Tip: I recommend showing up at a bus tour stop to purchase your pass (ticket). I bought a two-day…read morepass and got a third day for free. That deal currently doesn't exist on the Big Bus Tours site. I find it helpful doing a bus tour in a city that you are visiting for the first time. I've done such tours in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Shanghai, and London. Of course, it's also fun to take a tour when you've been in a city before. New York comes to mind. Anyway, I decided to get a ticket from Big Bus Tours when I was doing touristy things in Piccadilly Circus. I am normally a planner (I got a city pass to various tourist attractions), but for tours, I show up at the stop. There's a reason why I do it. You can often get a deal. I ended up getting a three-day pass, but I only paid for two days. It was nice to get an extra day for free. There were three different routes that this bus company offers. I did all three, which was great. You get a pair of headphones and you listen to the audio detailing what you are seeing. It's informative and fun. You can choose the language that you want. You hop on a double-decker bus that allows you to hop off to visit a touristy site (Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Big Ben, etc.) and hop back on when you're done. Naturally, if you want to stay for the full tour, it's cool, too. Top floor is best for taking photos, which I did. It was December when I was in London. I recommend wearing a hat, a warm coat, and gloves to keep warm. It can get a bit windy, but I was fine. It did rain on my last day, so I sat inside. Taking photos was fine, but you deal with the window in front of you and potential glare. It was comfortable and a great learning experience as a tourist. I recommend it if you have a chance while in London. (45)

I had about 5 hours to see London, and one of their representatives at the airport suggested I…read morecould see a lot on this bus tour. I took the train to Paddington and got on the Blue line bus, which arrived as I was walking up to the stop. Enjoyed the ride around town on the open upper deck and got off when we reached the London Eye. After visiting the area with the London Eye, I got on the Red line. My original plan was to ride the red line around to Piccadilly Circus to visit somewhere else I wanted to go then, depending on time, take more of the Red route before switching back to blue to go back to the Paddington Station. That plan didn't work out at all! Once on the red route, I was trying to follow along on the map they gave us to make sure I got off at the right place, but very few streets were labeled on the map so I was having to compare the paper map to Google maps. It became apparent that we had, at some point, looped back and repeated part of the route as we passed things that I had taken pictures of 45 minutes prior. In looking at my Google timeline later, you can see that after leaving the London Eye, we did 2 loops around stops 1,2,3, and 4. The bus driver was also honking at people and tried to drive on the wrong side of the road to pass a truck. At many stops, he just got off the bus and left us there waiting while he went off somewhere. Around noon, the driver collected his things and just left the bus for a new driver. I guess he wanted to be in a specific area when his shift ended, so he did his own route to stay in the same area rather than the one we were supposed to stay on. It took 2 hours to go from stop 19 at the London Eye to stop 6 at Piccadilly Circus. I visited the area I wanted to go, and due to the amount of time wasted on the Red route I didn't have time to take the bus again as planned. I had to take the subway back to where I started to go back to the airport.

What makes or breaks a guided tour of a popular attraction like London is the tour guide. On our…read moredouble-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.

We booked despite the bad reviews because it was the only way to get Harry Potter tickets during…read moreour 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.

Great reviews on Yelp guided us to The English Bus for our tour of Stonehenge. I liked the idea of…read morea small group tour. We had a great experience! We easily booked on line a couple months in advance of our trip to Stonehenge, Bath and a Secret Place. I had a few questions, which were answered quickly through email. Instructions and itinerary were provided after we bought we tickets. Additional and helpful information was sent a few day prior to our trip. Noelh, our tour guide, was knowledgable, interesting and fun from the moment he picked us up in London. He provided information beyond the tour stops. He was engaging and had a good understanding of the geology of Stonehenge as well as the historical background. He made well time stops for breaks. We spent about two hours at Stonehenge, two hours at Bath and an hour at the Secret Place. The Secret Place was worth the extra and I highly recommend. Noelh offered a brief and interesting walking tour at each site and left us time to explore on our own. We were allowed to bring snacks on the bus but we didn't need them because we stopped plenty at places for food and drink. Noelh provided water. Bring water and rain gear. There were UBC ports for phone charging on the bus. The bus was very comfortable. Noelh was sensitive to a woman that was having mobility issues and arranged for her to skip part of the walking tour. I enjoyed Stonehenge and the Secret Place immensely, I was glad I saw Bath, but it was too crowded during our visit. Others on the tour really loved Bath. I highly recommend The English Bus tours.

