LONDON SIGHTSEEING
BY BUS TOUR
Best Ways to See London from a Double-Decker
London is a sprawling, fascinating city with history and surprises on
every corner. The question is how to take it all in so you know what
you really want to explore. The answer, get on a bus. The London Subway
Tube will get you from place to place faster, but if you want to actually
see London, the top of a double-decker, through one of the big glass
windows affords a view of the street life. The cheapest way by far to
get around London is the standard transport bus pass. For about 4 pounds
for all day you can ride about anywhere. The tickets can be bought on
any city bus or from automated ticket machines at Victoria, Waterloo
or other main stops.
If
you actually want to be clued in on what is passing by on the street,
take a London Bus Tour where
a guide
will thrill, entertain and inform
you of the history, quirks and color of the city sights. There are two
main London Sightseeing Bus Tour companies – The "Original" London
Bus Tour and The Big Bus Company. The
Original Tour has been around for about 60 years and has the traditional
red London double deck busses, but wasn’t
called “the original” until The Big Bus Company came along
about 18 years ago and started doing it a little better. Then the
other guys started doing what Big Bus was doing and put "original" in
their name, so the battle of the busses rages on the streets of London.
The
Big Bus is distinguished by its maroon and gold color scheme, the Original
Bus by red and white..
On
a guided bus tour the ticket you purchase lasts for 24 hours with hop-on
hop-off privileges, so if you get to a sight you want to explore,
get off, check out the Tower of London or Harrods for shopping or whatever
interests you, then get back on and continue to explore. You may find
it most useful to start by making a full route ride to decided what you
really want to see and go back to specific destinations later. Though
you might find a tube or regular bus pass useful rather than take the
tour route again.
Compare the
On-Off Bus Tours
What’s
the difference between the London sightseeing bus tours? They both
have live guide commentary in English (on at least one route)
and recorded in other languages. The guides are entertaining and
each has a bit of their own style. They both pretty much travel the
same routes and stop in the same places. They
both
include
a Thames
River
Cruise boat trip with the ticket (see Thames
Cruises to Greenwich). They both also sell
tickets to London attractions. The “Original” Tour is
the bigger, older brother, but the Big Bus Company has won more awards
for the “best sightseeing tour”. The Big Bus Company
also has broken its routes into sections, the Red, Blue and Green
tour routes,
so the turn around times are shorter, with buses running about every
20 minutes. They compete with each other, so pretty much if one offers
something so does the other.
The
Original Bus Tours is now matching the Big Bus walking tours. With
the “Original” you
just rode the bus. They now have three possible walking tours to
go with the bus ride. The Big Bus Company first included walking tours
in the price of the ticket. Take
the “Royal
London Walking Tour” in
the morning to get the colorful story on London’s royal history
and the best views of the famed Changing of the Guard. While mobs
of tourists crowd outside Buckingham Palace waiting almost an hour
for something
to happen, your experienced walking guide is taking you from the
first moment of the appearance of the colors at St. James Palace
following
the pageantry though all its intricate steps to Buckingham, close
enough to tickle the tuba player, alone worth the price of a bus
ticket. Later
take the London Pub Crawl haunted
London “Ghosts
by Gaslight” walking tour. Get spooked and get in a little
elbow bending with a pint or two at the same time.
At
the Big Bus Company Information Office at 48 Buckingham Palace
Road a block from Victoria Station you can purchase discount theater
tickets,
fast track admission to other London attractions and even arrange
for out of London day and overnight tours
to Windsor, Bath and Stonehenge, a Eurostar trip to Paris (see Eurostar
Tunnel Train London - Paris) with a Champagne Lunch
on the Eiffel Tower, tour to Leeds Castle, Dover and
Canterbury,
or Warwick Castle (see Medieval
Ghosts and Love Birds), Stratford-Upon-
Avon and the Cotswolds. The staff is very helpful and can guide
you through
many
of the questions
of
dealing
with a London visit.
Prices for both London Bus Tour companies are competitive with each other, about £22 regular fare, £12 for children. Both bus companies offer discounts if you order on-line, £20-£18 depending on season. The Original Tour is offers a Winter Special until the end of February, for 48 hours for the price of 24. The Big Bus also has a 48 hour special
The downside
of riding a bus in London? Rain and traffic. If it does rain you can
sit below in the covered part, or cover up. But its London after all,
what do you expect. For a small group (5 or
less) and about £85 to £95 you
can take a guided London Cab Tour for about two hours with Black
Taxi Tours of London. You get to see
some alleys and mews you can’t go on a bus, and you can go where
you request and stay out of the rain. © Bargain
Travel Europe
Compare
the best hotel
and travel deals in London
Web
Info
Big
Bus
These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission.
See Also:
TOWER OF LONDON
MARITIME MUSEUM & OBSERVATORY
SHERLOCK HOLMES LONDON PUB
LONDON SIGHTSEEING BY HELICOPTER
SHERLOCK HOLMES HOTEL - BAKER STREET
