HOHO Bus in London and Pre cruise In London

[trrn2016]

Hi, 

We will be arriving in London on a Tuesday morning before our cruise on Friday. Planning a short rest at our hotel before we start out Tuesday afternoon to beginning looking around the city.  If we start out on the Double Decker Bus and stay on it, what will the traffic be like starting at 3pm? I thought this would give us an overview of the city.  Looking for opinions and ideas for anything to organize our time before the cruise.

 

Thanks, Cindy

[MeHeartCruising]

I'm not familiar with the HOHOs in London, although you see them all over the city, so they are popular.  

 

My only comment is that I would suggest not resting at the hotel upon arrival.  It will be better for your jet lag if you just continue on with your day and try to power on until as late as you can tolerate it.  Then go to bed.  You'll wake up the next morning mostly adjusted to the new time zone that way.  If your room is actually ready for checkin upon arrival, I would recommend a quick shower and then head back out on to the streets of London for your sightseeing.   If your room is not ready for checkin (sometimes you can't check in until 2 or 3 in the afternoon), you can always leave your luggage with the hotel and then go out sightseeing until later in the day.  

 

Perhaps you're not new to all this and you know what works best for you.  But if you are new to this, I think you'll find that a lot of us do as I describe above quite successfully.  

 

Enjoy London. It's one of my favorite cities to visit.

Edited January 12 by MeHeartCruising

[CruiserBruce]

Traffic is heavy in London during most times of the day. Plan on it being heavy then.

 

I agree with the previous comments about staying moving. You might even consider walking the area, rather than sitting on a bus.

[phabric]

Go online to find out the hours the HOHO bus operate.

 

 

[John Bull]

Probably better to jump on a ho-ho as soon as you've checked into your hotel.  You can then relax on the bus getting an over-view for about 2 1/2 hrs (or longer if you doze off 😏)

 

Different ho-ho operators have different add-ons, but all have the same main tourist route. The only time you'll have to get off is if you want to see Buckingham Palace - buses aren't allowed past the front so you have to walk around the corner from the bus stop & then catch the next ho-ho.. 

Use a ho-ho operator that sells 24-hour tickets (rather than "day" tickets), you can complete or partially repeat the route next morning. But don't bother with 48-hour tickets - ho-hos are great for the overview and commentary but ridiculously slow for transportation for inside visits to the sights. The Tube (London's metro) is waaaay quicker

 

JB 🙂

[trrn2016]

2 hours ago, John Bull said:

Probably better to jump on a ho-ho as soon as you've checked into your hotel.  You can then relax on the bus getting an over-view for about 2 1/2 hrs (or longer if you doze off 😏)

 

Different ho-ho operators have different add-ons, but all have the same main tourist route. The only time you'll have to get off is if you want to see Buckingham Palace - buses aren't allowed past the front so you have to walk around the corner from the bus stop & then catch the next ho-ho.. 

Use a ho-ho operator that sells 24-hour tickets (rather than "day" tickets), you can complete or partially repeat the route next morning. But don't bother with 48-hour tickets - ho-hos are great for the overview and commentary but ridiculously slow for transportation for inside visits to the sights. The Tube (London's metro) is waaaay quicker

 

JB 🙂

Thanks John Bull. I read your posts and value your information. It is our first time to London and want to cram as much as possible in 3 days!!

[markeb]

55 minutes ago, trrn2016 said:

Thanks John Bull. I read your posts and value your information. It is our first time to London and want to cram as much as possible in 3 days!!

 

This always concerns me. London is huge and varied. Some attractions will have timed entry and lines (looking at you British Museum...). Some sites are seen from outdoors and are "open" as long as there's daylight to see. It is an easy city to over plan! With 3 days, pick the things you absolutely have to see or do and figure out where they are. Group them geographically so you're not constantly retracing your steps. Then prioritize because you won't do all of them. And please allow some time just to walk along the streets or a park or the South Bank and sit at a pub! 

 

I've lost track of how many times I've travelled to London for business or leisure over the last almost 30 years (there were some long gaps there) and have probably seen less than 10% of London. In 3 days you'll see 1-2%, less if it's peak season and you're visiting peak attractions. Plan, map, prioritize, and prune the list!

[Globaliser]

4 hours ago, trrn2016 said:

It is our first time to London and want to cram as much as possible in 3 days!!

 

More bluntly than markeb, I would say "please do not do this". You will only end up with a longer list of things and places that you actually have not seen; a drive-by photo of a building is no replacement for visiting it.

 

As for your question about traffic, I will say only one thing: HOHO buses make London traffic worse than it would already otherwise be, at pretty much every time of the day that the HOHO buses operate.

[ckmedsec]

My suggestion would be to use taxis.  The buses follow a certain route and traffic is unlike anything you have ever experienced, the bus will be crawling through the city.  Make a list of what landmarks you want to see and taxi from place to place.  The prices are reasonable, and the cars are very clean.  

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, ckmedsec said:

My suggestion would be to use taxis.  The buses follow a certain route and traffic is unlike anything you have ever experienced, the bus will be crawling through the city.  Make a list of what landmarks you want to see and taxi from place to place.  The prices are reasonable, and the cars are very clean.  

The taxis wouldn't be caught in the same traffic as the hop on, hop off buses? I get your point, but traffic is traffic.  Walking or subway are always going to be faster.

[John Bull]

14 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

The taxis wouldn't be caught in the same traffic as the hop on, hop off buses? I get your point, but traffic is traffic.  Walking or subway are always going to be faster.

 

Taxis don't have to stick to a route, so can skip down back-streets - altho savvy Londoners will be doing the same 😏.  And taxis don't stop at bus stops every few hundred yards.

But I agree that the Tube is the quickest way from place to place - the network is extensive and on most routes there's a train every three or four minutes. Places of interest note the nearest Tube stations on their websites. And the Tube is  waaaay heaper than hopping around in taxis.

 

Hence I suggest the ho-ho main tourist route (plus connecting route for some hotels) for an over-view. Orientation at the start of a visit, or at the end of a visit for an outside look at the many places that you've missed. And most include a little cruise on Father Thames.

But the Tube for going from place to place. 

 

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf

Don't bother to print-off. There are tube maps on all tourist maps, at tube stations & on tube trains.

And use the tube map only to plan your route between tube stations and not for above ground, because it's schematic & not accurate geographically.  

 

JB 🙂

[ArkansasTraveler2]

Just curious if traffic would be better on a Sunday?  We arrive back in Southampton Sunday morning & will be heading to Waterloo station soon after.  Would it be better to store our luggage at our hotel & do the HOHO that afternoon?  Trying to miss the worst traffic.