This was not exactly as expected. I booked an afternoon tea experience with my friend on our first day in London. We got on the bus and the server was delightful. We got a few savory as well as sweet options. We chose a fruit tea and got a cup as a souvenir. The experience was advertised as 1 hr 30 min, the entire length ended up being 2 hr 20 minutes. Was I mad? No. I was a little bit annoyed that I had to adjust our time slot at the national gallery. Food was okay, a little cold. read more

Golden Tours - Historical Tours Near Me - London, XGL

We booked despite the bad reviews because it was the only way to get Harry Potter tickets during our quickly planned trip. We read the reviews and understood we were going to need some patience. The problem with many reviews were the meeting instructions (via TripAdvisor) so we went to the Baker Street location a day early to scout it out. We could not find signage for Golden Tours. We did see a Harry Potter bus dropping off a group and assumed (wrongly) that the spot was also the meeting spot. Actually they do have a location (store front) near the Baker street stop. It is not on Baler Street. If you come out of the tube and turn away from the wax museum, you will find their store from down the next block. That is the meeting spot point for tours! Very important thing to know and find -- because you have to meet there to get your tickets beforehand. We missed our bus time despite arriving 45 minutes early. The staff was less than kind about this part of the trip and made no apologies for the lack of directions. They gave us headphones but there was no movie on our bus. We had set our expectations low for our son, due to the reviews so we didn't mind -- but there were some disappointed families near us. The bus was clean enough but no WiFi and the phone charges didn't work on most seats. The driver for this portion of our trip was great and very helpful given that he had to help us find someone on site to get our Entry tickets. Despite the set backs, we finally had tickets in hand and enjoyed the studio tour from here on out on our own. The trip back was easy enough but this bus driver was less friendly and at one point was screaming at another driver along a busy street in London. We actually found it comical and thought it added to the busy city feel, but I could see how many guests would find this very unsettling. All in all, it is OK if this is the way you can get entry tickets to something on your must see list, but if you have options - I'd try another company. read more

Golden Tours - Harry Potter Studios Tour - Historical Tours Near Me - London, XGL

Awful service. Waited at the airport for over an hour to be picked up. Zero coordination and very unorganized. I don't understand why Costco works with these people. read more

I was here during Christmas season and booked the Christmas lights tour, and I was very disappointed. When arrived, the guide just scanned everyone's ticket and let everyone on. There was no direction or distraction to go upper beck or lower. When I arrived to the top, it was already full. I know everyone there did not pay for upper deck, because they just let everyone up on a first come first serve basis. When we confronted the guides, they refused to check everyone's ticket. We did not get the experience we paid for, and there is an up charge to sit on the upper deck. Also, the driver clearly did not know the route! The guide kept telling him he's going the wrong way and we were stuck in traffic in the wrong place most of the time. The driver made an illegal u-turn, that put the everyone in danger. The driver did this twice, and there was clearly conflict between the guide and driver. Would not recommend this company. They did not try to rectify the situation, did not honor those that paid for their spot, and overall not enjoyable with the conflict with driver and guide. Update *** they offered me a 25% refund, which is a very low compensation for what I paid for. What makes this company even more of a scam, they are asking via email for my bank account and routing number for the refund. I told them I do not feel comfortable and just refund to the card I purchased the tickets with. THEY ARE A SCAM. AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COST. read more

Golden Tours - Historical Tours Near Me - London, XGL

See all

I've done several tours with Golden tours and it has been great. They answer your questions, read the brochure carefully, some areas are "driven thru" not where you would walk. I've given suggestions but the Victoria Street Station is in what looks like a bus depot. Confusing to some so do a "run thru" before the day of your tour to make sure you are in the tight place. Its near the tube but depends which side you get off on. read more

I had the most amazing experience with Bruce our guide and Lucian our driver. We went to Bath, Stonehenge and Windsor Castle. Bruce made it so special. I would highly recommend this company and Bruce and Lucian. read more

We did a tour around London on a bus with afternoon tea and it was Taylor swift themed. The food was pretty good. Appreciate the server swapped out the tuna for us for a cucumber sandwich instead. The Taylor swift music wasn't too loud. You got a choice of beverage. I got a Prosecco which was nice. They could have themed the food and drinks more to Taylor. The only theme for Taylor Was music and bracelets. You get a reusable hot beverage cup as a takeaway as well. Would have been better to be upstairs vs downstairs to see more but it was 15 pounds more. There was no conversation of what you were seeing. Would have been cool if you pointed out Taylor swift points of interest or facts. Def pricier for the experience. Wish there was WiFi on the bus. read more

