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Golden Tours (Gray Line) hop-on hop-off open top bus tour

Hop-on hop-off double deck open top sightseeing bus tour with tickets for 24, 48 or 72-hours

Golden Tours London hop-on hop-off sightseeing tour

Explore London on a double-decker open-top sightseeing bus tour that allows you to hop on and off at your leisure. Choose from 24, 48, or 72-hour ticket options.

Golden Tours offers one of the three main hop-on hop-off sightseeing tours in London. In addition to the bus tour, they also provide guided coach tours from London to popular destinations like Windsor, Stonehenge, and Oxford.

For a unique experience, you can combine your Golden Tours bus ticket with a visit to the Warner Bros Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter.

Golden Tours is the only tour operator that offers a fully live-guided tour on their 1.5-hour Express ticket, which is not hop-on, hop-off.

What’s included

• Unlimited travel for 24, 48, or 72 hours on the Golden Tours London sightseeing bus network, covering all major attractions in Central London.
• Enjoy a free one-way river cruise as part of your ticket.
• Join complimentary walking tours of the Coronation and/or Jack the Ripper sites.
• Experience 4 open-top sightseeing routes with recorded commentary available in 11 languages.
• Take part in a 90-minute open-top bus tour with an English-speaking guide.
• Benefit from a flexible cancellation policy allowing a full refund up to 24 hours before the tour.
• Stay connected with free Wi-Fi on all buses.

Golden Tours Ticket Options

Discover the various ticket options offered by Golden Tours for an immersive sightseeing experience in London.

Golden Tours Duration Options

Choose from flexible durations of 24, 48, or 72 hours for your Golden Tours adventure. Select the ticket that suits your itinerary and explore London at your own pace.

Golden Tours with or without River Cruise

Customize your experience by deciding whether you want to include the Thames river cruise with your Golden Tours ticket. Opt for the package that best matches your interests and preferences.

Best Price Guarantee

Enjoy peace of mind when you purchase your Golden Tours tickets directly from their website. Benefit from the best price guarantee, ensuring you get the most value for your money.

Golden Tours Advance Tickets

Secure your tickets in advance through the easy online booking system. Simply make the payment with your credit or debit card and receive an instant confirmation email with your printable ticket.

Easy Redemption Process

Join the tour at any Golden Tours bus stop by exchanging your email voucher for the physical tickets. Your adventure begins when you board the first bus, allowing you to make the most of your chosen duration.

Plan your Golden Tours experience and embark on a memorable journey through the iconic sights of London.

Golden Tours Routes and Buses

Explore London’s iconic landmarks and attractions with Golden Tours’ comprehensive bus routes. With the hop-on, hop-off ticket, you have the freedom to switch between routes as you please.

The Classic Tour (Blue Route)

Discover all the major sights in Central London, including the renowned Museum Quarter. Immerse yourself in the rich history and culture of the city.

The Essential Tour (Red Route)

Experience famous landmarks like Madame Tussauds, Kings Cross, Hyde Park, and Regents Park. Take in the beauty of London’s picturesque parks along this route.

The Morning and Evening Drop off Service (Yellow and Green Routes)

Designed for convenience, these routes operate in the morning and late afternoon, providing transportation from popular hotel districts to Central London.

Golden Tours Route Map

Refer to the comprehensive route map of Golden Tours to plan your sightseeing itinerary and make the most of your London adventure.

Frequencies and Operating Hours

Buses run every 5-10 minutes at major tourist points and approximately every 10-20 minutes at the outer reaches of the network. The main routes commence around 8:30 am to 9 am and gradually wind down from 5 pm.

Guides and Audio Guides

Enhance your experience with Golden Tours’ audio guides, available in 11 languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Indian, Japanese, and Arabic. While live guides are not currently available, there is a dedicated 90-minute route, the Open Top London Bus Tour With Live Guide, accompanied by an English-speaking guide.

Immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of London with Golden Tours’ extensive bus routes and informative audio guides. Discover the city at your own pace and create unforgettable memories.

With Warner Bros Studio Tour

Golden Tours 4-Hour Hop-On Bus + Warner Bros Studio Tour London – Harry Potter Magic

Embark on a magical journey into the world of Harry Potter at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter.

