Whenever I visit a new city I know nothing about I always take a sight seeing tour on an open top…read morebus - rain or shine - why? Well the way I see it is that you have 2 options - you can either wade through endless pages of city guides and plan your itinerary like a military commander intent on conquering the city or if you're like me you just hop on a bus a make a few mental notes of the places of interest and then go and see them at your own leisure. Taking in account that you have to find things to do and hopping on a bus is one of those things you can do. I'm from Cardiff and I'm even been on a sight sight seeing tour here. Even though I knew pretty much everything they told me I found it entertaining and that's the point. THe tour itself is a point of interest. So unless you're on a seriously tight budget give it a go.

I have enjoyed many an open top sight-seeing tour with this company. The buses are always on time,…read moreand commentary is informative and funny (especially Dublin's). The guides and drivers are polite and friendly, and apart from that one time when we had to keep driving or the bus would explode (that may not be true), everything's peachy. This tour takes you around the city centre (museums and city hall), and then on down to Cardiff Bay area. You can get off anywhere along the way and rejoin later, which is great. Maybe it's just because I live here, but the attempt at bringing the Welsh language into the tour makes me cringe every time. I usually enjoy these tours; I just don't think the Cardiff version is quite up to scratch. Maybe that's saying something about Cardiff? Who knows!

The statement about having Welsh language aswell is pretty funny, as there was no one on the bus…read morethat was Welsh and was awash with confused faces. As a one time tourist to this great city though it is a good informative ride around town. You learn a lot about the history and how things have changed from the good ol' days. Again much of the trip does depend on the weather to how much you'll enjoy the trip. This is no open bus trip to London by any stretch of the imagination but is defiantly worth doing if you'd like a quick overview of all things Cardiff.

If someone asked me to describe the one hour Aquabus ride and tour I took during my last trip to…read moreCardiff, I would have to answer with one word: "meh." For context, a travel buddy and I opted to board an Aquabus for a quick ride around the bay area only - we figured it would provide some beautiful views of the area and hoped that since it was advertised as a tour, we'd learn a thing or two. The biggest perk during the ride was that I got to spend a relaxing hour or so off of my feet, on the water, enjoying beautiful blue skies during a fall day in Wales. This is admittedly a pretty big perk. But the experience wasn't perfect, sadly. For starters, the boat left a bit later than we were told it would (almost 20 minutes later, in fact) - so it was a good thing my travel buddy and I had already attended our time-sensitive plans in the Bay area that day. Secondly, there really wasn't a lot of information during our "tour". Plus, even when they did try to give you information during the tour/cruise/ride/etc., the recording they occasionally played tended to malfunction. I can't even remember how many times it stopped or repeated itself. It didn't help that we couldn't always hear the recording very clearly, even though we were sitting pretty close to the speakers... So as you've probably guessed, I was ultimately pretty underwhelmed with my Aquabus "tour." I did at least get to enjoy a beautiful ride around the bay. Something tells me that's their primary aim, too. So if that's what you're looking for, that's what I can recommend an Aquabus ride for. But after my experience, I'll remember Aquabus as a sightseeing option only. 2.5 stars from this traveler.

As far as adrenaline rushes and "been there done it" experiences are concerned, Cardiff bay's…read morelittle Aquabus tour probably doesn't compare well to The Lady of the Mist boat that takes you to the base of Niagara Falls. Having said that - if you happen to be in Cardiff Bay of a lovely blue skyed day and are in no particular rush plus you fancy getting from the Bay to the City Centre then there is no better way than this. I did it with my partner and my child and its a lovely way to while away half an hour (I think that's how long it took). There is something timeless about chugging over gently rippling water towards a destination whilst watching a familiar landscape from an unfamiliar angle. Anyhow - if this appeals to you why not hop about they leave pretty regularly and do not cost the earth (it was under £5 for an adult).

Leisuretime deal in holidays and day trips travelling by coach but beware I have only travelled…read morewith these people three times and each time something has gone wrong!!Twice the coach has broken down,leaving us stranded in a motorway services for hours and once we stayed in a hotel in Torquay that was appalling(think fawlty towers).I have spoken to other people and this tends to be the norm!!I am sure some people love travelling with Leisuretime but I am not one of them.

This year as in previous years I have really enjoyed the holidays provided by Leisuretime…read more My only negative comment would be is that rarely does the pickup coach arrive on the time given. My experience so far in Feb/March has been 1/2 hr and 3/4 hr late, waiting on a cold drafty bus stop (Cheapside, Bridgend) with no shelter to speak of. This start of an holiday detracts from the overall experience and I hope something can be done about this in the future. Otherwise I am pleased by the level of service experienced.

Preface: A couple of the one-star reviews on Google were very unfair to Lion Tours. One of the…read morereviewers clearly never went on the tour (writing on behalf of others) and the other reviewer was merely repeating the former reviewer's review. It seems that the only person "lacking variety" is the latter reviewer. I usually don't call out other reviewers but something had to be said before someone stepped on either of these landmines. Now, on with the review. Paul was the greatest tour guide in the history of tour guides... maybe ever. He was incredibly knowledgeable about the surrounding area and we were completely blown away by his attention to detail. Did you know that Thomas the Tank Engine was conceived on this route? Wild! Paul knew. He also accompanied us to Stonehenge itself and gave us an in-person walk-through of the site, which I hear the competition doesn't do. The other tours just drop you off and wait in the cafe for you to be done. A bit impersonal if you ask me. Paul even keeps spare rain jackets in case you didn't bring one to the Henge. What a saint. Need recommendations for what to do in Bath? Surprise, Paul's got them. If the other tours are Bieber and Swift albums, then Lion Tours would have to be Peter Gabriel's Solsbury Hill, an absolute classic. Would book again!

