Big Bus Tours

Two days in a row we get on well before the last bus leave time to make it to our stop. Like 2hrs before. Apparently that was a mistake and they can only get us 12 min walk to our stop.12-min in their terms is like 40 min in real terms. Dont use unless you want to be stranded and lied too. What a waste of our time.

The last guide of the day, on the last Red route was Rick and he was the best. We enjoyed the river tour and the other guides but Rick made the day with his descriptions. We jumped on and off all day, which was nice.

I’m going to give Big Bus a solid two stars. When we went to get our tickets and a map the little black guy went on and on about how beautiful my wife was. While this may be flattering in modern culture it is rude. I was ready to smack the little but didn’t want to risk arrest.
Next time stick to the job at hand and shut up!

This was a huge waste of money.
Hubs and I purchased two-​day tickets to this when we had first arrived in London at the recommendation of the concierge at our hotel. It sounded too good to be true and — as with all things that sound too good — they probably are.
I was a little reticent about purchasing these anyway for the very reasons I ended up hating it, too crowded, weather, not being able to find pick-​up locations, etc.
Yeah — that’s about exactly what happened. We walked all around using the iPhone app looking for the nearest pickup spot to us which was the Victoria station. Yeah no, we walked all around and could not find the pickup location.
We went to other locations — still couldn’t find any — in fact — we hardly saw any buses at all. We used the GPS on our phone and finally found Buckingham palace (about 30 minutes walk) and then we found a bus.
After that was over we found someone standing around in a Big Bus jacket who printed us off a ticket. We boarded the bus — had trouble finding seats but finally did — and we were off. It soon started raining and the bus became PACKED at the next stop. Seems like anyone who had bought a ticket and those who bought one simply to get out of the rain — were allowed to pack onto the bus. So not only did about 15 – 20 people board as soon as the rain started — but a bunch of people came down from the open upper bus portion. So it became hot and crowded downstairs with people packed in. It was miserable.
Hubs and I stayed on the bus for about 2 – 3 stops and ended up getting off near Carnaby Street and walked home.
I had hoped this would be our way around London without paying for cabs — because I wanted to see the Tower of London and a few other things this first day since it was our only actual free day in London — but we didn’t get a chance since it was so packed due to rain and we were so miserable with people stepping all over one another and crammed in like sardines — that we bailed and didn’t get very far from our own hotel. We had walked all the way to Buckingham palace and basically just rode the bus about halfway back to our hotel before getting off…
We didn’t even use it the second day. We did a pre-​planned tour we’d already booked and walked around on our own.
Meh. Not impressed… I would not repeat this experience at all. They should stop people from getting on if it rains after a certain threshold is reached. It was awful.

We enjoyed using this the first day. At first, we felt this would be a good way to get around and to be able to take pics and get commentary along the way. If you want to use the bus on the first day to get oriented and a little background, it is probably worth it. Ultimately, though, get the Oyster card for the time you are going to be there. If you use it twice a day (and you will), it is well worth it. This also gives you access to the light rail which you will need to see Greenwich.

At first we thought this would be a good way to tour London… not really. :(
Spending long time stuck in traffic! Worse than in LA!
Looking at their map, they do stop at lots tourists attraction spots. However, with the traffic in the city, waste lots time on the bus.
Besides day tour till 6pm, they also have are few night tours. WARNING… SUPER SUPER CHILLY if you want to sit on upper deck to see better city view. It is very windy at night.
Including the ticket, you can take one river cruise and 3 walking tours. However, you still need to buy another one way ticket to come back to where you start Or else you have to find your way back.
The tours are either 10am or 2pm. In the middle of the day, so you have to plan your day accordingly.
Next time, I will try to use their underground (subway). It is very common public transportation there.

I felt the money paid has being worth «every penny». We have seeing most of the important places in central London, the personal are helpful and bus spacious.
They run every 10 – 15 minutes.
The BLUE line has a pre-​recorder (multilingual) guide. It’s a larger trajectory.
The RED line has a live guide in English only, it’s a bit shorter than BLUE line but you can mix them.
I also took the FREE oneway boat from London Eye to the Tower Bridge.
FYI: Traffic in most of the areas is very slow.

