Ever consider doing a hop-on hop-off London Bus Tour? A London bus tour can be a brilliant way to see all the major tourist attractions fast, but is the expense worth it? Here are 13 pros and cons to help you decide.
Even though a bus tour is how I navigated London on my first visit as a tourist nearly 20 years ago and was a highlight of my trip to the UK during a typical British November, I didn’t see a reason to justify the cost while living in London.
Having ticked most of our family bucket list items off for London, finding fresh and alternative ways to show guests around London fast can be quite a challenge with kids – particularly when your own remind you that they don’t want to see Buckingham Palace for the umpteenth time. 🤣
A hop-on hop-off London Bus Tour seems like a great option for all ages, but is it worth it?
Hop-On Hop-Off London – Is it worth it?
Despite the nostalgia of a red British double-decker bus, a London bus tour is not an activity that naturally makes sense if you live in London. Especially when the cost per person is 2+ times more expensive than a return London travel card or an easy swipe of an Oyster one.
But after nearly 2 years of living in the UK and five straight days of rare sunny weather, I decided to see if the London bus tour was as good as it was nearly 20 years ago. With guests in London for only a couple of days, we bit the expense and went for it.
So, if you’re wondering: Is a hop-on hop-off London Bus Tour worth the expense?
Here are 13 pros and cons to help you decide.
The two most popular hop-on hop-off London bus tours are The Original Tour and Big Bus London. The following pros and cons are based on experience with Big Bus London.
Pros of a London Bus Tour
There are several reasons that make a London Bus Tour worth the expense. Here are 6 pros to consider:
1 – You can see and learn about all the major attractions in one day.
As long as you’re willing to stay on the bus, or transfer from bus to bus, you can definitely see all the major sights of London and more. It even includes a panoramic night tour!
See the Big Bus London map here.
2 – You can get on or off the bus whenever you want – the tour is at your own pace.
If there is a particular attraction you want to spend more time exploring, or even skipping, you can. You don’t have to do all the sights. The tour is entirely at your own pace.
3 – A London Bus Tour, like the Big Bus London, includes a river cruise.
The lowest level London bus tour includes a river cruise. If boating on the Thames is on the list of things to do in London, a London Bus Tour lets you do both.
4 – Live commentary includes interesting facts and statistics about London.
Because locals typically commentate the London bus tour, you hear about houses, neighborhoods, and facts that you’d otherwise have no clue about without her. It’s a great way to learn about London’s major and not-so-well-known neighborhoods fast, without doing anything but ride and listen along.
5 – You don’t have to walk.
London is 607 square miles!! The Big Bus London tour takes 6 hours to complete all the routes – and that doesn’t include spending time off the bus. Though it’s not 607 miles, 6 hours is a lot of London coverage in 24-hours.
For children and people with reduced mobility, a London Bus Tour is the perfect solution for a lot of London sight-seeing coverage in a short time.
6 – You can walk if you want to.
A London Bus Tour, like the Big Bus London, offers walking tours daily. This way you can mix things up to have a break from the bus.
You can choose from a daily Royal Walking Tour at 10am or a Little Legs Tour during summer months at 2pm.
Cons of a London Bus Tour
Despite all the good, there are a number of reasons why the Big Bus London Tour didn’t rank as memorable the second time around. Here are 6 cons, and one extra reason to consider if a hop-on hop-off London bus tour are worth it for you:
1 – Tickets are expensive.
I don’t remember how expensive they were 20 years ago but the cost of one adult ticket is on par with a day at a major theme park. I’m not talking Disney but still…
If they offered Prosecco or soft drinks with snacks for kids, then the expense makes more sense. That’s when you decide that to make the most of the London Bus Tour, there will not be any breaking for a sit-down lunch, only food stalls or packed snacks to get you through to dinner.
Seriously.
2- River cruises are one-way unless you opt for a 2 or 3-day ticket.
One of the best river cruises is from the London Eye to Greenwich. In fact, I don’t think anyone should visit Greenwich any other way. The downside to this is the return. Trains from Greenwich back to central London aren’t convenient, particularly on weekends or towards the end of the day. Even buses can take a long time; up to an hour or longer in fact.