See all

TLDR: like a useless ex-boyfriend, they will happily take you for a ride, get you halfway there at best, and leave you stranded with no way of getting your time and money back. We booked a tour for on a weekday in March 2026. We got off across the river and timed our meal and walk in order to get picked up at a nearby stop in about an hour. When we were waiting at the stop, we were tracking next bus on the live GPS map and saw that the bus took a detour and skipped our stop #45. We called the number to reception when we realized the bus skipped us and they told us the bus would be there in 2-3 minutes so we waited another 20 minutes and still no bus came-- which was obvious based on the GPS tracker map. At least 3 Big Red buses (a more popular competitor) came and went in the meantime while we were there. Ultimately we had to find out own way back to our accommodations, as my baby could not wait outside at the windy bus stop any longer. Overall it was a very disappointing experience. I emailed their team because I thought we'd be able to resolve this through direct communication, but unfortunately all I did was waste more of my time. I spent over a week corresponding with customer service just to be offered a set of free tickets to be disappointed by them again in the future (no thanks, also we are not there anymore) or a 25% partial refund, which would not cover the cost of transportation back to our accommodations. When I asked for a full refund, they said they would not provide that as we already used the tickets, though of course, if we had not purchased/used tickets from their company, we would not have been stranded and been requesting a refund in the first place. When I asked they reconsider, they cited terms and conditions and ultimately closed the case on me. 0/10 would not ride again. Also half the audio jacks on the upper deck didn't work read more

This driver Zowr (man in white) was just rude rude rude. He needs a job far far away from customers. Overall the tour was fine, good way to see a lot of the sights. If you just want pictures then book it, just don't make much conversation with the tour guides and driver (they can be grumpy). These "Golden Tours" pretty much dominate the market though so good luck finding a company with better reviews. read more

Golden Tours - Historical Tours Near Me - London, XGL

See all

Stonehenge was on our bucket list but we didn't want to deal with renting a vehicle and having to refill petrol prior to returning it. I was also dreading the long commute to and from London so we booked a tour online from Viator. We're glad we did because it was pouring rain the day of our tour and we saw one major accident on the way back. The company Viator booked us on was Golden Tours. Instructions were clear and easy for the tour from the location for checking in to the time we had to be back at the coach. Fortunately the check in location was on Google Maps so it was very easy to find. Soko was our driver and he did a great job getting us there and back safely. He gave us about 2 hours at the World Heritage Site. This was more than adequate time to explore and take some photos. The process was seamless and we enjoyed ourselves crossing off Stonehenge from our bucket list. read more

See all

What makes or breaks a guided tour of a popular attraction like London is the tour guide. On our double-decker tour of London, Joe the tour guide was wonderful - funny, engaging, knowledgeable and entertaining. That made the entire experience! I would also like to give a shout-out to Radu (the driver) - yes, he was an excellent driver, but he was also the perfect foil for Joe's boisterous and entertaining persona, and he really cared about the customers - he was polite, professional and very thoughtful, for example lingering a bit longer at a particular attraction to let a member of the tour get their pictures just right. I was very pleased with Goldent Tours as well - ease of booking, prices and plethora of choices. All in all - I would use them again and highly recommend them. read more

I booked the Buckingham Palace and Afternoon Tea package at the end of July for my August trip to London. Purchasing the tickets was easy. I had the QR codes easily saved into my phone. With this package, I was expecting something more. I loved the palace tour. Yet, I thought our group was going to stay together because I would have loved to walked together to get to the place for afternoon tea. There wasn't a specified time for afternoon tea. The site for afternoon tea was far from the palace. On the map, it looks like a 10 minute walk. Because you exit the palace from the gardens, it doubles the time to afternoon tea. Because of this, I felt rushed having to make gift shop purchases and I wanted to take in more of the gardens. I just wanted to be there in a timely manner. I arrived at the site for afternoon tea. As someone who has reviewed afternoon tea before, the experience did not meet my expectations. I was expecting high tea in a tea room. I had a very basic afternoon tea in the lobby of a hotel. I was the only one in my group to have purchased this. The hotel staff and servers were very kind and friendly. I don't fault them for this. For what I paid ($96), I expected a grander experience. read more

We have gone on dozens of tours over the years and nearly all were informative and interesting. But this was the worst! We got off the bus before the end because it was a complete waste of our time. The guide's accent was difficult to understand and made more difficult over the speakers. But he obviously didn't have the knowledge or background to narrate the tour, reading in a monotone from information on his phone. read more

