Jumping on a hop-on, hop-off sightseeing bus tour in London is definitely one of the best ways to explore such a big city like London. These sightseeing bus tours are suitable for all the family, and you can just sit back and relax and let it take you to London’s most important landmarks.
One of London´s most important sightseeing bus tour is the one offered by Big Bus Tours. You can hop-on and hop-off any of their three fascinating routes, and with more than 30 stops, you won´t miss any of London´s most important must-sees.
Hop on and hop off all the times you want and wherever you want during the day and see London in one of the most effective ways, on the topless upper deck of a double decker sightseeing bus. But don’t worry if the weather isn’t great as you’ll be able to avoid the cold or rain at the front of the upper deck which is covered, just in case!
Big Bus Hop-on Hop-off Sightseeing Bus Tour in London: Advantages
There are a few reasons why we recommend a Hop-on Hop-off sightseeing bus tour in London:
- Discover all of London´s must sees: The streets, the famous squares, the monuments and the important attractions and the best thing is that you don´t have to worry about looking at a map and getting lost. Just enjoy the ride.
- You can hop on and off as many times as you want during the day on all the different routes, so you will spend less time on public transport during your trip. Let´s be honest, you get to see much more on the top deck of a bus than on the London Underground!
- The ticket includes a River Cruise on the Thames.
- The ticket also includes a free guided walking tour in London (See more details below).
- Enjoy the live commentary or listen to the recorded commentary (multi-lingual if English is not your preferred choice!) and discover all the interesting things you didn´t know about London.
- You also get a free discount book which includes discounts to other attractions and restaurants in London such as the Hard Rock Café.
- They have the largest fleet of open top buses in London, so they run a lot more frequently than other sightseeing tour buses.
- Sightseeing bus tour tickets are valid for 6 months from the date of purchase, so you do not have to redeem them on a particular day. This is great because you can do the tour any day that suits you.
Big Bus London Hop-on Hop-Off Sightseeing Bus Tour Prices
There are 3 different ticket types for the hop-on hop-off sightseeing Bus Tour in London: Classic, Premium and Deluxe.
Each one of these tickets has 3 different prices: Adults, Children (5 – 15) and Family (2 adults + 2 children under 15).
These are the different tickets available and their respective prices:
Classic: 1 Day Ticket
With this ticket you will be able to hop-on and hop-off Big Bus sightseeing bus tour as many times as you like during one day. It also includes a one way Thames River Cruise ticket (London Eye – Tower of London) and the Guided Walking Tour.
Classic Ticket Prices:
Adults: £35
Children (5 – 15): £26
Family ticket (2 adults + 2 Children): £106.60
⇒ Find out more: Big Bus Tours Classic Ticket
Premium: 2 Day Ticket
The Premium ticket is valid for two consecutive days. You can hop on and hop off as many times as you like on any of the big bus routes for two days. This ticket also includes a round trip ticket on a Thames River Cruise and a free Guided Walking Tour, as well as the Night Tour during the summer months.
Premium Ticket Prices:
Adult ticket: £40.40
Child ticket (5 – 15): £31.40
Family ticket (2 adults + 2 Children): £124.60
⇒ Find out more: Big Bus Tours Premium Ticket
Deluxe: 3 Day Ticket
The Deluxe ticket is valid for three consecutive days. You can hop on and hop off as many times as you like on any of the bug bus routes for three days. This ticket also includes a round trip ticket on a Thames River Cruise and the free Guided Walking Tour, as well as the Night Tour during the summer months.
Deluxe Ticket Prices:
Adult ticket: £44.90
Child ticket (5 – 15): £35.90
Family ticket (2 adults + 2 Children): £139.60
⇒ Find out more: Big Bus Tours Deluxe Ticket
Night Tour and Hotel Return Service
During the summer months there is also the possibility of hopping on a sightseeing bus tour to see London at night. This night tour runs until the end of September. This night tour is also included when you buy deluxe (2 day) and premium (3 day) tickets, but you can also buy tickets for the night tour only.
There are three night tours per evening that depart from the London Eye, Victoria Station and Marble Arch. The pick-up times are:
- London Eye (stop 7) at 19:30, 20:00 & 20:30
- Victoria (stop 29) at 19:45, 20:15 & 20:45
- Marble Arch (stop 4) at 20:00, 20:30 & 21:00. From Marble Arch, which is the last stop of the tour, there is a free hotel return service that goes to Paddington, Bayswater, Notting Hill & Kensington at the end of the tour.