We love Big Bus! We travel often and make it a point to take the Big Bus tour in every city they are located. We have taken Big Bus tours in the following cities: Washington DC, New York, Miami, San Fransisco, Chicago, Paris and London.
They offer a great tour! Very informative and the buses are top notch!!! This is the best way to see the city:):)
Highly recommend Big Bus!!! They are the BEST!

I was in Pari and have the opportunity to get in the BIG BUS I love it !! Better that I expected very convenient to get on and get off any time… Highly recommend it !!

Mostly pre-​recorded tours, with the occasional exception of a weary live guide with horrendous biting accent on horribly loud speaker.
Tried on second day to get bus to British Museum. Given wrong bus twice, wasted half the day going round and round before finally hopping off and taking cab.
Night bus option supposed to be free — one way ticket to boat dock.
All in all pass this up and take another option-​they abound.

I’m bummed reading some of these reviews because we had a GREAT experience! Red bus is the way to go for the live commentary tour as opposed to the blue bus tour which is audio. We made the mistake of not hopping on & off enough as we took it to get the lay of the land & see everything quickly. In hindsight we should have got off at Harrod’s just to do a quick look see & we didn’t get off at Notting Hill Gate or Kensington Palace so we wound up having to go back to those. This bus is way better than the overcrowded underground train. & we took the River cruise that comes with your bus ticket & LOVED it!
Hop on & off more, that’s my best advice

As a first-​time visitor to London, I am extremely glad we got the Big Bus Tours package. We ended up getting this for two days early in our trip so we could get a gist of the London streets and then figure out how to get places later on.
It’s a great way to see the city, and the fact that you can hop-​on and hop-​off at the various stops makes it worthwhile. I also enjoyed riding up on the upper deck which is open and great if you’re a photography bug like my pet cockroach is. He really enjoyed snapping off film and other photography terms.

Bought tickets for the bus tour in London and thought it was worth the money and very useful for seeing all the major sites! Hop on and off all throughout London and even includes a free tour on the City Cruise boat which provides different information from what you’d get driving along the busy streets of London. Overall, well worth it to see everything in one day. Very convenient as opposed to just walking around and/​or taking cabs as the sites in London are spread out.

If you’re looking for an easy way to explore London in one day this is it. We got offat only 3 of the stops but it was perfect. The one bus we got on had a real tour guide which was definitely better.
Also make sure you take the free cruise ride — probably the best part of the trip, had a really good tour guide down the Thames river.

Absolute waste of money. Booked this tour to see the London highlights, and potentially get to some of the landmarks on my list a little faster. First of all, the staff standing waiting for the buses are moderately helpful at best, and spend most of their time goofing off with staff of other tours. Second, their app does not show an accurate route. I had intended to get to the Tower of London, leaving the Victoria stop. I figured I’d plug in, listen to some interesting facts, and get there in an hour or so. I wasn’t that concerned about the color of the line I was on (Blue) because based on the app, I’d get there eventually.
NOPE.
I just basically went in one giant circle returning to Marble Arch, and when I got off to take the Red bus, I was told that it would be a 17 minute wait.
NOPE.
After 25 minutes, the Red bus was nowhere to be found (although another blue bus came by), and it was rather chilly.
The live folks might be entertaining, but the recorded version could be shared via an audiotape.
If you’re comfortable with public transportation, stick to the tube.
If you’re not, perhaps go with a different service.

Big Bus was the first thing we did when we arrived in London, to get an overview of a city I hadn’t visited since 1994. One of the lines has an audio-​tour and the other has a live guide (red/​blue but can’t recall which), which is what we opted for. Our knowledgable guide was hilarious and the tour hit all the major London spots with a running commentary that mixed history, current events and comedy and kept everyone interested and laughing.
The double decker is partially enclosed up top but dress warmly if you go in the winter, because it gets cold up there — a space heater would go a long way in keeping everyone more comfortable!
Weather notwithstanding the Big Bus was a great way to see the city in two hours, and while we didn’t do the hop on/​off option the buses are ubiquitous across the city so I can’t imagine the wait time is very long. We arrived at the stop in front of the Ritz Hotel just as one bus was pulling out and ours left about 15 minutes later, despite being off-​season.