Purchased tour package for 13 family members and the salesperson worked out the route with me only to be tricked because the buses stopped well before the time we worked out. The bus was late late and then was told the route was done read more

Open Top London Bus Tour with Live Guide Bought tickets with the help of the chat agent as their website wasn't working properly. Showed up at the starting point 15 minutes early, and asked the staff member if this was the one with the live guide. "Yeah, I guess so, get on." I insisted on clarification, he consulted his phone and said, "Yeah, this should be it." Went upstairs and at the appointed time, the bus starts off with no live guide. At the first stop I asked the driver what was going on and was told the guide hadn't shown up, so we should WALK back to the starting point and wait for the next one in an hour. I pointed out my husband uses a cane and couldn't do that, so his suggestion was to stand there and wait for an hour. We had to get a cab back to the hotel and the afternoon was shot. Contacted customer service for a refund and get this: "Thank you for your response and for sharing your concerns with us. We are very sorry to hear how disappointed you were with your experience and fully understand the frustration caused by the inconvenience during your visit. We sincerely apologise again for the impact this had on your day and the additional expense you mentioned. After carefully reviewing your case, the 15% refund offered is the maximum goodwill gesture we are able to provide in this situation." Seriously?? My day was ruined, I had extra expenses, and they still think I should pay? After much back-and-forth with their BS, their final offer was 20% off. MY final offer was contacting my credit card company to reverse the charge. Don't use this company - they have no honesty or integrity. read more

Have you ever been a little late to something and thought "it's okay, what's the worst that can happen?" Well I'll tell you! The worst that can happen is your Golden Tours guide Oliver and driver Sonny literally abandon you and your elderly mother in the freezing cold in the middle of Stonehenge. Not even joking. The tour we booked only gave us ONE HOUR at Stonehenge. Thats one hour to eat lunch, take another shuttle to the actual stones, walk that loooonng walk around the stones and actually enjoy it, and then take the shuttle back and then haul ass to the bus. And maybe that's possible for a bunch of young, able bodied people who literally wanna look at the rocks and go home but I am traveling with my 70 year old mother who has bad knees and can only walk at one speed. So we were late getting back to the bus and I'm sorry. We knew we were late so I ran ahead to try to get to the bus and ask them to hold it but by the time I got there they were already pulling out of the spot. I waved them down and they stopped. I explained and the guide Oliver said, direct quote, "We have to get going. Figure out another ride." and left us. Just like that. Gone. No wifi, no way to call for help, just stranded. I ran from bus to bus until I finally found a driver that was willing to take us back to Victoria. (More on that later.) Now, call me crazy, but I think leaving your guests in the middle of nowhere with no other way to go home is actually insane. If you gotta go then go. I get it. I'm a guide too! I understand time constraints! But MAYBE we need to have a system in place for when that happens. Like maybe stagger your tour times better so there will always be an another golden tours bus there for you to hop on if you miss the bus. Maybe offer more than an hour at each destination. Maybe have everyone's phone number and give them a call if they're running late. Or MAYBE MAKE IT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT YOU CAN AND WILL GET LEFT BEHIND IF YOURE LATE!!! That was my experience with Golden Tours. I absolutely do NOT recommend this tour company. Check out Premium Tours instead and ask for the driver Clint! Best guy in all of London, I just know it. read more

I'd go with a different site seeing bus even if the cost is a little more. It's been a nightmare trying to navigate the bus times and routes. Often they go different routes and you'll wait forever for a bus that doesn't come. We waited over an hour last night for the bus and ended up just walking back to our rental. Not fun after already walking around all day and being tired. We waited over an hour this morning to go to breakfast and ended up getting an uber. Currently on the bus now in route back to the rental and they just announced the bus we were on got cancelled? So we are being forced to exit, probably an hour from where we need to get off in hopes that we will be able to actually catch the next bus home. We are having to walk to find a different bus stop as we were just randomly told to exit in the middle of no where. Uber rides are adding up due to this bus service. read more

Total ripoff. I booked for my wife's birthday, paying 236 pounds for four people. A tube line was out of action so we arrived as the bus was leaving and the Golden Tours guy at the station told us we would have to wait an hour to talk with someone. We did this, only to find that we had to walk to the Golden Tours office, where they told us we couldn't join another bus without paying another 50% of the original price. All this money for a few sandwiches on a bus isn't worth it. read more

