Hey Guys!
Headed to London in a few weeks. My first day there I want to do the traditional tourist bus tour. I realize it is cliche, but I honestly think it will show me a lot of what I want to see in a short amount of time and show me around the city. Now I am going in early March, so I probably will not be able to sit on top of the bus for it being too chilly, but still worth it I think. My questions are:
It's a Hop-On & Off Tour right? Confused as to if I want to Hop-Off, then when will another tour be there to pick me up? Or how does the Hop-On & Off work as far as schedules and tickets go?
What is a great company to do this through? I would love a funny tour guide, I do not need a
"family friendly" version of a tour, *I heard something about a tour company that is hilarious but the name slipped my mind*

Would love to book a ticket soon. Please give me some tips for the bus tours. Thanks so much!

There are several companies with several different routes so you need to look at the routes to which one hits the places you want to hit. London is a big place. Second since all of the comments are prerecorded, I doubt if you will find a funny tour guide on a hop on/off bus. Book it when you get there.

The HoHo buses don;t run that often - perhaps every 30 minutes. So - you may have to wait 30 minutes for the next one to come along. I'm assuming in March they won't be that crowded and there will be room on the bus that pulls in - you won;t need to wait another 30 minutes for yet another.

I personally think they are a huge waste if time and money...they get snarled up in traffic and half the time you can't hear the guides. Sitting below is even worse because you can't really see much due to traffic.

Some if them have live guides but you won't know if they are funny until you are stuck on the bus.

Plus you don't do anything but ride by things and see them from the outside.

I would highly recommend getting a good guide book and picking out the sights you want to visit and dedicate your time to a quality few sights, see them inside as that's where the interesting stuff is, and use public transport tubes and buses.

Big waste of time and money, especially, as jamikins said, if you are inside. The bus is easily caught in traffic and if it is in the middle of the block, you can't just hop off at that point. You ride right by something you want to see, and find it is a long walk back from the next stop.

You can ride by plenty of sights using the regular scheduled buses, though of course you won't get a commentary (though you might get a chance to eavesdrop on some fascinating/bizarre conversations); they run much more frequently. The map in the TfL visitors' guide shows which routes pass the main sights:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...itor-guide.pdf

You want a bus tour, take the two "Heritage Routes" that still run the Routemasters. They're two standard bus lines, the #9 and #15 so they're covered by your travel payment (Oyster, Travelcard, whatever) and they'll get you around London just as slowly as a HOHO but without paying an extra 20+ GBP.

http://www.londonupclose.com/routema...es-london.html

There are two major companies - the Original and the Big Bus (the name of one may have changed, but those are the two major players). They are essentially identical and cost the same (a LOT).

They do have their place - but I'd never EVER ride one if I had to sit downstairs. And you don't get a choice of guides - could be good, could be bad, could be recorded.

No matter which you choose, you'll spend as much time stuck in traffic as actually seeing anything.

Lol it's amazing how pompous people on this forum are

I've been to London twice and did the BB tours both times as far as I'm concerned there's no better way to see all the major sites, what would you rather do, hop off right at the foot of an attraction or spend all day walking back and forth from metro stops?

Big deal if you lose an hour or two in traffic, the time saved getting between major sights outweighs it.

As well the tour we had had a ghost tour at night which was a great two hour walk through London looking at numerous sites and stopping at 3 pubs along the way. Great way to spend an evening and meet people

I'd recommend them.

I fail to see how any responses are pompous. Opinions are opinions and I don't think any were rude.

Did you sit on the top during nice weather? Or inside on the bottom during March cooler weather? Makes a huge difference.

You wouldn't spend 1-2 hours walking between stations and attractions in central London and the time saved not sitting in traffic by taking the tube would give you more time to go inside the attractions that interest you.

I think it's pompous to suggest that these are a "waste of time and money" to Somone visiting London for the first time like you're on some sort of high horse.

There's no way your saving time going from the Tower of London to hyde park, national museum etc by taking the metro.