If Greenwich is your destination for a 24 hour London bus tour ticket, consider the purchase of a return ticket by boat so that you can carry on your London tour without losing a ton of time. And take note of the last departure times so you don’t get stuck.
Or take a short cruise to and from one of the other docks: Westminster, London Eye or Tower of London.
London Eye From The Thames
3 – Weather.
Whether it’s cold and wet or wicked hot outside, purchasing a bus ticket in uncertain weather conditions might mean viewing from the lower deck of the bus. This ruins your chance of getting that priceless photo of the London Eye! Not to mention, you ultimately wonder why you spent all that money when you could have gotten nearly the same experience on a typical commuter bus.
My recommendation for non-summer months is to purchase a nice wool scarf, hat, and jacket, like this Barbour one here and make the most of it in harsh conditions. It’s how I got through it then and still wear the same wool scarf in winter now.
And in the summer, bring tons of water, sunglasses and a hat, like this summer one here from John Lewis.
4 – Tour guides are hit or miss.
Some tour guides are totally proud of what they do and captivate you with their storytelling. Whereas others you can’t even find on the bus because they are mumbling or not talking at all, and crouched low in a seat.
With so many bus options and tour guide switches, the probability of good tour guides the entire day is less than the sun shining.
5 – Headphone equipment is far from Bose-quality.
Our entire row of seats had faulty headset equipment so for about 30% or more of the tour, my family watched in silence without the guided commentary.
Thankfully the headphones were long enough to split one earpiece between friends across two rows of seats so some of us could still listen in where seats were functional.
6 – Traffic.
With over 20 million visitors in London in 2018, the city is busy! Between the peak of London tourism and typical metropolitan traffic, plan on sitting in traffic…a lot.
Traffic was not a memorable issue when I toured London by bus in November years ago, but a huge issue in July. If it hadn’t been for the summer traffic and mobs of pedestrians, we would have seen far more of London and had a far better time.
Traffic is the #1 reason why I wouldn’t purchase London Bus Tour tickets again in the peak of summer. But I would in November.
Extra bonus consideration on whether a London Bus Tour is worth it:
7 – If you’re really unlucky, your bus driver might just get into a bus accident!
I’ve always been super nervous about my kids standing too close to the edge of the road. British roads are super narrow and buses seem to get so close to the curb that I swear my husband’s come to near death at least a dozen times. 😳
Within the first 5 minutes of starting our London bus tour, our bus driver ran into a concrete ticket booth (of the same bus company). With a ticket booth completely turned sideways and people scattered all about helping the poor man crawl out on his knees from the inside, we had an emergency bus evacuation.
The shooting sparks lighting up over the double-decker like the 4th of July or Bonfire Night gave it away. Otherwise, we hadn’t felt a thing.
The upside? The bus company had another bus there in seconds and everyone was ok. Keep calm and carry on was in full force.
Final Thoughts On If A London Bus Tour Is Worth The Expense
Despite all the cons listed for why a London Bus Tour might not be worth it, it’s still that initial London Bus Tour 20 years ago that I remember most from my solo trip abroad. And not because something as crazy as a bus accident happened but because I saw everything I wanted to see in a very short time.
Ultimately, what makes a hop-on hop-off London Bus Tour worth it for you? Use these 13 pros and cons to help you decide.
Do you have a funny London bus tour story? Please share!
Looking for more London things to do? Try these.
- 9 Pretty Pink Cafes In London
- How to Navigate A Big City, Like London or Anywhere Really
- Simplify expat travel & start checking things off with this 👉bucket list
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2 comments
I have friends arriving from the States next month and we are in London for 3 days before I whisk them off elsewhere and was contemplating a on and off bus for an afternoon for them. I agree with the Prosecco on board! Hmmmmmm not sure whether to do this now with them. I do like that they can see everything very quickly though, with a stop off at a pub midway 🙂
Hi Jane. The bus is a great option to see a lot in a short time, but if it’s quality and more time in a particular place you seek, it might be better to use the tube to get around and simply walk. I hope you have a wonderful time with your friends whatever you choose!! ☺️