Comparison of Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tours in London

On a recent trip to England, we spent 24 hours exploring London. Given the brief nature of our visit, we were looking for a way to maximize our time and see as much of the city as possible. In the end, we wound up taking one of the many hop-on hop-off bus tours in London.

This was my first time on a hop-on hop-off bus tour, and I was pleasantly surprised by the experience. I’ve always considered them to be kitsch and touristy, but the hop-on hop-off bus turned out to be a great way to see the city in a limited amount of time. 

If you’re planning a trip to London and thinking of taking a hop-on hop-off bus tour, you may find the process of choosing a tour a bit overwhelming. With so many companies to choose from, you may be asking yourself, “Which London hop-on hop-off bus tour is right for me?”

Luckily, I’ve done the legwork for you. Read on for my comparison of hop-on hop-off bus tours in London to help you plan your London vacation!

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Short On Time? Best Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour in London

London Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tours at a Glance

To help save you time, here are my suggestions for which hop-on hop-off bus tour to choose in London.

For The Open Ended Traveler: Big Bus Tours

If you’re the type of traveler who wants ultimate flexibility, then Big Bus Tours is the best hop-on-hop-off bus tour option for you.

Big Bus Tours can be purchased online at a discounted rate and used anytime within six months of purchase.

This flexibility is great for people traveling to London with open-ended dates, or if you’re visiting London during a rainy spell and want to switch your plans around. It can also be beneficial for those who prefer slightly less structure while traveling and want to make day-to-day decisions.

Click here to check prices and availability.

For The Ultimate Sightseer: TOOTBus Tour

TO-OTBus (formerly Original London Bus Tour) has the most stops and also has its own app If you are an intense sightseer, then purchasing a ticket for TOOTBus will allow you to track where the buses are via the app, helping you maximize your time and avoid long waits at the bus stop.

Click here to check prices and availability.

Best London Bus Tour for Families: Golden Tours

If you’re traveling as a family, Golden Tours is the most economical option. They offer the cheapest family package (£75 for a family of four) and even have a downloadable “Treasure Hunt” app that will keep your children entertained and engaged.

Click here to check prices and availability.

The Budget-Friendly Option: City Sightseeing London

If you are looking for a budget-friendly hop-on hop-off bus tour option, or have limited time and won’t be able to take advantage of walking tours and other add-ons, then City Sightseeing London is for you. Of the four companies, this is the only one which offers a ticket for the bus tour alone.

Click here to check prices and availability.

Overall best hop-on hop-off bus in London: TOOTBus

With so many London hop-on hop-off bus tours to choose from, it’s hard to know which is the best bus tour for you. In my opinion, the overall best London hop-on hop-off bus tour option is TOOTBus (formerly Original Bus Tour). Their prices are reasonable, especially if purchased in advance online, and they offer the most stops and routes of any other tour bus operator. They also have a handy app that lets you track buses in real time – a total game changer that will keep you from wasting precious time waiting for the bus!

Click here to check prices and availability.

Big Bus vs Golden Tours London 

Two of the most well-known companies offering London hop-on hop-off tours are Big Bus and Golden Tours. To decide between Big Bus or Golden Tours, refer to the table below. The table highlights the cost for each tour, whether or not it includes a Thames River cruise and various other metrics that will help you decide whether to choose Golden Tours or Big Bus London.

	Big Bus Tours	Golden Tours
Price	£36.90  online, £41.00 in person	£33.00
No. of Routes	4	4
No. of Stops	44	70
River cruise	Included	Not included
WiFi onboard	Yes	Yes

Big Bus vs Original Tour London

Original Tour London (now TOOTBus) is one of the better hop-on hop-off bus tours in London. For more help in comparing Big Bus vs Original Tour London (aka TOOTBus), this reference table highlights all the important details you need to compare the two.

	Big Bus Tours	TOOTBus/Original Tour
Price	£36.90  online, £41.00 in person	£26.35 online, £31.00 in person
No. of Routes	4	6
No. of Stops	44	84
River cruise	Included	Included
WiFi onboard	Yes	Yes

Riding the London Hop-On Hop-Off Bus: Our Experience

For our hop-on hop-off bus experience, we opted for a package that included a Thames River cruise. The river cruise was a real highlight of our day in London. The boat’s top deck was open air, and while sitting up top we soaked up panoramic views of the city. While on the river cruise, we saw many historic London landmarks such as Big Ben, the London Eye, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Shard, the Tower of London, and Tower Bridge. The river cruise also had basic refreshments for sale and was a good opportunity to grab a drink and snack to refresh ourselves for more exploring.

Our experience on the bus was equally enjoyable. All the buses are double-deckers with open-air top levels. Once on board, we settled in up top, plugged in our headsets, and listened to the narration as we cruised by top landmarks. The audio guide was informative and a great way to learn about the city and the sites we were seeing.

Another great thing about London’s hop-on hop-off buses is the actual hopping on and off part. When you reach a landmark you want to see up close, you can get off the bus and visit the site. In our case, we got off the bus at Buckingham Palace, where we walked around for a bit before boarding another bus line to a different part of the city. 

