
On this trip, we average 4-6 miles of walking and 100 stairs per day. Travel is by public transportation, and participants must be able to board Tube trains and buses independently, though we will always lead the way in group activities. Participants who wish to travel by taxi must make their own arrangements and expect to pay about $600 extra.
Christmastime in England is considered a Level Two out of three physical ability levels on the Go Learn scale.
Important Note: This itinerary is provisional. Times and dates of events are subject to change. More importantly, itâs only partially filled in at this point. So please watch this space as we add exciting seasonal events! (And donât worry; weâll make sure thereâs enough free time for you to pursue your own individual yuletide adventures.)
Meals are indicated as follows: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner
We'll arrange your transportation from Heathrow Airport to The Rockwell, our charming boutique hotel in South Kensingtonâwhere complimentary breakfast is served every morning. After settling in, we'll bundle up and visit Trafalgar Square to gaze at the decorated Christmas tree donated each year from Norway in thankful commemoration of Britainâs aid during World War II and browse the Christmas Market. Then weâll head to a great restaurant, and while there each will draw the name of a fellow-traveler and be issued a ÂŁ20 note for purchasing a small Christmas gift to be bestowed at our Christmas Dinner in Stratford-upon-Avon. In bed by 9 pm beats jetlag with a good nightâs sleep.
Hotel:
Meals: D
Activity Level: Moderate to Strenuous
Thou art of the Jungle and not of the Jungle. And I am only a black panther. But I love thee, Little Brother.â
— Bagheera, The Jungle Book
Our first play is Anupama Chandrasekharâs brand-new adaptation of Rudyard Kiplingâs The Jungle Book at the Royal National Theatre. Word is the breathtaking combination of live acting and puppetry in this production will not have been seen on the Olivier stage since the premiere of War Horse in 2007âand that show has now been seen all over the world. So, weâre getting in at the beginning of an Event. Pre-play dinner that evening will be at Lasdun, the National Theatreâs wonderful resident restaurant.
Hotel:
Meals: B, D
Activity Level: Moderate to Strenuous
Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum? Art exhibition at the Tate or National Gallery? Evening Christmas concert? Watch this space!Â
Hotel:
Meals: B, D
Activity Level: Moderate to Strenuous
Today weâll visit spectacular Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew with its glorious glasshouses (thatâs âgreenhousesâ to us Americans), one of which, Temperate House, is the largest in the worldâalso Kewâs two beautiful art galleries, its fowl-filled lake, tree-top walkway, Orangery restaurant, and 14,000 treesâsome older than the American Revolutionary War. And for a short whileâluckily, while weâre thereâKew is featuring a landmark art exhibition: thirty monumentally-sized sculptures by the great Henry Moore strewn among its greenery. Dinner will be at Londonâs finest steak & seafood restaurant, Hawksmoor, and then itâs off to the West End to see trees from a new perspective when we attend Anton Chekhovâs The Cherry Orchard.
Hotel:
Meals: B, D
Activity Level: Moderate to Strenuous
On the grounds of the 14th Century Tower of London is a beautiful 16th Century church whose name is a reminder of the Towerâs prison past: St. Peter ad vinculaâ âSt. Peter in chains.â That is where weâll attend, chains-free, a morning Advent service featuring the sweet, precision harmonies of the Choir of the Chapels Royal. Afterwards weâll stroll next door to examine the Crown Jewels and then lunch at the New Armouries CafĂ©. In the evening weâll head to the Savoy Theatre to see Londonâs most decorated new musical (it broke the record for most wins at the WhatsOnStage Awards), Paddington, an adaptation of Michael Bondâs book series about a bear from âdarkest Peruâ sent to Paddington Station in London with a tag on his duffel coat that says, âPlease Look After This Bear.â
Hotel:
Meals: B, L
Activity Level: Moderate to Strenuous
Weâll visit the splendidly decorated Leadenhall Christmas Market with its iconic 18ft-high live Christmas tree on our way to a beautiful, Old London City church, St. Michael Cornhill, for its annual Festival of Lessons & Carols. This churchâs âgruff old bellâ overlooks Scroogeâs counting-house in Newmanâs Court off Cornhill Street in A Christmas Carol. Thatâs appropriate because this evening, weâll make our way to our splendid seats in the âSnow Circleâ (youâll see!) of the Old Vic Theatre for this yearâs edition of A Christmas Carol. Before the show weâll dine at the Old Vic Backstage CafĂ©.
Hotel:
Meals: B, D
Activity Level: Moderate to Strenuous
When we think of Christmas, do we think of Shakespeare? We should:
Some say that ever âgainst that season comes/ Wherein our Saviorâs birth is celebrated,/ This bird of dawning singeth all night long;/ And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad,/ The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike,/ No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,/ So hallowâd and so gracious is the time.â
— Marcellus, William Shakespeare's Hamlet
See? Today weâll travel by private coach to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeareâs hometown, bedecked in all its Christmastime finery. Weâll settle in at our charming bed & breakfast and then visit Holy Trinity Church where Will was christened and he and Anne are buried. Dinner that evening will be at Lambs of Sheep Street, our favorite Stratford restaurant. In our private space upstairs, weâll have our own festive Christmas dinner and gift exchange.