We took the tour with Alex to Stonehenge, Bath, sand a secret place! Can't recommend highly…read moreenough!! The small bus is great in that you don't have to spend all the time getting on and off a huge tour bus. Alex was an amazing guide, giving us local knowledge and clear directions where to go and where to meet back up. He was funny, kind and a great driver. Would definitely book again!!

Awesome experience and one of the trip itinerary's highlights. The overall trip was a gift, so the…read moretour was already factored in. The reservation was set day's prior, so we arrived early in the day and had the freedom to ride to various attrractions and exit the bus at places that we wanted to visit specifically. The bus was never overly crowded as there were many buses on the road at any given time. It was great. The earphones were provided at the beginning of the trip. They were only for listening to tour information. This is the first time that I chose to do the touristy thing in London, but it was definitely a memorable experience. I got to see and visit all of the popular tourist attractions. I don't think we missed anything within all areas of Central London. Though it is not necessary at this point, it is something that I would consider doing again.

This was a great excursion and a great deal for the price. We spend an entire day riding around on…read morethis bus and getting on and off at different locations. I highly recommend it to cover the most ground, especially if it's only a short trip like ours was.

When you have a day layover, there is so many sights to see when traveling. I remember to…read moreparticipate a tour when I visit Munich, so that we could see a good amount of sites. We did free tour with Dave. He was super great! When we did this tour it was on and off raining. So these tours happen rain or shine. The tour was focused on the castle aka the royal tour. We were taken to many photo spots and I love all the context we get. Dave the tour guide was so knowledgeable and super kind. On these tour he tells your tips on how to navigate around the city and etiquette. He was willing to give recommendations and directions when the tour ends too. Remember that these tours had a lot of research done and that you should tip as much you think it is worth. These tours are such worth it as they can build some structure on the trip. I look forward booking with Sandman's tour company again. :)

Had Alexis for the old London tour and he was AMAZING! Highlight of the trip! Learned so much and…read moretook us down very cool quiet, hard to find areas

Did a day trip around London on a hop on hop off bus. It was a little difficult to distinguish…read morewhich bus went with which tour but after a while, my friend and I realized we were on the wrong bus lol this particular bus line was gracious enough to show us where the bus line that we're supposed to be on originated. Overall enjoyed our bus ride and tour! Will be more careful next time to read the small print on the bus insignia lol!

Disclaimer: The poor review is due to the bus being so uncomfortable and hot!…read more My husband and I booked Day Tours London via Viator.com for a day trip to the Stonehenge. The meeting point was easy to find and conveniently located near central London (we met across the street from the Museum of Natural History) at 7:30 AM. We departed shortly after as scheduled. Our tour guide Sinead and driver Richard were fabulous! My main complaint is the bus itself. The seats were very uncomfortable! Secondly, the bus did not have windows, and that day it was so hot in London (80 degrees F/26.6 degrees C), but the air conditioning was not working. We were basically baking inside the bus for 2 hours back from Stonehenge to London! The Stonehenge was beautiful! Definitely a must see!

