London Hop-on Hop-off
Bus Tours
- Review 2023

3. Short Description and Review Conclusion:

Directly to:
Big Bus Tours    
Tootbus    
City Sightseeing    
Golden Tours    

The hop-on hop-off routes offered by Big Bus Tours cover major areas of London's city center and will take you to the most popular sights. Besides the 2 sightseeing routes, Big Bus Tours offers a shuttle route to important transport hubs. The red line is the main route in the center and in addition to the commentary from the multilingual audio guide, you will also receive live information from an English speaking tour guide on some of the trips (seasonal). The comments in different languages about the various sights are available on all trips via the audio guide by using the free headphones.
For the hop-on hop-off bus rides, you can buy a Classic, Premium and Deluxe Ticket from Big Bus Tours. Each of these tickets is described with either 1, 2 or 3 days validity on the provider website. However, these tickets are not only valid for a calendar day, but for 24 hours. All these 3 ticket types include a Thames River Cruise* as well as a guided walking tour through the center of London. From the Premium Ticket, which is valid for 48 hours after activation, a night tour by bus is included. With the Deluxe Ticket, you can use additionally the hop-on hop-off bus for 72 hours. If you also plan to visit some attractions such as Tower of London and St Paul's Cathedral, then the London Explorer Pass could be an interesting option for you. With this sightseeing pass, you may use the Big Bus Hop-On Hop-off service for one calendar day and get free entrance to a defined number of attractions.
If you order the tickets directly on the provider website, you will receive a discount of up to 20%. The tickets must be ordered for a predefined date, but the date can be amended up to 72 hours before. The activation of the ticket can be done at the bus stops or directly in the bus. If you have a mobile ticket on your smartphone, you will receive a paper ticket when you activate it. Afterwards, you must continue to use this paper ticket for the rest of your bus journey.

Price Tip ! Big Bus Tours is a large international provider for city bus tours. These experiences are reflected in the solid hop-on hop-off offer for London. The Classic, Premium and Deluxe ticket have a validity of 24, 48 or 72 hours and each type includes a guided city walk and a Thames river cruise.

Order online straight at the provider and save up to 20% per ticket compared to on-site purchase:   Big Bus Tours*
Now online additional -10% with promotional code CW10LONDON. Simply click on the link above and enter code at the basket.

The provider Tootbus was formerly known as The Original Tour. The new brand Tootbus has currently 2 sightseeing route through the center of London. On the yellow hop-on hop-off route, the buses even start the last round trip at 18:00 o'clock on weekends. As with the other operators, you get some recorded commentaries about the attractions via an audio guide during the bus ride. The headphones for the audio guide are free, and you can get them directly from the bus driver. Unfortunately, the audio guide is only available in English and French. However, Tootbus also offers an audio channel for children in these two languages.
The London Discovery Ticket* is the cheapest option and includes the hop-on hop-off bus only for 24 hours. In combination with the long operating times on weekends, this ticket offers a very attractive price-performance ratio. For a few extra euros, you can get the Must See London Ticket* for 24h or 48h. This ticket includes a free boat cruise on the Thames which gives you the opportunity to admire the London skyline.
You can easily book the tickets online directly at the provider. When you place the order for the tickets, you need to specify a date for your ride. But you can change this date within 12 months or cancel the ticket free of charge.

Solid Offer ! Tootbus offers both a simple low-cost Discovery Ticket and some Must See London packages with a free Thames river cruise. The audio channel for children is especially for families a major advantage over the competitors. Unfortunately, the audio guide is only available in English and French.

Provider website for direct online orders at following link:    Tootbus*

The international provider City Sightseeing operates one hop-on hop-off bus route in London. The red marked route has about 20 stops. The travel time for a complete round with the bus is about 2.5 hours. In addition to many stops at some famous attractions, you may also get off at Marble Arch. The Oxford Street, which is a famous shopping street, starts there. Another recommended stop is Potters Fields Park from where you can enjoy a gorgeous view of the Tower Bridge. On the bus, you will get some comments about the tour via audio guide. You can choose from 11 different languages.
The ticket offer includes different types. The Iconic and the Essential tickets are certainly the first choice for most of the customers. The Iconic ticket is the simplest and cheapest option. It allows you to use the hop-on hop-off bus route of City Sightseeing for 24 hours. With the Essential ticket you have the choice between a 24h and 48h validity and additionally you will get a free boat trip on the Thames River. Both ticket types include a free smartphone app for self-guided walks in London. Here you will find an overview of all ticket offers*.
When you place your online order at City Sightseeing, you do not have to specify a date of use. You can use the tickets on any day within the next 12 months. If you change your mind, you have the option to cancel free of charge within 3 months of placing the order.

The ticket purchase at City Sightseeing London offers you a great flexibility before and after your order. When selecting your ticket, you can choose whether you only want to use a hop-on hop-off bus or furthermore include a boat ride on the Thames River. You can start the trip within 12 months and have the option to cancel for free up to 3 months after your purchase. Unfortunately, the buses are only running on one route. Nevertheless, you will still be able to reach most important sights. A special plus is the included app for some self-guided walks in London.

The tickets and further information are available online directly from the provider at the following link:   City Sightseeing London*

With Golden Tours you can explore London, like with the other providers, with the help of two sightseeing routes. Additionally, you have the opportunity to use a shuttle route. The blue route will take you to the attractions in the city center and will be accompanied by English live comments from a guide on some departures. But you also have the possibility to listen to the information about the attractions via a multilingual audio guide and there are 11 languages to choose from. The audio guide headphones are available free of charge on the bus.
One advantage of Golden Tours is the wide range of different ticket variations. In addition to the usual 24h, 48h and 72h tickets, you will find a 1-day and a 90-minute ticket in the program. With the 90-minute ticket* you get a simple city tour with live English commentary. If you want to have a free Thames boat ride, then you need to buy at least a 24h ticket. The 24h, 48h and 72h tickets include a Thames boat ride. If you plan to visit also some attractions in addition to the hop-on hop-off bus tour, then the London Pass might be an interesting sightseeing package for you. With the London Pass you will get a 1-day bus tour and free entrance to around 80 attractions in London.
For all the Golden Tours tickets mentioned so far, it is necessary to specify the date of the bus tour when you make an order online. If you do not like that and prefer to stay flexible, there is also an open-dated ticket available for the 24h type. In this case you have to pay a small surcharge but then you can use the ticket on any day within 3 months from the date of purchase. Unfortunately, there is no cancellation option for all Golden Tour hop-on hop-off tickets.

If you are only interested in a city tour, then the 90-minute ticket from Golden Tours is a cheap option without a hop-on hop-off possibility. With the other tickets you may hop-on and hop-off, as often as you want, within a certain timeframe. With the 24h, 48h and 72h ticket you will receive a free Thames boat ride. Regrettably, with almost all tickets you have to specify the travel date during the online order and a free cancellation is not possible. With that, your tour planning possibilities will be slightly limited.

All various hop-on hop-off tickets may be bought online directly from the provider at the following link:   Golden Tours*