I am visiting London in July and will be arriving at my hotel at on a Monday morning at 8:30am - well before check-in.

To kill a few hours and get an overview of the city (I've never been) I'm considering taking one of the 2-hour hop-on/hop-off sightseeing bus tours. Will probably stay on it the whole time to get my bearings.

My question is: Is this a good idea since I will be dealing with jet lag? I think i read somewhere that the best thing to do on your first day is keep moving. Any suggestions?

I would do it if it's a nice day and you can sit on top where you'll have a great view and lots of reasonably fresh air. Usually the commentary is good and you can always snooze away if it isn't.

I think it's a great idea. Fresh air always helps keep me awake. The tickets are good for 24 hours, and I believe there are several different routes that the buses take. Hop off for some lunch & hop back on & take a different route.

That's what we did our first day in London. We sat upstairs and enjoyed the views. By the time we arrived at the Tower of London, we were falling asleep, so we got off and walked around for a few minutes.

Lee Ann

Great idea but make sure you have "live" commentary, no headsets. I did the headset on my first trip and fell asleep

These bus tours give you a great overview and you can stay on as long as you like (well, I think they end around 6:00pm or so). But, you can change routes to get other overviews.

And, definitely, try to get a seat on top. Otherwise, you're looking at street level stuff.

Thanks for the replies.

Any of you visit Kew Gardens? I was thinking of doing a half day there-basically to get out of the city and enjoy some fresh air and scenery. Worth the trip?

Do you mean visiting Kew on your arrival day??

Kew is a wonderful 1/2 day out of the hustle and bustle of central London. But it would not be such a good idea on day 1.

I am not sure what time they start in London but in most UK cities they do not start until about 10am.

For an easier (and cheaper) way to get some fresh air and scenery on your first day, try simply walking on Hampstead Heath, or through the royal parks (there are several miles of greenery between Kensington and Westminster).

I took a day and visited Kew Gardens and absolutely loved it. On my trip I took a boat on the Thames and then the tube back. I'm sure, with the tube, you could do it in a half day. Beautiful park.

It makes more sense to take the tube TO Kew and the boat back to the center of London. That way you get to the gardens first thing and can spend as long as you like. Then if there is enough time and the weather is nice you can always take the boat back. The boat takes quite a bit of time and if you want to get to Kew by about noon-1 PM you'd have to be on the river in the morning when it is still pretty chilly.

Just better time management IMO.

I agree that if it's a nice day and you can get a seat on top, it's a nice way to spend a few hours.

There are two different companies that do these hop on, hop off tours. I've done both and they're about the same.