Enjoy exceptional value with a 4-hour hop-on bus tour of London’s iconic sights, including round-trip transportation and entrance tickets to the Warner Bros Studio Tour.

Discover the wonders of The Great Hall, Harry’s bedroom, the Ministry of Magic, Platform 9 ¾, and the enchanting Forbidden Forest.

Join us for an unforgettable adventure through the magical realm of Harry Potter!

Click the link to book your tickets

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter – what to expect

With Merlin attraction pass 

The Ultimate London Experience

Book your Tickets here

Enjoy complete flexibility with this pass. You can select a 1-day or 24-hour hop-on bus tour of London and choose three or all five of the exciting Merlin attractions.

As an added bonus, your hop-on bus pass includes a complimentary Thames river cruise.

Experience a fantastic combination of top London attractions with this incredible bundle.

River Cruise  

Free Thames river cruise with Thames River Cruising

Enjoy a complimentary river trip included in your Golden Tours hop-on, hop-off bus ticket. The river service that the Golden Tours ticket covers runs from the Westminster Pier by Big Ben to the Greenwich Pier in the east, with several stops along the way.

Cruises are for one-way only.

Frequencies are approximately every 20 minutes in the summer and every 30-40 minutes in the winter.

Note – the river cruise is not included in the one calendar day ticket.

Walking tours  

Free walking tours with Golden Tours hop on buses

Explore the dark secrets of London with a complimentary Jack The Ripper Walking Tour or embark on a majestic Coronation Walking Tour during your Golden Tours hop-on bus journey.

Uncover the haunting locations where crucial clues were found and immerse yourself in the chilling enigma of Jack The Ripper’s crimes.

Alternatively, embark on a captivating 2-hour stroll through the city, discovering the grandeur of Royal sites and gaining insights into historic and contemporary coronations. Unearth intriguing details like the favored cigarette shop of The Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth’s preferred off-license store.

Add-ons to Golden Tours tours & themed tours 

In addition to the regular hop-on bus services, Golden Tours offers various other options for you to choose from.

These include:

1. Night tours

2. Christmas lights tours

3. Add-on for the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter

4. 90-minute non-stop open-top bus ride with a live guide providing commentary

Click on the banner below for more information.

Golden Tours also provides bundled packages that combine their top London attractions with the hop-on bus service.

Choose from:

1. Tower of London with hop-on bus

2. View from the Shard with hop-on bus

3. Westminster Abbey with hop-on bus

4. St. Paul’s Cathedral with hop-on bus

5. SEA LIFE with hop-on bus

6. The London Dungeon with hop-on bus

7. Madame Tussauds with hop-on bus

8. London Eye with hop-on bus

9. Shrek’s Adventure! London with hop-on bus

Golden Tours included with London Pass 

The London Pass is a convenient sightseeing pass that allows you entry to many of London’s main attractions. It is available for 1, 2, 3, 6, or 10-day durations.

With the London Pass, you can access over 60 popular tourist attractions in London and enjoy a river cruise on the River Thames.

Additionally, the London Pass now includes the option to use either Golden Tours or Big Bus hop-on hop-off buses for one full day, regardless of the duration of your London Pass.

Important points about the London Pass Hop-on Hop-off bus offer:

•  You can choose to ride on either Golden Tours or Big Bus hop-on hop-off sightseeing buses for one calendar day. Tootbus (Original London Tour) is not included.
•  The Hop-on Hop-off bus offer is valid for one calendar day, not for 24 hours.
•  Most people use the Hop-on Hop-off facility on the first day of their London Pass, but you can use it on any day within the validity of your London Pass.
•  The Hop-on Hop-off bus offer with the London Pass does not include walking tours and river cruises provided by the respective bus companies. However, the London Pass already includes a separate river cruise.
• -When boarding the first bus, you need to show your London Pass to the driver or tour guide who will scan it and provide you with a separate ticket for the chosen bus company. This ticket will be valid for the rest of the day. Once you start with one bus company, you cannot switch to the other company on the same day.

Golden Tours compared with Tootbus & Big Bus  

When it comes to coverage in London, all three hop-on hop-off bus operations visit the same areas and major attractions in the city.