Night Tour only Prices:
Adult ticket: £24.90
Child ticket (5 – 15): £15.00
Family ticket (2 adults + 2 Children): £64.80
Combined tickets: Big Bus Sightseeing Tour + Attraction
There is also the possibility of buying combined tickets for Big Bus HO-HO sightseeing bus tour in London with tickets to one of London’s Top Attractions, resulting in great savings.
Once you have bought tickets, the driver or a member of staff from Big Bus Tours (at any Big Bus Tours stop) will exchange your tickets, giving you the tickets for the sightseeing bus tour as well as the tickets to your chosen attraction.
Combo tickets:
> Big Bus Tours + London Eye
> Big Bus Tour + Madame Tussauds
> Big Bus Tour + Tower of London
> Big Bus Tour + St Paul’s Cathedral
Big Bus Tour + London Eye
This ticket includes a 1 day ticket for the hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus tour (classic ticket) and entry to the London Eye. This ticket also includes a free river cruise and a free guided walking tour. Online tickets can be redeemed at any Big Bus Stop. You will need to use your tickets for the sightseeing bus tour and the river cruise that same day, and you will have 90 days to use your London Eye tickets.
You can buy normal entry tickets to the London Eye or fast track tickets. With fast track tickets you won’t have to queue at all.
Prices with Normal London Eye entry:
Adult ticket: £64.80
Child ticket: £47.90
Family ticket (2 adults + 2 children): £227.30
⇒ Find out more: Big Bus Tour + London Eye Tickets
Prices with Fast Track London Eye entry:
Adult ticket: £67.80
Child ticket: £58.80
Family ticket (2 adults + 2 children): £189.00
⇒ Find out more: Big Bus Tour + London Eye Fast-Track Tickets
Big Bus Tour + Madame Tussauds
This ticket includes a 1 day ticket for the hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus tour (classic ticket) and entry to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. This ticket also includes a free river cruise and a free guided walking tour.
You can redeem your tickets at any Big Bus Stop. Online tickets can be redeemed at any Big Bus Stop. You will need to use your tickets for the sightseeing bus tour and the river cruise that same day, and you will have 90 days to use your Madame Tussauds tickets.
Prices for 1 day bus tour + Madame Tussauds
Adult ticket: £65.80
Child ticket: £52.80
Family ticket: £211.40
⇒ Find out more: Big Bus Tour + Madame Tussauds Tickets
Big Bus Tour + Tower of London
You can choose a 1, 2 or 3 day ticket for the hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus tour (classic, premium or deluxe ticket) and entry to the Tower of London. These tickets also includes a free river cruise and a free guided walking tour.
You can redeem your tickets at any Big Bus Stop. Online tickets can be redeemed at any Big Bus Stop. You will need to use your tickets for the sightseeing bus tour and the river cruise that same day, and you will have 3 days to use your Tower of London tickets.
Prices for 1 day bus tour (Classic ticket) + Tower of London
Adult ticket: £61.80
Child ticket (5 – 15): £38.90
⇒ Find out more: Big Bus Tour Classic + Tower of London
Prices for 2 day bus tour (Premium ticket) + Tower of London
Adult ticket: £67.80
Child ticket (5 – 15): £43.90
⇒ Find out more: Big Bus Tour Premium + Tower of London
Prices for 3 day bus tour (Deluxe ticket) + Tower of London
Adult ticket: £71.80
Child ticket (5 – 15): £48.90
⇒ Find out more: Big Bus Tour Deluxe + Tower of London
Big Bus Tour + St. Paul’s Cathedral
You can choose a 1, 2 or 3 day ticket for the hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus tour (classic, premium or deluxe ticket) and entry to St Paul’s Cathedral. These tickets also includes a free river cruise and a free guided walking tour.
Online tickets can be redeemed at any Big Bus Stop. You will need to use your tickets for the sightseeing bus tour and the river cruise that same day, and you will have 90 days to use your St Paul’s Cathedral tickets.
Prices for 1 day bus tour (Classic ticket) + St Paul’s Cathedral
Adult ticket: £61.80
Child ticket (5 – 15): £38.90
⇒ Find out more: Big Bus Tour Classic + St Paul’s Cathedral
Prices for 2 day bus tour (Premium ticket) + St Paul’s Cathedral
Adult ticket: £67.80
Child ticket (5 – 15): £43.90
⇒ Find out more: Big Bus Tour Premium + St Paul’s Cathedral
Prices for 3 day bus tour (Deluxe ticket) + St Paul’s Cathedral
Adult ticket: £71.80
Child ticket (5 – 15): £48.90
⇒ Find out more: Big Bus Tour Deluxe + St Paul’s Cathedral
Routes and Timetable for London’s Hop-On Hop-Off Sightseeing Bus Tour
There are 4 different routes which will take you to see London’s top landmarks. You can hop-on and hop-off of any of the routes as many times as you like, and change routes whenever you want. This just makes sightseeing in London very easy, and it saves you having to use public transport in London to get from one place to another.
