Would not recommend. We came in October and sat for endless amounts of time at each stop—often just so the bus driver could just chat with the people selling tickets. The narration is also very basic and cheesy/cartoonish.
We had an amazing bus journey around London and enjoyed the on bus guide by headphones
Great day! Quite long so leave yourself lots if time. The Tower of London was the best tour. Had to wait about 30 minutes for boat ride; told they were running late as it was a beautiful day and they were super busy
Very good price and easy to book Start to finish was brilliant started our tour at the Aldwych Theatre stop Greeted by Wallid D who was very helpful gave us good information on where and what to do for the river cruise and Harrods ,which we did over 2days Bus tour 1st day at 3pm Boarded the next day to do river cruise at 11am What great value for money our ticket ended at 3pm the next day Will definitely recommend and will also do it again when I next visit London Well done 👍
Got onto the Big Bus tour bus yesterday and the driver asked for the ticket which I clearly showed,went upstairs and sat about 2 seats from the front with my son. About 20 minutes through the journey I checked for my ticket after the driver announced that we were meant to switch to another bus and the ticket was nowhere to be found. It was definitely stolen. That's how my £78 trip came to a random end as the driver said I'd need the physical ticket to get onto the switch-over city bus. Still don't understand why we had to switch buses 15 minutes after getting on...Lol There's probably a syndicate to steal these tickets as they can be re-used or resold as they have no unique identifier. I'm sure if CCTV on that bus was to be checked, management would make a shocking discovery.
When you pay a premium fee you expect that the buses will arrive as outlined and the audio equipment will work . In both instances it was a big fail with 1. The buses being too full to take passengers on many stops so we walked most of the way around the circuit and 2. Over 50% of the seats on the bus the audio equipment didn’t work . This is a classic case of putting profit over people and that had a big impact on the bottom line over time . A great city, magnificent sites but the bus trip didn’t meet our expectations !
Very bad experience. We have been waiting more than 40 minutes for the bus and the driver was very rude and unpolite with us.
Genuinely worst experience ever, if I could give it 0 stars I would. The bus is extremely hot, you don’t have a guide just a pair of cheap earphones that explain absolutely nothing. Way too expensive for what it is I’d literally rather throw the money in the river. do not go on this tour you will regret spending your money.
Big Bus always gives a traveler a consistently good overview of whichever city you are in, and the London tour is great. We learned many interesting facts and got a nice overview of the city. The Tower of London was the highlight of the day. Booking tickets through Big Bus made it easy for us. The Thames cruise was having difficulty that day due to repairs, but we were told they would honor the cruise ticket (as long as it had not been scanned) on any other day that week. We took the cruise 2 days later and it too was a delight.
Kevin who did the Royal Walk Tour made the walk really fun. We learned a lot. Keep it up Big Bus Tour! Kudos!
Enjoyed both tours with Kevin.
Kevin with the trifecta on the Royal Walk tour! We did Jack the Ripper and Harry Potter tours with him. Excellent!
Great Jack the Ripper tour , so excited , Thx to guide Kevin
Kevin was super! Two tours with him on a day.
Totally disorganized and screaming rude employees.Found the bus luckily,was given the wrong bus stop number by company..Showed driver my printed info and he told me somebody during the day will give me what I need..We got off at Tower of London stop and went to the Tower. Waited in line only to find out our printed ticket was no good! The Big Bus didn’t give me our entrance tickets! Needless to say after purchasing tickets once again from the Tower of London we gained entry. We went back to our bus stop and tried to talk to the bus driver showing the bus driver our confirmation when interrupted by a loud obnoxious rude attendant telling me to show my bus ticket.I showed my confirmation and he said that’s for Tower of London. Get your bus ticket now hurry up. In turn I told him he was very rude and who did he think he was yelling at me in the most intimidating way.I hope that I receive a refund for the abuse and misconduct and misinformation I received that day. Stay away from this company .A response from Trip Advisor and a refund is what is needed. on the way back on bus the attendant gave me my tickets for the Tower of London after the day was done, I told him I should have received them in the am.Nit when the day was done!
Most drivers nice, commentary was terrible, service overall was terrible, shop around for better alternatives as they are not providing a decent service and are charging a fortune.
I had lost my tickets and was feeling quite stressed, but Wassim was incredibly helpful! He quickly issued new tickets for us and even took the time to advise us on the next sightseeing journey. His kindness and professionalism really made our day. Thank you, Wassim, for turning a tricky situation into a smooth experience!
The signs at the stops don’t tell which route, blue, red etc. The best stop was at the Tower Bridge where Fuad sorted everything out including the best information about a local WC.