Live Guides:

Golden Tours is the only company that offers a regular service with live guides, but this is not a hop-on-hop-off bus. Instead, it is a fixed 90-minute tour, priced similarly to the hop-on bus.

Commentaries:

All three companies use pre-recorded commentaries for their hop-on bus services, though the number of languages offered may vary. However, during special promotional periods, Tootbus sometimes provides a special service with an expert live guide. These tours operate on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be guaranteed (though they run hourly).

Ticket Durations:

All operators offer tickets valid for 24 and 48 hours. Tootbus and Golden Tours also offer 72-hour tickets. Additionally, Tootbus offers a 1.5-hour Bar Bus ticket, while Golden Tours has a fully guided 1.5-hour Express ticket.

Evening Tours:

All three operators offer evening tours. Big Bus includes a separate evening tour with their Premium and Deluxe tickets. For more details, please visit their respective websites.

Walking Tours:

Golden Tours and Big Bus offer professionally guided walking tours included with selected tickets. Golden Tours offers the Jack The Ripper Walking Tour or Coronation Walking Tour. Big Bus offers three free tours with their Essential and Explore tickets: Changing of the Guard Walking Tour, City of London Walking Tour, and Jack the Ripper Walking Tour. Each tour lasts 1.5 hours. Big Bus currently offers a Royal-themed hop-on bus tour called “A Big Royal Adventure” along with a 45-minute Royal Walking Tour. Tootbus does not offer guided walking tours but provides the option to download “Tootwalk” to your phone, which includes three self-guided walks.

River Cruises:

Two different river cruise operators, City Cruises and Thames River Sightseeing, are used. Golden Tours and Tootbus offer tickets without the river cruise, making them cheaper. All Big Bus tickets include the river cruise. Please note that river cruises are one-way only.

Add-on Attractions or Alternative Tours:

Golden Tours offers a range of attractions as add-ons to the basic 4-hour hop-on bus ticket. Discount London allows you to purchase discounted bundles of Big Bus tickets and top London attractions. Through the Big Bus official website, you can also add-on tickets for Madame Tussauds, Tower of London, and London Eye Fast Track. Tootbus does not currently offer add-on attractions but provides alternative tours such as a Windsor hop-on bus tour and a popular Kids tour.

For a detailed discussion on the differences between the companies, click on the provided banner.

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Golden Tours (Gray Line) hop-on hop-off open top bus tour

Hop-on hop-off double deck open top sightseeing bus tour with tickets for 24, 48 or 72-hours.

Cruise around London with Golden Tours hop-on buses

Golden Tours London hop-on hop-off sightseeing tour

The Golden Tours London hop-on hop-off service is one of the three main London hop-on, hop-off sightseeing tours operating in London.

Unlike the other two London hop-on, hop-off sightseeing bus operators, Golden Tours also offer a broad range of guided coach tours from London to places like Windsor, Stonehenge and Oxford .

Golden Tours also combine their hop-on bus tours with popular attractions in London .

Two big popular combinations right now are Hop on & hop-off bus tour with London Bridge Experience as well as Hop on & hop-off bus tour with London Transport Museum.

Golden Tours are currently the only tour operator to consistently offer a fully live-guided tour on their 1.5-hr Express ticket (not hop-on, hop off).

BOOK GOLDEN TOURS HOP-ON BUS TICKETS   What's included   About Golden Tours ticket options   Routes and buses   With London Bridge Experience   With London Transport Museum   With Merlin attraction pass   River Cruise   Walking tours   Add-ons to Golden Tours tours & themed tours   Golden Tours included with London Pass   Golden Tours compared with Tootbus & Big Bus   Hop-on buses price comparison table  

GOLDEN TOURS HOP-ON BUS LONDON TICKETS

Hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus London

Choice of 1-day, 24, 48 or 72-hr tickets • Free one-way Thames river cruise (if selected) • Two walking tours • Free Wi-Fi on board • Audio in 11 languages • London in your Pocket app access

Golden Tours hop on bus London - what's included in your ticket

Unlimited travel for 24, 48 or 72-hours on the Golden Tours London sightseeing bus network that visits all major attractions in Central London

Free one-way river cruise included with ticket

Free walking tours - Coronation and/or Jack the Ripper

4 open top sightseeing routes with pre-recorded commentary in 11 languages

90-min open top bus tour featuring English speaking guide

Cancellation policy - up to 24 hours beforehand to get full refund

Free Wi-Fi on all buses

Comparison table of London's hop-on bus prices 2024

What you need to know about Golden Tours London tickets

The basic format of the Golden Tours sightseeing bus is the same as for its two competitors, Big Bus London and Tootbus : a hop-on, hop-off bus service stopping at all the major tourist attractions supplemented by a one-way river cruise.