We toured Stonehenge, Avebury, Lalock and Castle Combe. Paul was knowledgeable about the area and…read moreprovided us a unique and personal experience. He provided a special tour in Castle Combe that others could not show! We had a great day and recommend this tour

Great idea! Without a local to show me the sights (and to be honest, how many locals really know…read morethe city?), the open-topped double-decker bus was the best choice I could make. It stops at over a dozen of Bath's hot spots and with a non-stop history lesson. And as you're on this 45 minute ride around the city, the tour guide is going on about all the interesting spots and the background of each as you go past. The ticket is good for two days, so if you want to hop off at a few of the stops along the way, you can still hop back on later. And the best part is that the ticket actually covers two routes - the urban city tour and the "skyline" tour around greater Bath. Definitely do this. One tip: the tour guides each have their own patter, so if you really want to learn about Bath, I'd recommend taking the tour twice. Adrian on my first run had completely different tidbits from Paul, on my second trip. The bus has free headphones available - if you can't hear the guide from where you are seated, or if you prefer a language other than English - pick up a set. (My iPod headphones didn't fit.)

Highly recommended. For 26 pounds, two adults and a child (or up to three children) can ride the…read moredouble-decker city sightseeing bus all around Bath and take in the sights from high above the street. Our tour guide was a live person (some tour buses use a pre-recorded audio track) who sat along with us on the second deck of the bus. It was a nice reprieve from all of the walking we had been doing, and it was especially good for the kid we were with to take a break and just take in all of the beautiful surroundings.

When a friend of mine came down for the weekend from London I wanted to make sure I gave him the…read morebest Bristol experience I could. I wanted to show him the best restaurants, shops, bars and sights. Then I realised, I didn't actually KNOW that much about the city. Easiest way to get to Corn Street? Sure! Good place for a coffee and a chinwag? No problem! Where did Bristol's name come from? Ooh... erm? So as soon as he stepped off the 10:14 from Paddington we caught the City Sightseeing Bus and were prepared to learn anything and everything about my favourite city. The round tour, providing you don't make any stops, lasts around an hour and costs just £10 for a 24 hour ticket. But with over 20 scheduled stops, if you have time it's definitely worth making the most of your money and jumping off and on when it takes your fancy. Some of my highlights of the journey are the stunning views of Clifton Bridge, the local tour guide giving your fun facts along the way and a surprise ride past the Aardman studios. It's well worth the money - much cheaper than taxis for the day - and really interesting, even for locals. And just so you know Bristol = Bridg Stow = Bridge Assembly... Place where people assemble by bridge. I think?

Has it ever occurred to you that when you're on a city break, you make every effort to see every…read morecorner of your chosen destination, but in your home city, there are loads of tourist attractions you've been ignoring for years? I'd like to pretend that this was my motivation when I compulsively jumped on City Sightseeing tour bus a few years back, but the truth is that we'd just walked out of Temple Meads still feeling a tad pissed after a hard night out in Cardiff and thought it would be a novel way to get to a pub in Clifton. Having said that, they offer cheap singles so why not go to your destination on an open top bus with a crap commentary than growing suicidal and being ripped off on the First Bus equivalent? They also do a £10 hop-on, hop-off pass that's valid for 24 hours. It stops at such notable places as @Bristol, the SS Great Britain and Park Street, offering up such juicy information as exactly how many days of the year cars are allowed to park on the Downs (I'm afraid I can't remember the exact answer). We live in a beautiful and interesting city, so it's time you went and explored it in more detail!

Even though it was raining during our walk Nigel made the tour both interesting and insightful…read more Constantly asking us questions and us asking him, all of which he seemed to answer effortlessly. The way he spoke about the history of Cardiff made it seem like he experienced it first hand. Possibly one of the best walking tours I've been on in the UK and would recommend to anyone traveling or even living in Cardiff to learn more about how much Cardiff and Wales in general has developed over the past century. Have no fear, if you're usually not a huge history fan, this review is coming from someone who usually gets bored easily on city tours!

We had a private tour with Simon Whittaker to a small portion of the Cotswolds. Not only was he…read moreprompt for our pick up he was full of historical information about the whole area. We were able to see and walk through a few villages and really see what makes this area a wonder. Not to mention many of the villages we visited were used in filming a lot of television and movie productions. We were able to stop and have a coffee at an historical hotel and lunch at a lovely spot far from the beaten path. Very enlightening! Simon was very personable. I highly recommend a tour with this Company and with Simon.

We hired Simon to give us a private 2 day tour of Bath, Stonehenge and the surrounding area. He was…read moreexcellent; helpful, knowledgeable, organized and with the sweetest disposition. He picked us up at the Bath train station and took us straight to Stonehenge. From there we did a half day walking tour of Bath. The next day he took us to Lacock to show our kids all the Harry Potter filming locations, not to be missed if you're a HP fan! Then he drove us through a few quaint villages on our journey to Highclere Castle to live out our Downton Abbey fantasy. He even found a way to surprise us with a stop at Avebury on the way! We had the best time with Simon and learned a lot, but he also taught us there is so much more to see! We'll be back again one day and will definitely be sure to hook up with Simon again.