Ema from the harry potter walking tour asked if there were Americans in the tour, and then pointed out to the group that the first movie title was changed due to Americans not being able to understand the title. This is not only untrue upon researching the reason for the change, but clearly inappropriate. The actual bus tour was insightful, otherwise it would be no stars.
We did not even get to go! Totally ruined our one day in London! *DO NOT PURCHASE THIS COMBO* I spent over an hour at the gate of the Tower of London trying to use my tickets that I purchased and was refused entry. I called the company and they said this package is no longer available and that they have told trip advisor to stop selling it. So we did not get into the Tower of London, we did not get on the hop on hop off bus tour and we didn’t get the river cruise but Tip Advisor absolutely took the money for all three tickets that cost us almost $300 I contacted customer service and still couldn’t get them to help me all they would do is put a REQUEST in for a refund. I am completely disappointed in Trip Advisor, we use to use them for so many of our tours and tickets when traveling but we will never use them again if they do not make this right!
SO much history! And our guide made it really special. I loved seeing the Crown Jewels but I thought there would be more. I was disappointed with the Golden bus tour. We had to wait a long time for a bus while other companies had 2-3 buses come while we waited. River cruise was a nice add on.
Yesterday waited 45 minutes for a bus, today are still waiting after an hour and no bus. Poor employee at stop 15 has done his best to help but the company won’t help him. Absolutely pathetic
Horrible. They kicked us off a full bus and made us get on another bus. That bus was full so lost our upper seats. No where to sit, had to stand. Then they didn’t go to half the stops on their map. Everyone was totally confused. Do not pick this bus for good service.
Before you embark on a guided tour think about who is with you. Although my granddaughter was the one who asked to go I don’t think she imagined there would be so much talk about torture. I get you need to say beheaded or tortured but perhaps not so much graphic detail. We did all love the historic buildings and seeing the Crown Jewels. Very interesting hearing about the wild animals who lived here and how they became first animals in London Zoo
This trip was a nightmare. We were on the bus for three hours trying to get to our Tower of London tour. On the same road for an hour and did not make our tour! No mention of earphones so we had no idea what was going on. No information by driver on anything. Wasted day in London!! Three travelers not happy!!
Had to get our tickets from a random shop-front, which made us unsure if we were getting the real thing at the real price. But luckily we did find the bus after that false start. Riding the bus around the loop a couple of times on day one gave us a good framework for understanding the touristy part of town. But the highlight was the walking tour on day two. Big Steve was our guide, and added all kinds of interesting background info. After we split off from the group for a while to get lunch, he still managed to locate us again later in the day without slowing down the group. Amazing!
Pathetic commitment to safety If anyone is standing the driver doesn’t ask anyone to sit, rather they play a short safety announcement over and over and over and over, which only those wearing headphones can hear (which isn't the people standing FFS!!!) Yet the driver will let more people on the bus knowing that they can’t sit down. Result - don’t expect a recorded commentary if it’s full.
London is very clean and very busy. Try not to take a taxi. Very expensive. The hop on and off bus is the best way to see things. You can get a feel for what and where you want to visit more. Sad to say that the personal live tour guides have been discontinued by the company “Top View” they were the last and will now go to recorded tours. Very disappointed! Their guides were full of knowledge and personal experience of things to see and do. Now that’s gone! Bring back the live people for tours!
This was a terrible experience from late buses to operators who said they sent messages (but never did). We spent almost $500 on this package and barely benefited from it. I suppose in hindsight I should’ve considered traffic but it was ridiculous. We waited 35 minutes for one bus that took over an hour to get across town. We barely made our London Tower trip and given that this takes 2 hours we had no time for the river cruise. The operator(s) said we couldn’t reschedule even though everything that happened up until that point was out of our control. For this cost we used the bus three times and did the London Tower. I could’ve done all of this on my own for half the price. Bottom line: getting the bus tickets are enough. Don’t book anything extra.
Big Steve is the best tour guide ever! We did the walking tour for changing of the guard. He showed us all kinds of hidden gems throughout London, we feel he went above and beyond. If you could ever request him, definitely do, he got us to see the changing of the guard close up.
The tour itself was fine, although our bus was a little worn down. The first seat we chose had the volume stuck very high for the audio but we moved to another seat and it was fine. But beware of the 2-day pass. Despite having an app, they give you a paper ticket for the 2nd day and if you lose it, they won’t let you on the bus even though you can prove what you bought and when you bought it within the app. They’ll happily sell you another pass at the door, though 😏
It was amazing. I left my bag on the bus and Wajih was an absolute gem helping me locate it and all over great. The walking tour with ‘sexy’ Nick was filled with humour and history and overall too good.
Julia was an excellent tour guide. Seek her out, if you can. Incredibly informed and a true expert on every aspect of the tour.