Golden Tours tickets

You can buy tickets for the Golden Tours service in 24, 48 and 72-hr durations. So, if you buy a 48-hr ticket, the ticket is valid 48 hours from the time you activate the ticket by boarding the bus.

Tickets can also either be purchased with or without the Thames river cruise.

There is a best price guarantee if you purchase direct from the Golden Tours website, see banner link above.

Golden Tours advance tickets - how it works

You pay for your tickets on the website in advance, by credit/debit card at the time of purchase.

A confirmation ticket is sent to you immediately by email which you need to print out.

You can join the tour from any Golden Tours bus stop, exchanging your email voucher for your tickets. Your tickets start from the time when you board the first bus.

Golden Tours routes and buses

Golden Tours offer 4 routes that between them cover all the major sights in London. You can switch from one to another as you please if you buy the hop-on hop-off ticket.

The Classic Tour (Blue route) : Covers all the main Central London sights and visits London’s Museum Quarter.

The Essential Tour (Red route) : Passes Madame Tussauds and Kings Cross, as well as Hyde Park and Regents Park, two of the prettiest parks in London.

The Morning and Evening Drop off Service (Yellow and Green routes) : Operating in the morning and late afternoon, this route travels from the popular hotel districts to Central London.

Golden Tours route map London 2024

Frequencies are every 5-10 minutes at the main tourist points where routes overlap and 10-20 minutes at the outer reaches of the network. The main routes start up about 8.30am to 9am and start to wind down around 5pm.

Guides and audio guides

Golden Tours offer the most languages of all the hop on bus companies on their audio guides, currently 11. These are: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Indian, Japanese and Arabic.

No live guide is available currently on any of the hop on hop off bus routes, but there is a continuous 90-min route that does have an English speaking guide, called the Open Top London Bus Tour With Live Guide.

Golden Tours 24-hr hop on bus with London Bridge Experience

Hop-on bus tour of London by Golden Tours

This incredible value London Hop on Hop off bus tour grants you the freedom and convenience to explore the city in depth in one day.

Enjoy a fabulous hop-on bus experience for a whole 24 hours, allowing you to see such London icons as the Tower of London, Shakespeare’s Globe and spectacular Westminster Abbey, as well as, of course, the inimitable Buckingham Palace.

Thames River cruise

This 24-hr hop-on bus tour also gives you a free Thames River Cruise, where you travel from Westminster to either Tower Bridge Quay or Greenwich (or vice versa), and get to soak in panoramic views of the capital’s most iconic landmarks along the way.

Two walking tours

Plus all Golden Tours hop-on bus tours offer two different complimentary walking tours of London (currently Jack the Ripper or Coronation walking tour).

Entrance into London Bridge Experience

In addition with this fantastic package you get entry into The London Bridge Experience:

Travel back in time become part of London's gruesome history and travel back in time to an age of adventure, uncovering the dark secrets that lie beneath the world’s most famous and haunted bridge. Laugh, scream and cheer your way through 2000 years of history.

GOLDEN TOURS 24-HR HOP ON BUS PLUS LONDON BRIDGE EXPERIENCE

Combine hop-on hop-off sightseeing tour with the London Bridge Experience

• 24-hr Hop-on Hop-off London Bus Tour • Entrance to The London Bridge Experience & The London Tombs • One way Thames river cruise ticket • 2 walking tours • Audio guide in 11 languages

Golden Tours 24-hr or 1-day hop on bus with London Transport Museum

Another great offer combining a Golden Tours hop on bus tour (choose form 24-hr or 1-day) with entrance to the memorable London Transport Museum.