One thing to keep in mind if you plan to visit any of the attractions is the amount of time you will spend inside. This will take away from your time on the bus and your ability to see more of the city. While I love going to museums and historic sites, with a short amount of time it may not be practical to take the bus tour and plan on seeing multiple sites. I suggest choosing one site to see in-depth, then taking the hop-on hop-off bus to see the rest of the city. In our case, we spent the morning at Westminster Abbey before taking the bus tour.

London Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour Options

There are multiple companies operating hop-on hop-off bus tours in London, and deciding between them can be confusing.

Each company offers multiple routes and they all stop at London’s premier tourist attractions. Some include a scenic boat ride on the Thames River in their ticket price, while others allow you to add the river cruise for an additional fee. 

Below, I’ll break down the top 4 hop-on hop-off bus experiences in London, helping you decide which company offers the experience best suited for your needs. All the companies I reviewed offer tickets for either 24-, 48-, or 72-hour periods.

Of the four companies reviewed in this post, half offer four bus routes, and the other half offer six. The total number of stops for each bus ranges from 44 to 84.

Golden Tours, which has four routes and 70 stops, is the only company offering multiple routes along the St Paul’s/London Tower/Tower Bridge loop. Given that this area is a major point of touristic interest, having more routes to choose from allows you to seamlessly switch between bus routes. On the downside, the amount of overlap means that many of their routes cover the same sites.

If you are interested in shopping in SoHo or along Oxford Street, then note that Big Bus Tours is the only company with a route servicing these areas. It is also the only route that passes the BBC London building and Hamley’s Toy Store.

Comparison of London Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tours: A Table

Many of the buses offer various package options at different price points. For the table below, I compare each company’s base package.

	Big Bus Tours	TOOTBus	Golden Tours	City Sightseeing Tour London
Ticket	Classic Ticket	London Discovery	24 Hour ticket	Iconic (24 Hour)
Price	£36.90  online, £41.00 in person	£26.35 online, £31.00 in person	£33.00	£39.71 online, £52.11 in person
No. of Routes	4	6	4	6
No. of Stops	44	84	70	84
River Cruise	Included	Included	Not included (add-on option)	Not included (option with Essential Ticket)
Narration	Live guides (English only) and audio guide in 5 languages	Audio guide in 5 languages	Audio guide in 11 languages	Audio guide in 11 languages
Hours of operation (First departure – Last departure)	8:30 am – 5:30 pm	8 am – 6 pm	8 am – 5 pm	8:30 am – 6 pm
Walking Tours	3 walking tour options are included with your ticket	Not included	Self-guided walking tour audio	Not included (option with Essential Ticket)
WiFi Onboard	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Other	Can book in advance and use anytime within 6 months Free downloadable app	Free app and kid-friendly audio guides	Free cancellations	Base package for the bus ride only. Can add on a Thames boat tour for a fee.

Is a Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour in London Right For You?

Pros:

• Boat tour: The boat ride on the Thames River was a definite highlight. Scenic and a great way to see the city.
• History & Narration: The buses are a great way to learn about London’s history. The narration on the buses, which is offered in multiple languages, gives a good overview of the passing landmarks.
• Baby & Kid Friendly: The bus is a great way to travel with children and babies. Kids can look out the window and take in the sites, and since you are seated for long periods of time this is a great opportunity to nurse or feed your baby.
• Exposure: We were able to see and learn about a lot of sites in the city, although none in depth.
• Year-round: The bus tours go on year-round, even during London’s winter months!
• Safe: If you’re not used to large cities and public transportation, the jump on jump off bus allows you to explore London without worrying about riding the underground. Even though London is safe for tourists, public transit makes many people nervous.

Cons:

• Price: Tickets for the bus are expensive, especially considering it doesn’t include admission to any sites. Given our limited time, we were not able to take advantage of the walking tour included in our ticket price, and I think that would have mitigated the cost of the bus tour.
• Traffic: London, like any major city, can have some bad traffic, especially during commuting hours. Riding the bus during high traffic times means you will be sitting in gridlock, which will ultimately limit the number of sites you can see.
• Narration: This falls on the cons list for two reasons. First, I found the depth of the narration lacking, and could have used more information about the major sites. Second, the first bus we took had an actual guide on board (as opposed to a recording), which we were initially very excited about. Unfortunately, we could barely hear what the guide was saying, and as a result, we didn’t learn much on that leg of our bus trip.
• Lack of Depth: When we travel we like to visit a lot of sites and learn about the historic events that occurred there. While we learned about London’s top tourist sites, none of the information was particularly in-depth.

FAQ:

Final Thoughts

Overall, the hop-on hop-off bus was a good choice given our limited time in London. We covered a lot of ground, but we didn’t have a chance to thoroughly see many of the sites. Given that our normal travel style involves more in-depth sightseeing, this was a bit disappointing. 

I suppose that’s the nature of travel though. You can’t see it all, so you have to pick and choose. I think we chose well with the hop-on hop-off bus tour, and it definitely made us eager to return to London.

Until Next Time,

Tamar