I love seeing the sights in London and the upper deck of a bus offers a great view. The Big Bus Tours sightseeing buses are open-air on the top deck which is perfect for getting photos of your favorite landmarks.

While I like encouraging visitors to try normal London buses too I do think Big Bus Tours offers an excellent service as there isn't a standard public transport bus that circles to take in so many attractions.

The routes take in all the major sights and it's a 'hop on hop off' service so you can get off wherever appeals.

Routes

There are three routes on offer.

The Red Route has a live commentary from a Guide who you can say hello to and ask questions. It's a circular route that takes around 2.5 hours and you see pretty much all the sights you would hope for.

The blue route is slightly longer, taking in more of west London including the South Kensington museums (Natural History Museum, Science Museum and V&A), Hyde Park and Harrods, as well as Madame Tussauds. There is a recorded commentary available in a choice of 8 languages.

The Green Route is the shortest and runs from Covent Garden to King's Cross and back again.

Free Walking Tours

Included in the price of your ticket are a choice of walking tours and a river cruise (with City Cruises).

Big Bus Tours London Review

I tried the Red Route bus tour, a walking tour and a river cruise on a winter's weekend when a standard 24 hour ticket included a second day for free.

I went to Green Park station to get advice from the Big Bus Tours staff on how best to use the days. They swapped the voucher I had for tickets in a matter of minutes and then asked what I really wanted to see so they could make suggestions. Straight away I found the staff to be friendly and welcoming and very open to helping which was refreshing as they do this every day but they still made me feel that my weekend would be special.

We planned the weekend to be Red Route bus tour on Saturday with the Harry Potter walking tour, and the following day to be a river cruise down to Greenwich where there is a lot to do for free.

You can start the bus tour from any of the stops but we got on at Green Park and stayed on until Embankment so we could walk up to Trafalgar Square for the walking tour. We then rejoined the bus tour later to complete the full route.

The Guides we met were full of smiles and welcomed everyone on-board. They asked where people were from so they could point out any relevant locations along the way.

The Guides are all well-trained and knowledgeable about London, plus they also seem to really enjoy what they are doing as even when we met a Guide who had been speaking for over 2 hours he still had smiles for us and made his jokes seem fresh.

As well as pointing out the landmarks, the Guides continuously interact with the passengers asking our opinions and comparing what we saw earlier, as well as posing questions about facts to see who can guess nearest to the right number.

As well as plenty of royal family references, we learned that there's only one pub on Oxford Street yet there are over 40 shoe shops. The Guides give photo opportunity tips and always make sure the driver knows when passengers need to get off.

Do note, no sightseeing buses are allowed to drive in front of Buckingham Palace but there is a bus stop nearby and, as the Guide jovially explained, "You won't miss it; it's the big house on the left."

One Guide noticed there were quite a few couples on-board so pointed out romantic locations and another noticed there were lots of childrens so made them all paper hats while still doing the live commentary.

You can always add to your knowledge of the London landmarks but by taking this tour you'll get an introduction and being 'on location' makes all the difference.

Free Harry Potter Walking Tour

There are a lot of Harry Potter film locations in London but it's always nice to have a Guide to show you how to get between them. It was a really big group on the day I tried the tour, and I sometimes felt I might lose the Guide at the front, but it all went well. I would have preferred the Guide to have colour photos to show but the black and whites did the job.

A friend joined the later 'Ghosts by Gaslight' walk which had a smaller group but was still entertaining.

Free River Cruise

The free cruise is with City Cruises and I'll be honest, I'm not their biggest fan as I disapprove of their staff mumbling a commentary over the loudspeaker and then begging for tips from tourists. I'm always willing to tip good service but shaking a bucket as I try to disembark will never endear them to me.

But, it's a free ticket for a river cruise so, if you can ignore the commentary, just admire the views and head down to Greenwich for the day. Here are some suggested itineraries for a day out in Greenwich.

Conclusion

I think the Big Bus Tours London offers a good service and I'm happy to recommend them. It's a great way to get to see a lot of London in a very short time.

You can book tickets at the VisitBritain Shop (Buy Direct).

Big Bus Tours London website:www.bigbustours.com