Entrance into the London Transport Museum

Discover spectacular exhibits showcasing the 200-year history of London’s public transport network at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden.

From abandoned tube stations to historic vehicles, see how London’s transport has evolved over the years.

Discover rare photos, vintage posters and old tiles from derelict stations while you hear stories of travel in Victorian times, the first railway and underground lines and how Churchill took shelter underground during the Blitz. There’s also the only surviving steam engine from the 1860s to see!

GOLDEN TOURS 24-HR HOP ON BUS PLUS LONDON TRANSPORT MUSEUM

Combine hop-on hop-off sightseeing tour with the London Transport Museum

• 24-hr Hop-on Hop-off London Bus Tour • Entrance to The London Transport Museum • One way Thames river cruise ticket • 2 walking tours • Audio guide in 11 languages

Golden Tours 1 day or 24-hr hop on bus, river cruise + Merlin attraction pass

The Ultimate London Experience

With this pass you can be fully flexible. Choose to combine a 1-day or a 24-hr hop on bus tour of London with a combination of three different Merlin attractions, or all five - it's up to you.

Plus - your hop on bus pass also comes with a FREE Thames river cruise.

A great bundle of top London attractions.

Big City Saver (aka Merlin's Magical London) pass - more details

THE ULTIMATE LONDON EXPERIENCE - WITH HOP ON BUS

HUGE SAVINGS: Buy a 3 or 5 attraction pass for top 5 London attractions plus hop-on bus & river cruise

• 1-day, 24, 48 or 72-hr hop-on bus tickets available • Thames river cruise • London Eye • Madame Tussauds London • London Dungeon • Shrek's Adventure! London • SEA LIFE London Aquarium

Adult from £106 for 3 attractions + 1-day hop-on bus. Child (age 5-15) £87

Adult from £165 for 5 attractions + 24-hr hop-on bus. Child (age 5-15) £140

Free river cruise with Golden Tours

Free Thames river cruise with Thames River Cruising

Enjoy a complimentary river trip included in your Golden Tours hop-on, hop-off bus ticket. The river service that the Golden Tours ticket covers runs from the Westminster Pier by Big Ben to the Greenwich Pier in the east, with several stops along the way.

Cruises are for one-way only.

Frequencies are approximately every 20 minutes in the summer and every 30-40 minutes in the winter.

Note - the river cruise is not included in the one calendar day ticket.

Free walking tours with Golden Tours hop on buses

Golden tours hop on buses also include a free Jack The Ripper Walking Tour and/or the Coronation Walking Tour.

The Jack the Ripper tour offers you the chance to explore the locations where vital clues were found and play detective in trying to solve this morbid mystery.

Alternatively, you can choose the Coronation walking tour: a majestic 2-hour stroll through the capital uncovering spectacular Royal sites. Learn more about coronations past and present as well as quirky facts such as where The Queen Mother bought her cigarettes and Queen Elizabeth’s favourite off-licence.

Golden Tours hop on bus alternatives and top London attractions

As well as the traditional hop-on bus services from Golden Tours, there are also a range of other services to choose from.

Options include:

• Night tours
• Christmas lights tours
• Add on The Gunpowder Plot Experience or Disney 100: The Exhibition
• 90-min non stop open top bus ride with a live guide doing the commentary

Click on the banner below for more details.

In addition to these options, Golden Tours have also bundled many of their top London attractions with a hop on bus service.

Choose from:

Tower of London with hop-on bus

Westminster Abbey with hop-on bus

St Paul's with hop-on bus

SEA LIFE with hop-on bus

The London Dungeon with hop-on bus

Madame Tussauds with hop-on bus

London Eye with hop-on bus

Shrek's Adventure! London with hop-on bus

GOLDEN TOURS HOP-ON BUS LONDON ALTERNATIVE TOURS

Hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus London with add-ons

• 90-min bus tour with LIVE GUIDE option • Option to add on The Gunpowder Plot Experience or Disney 100: The Exhibition • Evening tours • Christmas lights tours

London Pass - Golden Tours included (or Big Bus)

The London Pass is a flat rate sightseeing pass to many (but not all) of London's main sightseeing attractions. You can buy a London Pass for 1, 2, 3, 6 or 10 day durations

The London Pass gives you entry into more than 60 London tourist attractions and a river cruise on the River Thames.

