What is an Illuminations Tour?
Our Illuminations Tour takes you on a Heritage Tram from the Pleasure Beach near the southern end of ‘The Lights’, travelling along the famous Promenade and Golden Mile which showcases Blackpool’s twinkling lights and displays. As we head to the fabulous illuminated tableaux between Cabin & Bispham, we will pass the Tower and all three piers.
But that’s not the end of your tour! We then turn the tram around and take you all the way back again. If you were on the road side of the tram on the way up, you’ll be on the sea side of the tram on the way back meaning you’ll miss nothing of the spectacle.
As well as our illuminated fleet, we also use other types of heritage trams on our tours including the iconic double-deck “Balloon”. Although we admit there is a certain something about being on one of the illuminated trams, you get an excellent view of the Lights from our double deck Balloon trams.
If you’d like to learn more of the history of the Illuminated Trams we have more information and some wonderful old photographs.
During September our Illumination Tours will be taking place on our iconic double-deck “Balloon” trams. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the refurbishment of our Illuminated feature trams have been affected and we are not able to offer tours on those until October.
See how we have adapted to Keep you Safe in 2020
Booking an Illuminations Tour
Payment is securely taken online by credit or debit card by our booking partner ‘eola’ and your booking confirmation will arrive by email.
Children under 3 may travel free with an adult if they are not occupying a seat. No ticket will be required for them in that case. If you prefer they have a seat, please book a child ticket.
Individual Tickets
Monday to Thursday
Adult £8 Child £4
Friday to Sunday
Adult £10 Child £5
Save with our
Monday to Thursday
£20
Friday to Sunday
£25
If you can’t see the date and time you want, you may find it on our Weekend Extra Tours (Fridays & Saturdays in September)
Tickets and Times
Our Illuminations Tours run each night of ‘The Lights’.
The Tour are priced from £8 adult/£4 child and we have a Family Ticket (4 people, max of 2 adults) from £20.
Evening tours will vary day to day as this is due to the switch on time of the illuminations. Our tour times are shown on our booking pages.
Please ensure that you reserve your seat by booking online to avoid disappointment.
Children Under 3
Children under 3 may travel free with an adult if they are not occupying a seat. No ticket will be required for them in that case.
If you prefer they have a seat, please book a child ticket.
Optional Extras
When you book your tour you are able to choose from a selection of our souvenirs, these will be ready for you when you board your tour.
The souvenirs are also available for home delivery along with over a hundred other items from our online shop.
Window Gazer – your free tour guide
We have produced a free Window Gazer guide of the buildings, sights and interesting information in the view from your window as you travel with us on your tour. It’s like having your own personal tour guide but without the bad jokes!
How long does the tour last?
Each tour lasts around an hour, however it can vary because the tour passes through some of the busiest parts of the Prom and operates alongside the regular tram service. Sometimes we have to go slightly slower because of the number of people on the Promenade although this means you get more time to enjoy the view!
On the return (southbound) journey it is possible to leave the tour at our Heritage Tram stops at Bispham, Cabin and North Pier & Tower if you don’t want to come all the way back with us to Pleasure Beach. Once you’ve left us, that is the end of your tour. It’s not possible to complete the tour on a later tram.
If you want to know where our stops are, you’ll find a map on our Find Us page
Accessibility
Due to the age of our trams they do not have any wheelchair accessibility apart from our Western Train Tram which has an electric lift and space for one wheelchair user.
Our trams do have space to carry a folded wheelchair but it does mean all passengers have to be able to board and get to their seat. Whilst our conductors will help all they can, they cannot provide direct physical assistance.
Prams and Luggage
If we have space on the tram we are happy to carry folded prams and push-chairs.
Personal baggage must be placed at your feet in front of you or on your lap. For safety, the walkways have to remain unobstructed.
We are not able to carry bicycles.
Videos
If you come to Blackpool at Illuminations time, it’s scenes like this that await you.
Want to know more about the Illuminations?
You will find lots of information about The Illuminations at VisitBlackpool.com which is the tourism arm of Blackpool Council. There is lots of other useful information there too that will help you get the best from your visit to our town.