It’s also good to know that you can start your journey on the sightseeing bus tour at any bus stop, on any route, so you can start your journey at the bus stop that suits you best.
⇒ Here you will find a map with the routes and timetables: London Sightseeing Bus Tour Map.
1. Classic Red Tour
The first bus of this route departs at 8.10 am from the stop located just in front of Green Park underground station, on Piccadilly Street and there are buses approximately every 5 minutes. This route is the Classic Tour, a route that passes through 15 of the most important tourist places in London, including Westminster Abbey, London Eye, Big Ben, Covent Garden, the Tower of London and St. Paul’s Cathedral among others. The red route has a live commentary in English, and there are also recorded commentaries in several languages.
The red route takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes, and has several stops in common with the blue route: stops from 2 to 5, from 7 to 11 and stop 15. It also coincides with the green route at stop 9.
2. Big Blue Tour
The first bus of the blue route departs at 8.36 am from stop number 2, which is located at Hyde Park Corner, and there are buses approximately every 5 or 10 minutes. The nearest underground stop is Green Park. The blue route is a slightly longer route, and coincides in almost all the stops with the red route, but also goes round Hyde Park, passing through the South Kensington area, where the natural history museum, the science museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum are located. It also goes past Harrods and towards Regent’s Park stopping at Baker Street, where the Sherlock Holmes museum and Madame Tussauds wax museum are located. The blue route has recorded commentaries.
The blue route takes almost 3 hours and coincides with the red route at stops 2 to 5, from 7 to 11 and stop 15. It also connects with the green route at stop 9 .
3. Green Link
The green link is very short and connects the famous Trafalgar Square with King’s Cross and St Pancras underground and train stations, going past the British museum. If you are going to spend a day in London and arrive at the King’s Cross – St Pancras station, we recommend that you use the tourist bus, since you can start the route here, change at Trafalgar Square to another route and see London easily before returning to King’s Cross with the green link again if you need to.
The first bus on the green route leaves from Covent Garden at 8.20 am, where it also links to the blue and red routes.
4. Night tour: Hotel Return Service
The purple route is the hotel return service. It covers the areas from Marble Arch to Gloucester Road, so it’s ideal if your hotel is anywhere in between – such as Paddington, Bayswater, Notting Hill or Kensington. It runs up to 2 hours later than the other routes mentioned above.
Bus stops and timetables
Here you can find a list of the bus stops from the RED and BLUE routes, and the time of departure of the first bus at each one of them. After that, buses run every 5 – 10 minutes. Guide: Red Route (RR), Blue Route (BR) and Green Link (GL).
⇒ See Sightseeing Bus Tour Route Map Here
1. GREEN PARK (RR) – Green Park Underground Station, next to the Ritz Hotel
2. HYDE PARK CORNER (RR, BR) – Opposite Hard Rock Cafe
3. QUEEN MOTHER GATES (RR, BR) – Opposite Hilton Hotel
4. MARBLE ARCH (RR, BR) – Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park
5. MAYFAIR (RR, BR) – Park Lane Big Bus Stop
6. ROYAL MEWS (RR) – 31 Buckingham Palace Road Bus Stop
7. LONDON EYE (RR, BR) – Westminster Bridge Road Bus Stop
8. WATERLOO (RR, BR) – York Road Bus Stop
9. COVENT GARDEN (RR, BR, RV) – Big Bus Stop at No.1 Aldwych
10. ST PAUL´S CATHEDRAL (RR, BR) – 26 Ludgate Hill Bus Stop
11. TOWER OF LONDON (RR, BR) – 362 Tower Hill Bus Stop
12. YORK ROAD (RR)– Westminster Bridge Road Bus Stop
14. WHITEHALL (RR) – Big Bus Stop opposite Horse Guards