Re: Viator Booking for a 1/2 day excursion to Stonehendge While Stonehendge is completely worth the adventure, do not fool yourself about what this booking is... It is simply a ride to Stonehenge and they go to the ticket window and buy your ticket for you. It is what it is, and nothing more. It is not a tour; there is no guide; and they didn't even bother to tell us on the bus that an audio guide was available with our ticket. Just handed us a map, a wristband, and said be back here in two hours. If that's all you are looking for, this is the way to go. The bus itself is also as basic as a coach bus can be. Some seats are broken and there was no WiFi as indicated. Also they drop you off in a completely different location more central to London and further away from where you were picked up at Buckingham. That is not mentioned anywhere in the booking. Read more about Stonehenge Half- Day Tour from London with Admission - https://www.viator.com/tours/London/Unescorted-Stonehenge-Tour-from-London/d737-5461P20?m=65553&nid=VR.9bb6ec3c-fb86-4d88-8a70-d3305ce3bfc2.VT_EMAIL_TRV?mcid=56757 read more

Golden Tours - Historical Tours Near Me - London, XGL

See all

I'd give them a zero if I could. Horrible tour group. Won't make anything right for handicapped customer who struggled to get to the bus. Left right in front of us while we were waving at them. They don't care about people, only about money. Offering a discount on something else while they sold out seats instead. Total Jenks. I will spread word on every review site that I can. Skip them AT ALL COSTS!! read more

DO NOT!!!! Book golden tours hop on hop off bus in London. There are several other companies. Golden tours has multiple Stops in the city that are non functioning but they don't tell you which ones nor do they mark them. Also buses do not stop at the functioning ones when they are supposed too. The app is trash we wasted so much time Trying to find a functioning stop for this company do not waste your time. When we asked for a refund for tickets we barely got to use because of all the issues above they said no. They don't care about customer service or people's experiences they only care about money. read more

I took the London: Oxford, Stratford, Cotswolds, and Warwick Day Trip with Golden Tours. I booked it through Getyourguide and there were no issues. This was a 10 hour tour. Our tour guide was Dolly. We met our tour guide at Bus Stop 1, Bulleid Way. It was a little hard to find, but thankfully there were many Golden Tours agents around to ask for directions. On our way to our destinations, Dolly informed us of the history and always made sure we knew what time to make it back to the bus and where it was. The driver was great too. We started our tour with a visit to Warwick Castle. We received an introduction from a woman dressed up as a princess, "medieval host." Dolly also told us things to look for like the spectacular State Rooms and paintings. We then went through the scenic Cotswolds. Next, we stopped at Stratford-upon-Avon, the home of William Shakespeare. We visited the house that he was born in and explored the town. This is where we also got lunch. Lastly, we explored the historic university town of Oxford. Dolly took us around to a few places like the Bodleian Library and University Church of St Mary the Virgin. Unfortunately because classes were in session, we could not go inside the campus. Also, the University Church of St Mary the Virgin tower queue was closed, so we could not go up the tower. This was a good tour and we saw a lot. We got back to London about 30 minutes earlier than expected which is always nice. My favorite was probably visiting Stratford-upon-Avon. read more

The London at Night bus tour was great! Dominic was a fantastic host for us. I was amazed at how many historical events I didn't realize I was near the sites of. This is the first day kind of event- helps you set course for your trip through the city. read more

Golden Tours - Clock Tower with Big Ben (the bell) - Historical Tours Near Me - London, XGL