The London Pass also now includes use of either Golden Tours or Big Bus hop-on hop-off bus for one calendar day, whatever the duration of the London Pass.

Key points of the London Pass Ho Ho bus offer

You can choose to ride on the Golden Tours  or  Big Bus hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus for one calendar day. Tootbus (Original London Tour) is not covered.

The Ho Ho bus offer is for one calendar day  not  for 24 hours.

Most people use the Ho Ho facility on the first day of their London Pass, but there is nothing stopping using it on another day when the London Pass is valid.

The Ho Ho bus offer with London Pass doesn't include the walking tours and river cruises included in the standard tickets issued by the Ho Ho companies concerned, only the bus tour (but you do get a river cruise included in the London Pass separately anyway)

You show your London Pass to the driver or tour guide of the first bus you board. They will scan your London Pass and issue you with a separate ticket for the bus company concerned valid for the rest of the day. You cannot switch to the other bus company once you have made your first journey.

London Pass more details

Golden Tours v Big Bus v Tootbus

In terms of London coverage all three Ho Ho sightseeing bus operations visit the same areas and all the main London attractions.

Live guides

This is one area that has changed in recent years. Traditionally all three companies offered live guides on at least one of their hop-on tours.

Today you will find this is no longer the case. If having a live guide is important to you there are a couple of options, but none of them are hop-on, hop-off but rather 60 or 90-minute continuous sightseeing tours.

Golden Tours have a live guide on their 90 min non-stop tour.

Tootbus have a live guide on their London Kids Tour and London Christmas Tour.

Big Bus no longer offer a live guide service on any of their tours.

Otherwise all three companies use pre-recorded commentaries for their hop-on bus services (they vary on the number of languages offered).

All operators offer tickets with 24 and 48-hr validity periods; Tootbus and Golden Tours also offer 72-hr tickets.

In addition Tootbus offer a 60-min Bar Bus ticket, while Golden Tours offer a fully guided 1.5-hr Express ticket (see above).

Evening Tours

All three operators offer evening tours. Big Bus also include a separate evening tour with their Premium and Deluxe tickets.

See websites for more details.

Walking Tours

Both Golden Tours and Big Bus offer highly regarded professionally guided walking tours included with your ticket (selected tickets only).

With Golden Tours you can choose from a Jack The Ripper Walking Tour or Coronation Walking Tour.

Big Bus offer THREE FREE TOURS with their Essential and Explore tickets: Changing of the Guard Walking Tour, City of London Walking Tour and a Jack the Ripper Walking Tour. Each tour is 1.5 hours long.

In addition Big Bus are currently offering a Royal themed hop on bus tour - 'A Big Royal Adventure'' together with a 45-min Royal Walking Tour.

Tootbus do not offer guided walking tours but instead give you the chance to download "Tootwalk" to your phone: a choice of three self-guided walks.

River cruises

Two different river cruise operators are used, City Cruises and Thames River Sightseeing.

Golden Tours and Tootbus both offer tickets which are cheaper because they do not offer the river cruise. River cruises come standard with all Big Bus tickets.

All river cruises are for one-way only.

Add-on attractions or alternative tours

Golden Tours offer a range of attractions as add-on to the basic 4-hr hop-on bus ticket .

Tootbus don't currently offer any add-on attractions but they do offer alternative tours such as an Evening Tour , Bar Bus and a very popular Kids tour .

Click through on the banner for a thorough discussion on the differences between companies.

London's hop-on buses - discussion comparison

LONDON'S OPEN TOP HOP-ON, HOP-OFF SIGHTSEEING TOUR PRICING 2024

All the hop-on bus companies have permanently discounted online prices, (compared with walk-up prices) which are between 10 - 15% off.

Prices are seasonal and variable and prices above are based on low season prices. During school holidays prices are typically higher.

To be sure you are getting the best possible price it is advisable to check our prices above against the hop-on bus companies' websites as they occasionally run sales throughout the year:

Tootbus official website

Big Bus official website

Golden Tours official website

Tootbus offer cheaper tickets, which are bus only, no river cruise. Tootbus offer this for a 24, 48 or 72-hr period and call this ticket 'London Discovery'.