I am rating this 5/5 for the walking tour of London City of Past and Present with Julia. She was wonderful! It makes a huge difference having a real person commentate.
Walking tour guide Julia was amazing. Had a tour with her from St. Paul’s cathedral to Tower of London. She was knowledgeable, engaging, charming and made the tour the best experience of the tours we took. The prerecorded parts of the Big Bus tour was not as personal nor engaging as having a tour guide like Julia to bring to life the experience of London.
What a waste of £41 went round in circles No live commentary. Pre recorded rubbish pointing out a few random facts Got to river cruise 3pm it was too late last cruise had left Spent more time changing buses Many too packed with mo seats Don't waste your money
The best part of our tour was the walking tour with Julia.. Julia was very informative, knowledgeable and and friendly.. We encourage anyone taking Big Bus tours to definitely get off the bus and take the walking tour, maybe you'll get lucky and get Julia.
Was unable to go-was ill -company would not reimburse me. I have fibromyalgia. chronic pain, chronic fatigue and am a senior citizen -I don’t understand why I could not be reimbursed.
The river cruise was fantastic. Lovely staff and a live commentary which was amusing and informative. The bus tour I would only give 1 🌟. The automated commentary is awful!! Due to the nature of London being busy, you can get diverted, as we did, meaning there is no recorded commentary available for the diverted route. This meant we had long periods sitting in traffic, where we didn't know where we were and had to listen to a music sound track over and over again until you are able to rejoin the original route. I have done these tours before with a live guide and they were fantastic and fun. This was definitely not worth the money!
The first time doing one of these tours and couldn't recommend it enough. I took my 2 children (6 & 11) and they had a great time. the information on board via the headphones was very informative and was ideal for all audiences. we had no problem getting a seat and the fact we coudl spend the whole day hopping on and off really made it for us. best day out in London we have had for ages
It was great! Interesting history with a lot o lf details We had an amazing Guide little Phil who made our experience extra fun with a lot of knowledge of the British history
We really enjoy this experience! Emma, the BigBusTours Guide, made the difference always with her very British sense of humor!
Extremely disappointing! Arrived during the Extinction Rebellion with many routes closed. No notice from Viator about the interruption of services. Had to walk considerable distance to get to a bus. Staff was not helpful in anyway and appeared to be a real effort to answer any questions and certainly did not share the interruption of services prior to validating the tickets. Only able to ride the bus one day of a two day pass.
This git it's absolutely amazing. I enjoyed so much the tour with him speaking about London and greeting the new passengers in different languages asking them where they are coming from. Absolutely well deserved 5 stars. Thank you so much Louis, love from Italy :)
Was the best day I had in my time in London. I had Julia on my bus and it was really funny and I got so much information about everything. Would recommend it to everyone!
We purchased our tickets as an add-on with the London Eye & River Cruise tickets. We caught the Red bus at London Bridge and spent around an hour and half having a fab & funny tour with Ross & Prince our driver. Lots of facts, very accommodating and we all loved it. We jumped off at St James Park to pick up the blue line which took around 40 mins to arrive. There was no guide on this, no information and a very moody driver. We jumped off when we saw Harrods and had a nice afternoon in Knightsbridge. After that, we waited for the blue bus again for around 45 minutes, then gave up and got the tube home. The red line was brilliant - the blue line was a waste of time. Massive thanks to Ross & Prince for making the red journey so much fun.
We purchased tickets online. It was easy and convenient. When we arrived we showed our phone image to the employee at the bus stop. He scanned it and printed a receipt and a another piece of paper that looked like a receipt that said two adults. They never told us if we lost the paper we couldn’t get back on or ride the free ferry. Somewhere the ticket was lost. Maybe when I pulled something out of my purse. So we went and showed an employee our phone code again that showed we purchased the tickets online that day. He said it didn’t matter. If we lost our ticket there was nothing they could do about it. WHAT?! Every time we got off of the bus a message reminded us not to forget our headphones but never said be sure to keep up with the piece of paper or you’re out of luck! The best the guy could tell us was just hope each bus driver let us on. But we were out of luck for the ferry. I feel sorry for people who maybe have purchased three day passes and misplace their ticket. I would think an online ticket would suffice. Nope. Very disappointed!!!
Emma was amazing - we really enjoyed her stories. 5 stars out of 5 because of her! She was so funny and really cared about us!
Our guide Rob was AMAZING!!! He was funny, informative and made the trip relaxing and a lot of fun!!! His sense of humour was great!! Involved us all in the trip !!! Well done Rob
We always enjoy HOHO. Fantastic overview of the city and Rob the commentator was fun and informative.
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