Review #2 of 2024! On a trip to London I wanted to visit the Wizardly World of Harry Potter where they filmed the movies and I was planning on going on my own and using public transportation but I decided not to and went with Golden Tours instead. It was easy to book online and everything was well explained, after booking I received confirmation email and instructions on where to find my bus. I was considering other tours with them but because my stay was so short I decided the Harry Potter one was for me. On the day of my tour it was a little confusing trying to find the right bus to get on. They have several charter busses going to different locations all housed under the bus terminal and a lot of them dont have proper signs describing where they are going. I arrived early and saw a guy who looked like he worked there and asked me what tour I was on, I mentioned the Harry Potter one and he directed me to the proper bus. There was a line to get into the bus and when it was my turn i showed the bus driver my confirmation, he checked my name off the list and gave me a wrist band and my entry ticket and went over what to do when we get there and where i can catch the bus coming back to town. I made my way up towards the second level since the first level was already crowded. We made 2 stops along the way to pick up other passengers in other parts of the city. The bus started to get a little crowded but it was not really noisy. We got moving soon after and once we got going they made some more announcements and then started playing one of the Harry Potter films. Yay! I got excited since I read a lot of the reviews here left by others that mentioned this was played on the bus. Unfortunately the movie had a glitch and it was not able to play after maybe 30 minutes into it. The rest of the ride to the studios was quiet and since it was raining it was hard to see out the window to enjoy the scenic route. It was cold out and raining that day so we were provided rain ponchos so that was nice. Once we arrived at the studios we were once again given directions on when and where to catch the bus back but what I was not given clear communication on was what time to get on the bus back. Now on the website it says 2 hours but as a big BIG h.p fan i knew I would take longer than that. On their website it had that they were running buses at certain times and that their last pick up from the studio was around 6pm I believe. So with this in mind I figure it would be ok if I grabbed a later bus then the one set for in 2 hours. My assumption was correct haha, I took my time touring the studios while still keeping in mind to not take too long. It probably took me 3 or 4 hours to complete my tour of the studios. I was dropped off at 10am and I chose that specific time because I read it gets crowded later in the day and this is true. I went at a good time to the studios because it was not as crowded, I think the rain also had something to do with it. When I finish with my tour of the studios I went back out to the bus station to catch my bus and I only had to wait a short 10 minutes at the most for a bus to show up. There were other tour companies there too but they all had signs with their name. I got on the bus and double checked with the driver that he was in fact with Golden Tours and that he was heading back to London, he did in fact confirm this and waived me to get on the bus. He did not check my name or asked for my confirmation so that was good. I was fearing he was gonna turn me away for not coming at my designated time. Once we got closer London he made an announcement saying he would make 2 stops in the city and that anyone could get off at any one of them regardless of where they originally boarded the bus. The first stop was Baker street where the famous Sherlock Museum was in and the other stop was Victoria bus station (i think). I decided to get off this part of the city and explore it, it was still raining and cloudy but decided to make the most of it. Overall my experience with Golden tours was positive and they took care of all the work of driving to get me to the studios. Very professional and I would take another tour with them if I am back in England. read more

We took a tour with the Taylor Swift Afternoon Tea Bus Tour. Overall our time was not worth the money spent. Tickets were about £70 each and came with an afternoon tea with two drinks and sandwiches, biscuits, and some dessert. We were asked to be there 15 minutes early and were provided with digital tickets. We did not board until 10 minutes after the start of the tour time, and were checked in via a paper spreadsheet and a rather frazzled employee. Boarding took a long time and seemed to be extremely disorganized. For seating, we were informed prior that we may be seated at a table with strangers but were not informed that our party may be separated which we were. The tour itself took a rather unscenic route. For example, we were a block away from Buckingham Palace but did not even drive by. The bus seemed either understaffed or severely disorganized. The food itself was served in a strange and untimely manner. As for the Taylor Swift theme they only played her music during the tour itself, they played other music during boarding and turned it off all together after the tour was over (while the bus was driving back to the dock). They did hand out friendship bracelets which was nice. All in all, it wasn't a terrible experience but definitely not worth the money. read more

Golden Tours - Historical Tours Near Me - London, XGL

We chose golden tours after a disappointing trek with another hop on hop off bus company. The other companies audio recordings were very sparse on Information we needed to know about London. There was a lot of music and very little talk. After 45 minutes, I grew kind of disgusted and started looking for other tours that had spoken narration by a local. we lucked up on golden Tours with Emma as our narrator and she went beyond our wildest expectations. She was funny, charming, incredibly knowledgeable and open to questions. She showed us sites that I think most people would not know about and was never negative or offish. I would highly recommend anybody wanting to see a good tour of London, not just to seek out golden tour, but to make sure that she is on board. read more

We enjoyed taking a tour with golden tours. We did the simple trip to Stonehenge. As we were limited on time. We got a little bit of not so great advice from our driver. He told us when we got to the destination of Stonehenge in the parking lot that we should walk 2 miles to Stonehenge to see the countryside and then look around Stonehedge come back maybe get something to eat in the café in and see the exhibit. I will tell you on this simple six hour tour I do not recommend walking the distance you will only be able to do the walk spend very little time at Stonehenge and not be able to come back and enjoy a little bit of the artifacts before you have to get back onto your tour bus. My recommendation is to take the shuttle over to Stonehenge once you get there spend at least 30 minutes looking at the beautiful rocks. Take the shuttle back enjoy yourself at the café as the food is delicious I had a steak and potato pastie and their tomato soup, it was delicious. I got to go around and see the exhibit and walk the grounds a little bit before getting back onto my shuttle bus. You can still walk around a bit and see all the sheep. read more