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Gray line tours - London - Choose... - Golden Tours

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Gray line tours - London - Choose another company!!!!!

Tour of Stonehenge, Windsor castle and Bath. Left 30 minutes late even though our group was ready 30 minutes before the tour was scheduled to start. The guide was a very crabby old hag who blamed the delay on the tour group and management. Rather than point out the sites, she went on to complain about Harrods and everything else in London. She actually yelled at some of the other pasengers for talking at the same time that she did. Then she ordered the bus driver to leave 2 of the passengers at one of the sites because they were 5 minutes late getting back to the bus. We rushed through all of the sites so we could get to some run down pub in Stonehenge to eat some luch that they tried to over charge us for. Also bought tickets through Gray line to the Tower of London. When we tried to redeem the voucher that I printed from the internet at the Gray line tour office, they told me to just go to the castle and redeem it there. When I got to the castle on the other side of London, they said they had never seen anything like it before. The lady at the castle office tried to call Gray line to get some kind of explination, and they told her that the person that she needed to talk to was out of the office. Fortunately she felt sorry for us and let us in anyway. The only redeeming quality of this company is that the busses were pretty nice and the gentleman who came to pick us up was very friendly. Wish he could have been our tour guide.

We booked a day long trip to Bath, Windsor Castle and Stonehendge. Although we had been warned ahead of time that it was a long day (and it was), we really enjoyed our day. Our driver Martin was professional and safe. And our tour guide David was an absolute delight and extremely knowledgeable about our visits and England in general. I would recommend Golden Tours as something to look into if you want to experience a bit of England outside of London.

What can i say, Golden Tours is an absolute shambles! im suprised Grayline are still operation in england with the really bad service i recieved on the Windsor, Bath and Stonehenge experience, for one it ran late, it also was poorly equiped in terms of electrical headsets, couldnt hear a thing. the lunch was awful and not to forget when i went into the office to book the tickets before the tour the sales manager was unprofessional and a flirt, called me babes and i could tell from his beady eyes what was really on his mind. i spoken to other people and they had said they had a bad experience of Golden tours and to STAY AWAY!!!!!

I apologise that you were not satisfied with the tour, however I see no specifics about the tour date, etc so I am unable to comment on the problems mentioned. I should make it clear that our staff are friendly, but remain professional at all times. If I had the date of the incident, or a description of the sales rep then I would be able to investigate further. The lunch venue at Stonehenge is one of the most reputable venues we use outside of London. Your comment is noted, but by far from the norm as we carry 800-10000 people every day throughout the year.

We took the Salisbury/Stonehenge/Bath tour on 28-Aug-09. The bus depot is a little hectic in the morning, but that's due to several tours from several tour companies all leaving at the same time. There are some reviews discussing the tour guide David. If this is the same David others have referred to, a rather short older gentleman, then I see why he comes recommended. He was our guide, and did very well. (and so much for the reviewer who was told he was "fired" from Golden Tours). I was quite impressed at his ability to help out the folks whose native language wasn't English. Also very knowledgeable and witty. The tour is a bit rushed, but one should expect that going into it. David also said up front that it was a highlights tour, and we wouldn't be spending a lot of time each place. The lunch in Salisbury is a place called Cloisters, right next to the entrance to Salisbury Cathedral. It was a quite tasty lunch (including dessert), and for 10 euro, quite worth it. If you don't chose the lunch with your reservation, you'll get the chance to still eat with the group and pay at the restaurant. Note you don't have much time for lunch, and the lunch at Cloisters was pre-ordered to be ready when we got there. Be wary of that if you chose to eat elsewhere. This day, though, the restaurant was short staffed, so we ended up there about 20-25 minutes later than planned. In the end, we returned about 50 minutes later than the 7pm arrival time, but only due to delays (lunch and traffic) not relating to Golden Tours.

