London - bus tours

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

It's been recommended that dh and I take one of the "hop on/hop off" bus tours of London the day we arrive. It looks like there are a couple of companies that provide these. Does anyone have any input, or recommendation, on which one(s) might be better? We'll be staying near the British Museum, so if there is one with a stop near there, that would probably be an ideal place for us to pick it up.

TIA

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

we were going to do the hop on off tours but decided not to cause there Train and bus system was so great and fast that we could do more for less using there transportation. Be sure you buy the weekly pass the first day you get there.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

we were going to do the hop on off tours but decided not to cause there Train and bus system was so great and fast that we could do more for less using there transportation. Be sure you buy the weekly pass the first day you get there.

We get in around 7:00 a.m. our first day and we weren't sure if we were going to try to do anything. Someone suggested the bus tour as a good way to get oriented. We plan to use the trains and bus, as well as walking, but most likely a little later in the week.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

There is a city bus that travels much the same routes as the hop on/hop offs--it goes right near Sloane Gardens, then around Sloane Square, near Harrods, on to Trafalgar Square and Westminster...might be the 25? I can't remember the route number. I'll try to look it up for you later.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

There is a city bus that travels much the same routes as the hop on/hop offs--it goes right near Sloane Gardens, then around Sloane Square, near Harrods, on to Trafalgar Square and Westminster...might be the 25? I can't remember the route number. I'll try to look it up for you later.

But would a city bus driver give you information the way a tour bus driver would? We don't want to take the bus to get from Point A to Point B. We want to take the bus so we get a feel for the city, find out where things are, and maybe figure out where we want to go back and spend more time.

[catwgirl Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close catwgirl]

Although I am sure you will get a feel for using "the Tube" very quickly, those on/off buses are great to see a lot of sites and get acquainted with what is where. I don't think I would try to do it the first day though. I flew from SF to London on a red-eye arriving in the early A.M. I was completely wiped out that first day and certainly jet-lagged. You may want to plan an "easy" first day.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

Although I am sure you will get a feel for using "the Tube" very quickly, those on/off buses are great to see a lot of sites and get acquainted with what is where. I don't think I would try to do it the first day though. I flew from SF to London on a red-eye arriving in the early A.M. I was completely wiped out that first day and certainly jet-lagged. You may want to plan an "easy" first day.

That was going to be the easy first day. I was telling some people this weekend what our arrival time was and that's what they were suggesting. I don't think we'll even be able to check in to the hotel until afternoon. We may just wait and see how much we feel like doing when we get there.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Nooooo. But you don't really need a driver to tell you those things. I mean, they're kind of right there. You can see Trafalgar Square from the bus...you can see Westminster and Big Ben from the bus...you can see the guards with the big fuzzy hats and the people taking pictures of them. The sights in London are like the sights in NYC, a lot of them are quite close together and they're so famous that you probably have a pretty good idea where you want to go.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

Okay, not to be snarky or anything (maybe I'm just in a grouchy mood since it's Monday). All I really want to know is if anyone has had any experience and would care to recommend, any of the hop on/hop off bus tours. I'm not looking for an alternate method of transportation. We may, or may not, decide to do this the first day. We're not going to be in London very long and would like to not completely waste our first day. We'll probably be tired and when someone who had done this gave me the suggestion of doing this the first day, it sounded like a good idea. I can certainly research them myself, and also ask at the place where we're staying. So now, feel free to ignore my question as I know I've been a real *itch.

[catwgirl Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close catwgirl]

Yeah, just a tad snarky.

Now that you explain that you need something to do while waiting to be able to check in to your hotel, I think maybe it does sound like an "easy" thing to do. But sorry, I haven't done it myself, and cannot recommend a company. I imagine they all hit the same sites.

[catwgirl Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close catwgirl]

This company has three different tour routes, one goes to the British museum.

The Original London Sightseeing Tour: Tour Information

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

This company has three different tour routes, one goes to the British museum.

The Original London Sightseeing Tour: Tour Information

Thanks.

Yeah, I know I was snarky. But, I thought I was just asking a simple, specific question.

It looks like there are two main tour companies, the one you posted and the Big Bus. They both do go by the British Museum. Someone suggested checking out the routes and that may be what decides us.

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

We used the Big Red bus. (The Original London one referenced above.) You can even buy the tickets online and get them validated at your first stop. We actually found it a nice way to orient ourselves to London and relax a bit. Not sure where you are staying, but in some cases, you may be able to catch one near where you are. (There is a museum route that makes a bit of a different loop from the others, from what I remember.) Here is my report from London in 2008 which shares our itinerary (and I was traveling with someone who fatigued easily) but it doesn't provide too much info on the HOHO bus itself:

http://www.timeshareforums.com/forum...gs-london.html

I think both HOHO lines have gotten similar reviews, but for some reason there was something I liked better about the Red Bus setup...though I can't recall what it was.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

We used the Big Red bus. (The Original London one referenced above.) You can even buy the tickets online and get them validated at your first stop. We actually found it a nice way to orient ourselves to London and relax a bit. Not sure where you are staying, but in some cases, you may be able to catch one near where you are. (There is a museum route that makes a bit of a different loop from the others, from what I remember.) Here is my report from London in 2008 which shares our itinerary (and I was traveling with someone who fatigued easily) but it doesn't provide too much info on the HOHO bus itself:

http://www.timeshareforums.com/forum...gs-london.html

I think both HOHO lines have gotten similar reviews, but for some reason there was something I liked better about the Red Bus setup...though I can't recall what it was.

I think the Original Bus and the Big Red Bus are different companies. This is the website for the Big Red Bus and it's different from the one Linda posted.

London's Best Open Top Bus Tour

Thanks for your input. I thought I'd remembered that you had taken this when you and Rachel went to London.

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

Looking at the two websites, I'm thinking that it was the Original Tour we used. I remember the Kids' Club and I think those were the colors of the lines.

I imagine you can't go very wrong with either one!