See all

We booked our WB Harry Potter Studio Tour through Golden Tours because tickets were sold out for the date we wanted on the official Harry Potter studio tour site. Golden Tours was recommended. The process was smooth. When the bus showed up, we checked in and were off to the studio. Leaving was also smooth - the bus once again picked us up and dropped us back off at Victoria Station. During the bus ride, you could charge your phone with the USB port. They also played Harry Potter 1 and Harry Potter 3. The only part I disliked was, the audio and image quality of the movies was terrible. They provided earphones so you could plug it into the tablet in front of you. I could barely ever hear what the dialogue was in the movie, which is kind of unfortunate. read more

Golden Tours - Historical Tours Near Me - London, XGL

Bus driver (see photo) abandoned the bus, contacted customer service, the manager (See photo) of the Victoria office threaten to call the police. Service was not met! My family and I booked the ticket through our hotel and we were on bus 130 which is a 24 hour hop on hop off bus. Around 2:15pm in the afternoon, the bus driver left (See photo) and locked the bus without any information said to the customers on the bus. I realized the bus driver had packed his things and left the bus completely while I was sitting on the upper deck of the bus. I screamed and waved at him until we made eye contact, but he did not care. There were customers left on the bus, he turned around and kept walking away. We went down to the lower deck, and found two families left stranded with us on the bus. They don't speak English and were traveling with three infants, while the mother was breast-feeding one of the babies. We had to scream for help, and the other American bus company workers came and saved us. I took a photo which showed that the bus driver seat was still empty. At this point of our travel, we were upset because of the treatment that we were left stranded, which is a health hazard. But what happened next was a true demonstration of the lack in professionalism of their in-person office (Victoria Location) and the incapability of treating customers with fairness and understanding. I chatted with customer service on the mobile app with two agents, one of them is Anthony. He recommended that we visit the local office and discuss our issue with on site supervisor, as well as email the customer service. We arrived at 3:30 PM, and the supervisor was extremely rude, condescending and dismissive towards us. The worker refused to reveal the supervisor's name. The office's supervisor insisted on keeping our booking paper as hostage, which was unsuccessful, and then threatened to call the police! I want to express my devastation and disappointment that we spend our day in London with this type of treatment. Please understand that I am extremely upset and disgusted by how a well-known company treated their customers this way. We consulted with the police officers, which was a necessary action after your management's threat, the police officers told us that companies are NOT allowed to do that, it is against the bylaws, and strongly recommended us to file a complaint with Metropolitan Transit Authority. Which I will be doing. read more

See all

We took a tour of Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath with Golden Tours last fall. It was a whirlwind of a day with not nearly enough time for each site. We didn't even have time to get anything to eat so I was glad we brought snacks with us. Our guide was Bruce and the driver was Mario. Bruce was incredible, he had so much knowledgeof the histoy of each of the places we went. He made the time on the bus pass quickly and was very entertaining, kind and helpful. If I were only reviewing Bruce and Mario, they would get 5 stars. I gave 4 stars because I think Golden Tours should either put less on each tour or figure out some way to give people more time at these magnificent places. I know they have some sort of employment requirements that the busdriver can only work so many hours but really? 45 minutes at Windsor Castle? No time to buy food or refreshments? Anyway, we absolutely loved our vacation to the UK and I cannot wait to go back! read more

This was a great way to see three places that everyone who visits London should have on their list. Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. Our tour guide, Pauly, was knowledgeable, funny and kept everyone on track so that we could maximize our time at each site. Our driver, Kee, was friendly and did a great job navigating us to where we needed to be. The whole trip was organized and absolutely worth it. read more