Hotel:
Meals: B, D
Activity Level: Moderate
And yet, weâre in Stratford not just for Shakespeare, but also for Mary Ann Evans, aka George Eliot, whose novel Middlemarch is justly praised as âa masterpiece of 19th Century literatureâ (The Guardian), and about which literary scholar Rebecca Mead wrote,
itâs a common turn of phrase to speak of getting lost in a book. But a book can also be where one finds oneself, when it feels like an urgent, crucial dimension of life itself.â
Nina Raine has adapted Eliotâs âhome epicâ (Eliotâs description) as a two-part drama for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Weâll see Part 1 in an afternoon matinee and return in the evening for Part 2.
Hotel:
Meals: B
Activity Level: Moderate
After our second hearty English breakfast at our Stratford B&B, weâll board our coach and head back to The Rockwell to rest and reflect. Perhaps an art exhibition in the late afternoon and/or a Christmas concert in the evening to end our festive time together? Again, watch this space!
Hotel:
Meals: B
Activity Level: Moderate to Strenuous
Weâll get you back to the airport, or wherever youâre going next, with good yuletide London memories and best wishes for a very Merry Christmas!
Meals: B
Tim and Jane bring their expertise and enthusiasm to Go Learn from also directing the University of Utah's Beacons of Excellence Award-winning Theatre, Fine Arts and Humanities in London Learning Abroad student programâfor fifteen years and still going strong.
Tim is a Professor in the Department of Theatre, where he teaches Playwriting, Dramatic Literature, Shakespeare, and Contemporary Drama. Tim is also a produced screenwriter, a published novelist, and an award-winning playwright with plays produced off-Broadway and in the US, Britain, and Canada.
Jane teaches Introduction to Theatre and Dramatic Literature in the Department of Theatre and administers London Learning Abroad programs for both the Theatre and English Departments. She attended the London School of Economics for post-graduate studies and, in addition to her many London and UK tours, has led travel programs in Bali and Japan.
If the logistics of a trip are right, travelers don't even notice them. That's my job.â
— Jane England
She does her job really, really well. Can we talk about the play now?â
— Tim Slover
December 9-18, 2026
Group size is limited to 20 participants
Double occupancy: $6,850 per person.
Single occupancy: $6,350 per person.
Payment options are available upon request. Contact golearn@utah.edu for information.
Read the Terms and Conditions for payment and cancellation details.
Terms & ConditionsLike all Go Learn journeys, the adventure begins at home. We'll make sure you have all the information you need before you arrive in Londonâwe'll answer questions about what to pack, how to get around, and our daily itinerary. We want you to arrive in London ready to learn!
A trip reunion about a month after returning will be the perfect conclusion to our journey. We will exchange pictures and stories while remembering the highlights of our tour. Go Learn expeditions are designed to be small, boutique experiences where one returns with a group of friends. Good food, drink, and company await us at this reunion.
A trip reunion about a month or so after returning will be the perfect conclusion to our journey. Weâll exchange pictures and stories while remembering the highlights of our tour. Go Learn expeditions are designed to be small, boutique experiences where one returns with a group of friends for life. Good food, drink, and company await us at this reunion.
Itâs hard to fit what London is into one sentence, but let's give it a shot: London is the capital of the United Kingdom (and hence has all the Washington D.C.-type buildings), and it also has hundreds of historical sites from a Roman temple to Jimi Hendrix's apartment, and it's also the biggest city in the European Union (8.5 million) with the most diverse population (270 nationalities and 300 languagesâimagine what that means for restaurants, yum), and itâs also one of the worldâs premiere financial and commercial hubs (um, shopping), and it has the most museums in the world (173, with 11 of them national museums, and unlike other European cities, they're mostly FREE); it also has the most restaurants in the world (37,450), 5,000 acres of parks (8 of them Royal) and 214 theatres to which 14.2 million people flock each year (including us); plus it has fourteen football clubs, including 6 Premier League teams, is home to the tallest building in the Britain (the Shard) and has hosted the Olympic Summer Games 3 times. Whew! But it isn't all about bigness and most-ness. London is also home to quiet nooks and curious cranniesâtruly adventure around every corner.
The temperature range in December is 38ÂșF-46Âș,F and there is always a good chance of rain. Bring a warm coat, winter scarf, hat, boots, warm clothing, and an umbrella to be ready for British weather. Snow is unlikely but always possible. The days will be short but all the better to see the thousands of Christmas lights adorning the city.
This is an Activity Level 2 trip. Learn More about our activity levels.
Activity LevelsFilled with one-of-a-kind visits and experiences, this trip will leave you happily tired. It includes days exploring London as a group and some late nights of theatre performances, and the pace is brisk. We average 4-6 miles (approximately 10,000 steps) of walking and 100 stairs per day. Travel is by public transportation (included in the price of the trip), and participants should be able to board Tube trains and buses independently, though we will always lead the way in group activities. The group comes first, so participants who wish to travel by taxi must make their own independent arrangements and expect to pay about $600 extra.
Starting in 2025, U.S. travelers will need a UK ETA 'visa' for travel to or through the UK, including transfers and layovers. In the last quarter of 2026, U.S. travelers will need a ETIAS 'visa' for many European countries.