My boyfriend and I traveled to London, Paris and Madrid. We took a bus tour such as the hop-​on-​hop-​off at all three cities.
Between all three (Big Bus, Madrid City, L’Open Tours) this one was hands down the best. Here is why:
The staff were all welcoming. This might be an expectation as where I am from, Americans expect and value great customer service. This tour service has just that. Although we had no questions, we sat in the front and witnessed the driver answer numerous questions in a quick and professional manner. But to be honest, the brouchures and map provide you will all the necessary information to have a succesful trip touring. So you probably will not have any questions to begin with, but a lot of people asked questions not relevant to the tour such as: «where can I find an italian restaurant?»
Of our experience with the three different tour services, Big Bus was the most reliable. They arrive to each stop on time, as stated. This is key as they have mastered the perfect gap timing. So it is safe to account for the 30 minute gap or so between each bus. Although, you migh be expecting this out of the tour service: value it with Big Bus— the two other services lacked this factor. What my boyfriend and I recommend is take a full lap, and circle with a pen the destinations you want to actually get off, whenever that time comes, time yourselves (check the clock for when you get off each stop so you don’t miss the bus). (Bring a pen).
You also save a lot of pounds rather than taking the taxi services. That gets expensive, quickly. They have one way streets so even thought your destination is only a few miles away as a map would state, the taxi driver needs to go around because every other road/​street is one way.
The audio/​narrator throughout the tour is just enough to inform you. What I mean by this is if you want to become an expert historian; you won’t. do your own research in advance in that case. This is just enough for you to gain understanding and appreciation for the different sites.

We bought a 48 hour pass for the Big Bus on our train ride from Paris for 40 euros. Seemed quite expensive, but seeing how expensive public transportation in London is, this was worth it for us to get from stop to stop. Sometimes, it took forever for one of the busses to come (one time we waited a good 15+ minutes!), but they provide really good headphones and ponchos. We found the information insightful and our last day, it wasn’t raining, so we could sit out in the open, although it was quite cold!

They are the worst company! The driver who I took a picture of please look at the photos to see was so rude! Any question I asked was followed by a rude answer! YES I’m not from around here! I don’t know what is where in London! That’s why I took the touristy bus!
WTF?

They told my husband when he bought our tickets that they were good for 48 hours but when we boarded the first bus at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, we were told our tickets expired at 7:00 p.m. Saturday. Well, that wasn’t good because we had already booked a trip to Bath, Windsor Castle and Stonehenge for Saturday and wanted to ride the tour bus a little on Sunday. So we could actually only use the tickets for 14 hours. Very deceiving. My husband was furious. They wouldn’t refund his money.
Our first guide was informative and entertaining, but the second one was a crude older man. We had difficulty understanding both of them because of their accents and low voice volume.
Wasn’t a great experience.

Haben die ‘hop on/​hop off tour’ online gebucht und muss sagen: es lohnt sich.
Man spart ein paar Pfund und man sieht echt die ganze Stadt und fährt Orte an die man sich später bei der nächsten Runde genauer angucken kann.
Wir haben die Busse auch zum normalen hin und her fahren genutzt um nicht auch noch ein Tagesticket für die Underground zu lösen.
Die Touren werden auf der grünen, lilanen und gelben Touren vom digitalem Guide in 12 Sprachen begleitet, nur die rote ist mit einem live Guide besetzt.
Die zwischen den Kommentaren eingespielte Musik geht einem sehr schnell auf den Zeiger und nervt dann nach der ersten Runde.
Die Guides sind nett, höfflich und geben echt gute und individuelle Tipps.
Haben für 2 Personen das 48h Ticket gekauft und 64,-£ = 80,-€ bezahlt. Was natürlich nicht ganz günstig ist, aber sich gelohnt hat.

Wenn man London besucht, sollte man auch eine Hop on Hop off Tour mitmachen. Verschiedene Routen werden mit Bussen durchgeführt die Mehrsprachig, mit Kopfhörern, sind. Eine Tour wird nur englischsprachig gefahren. Ein Aus– und Umsteigen ist bei den Tagestickets jederzeit möglich. Ich habe alle Touren an einem Tag mitgemacht, dazu braucht man aber auch einen Tag. Für Familien empfielt es sich eher ein 48 Stunden-​Ticket.
Für das Gesamtangebot finde ich die Preise der Tickets angemessen.