Sadly you are not correct. It will take about 30 mins to get from the tower to Hyde park on the metro...it will take way longer on a bus in traffic.

I can walk from St. Paul's to Trafalgar Square in 30 mins...it has taken me longer to do the same journey during the day on a bus.

Like I said, it's not meant to be pompous, you can take it or leave it and I am glad you enjoyed it. I still think it's a waste of time and money to sit on the bottom in march expecting to see the sites of London.

My one experience with a HOHO bus in London was in July, more than a few years ago, but it turned me off forever.

We boarded the bus at Victoria and got off at St. Paul's. After visiting the church, we went back to the bus stop and shortly boarded a bus again, getting off at the Tower of London. After that, once again boarded headed for Westminster Abbey. Next, however, the bus pulled over somewhere along the Embankment. The driver/guide said that everyone had to get off and wait for another bus since it was time for his break. We waited nearly an hour along with most of the others from our bus and all the buses that came along were either full or were for private groups. We finally just walked to the Abbey, and gave up on the HOHO bus for the day.

So, based on my experience, I don't recommend the HOHO buses in London. Does that make me pompous? I think it's much easier to get around using other means of transportation.

<i>Big deal if you lose an hour or two in traffic, the time saved getting between major sights outweighs it. </i>

Um, there's no way I'd be stuck in traffic for "an hour or two" if I rode the Tube.

This, however, takes the cake for daft:

<i>There's no way your saving time going from the Tower of London to hyde park, national museum etc by taking the metro.</i>

We had 2 1/2 days in London and decided to use our first afternoon doing the Big Bus tour. That way we at least got to see some of the places we didn't have time to visit. It was fine, and we enjoyed sitting upstairs in the sunshine, but we started getting pretty sleepy by the time we got to the Tower of London.

If I had to sit on the inside, I don't know if I would do that, though.

If you have time, you might want to consider one or two London Walks - www.walks.com

Lee Ann

Snipers layer - sorry you are so wrong it almost seems like you've never been on the tube (no 'metro' in London)

The h-o-h-o buses are ok for their purpose, but they are MUCH more expensive and MUCH MUCH MUCH slower than the tube.

IMO you get a much better feeling for a city by using buses and trams. You get a sense of the layout and can appreciate the architecture and get a feel for the different neighborhoods, particularly from the top deck. Emerging from tube stations can be disorientating, with no real idea where you are or how far from your previous/next destination. I'll happily put up with traffic jams to be above ground, with a view and less walking at either end. I only use the tube if I'm in a real hurry, which only applies on holiday if I have theatre tickets or a train to catch.

I have, and do, use HO HO buses when visiting somewhere for the first time. Yes, they are expensive, but holidays are. As long as it's not raining, wrap up warm, sit upstairs, learn a bit about what you are seeing, and make a note of places you want to come back and explore later.

I there:

I have taken the HOHO buses twice, years ago, and did enjoy it. However, as others have said, it is very expensive, and if you plan well, you can do the same routes on London buses. You can get excellent bus maps from Information kiosks at major stations (e.g. Victoria, London Bridge) for free.

The problem with all buses is London traffic! Both times, I took the buses first thing on Sunday morning, and it was wonderful up until about noon. After that, it was quicker to walk

I suggest you combine the regular buses (day passes or Oyster cards) and walking. Have a look on-line re the HOHO buses, and divide the city up, taking in different areas each day.

Also check out the Thames Clipper (http://www.thamesclippers.com/) which IMO is one of the most fun cheap things to do in London. The route gives you the most wonderful views of London in all its glorious splendour. It also does a HOHO experience, but there is NO traffic.

Thanks everyone for your feedback!

We used the Big Bus for a day only to let our 8 year old recover from jet lag (no walking around, could sneak a little nap without falling into a deep sleep at noon) rather than stay in our hotel room with the temptation if a soft comfy bed and light blocking curtains or have a jam packed day of activity which would have left us all exhausted.

Expensive? Kinda but priceless when compared to having to drag around an exhausted 8 year old.