POS. genuinely the worst tour ever. if you have any problems at all with directions or walking speed, don't bother to book. matter of a fact, don't bother to book at ALL!!! do yourself a favor and go for that other option. booked a trip to cambridge and oxford, arrived at the bus stop 8:30 and the bus had already left. missed the entire tour. didn't give us a refund, didn't give us a rebook, just 50% off on booking another tour. should have been a warning, but we really wanted to see both sites. rebooked. got to the site early. bus left at 8:26, but at least we were on it! i'm sure in those 4 minutes that they were supposed to give they left some people. made it to cambridge. they gave us about 10 minutes of a walking tour, before the guide let us free to walk the town, giving us about an hour. an hour to see all of king's college chapel, explore the town a little, get something to eat, and use the one restroom available, and walk the 10 minutes back to the bus stop. even if you're not a math person, i'm certain you can total that up to **not enough time.** my mother has a sprained ankle. we had wandered a few minutes into the town, but began our walk back into the pick up area around 12 (20 minutes before pick up time, certainly that would have been enough?) we got lost around 12:10, since we were an in *unfamiliar town* and *were NOT given a precise meeting place.* they said meet at queens *street.* guess where our meeting really was? queens *ROAD!* two different places, if you've ever been anywhere you'd know. we called the emergency number on our wristbands, only for them to not pick up. have i mentioned that it's been pouring rain the whole day? we found other people who were also lost, and it was about 12:15 at this point. golden tours called us and asked us where we were. we told them we were lost, and if they could give us the meeting address again. they clarified the meeting spot--queens *street,* which was 7 minutes away walking. another little math moment, but we would arrive at 12:23, 3 minutes after the bus was meant to leave. picture this scene: rain pouring down, 4 lost people huddling together trying to rush, my mom on her sprained ankle trying to walk as fast as she can't without further injuring herself. long story short, we didn't make it. we called the company, they told us we were "on our own," and that we could meet them in oxford if we wanted. (for those unaware, oxford is about a 2 hour drive from cambridge, and ubers are *expensive.*) we were left by ourselves in cambridge. in the end, we decided to wander about the cities calmly now that we had time, then split the uber ride back to london with the other two who were lost with us. no calls, no emails, no anything from the company. radio silence. TLDR; this company doesn't care for you in the slightest, just for your money. they will abandon you without hesitation. don't waste your time or money, do better. read more

The service and management were terrible. There were three Golden Tours staff members present at the bus for our London Christmas Lights Tour, but none of them checked to verify who had purchased upper deck seats. They allowed everyone to go up to the upper deck until it was completely full. Even then, the Golden Tours employee stationed on the upper deck did not check tickets. Eventually, the upper deck became overcrowded, and none of the staff took action until another customer, who had purchased an upper deck ticket, spoke up and confronted another guest. Additionally, the driver took the wrong turn twice, and on one occasion, made an illegal U-turn. Both times, the tour guide had to leave the upper deck and go to the lower deck to clarify the route for the driver. After the second instance, the tour guide returned to the upper deck and mentioned that the driver had filed a complaint with Golden Tours, claiming that the tour guide had not provided route instructions. read more

This is more like Garbage Tours. Disclaimer I did not do my research or book a tour on my own, my travel agent did so I did not know what to expect. Come with low expectations. Our group was a massive 50 people in total and as you can imagine, it was just pure chaos all day and I'm surprised we didn't lose anyone. The meeting point is difficult to find so make sure to give them a call and get directions if you're unsure. If turned out to be a bus depot of sorts where you get picked up and I wouldn't have known to wander in there on my own. You get checked in, handed a wrist band and herded onto a bus. The tour guides speaker/microphone was so loud I felt like I lost my hearing by end of day. When other tourists brought it up and apologized but did nothing to fix it. How is there no volume control? Then it was off to the rat races. We did the Oxford/Cambridge tour and you really barely see anything with this tour as it is mostly driving for 2 hour chunks, stopping once for bathroom break (although the bus did have a toilet which people were constantly using). We get to Cambridge and rush into the church. The tour guide is talking into a mic and this time she's too quiet and no one other than those directly in front can hear her. By the way, if anyone in your group has mobility issues do not book this tour. We were constantly speed walking or near jogging to keep up. Also the tour was bilingual so you're hearing things twice in English and then Mandarin. It was exhausting. Next we rushed to grab a quick lunch ( no hot food or drink on the bus though). We spent about 2 hours in Cambridge. Then back on the bus for another 2 hours. Now we're in Oxford. Rushing around with quick spots and nonsensical commentary on landmark highlights. I learned zero things on this tour and felt it was a massive waste of my hard earned PTO. My party decided to wander on our own and had a better time sightseeing freely. We met back at the meeting point at 5p and back on the road. Given traffic conditions we made it back 6:30p, ahead of schedule. I don't know how this company still operates unless it's being booked by unsuspected tourists by their travel agencies but save your time and money and do some research. read more

