Hop on hop off bus worth $40/person?

[marilynbn]

We will be in London for 2 1/2 days pre cruise. I am trying to coordinate our touring itinerary. I was planning on taking the hop on hop off bus late morning on our first full day so that we could still use it the next day for the river cruise. The cost is $40 per person, $120 for the three of us. This sounds like a lot of $ for using the bus only a couple times in 24 hours plus the river cruise. Is it really worth it? I can't tell from maps how far it is to walk from one site to another. Here's an example of my itinerary for our first full day. Tell me if this is do-able and worth the bus cost...

1. Westminster early

2. walk to Buckingham to view guard change

3. Take bus to London eye

4. Take bus to trafalgar square/ National gallery

 

Next day take river cruise early to Tower of London...end of 24 hour bus use. Opinions? Thanks..Marilyn

[tony@stanton19.freeserve.]

You can easily do that by walking or you may want to get a travel card, see the Transport for London site.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/default.aspx

(maps on that site available)

Note that the travelcard will give you a significant discount on some of the river trips that go from Westminster Embankment. (Be careful with the river trips, some are really expensive, look along all the ticket booths on Westminster Pier. The one with the travelcard discount is really good value and is a hop on hop off so it's really good for The Globe, Tower of London, St Pauls etc. The guys on the boat give a really good witty commentary too.

We have done the route you described, but not in the order you said and not to fit in the Changing of the Guard.

From the London Eye, you walk along the river to Westminster Bridge, pass the Houses of Parliament, turn right to walk along Whitehall to pass 10 Downing street, the Cenotaph and the Ministry of Defence, (Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms are there too), stop at Horse Guards Parade to look at the Life Guards, Walk through the arches to cross Horse Guards (where they hold the Trooping of the Colour). Take in the Guards Memorial on the far side. Walk along the Mall or through the park to Buck House.

It really is a pleasant walk, and very do-able, especially if it's a nice day.

Try looking on Google Maps with the aerial photo on!

 

 

As an alternative to the HOHO bus, why not consider the London Duck Tour! http://www.londonducktours.co.uk/

[elphin]

The London bus service RV1 goes to most of the places you want and as the previous post advised a one day travel pass costs very little. You won't get any commentary though but if you do a little research before hand you'll be OK.

 

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/cen_bus.pdf

[elphin]

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[engineer38]

Agree with all the above. Get a tfl (Transport for London) pass for the ordinary bus. They are more frequent than the tour busses and go to more places, So what if you get lost. That's part of the fun and after all most of us in London speak a form of English so can help.

[pcur]

The previous posters are correct as far as cost is concerned. We used the Tube on our recent visit, which was our second.

 

However, what you will be missing IMO:

 

You don't see anything, of course, taking the Tube. It's just transportation, and part of the fun of a first visit to London is seeing what it looks like. I wouldn't have wanted to just see a few places. We rode around the open top of the Big Bus for two roundtrips just to see it all.

 

On the city bus you see what's on that route, but you miss the commentary about the history, etc.

 

So, if you have decided for sure you want to see just those places, or you don't care about the commentary, then I would take the city bus. At least you get to view the city.

 

I always advise people to get the small, folding, laminated maps of European cities to take with them. We found ours invaluable in London, and other major cities we've seen. They show you in detail where everything is.

 

I would suggest that you add the Tower of London, especially if you are taking the river cruise, because one of the stops should be the dock by the Tower. Very interesting historical place, and the jewels are amazing!

 

My rule of thumb is I pay the extra money the first time I got somewhere I'm really interested in, so I can see the maximum. Then we economize on later trips.

[marilynbn]

Wow, thanks for all the good info! That TFL site was amazing. I think we will walk most places and then do the Hop on off river cruise when we go to the Tower. The idea of the hop on off bus seems great but I just can't see paying $120 to use it for a couple of hours in 24. Marilyn :D

[Fritzie]

We were in London in March and did the hop on/hop off bus first thing after dropping our luggage off at the hotel. We enjoyed the commentary by the guide and watching the sites/people as we drove from one stop to the next. Also got a good feel for the lay of the city and what we wanted to come back and focus on during our stay. (Kids and DH also used it as for naptime--had been a long flight from the states!) We thought it was worth the $$$ and quickly realized EVERYTHING in London is lots of $$$.

Note that in order to get to Buckingham Palace in time for a good spot for the changing, you'd have to head there fairly early--maybe an hour early.

We also used the Tube a lot--most excellent system of transportation. But like others have said, you won't **see** London if you rely on the Tube.

Have a great trip! :)

[pcur]

Actually, I forgot to mention that we used the HOHO for our transportation all the time on our first trip. Since it was paid for, we used it like a regular bus to get anywhere we wanted during our stay. Since it goes all over, we just used our laminated map to figure out which HOHO stop was nearest. We had a few non-tourist places we wanted to go, dinner, etc.

[bigwally]

I agree with Peggy that it's great if you've already paid for it as part of your package, otherwise I do think it's a bit pricey.

 

Use the public bus system instead. Although I do prefer the tube myself, since London traffic can waste a lot of your valuable time.

[leoandhugh]

if you think the ho/ho bus is a bit pricey, wait till you see what it will cost you for meals at just ordinary restaurants. Remember, the lowly dollar is now almost 2 to the british pound - be prepared for sticker shock if you go even to places like Starbucks and McD. Even at current prices, we consider the ho/ho bus to be a good "buy" enabling you to see as much as you can handle in one day - or two.:) :)

[flag fan]

I thought the hop-on/hop-off bus (there were 2 tour companies that have them as I recall) was a great way to see London. It also comes with a river cruise up the Thames. I would not do it for the transportation, but as a way to tour the city--you'll see almost everything there is to see from the outside in 1/2 day and then can use the rest of your time to see the sights you are most interested in. It is pricey, but everything in London is and I think it is a very efficient way to see all the top sights of the city.

[tony@stanton19.freeserve.]

I thought the hop-on/hop-off bus (there were 2 tour companies that have them as I recall) was a great way to see London. It also comes with a river cruise up the Thames. I would not do it for the transportation, but as a way to tour the city--you'll see almost everything there is to see from the outside in 1/2 day and then can use the rest of your time to see the sights you are most interested in. It is pricey, but everything in London is and I think it is a very efficient way to see all the top sights of the city.

 

Despite everything that I have posted above, we love the bus tour option when we are in an unfamiliar place and will usually take that option to get our bearings and see what there is to see. You can then choose to get off and take a closer look at your choice. The first time we were in New York, we took the Hop on Hop off bus and used it as our introduction and then as a transport system. The second time, we used the subway and walked.

However, if you have a specific and very limited choice of things you want to do, you will not get the benefit of the fairly high cost of such tours. Also, you can find that they are not the most time efficient method of transport compared to the other alternatives.

It really depends on what your needs are at the time.

[tennessee sailor]

We were in London last fall. We did the Big Bus and found it fascinating. The guides are on the bus in person (not just earphones with a recording) and give you all the history and information which is just great. We actually utilized the bus getting on and off at several locations after we had done the complete circle of the city twice. We bought our tickets at 1:30 in the afternoon and then were able to use them again the next day and took the river tour. London is very expensive and we found the Big Bus to be well worth the money spent. Riding the tube is essential for getting around---but it is totally different than taking the open top buses.

[daiB]

If you are to get your moneys worth out of the HoHo bus you must use it a lot. ie. 1 full ride around and then 1 ride getting off at places you want to see. For the OP I do not think it would work with what she wants to do.

 

 

:):)Happy Cruising:):)

 

 

 

:cool:

 

Dai