15. TRAFALGAR SQUARE (RR, BR) – Pall Mall East Bus Stop Z
16. BAKER STREET (RR) – Big Bus Stop at 9 Marylebone Road
17. OXFORD STREET (BR) – Bus Stop RF on Regent Street
18. REGENT STREET (BR)– Bus Stop V on Regent Street
19. PICCADILLY CIRCUS (BR)– Bus Stop G on Regent Street
20. HAYMARKET (BR)– Big Bus Stop at No.11 Haymarket **The blue route after stopping at stop number 20 stops at stop 15 at Trafalgar Square, where it coincides with the red route**
21. CRAIG´S COURT (BR) – Bus Stop at Craig’s Court and Whitehall Corner
22. WHITEHALL (BR) – Bus Stop at No.61 Whitehall **The blue route after stopping at stop number 22 stops at stops number 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 coinciding with the red route**
23. WESTMINSTER PIER (BR) – Bus Stop at No.30-35 Victoria Embankment
24. LAMBETH PLACE (BR) – Lambeth Palace Road Bus Stop
25. COLLEGE GREEN (BR) – Abingdon Street Bus Stop
26. TOTHILL STREET (BR) – Bus Stop at No. 43-45 Tothill Street
27. BUCKINGHAM PALACE (BR) – Bus Stop at No.1 Buckingham Gate
28. RUBEN´S HOTEL (BR) – Bus Stop at No. 39 Buckingham Palace Road
29. VICTORIA (BR) – Bus Stop opposite The Bag of Nails Pub
30. VICTORIA STATION (BR) – Bus Stop at No. 111 Buckingham Palace Road **The blue route after stopping at stop number 30 stops at stops number 3, 4 and 5 coinciding with the red route **
31. GREEN PARK (BR) – Green Park Underground Station Bus Stop **The blue route after stopping at stop number 31 stops at stop number 2 coinciding with the red route**
32. HYDE PARK CORNER (BR) – Bus Stop at No. 1 Knightsbridge
33. HARRODS (BR) – Bus Stop at Harrods, No. 87-135 Brompton Road
34. SOUTH KENSIGNTON MUSEUMS (BR) – Bus Stop at No. 6 Thurloe Place
35. GLOUCESTER ROAD (BR) – Bus Stop at No. 128 Gloucester Road
36. KENSINGTON PALACE (BR) – Bus Stop at No. 5 Kensington High Street
37. NOTTING HILL GATE (BR) – Bus Stop at No. 14 Notting Hill Gate
38. KENSINGTON GARDENS (BR) – Bus Stop at No. 150 Bayswater Road
39. THISTLE HOTEL (BR) – Bus Stop at No. 104 Bayswater Road
40. BAYSWATER (BR) – Bayswater Road Bus Stop
41. PADDINGTON STATION (BR) – Bus Stop at No. 25 London St
42. WOBURN (GL) – Bus Stop opposite Royal National Hotel
43. EUSTON STATION (GL) – Bus Stop L, Upper Woburn Place
44. KING´S CROSS STATION (GL) – Pancras Way Bus Stop
45. ST. PANCRAS STATION (GL) – Midland Road Bus Stop
46. EUSTON ROAD (GL) – Bus Stop M, Upper Woburn Place
47. WOBURN (SOUTHBOUND) (GL) – Bus Stop J, in front of Russel Court
48. BRITISH MUSEUM (SOUTHBOUND) (GL) – Bus Stop X, Southampton Row
49. DUNCANNON STREET (GL) – Bus Stop G, Duncannon Street.
FREE River Cruise when you buy Hop-On, Hop-Off Sightseeing Bus Tour tickets
A Thames River Cruise is honestly one of the best things you can do when visiting London, this is something that I always recommend friends and family do when they come to visit us. If it’s your first time in London I can guarantee that a cruise on the Thames will leave you speechless, as you can see many famous landmarks from the river. And the best thing is: You get a free river cruise with the London hop-on, hop-off sightseeing bus tour tickets. Boom!
The river cruise included is a one way ticket if you’re buying a one day sightseeing bus tour ticket, or a return ticket if you’re buying a 2 or 3 day bus tour ticket. The cruise runs from Westminster Pier to Tower of London. If you have a one day bus tour ticket you need to do the river cruise on that same day, but don’t worry as there is plenty of time do both, you would even have time to go on the London Eye on the same day.
Free Guided Walking Tour
You will also be able to make the most of your sightseeing bus tour tickets by joining the free walking tour that’s included in your ticket. The tour starts at the Big Bus Tours Bus Stop in Trafalgar Square at 10.20 am, and you will be able to enjoy the Changing of the Guard at 11.00 am at Buckingham Palace and learn all about St James’ Palace.