I've used Big Bus tours before. Not in London, but other countries in Europe. It was a good time…read more Sadly, this tour in London was not a good time. There wasn't enough buses going. We waited at bus stops for what felt like 15 minutes. And saw 2-3 other buses from Toot and Top View come by during the time we were waiting. Maybe we should pick another bus company next time. The stops promised a historical landmark or palace etc. Some of the stops didn't even take you to the proposed destination. For example, I wanted to see Kensington Palace. We drove past the stop for Kensington palace, but didn't get to see it. Same with a couple other spots. You don't actually drive by it. You'd have to get off the bus and walk for days to get there. This can be troublesome in the rain. Speaking of the rain, let's talk about that. It rains a lot in London. So, you'd think that the Big Bus tours would have an overhead coverage for the entire top deck. Wouldn't that make sense? Only the first couple rows are covered. And the audio doesn't work on all of the seats at the top. Probably because the rain ruined the mechanics. The audio on the tour was terrible. It would announce a location after we already passed it. So, you wouldn't even know what to look for or when. Super annoying. You literally had to track along the route on the app, listen to the audio and try to figure out what to take photos of. Oh and then figure out which stops you need to get off and walk to. It's just too much. The bus is supposed to be relaxing and easy to see the sights. This wasn't it.

While the first half of our tour went well, two buses passed us at stop 27, I think it was…read moreTottingham or something like that, standings for about an hour even though we were waiting at the stop. The first didn't stop and the second pulled up To us and just pulled away. We gave up, took a cab to Buckingham Palace and took the tube back. Pretty pour experience for three people at over 100 pounds.

Be VERY careful when you buy your ticket to advise which route you want…read more They will not ask and assume and you could possibly spend 20 minutes running from stop to stop. Ticket takers are less than helpful or knowledgeable from this experience #victoriastation

Finished our month long tour from Aus with my daughter by getting a tour with these guys…read more Best thing we did, tickets issued quickly and expert suggestions made on what to do. Lunch at St Katherine dock, a trip up the Thames on a boat and a trip around the city. Guide was great both on the bus and on the boat, funny, informative, clear and concise. If anyone wants to see London go visit the Big Bus Tour ticket booth at Victoria Street, just outside the station, it capped the month off excellently.

We booked this dinning experience as a way to see the city and the holiday lights, while having a…read morenice meal. The experience was nice and I would probably recommend this to others. Excellent way to see the city and cover a lot of ground, so to speak. We were fortunate to be sitting next to some locals, so they helped to narrate the buildings in the areas that we were driving by. Big help! The biggest challenge was finding the meeting spot. A bit frustrating but we managed to finally find the group in time, so give yourself time on the front end! The food was good, but the service was just average. The server would deliver drinks and meals to the 3 men directly next to us and then we'd wait for 15-20 minutes until we got any attention - really odd. They need coaching or more experienced wait staff to deliver in a sequence down the bus by sections.

This was definitely a unique experience for me and my husband. We hadn't done a dinner bus tour…read morepreviously, so we weren't quite sure what to expect. I'll caveat this by saying that our trip consisted of going to London & Paris, and we did the dinner tour in both locations. If it were just the London experience, I might have rated this 3 stars but the Paris one was clearly better .. I'll get more into that in my Paris review. But here were my thoughts of our London experience. First, it was probably more confusing than it needed to be to find the bus; when you enter in the address given on the website, maps puts you at a location inside the park, which closes way before the bus arrives for the dinner tour, so you're to actually arrive at the bus stop right outside the park. We had done the dinner & drink experience, so we were given champagne when we boarded. The menu was comprised of a tuna tartare, beet root tartare, pan seared cod, beef fillet, Brie cheese course, and a cream filled pastry for dessert. Overall, I thought it was a pretty well planned menu given that it was served on a bus, with sizable portions. There were components of each dish that I enjoyed but overall, things often looked better than they tasted (a bit bland). I believe our host's name was Jackson; he was great. There was another lady who seemed like she'd rather be anywhere else than on the bus and really took away from our experience. I had asked for a couple of things (more water and an extra utensil for dessert) and didn't get them. While we did the dinner tour because it covered more ground, I'd probably recommend lunch, if at all, to be able to see the sites. I'm not sure if it was a WiFi issue but the map didn't load for us and there were only a couple of sites mentioned to us so we didn't known where we were. With it being dark and the lights in the bus being on, it was hard to see outside.