My daughter and I spent one week in London. We decided to take a trip outside of London to Stonehenge and Bath. Because we didn't want to get up early for a Golden Tour pickup of 7:55 at our hotel for a Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath tour, we decided to take a later tour to just Bath and Stonehenge. We were instructed to meet at the Original Bus Tour office at Trafalgar Square at 9:55. Once we were on the bus we were told this bus would take us to another bus, which would then take us to Stonehenge and Bath. What we were not aware of was that we had to travel to Windsor to pick up our bus that would take us to Bath and Stonehenge. By the time we started out to Stonehenge, it was already 12:00. This was a waste of 2 hours just to get to Windsor and then have to transfer to another bus to get to Stonehenge. We then went to lunch at the Stonehenge Inn, which was fine.We didn't arrive at Stonehenge until approx. 1:30 p.m. We stayed at Stonehenge for 45 minutes which was adequate. When we arrived at Bath we were told we would have 1 1/2 hours at Bath because we were running late. I felt this was not enough time. I also felt our tour guide, Angela, was not very pleasent and seemed annoyed whenever we asked a question and did not handle the group as well as she could have. The bus was very hot on the way back and the AC did not work as well as it should have. In London, drop off was not where we were picked up. We were dropped off at Victoria Station, which was the closest tube to our hotel. We had to pay to get back to our hotel. If were dropped off where we were picked up, we could have walked back to our hotel. In hindsight, I would have taken a train to Bath (from Paddington Station) and then taken a tour from Bath to Stonehenge. Angela did apologize for the short visit to Bath and said that we should view this as an introductory visit to Bath. We should have been charged "introductory" rates. This was not an inexpensive tour at 79 GBP per person (twice in US dollars).

Dear madame, please allow me the chance to respond to your comments. Unfortunately, the logistics of this tour mean that you join another group and travel with them to Bath and Stonehenge. This, as you pointed out means that you arrive in Stonehenge at 12pm. However it does mean that you actually get the history of Windsor as part of the tour, for free; the tour guide that accompanied you from your pickup point no doubt made the journey interesting and full of factually knowledge about Windsor. With regards to your second point on Bath, yes, you did get a slightly shorter amount of time. We normally allow for approx 1hour 45 minutes in Bath. Angela has been with the company for several years, and she not only works for us, but works for many of the top tour companies. I apologise profusely if you found her unpleasant. If you would be kind enough to email us, then we would happy to deal with this matter further with you directly.

We(2 adults, 3 children) booked the Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath tour on the 5th June '09 and had the time of our lives. We were picked up on time near our hotel and though it was a little chaotic at the gathering area, we manage to get on the bus within 30 mins and was on the road on time with our guide Susan and driver Martin. Susan was great and helpful and kept us entertained with her interesting commentary. It was all a little rushed at Windsor and Stonehenge but we manage to cover most of it. We opt for the 'with lunch' tour and it was at a quaint pub near Stonehenge....lovely lunch. The time we had at Bath was longer and we enjoyed ourselves, the children especially. It was a long and tiring day but it was a good trip and it made our stay in UK an enjoyable one.

London Hop-on Hop-off Open Top Bus Tour

Home > Tours > London Hop-on Hop-off Open Top Bus Tour

* See the best of London with our hop-on hop-off bus * Choose from 60 stops throughout central London * Hop on and hop off for a calendar day * Cruise through the Thames on a sightseeing boat ride

• Hop-on hop-off service
• Experience a sightseeing cruise like no other with your free 24-hour River Thames hop-on hop-off boat ride ticket
• No need to print your tickets – E-tickets accepted on all hop on hop off services!
• Buses depart every 20 mins from main tourist points.
• Bus audio guides in: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Hindi, Japanese and Arabic
• River Thames Boat Ride*
• Free cancellation**
• Hop-on hop-off bus ticket
• Audio guides available in 11 languages
• Free Wi-Fi on all Open Top buses
• Entrances to attractions

Please Note

• Audioguides available in 11 languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Hindi, Japanese and Arabic)
• This is Hop-On Hop-Off bus service, you can join at any Golden Tours bus stop.
• No restroom available on board.
• Duration valid from when you first hop-on the bus. Unlimited usage within your chosen timeframe. Does not include London by Night service.
• River cruise to be used between Westminster to Tower Millennium pier or vice versa.
• Please view the Schedule tab for bus timetables and other helpful information.
• **You can cancel your reservation for this product up to 24hrs before to get a refund in full.

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1 Day Hop-on Hop-off Bus Ticket

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