Buses skip stops without notice; and their service has no accountability. We could not get the tour we paid for because the Red Route bus (frequency every 30 minutes) didn't show up over nearly 2 hours of waiting, in the middle of the city (Trafalgar square), in the middle of the day (1:30 - 3:20 pm), in the middle of the week (Wed Nov. 27). Every other bus service stopped by, multiple times, raising and dashing our hopes every time. I double-checked with the service web site and with Customer service that the stop was supposed to be operational. They blamed the delay on traffic and told me to expect the bus in 10 minutes after which another 30 minutes passed before I called back to tell them we were leaving. This agent didn't even bother to get the details of my situation; I was quickly instructed to email customer service for a refund, like this was a common occurrence. Customer Service replied a week later; offered some words of apology (seen the same in other reviews) plus a date change (we'd already left the country) or a 25% refund "as a gesture of goodwill" . 25% is what their T&C offers "in the event of unforeseen weather or traffic conditions", and their customer charter promises to keep customers notified of "delays, cancellations or diversions". I pointed out that this was beyond any delay caused by traffic, it was discretionary and arbitrary and without notice, and amounted to abrogation of service. They claimed that this was "fair", because this is what they offer to "all clients who have encountered similar issues." (I'm now disputing the charge through my credit card company.) Having spent thousands to fly to London for a once-in-decades trip, we missed out on a tour of this historic city just because we paid this company to dish out frustration followed by "goodwill" and "apologies"? I don't think I'll be able to convince my kids to go on another hop-on-hop-off tour after the disappointment of spending those 2 hours waiting at a bus stop on a cold, windy, cloudy day and going home empty-handed. read more

I booked a hop on hop off for 5 (cost 144 pounds). Started at 10am. Managed to do 2 stops only. Issues: X= no golden tour related issue Y=golden tour related 1. traffic jam ( so walk or use bikes if you can). X 2. Signage/announcement : very poor. You have no ideas what stop you are at (May not even know if you are in a jam or at a stop) Y 3. Map stop number NOT on street stop signage. Y 4. Customer services bad bad bad. I spent hours so ....: Y. Y and Y Typically "customer no services" -- all I asked (chat session) was to be able to reused for another 5 hours and chat session the standard classbook answer --- you have to email customer service (see attached) cannot help you on that. Then I called the mainline and same answer was given after 1 hour of talking. So bottom line don't waste your money. Get a map and pick a location use Uber/taxi or bike or walk !!! read more

Golden Tours - Customer no services - Historical Tours Near Me - London, XGL

Absolutely AWFUL London experience. Our driver picked us up at Heathrow AN HOUR LATE. When we'd call the tour company, it was "call the driver". WTF? He works for YOU! We called the driver. "10 minutes away, 10 minutes away!" he'd tell us. When he finally got there, he was skipping like a high iidiot. We get to his car, his trunk is already half full with his own stuff. We had four suitcases; they knew we were international travelers. He could get two in his trunk, one in his passenger seat and one sat on us the whole way to London. The return car service was terrific, but again not as professional a car or driver as the rest of our trip. We had already prepaid for transfers through CostCo and couldn't get our money back. COSTCO: GET ANOTHER TOUR AGENCY IN LONDON read more

We did the day tour - from London to Bath, Stonehenge, and Windsor Castle (with advanced tickets for all 3 sites) - and everything went great. Our guide, Bruce (he made sure we knew he was Bruce with a sense of humor) gave a 30-minute overview, then let us relax until Bath. He did similarly to the other sites. Our driver, Jim, got in the tightest places and also had a sense of humor. Bruce was thorough on how to maximize our time, how much time we had, options for lunch, and was very patient. Time could have been tight, as we had a little less time than recommended at places - but with Bruce's direction - it worked out great! read more

Okay they may have saved themselves with another tour we'd preordered for the following day. The Afternoon Tea Bus was a delight, a nice relaxing 90 minute tour bus through London showing nearly every significant site. All served with high tea and some nice music. Attendants were wonderful, mostly leaving us to enjoy the experience but always available for questions. I'm not forgetting how bad the tour guide was to Windsor, but I'll split the difference here. read more

I was a little nervous booking Golden Tours because I saw and read a lot of negative reviews, but they were one of the few tours that had availability for traveling to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Oxford University in the first week of January. Booking was easy as it was conducted online. We met super early at Victoria Station, literally across from the train station where the buses line up. That part was not too hard to find. The bus line was slightly confusing because in the email it said to line up at Stop #1 but that was going somewhere different. After asking a member from Golden Tours, they directed us which line to wait at. They started boarding on time. Our tour guide was very thorough, informative, and knowledgable. We drove to Windsor Castle first and waited outside in a long line before they opened. Then we had about an hour there. Next we went to Stonehenge, where we spent a little over an hour there as well. Finally, ended in Oxford, where we were there for almost 2 hours. He gave a 45 minute walking tour of Oxford. Finally they dropped us off at Gloucester Road Tube station in Kensington. The bus was comfortable, simple rules were followed. read more

See all