London hop on hop off tour

Fredrick the harsh reality is that the Hop On Hop
Off bus is a waste of time and money because London traffic is abysmal.

Also you have chosen an accommodation that is over an hour away from the city center. I’m using Westminster Station to define the city center.

As its your first visit I’d say enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, have the staff order a taxi to take you all to the West Draydon station and leave for London at 10am. That way you’ll miss commuters.

From your hotel its a short cab ride to the West Drayton Train and Underground Station. From there take the Elizabeth Line to the Bond Street Station. Exit and change to a Jubilee Line train to Westminster Station. You can use a tap debit or credit card to enter and exit the London Underground.

Once you walk out of Westminster Station you will be in the shadow of Elizabeth’s Tower which houses the Big Ben bell. If all of the foursome is mobile it’s easy to walk about Parliament Square ( Parliament and Westminster Abbey). From there you can follow Birdcage Walk adjacent to St James Park up to Buckingham Palace.

Sorry that I can’t offer a Hop on Hop Off bus recommendation. In over 50 years of visiting and staying in London I’ve never used it.

I have used a hop on hop off bus in London and I wish I had not! As mentioned above, the traffic means that it can be a very frustrating experience. If your goal is to see traffic and some buildings from the outside, any of the companies will work.

You may have a special reason for staying out at the airport, but with such limited time I would consider moving my accommodations to central London. The Premier Inn chain is generally fairly good value. My favorites are Premier Inn Waterloo and Premier Inn County Hall.

Spend a short amount of time on you tube watching videos about riding public transportation in London. This will help orient you to the system which is usually the best way to get around along with walking. City Mapper App is especially useful in navigating London.

I would choose two sights that are most important for your group and focus my sightseeing energy on those two places. Then add in more if time and energy permit.

Finally, if you need to remain in your airport accommodations, consider taking the National Express Coach from Heathrow to Bath. I have found it quite convenient. Your tour sounds as if it will be great.

It is a good idea to stay at the airport on 6 October if you have a late night arrival on the day of a tube strike- saves any issues. Yes Elizabeth line and HEX will still be operating, but Elizabeth Line will be crowded. And there will be no night tube for if you arrive after last EL or HEX.

Also you are arriving jet lagged, you don't need late night transport hassles on a strike day.

I personally don't think it's worth relocating into London for one night on 7 October.

From straight outside the suites there are London bus routes A4 and U3 into Heathrow itself, also London bus routes 81 and 423. The 81 take you to Hounslow West tube station (the best interchange) and Hounslow Bus Station for the tube into central London. Depending on where you want to go to (eg- Westminster) the tube might be better than Elizabeth Line.

The 81 in the other direction goes to Slough for train connections to Reading for Bath. Although outside London it is still a London bus fare of £1.75

The 423 goes to Heathrow T5 and Hatton Cross (T5 for Elizabeth Line and tube), Hatton Cross for Tube, avoiding the airport premium on the tube fare.

As a flight attendant now retired often the very first thing I would do in any city, London included, is to get on Hop On Hop Off Bus. I realize many here think it a waste of time - but for a first-time visit, I so enjoyed it, especially when first visit to the city. That way I had
a map and could easily get an overview - and to mark -places I wished to get off and visit - say the British Museum. It is always your choice - and being that you are seniors, it is so comfortable to get this overview - THEN you can return by using the bus, get off tour the museum, and get back on to your next destination. Again, it has been a few years but there at one time were two companies - you may wish to google and look at the map as to where they stop - this may give you the choice of hop on hop off bus that you prefer.
Have a wonderful trip! (As a simple side: if you are a Shakespeare fans, I always take a cab to Stratford on Avon and stay two days - wonderful village and you can attend a play in Shakespeare Theatre - a simple and enchanting walk through this village for seniors.

Best/diane

Diane, did you really mean that you take a cab from Heathrow or central London to Stratford-upon-Avon? That's 85 - 100 or so miles.

That's the first time I've heard Stratford-upon-Avon referred to as a village. To my mind, if you have a fleet of parking officers handing out parking tickets like confetti, a large multi-storey car park and a remote Park and Ride it is more of a town than a village.

Listed in the Rick Steves London guidebook:

https://www.goldentours.com/london-hop-on-hop-off-bus-tours/hop-on-hop-off-london-bus-tour-24-hr-ticket

https://www.bigbustours.com/en/london/london-bus-tours

https://www.tootbus.com/en/london/home

I take it you have read all the comments above, so I will answer your question as asked and leave it to you to make a decision.

Factoring in jet lag, you may have a hard time keeping your eyes open on the hop on hop off bus.

I highly recommend buying the Rick Steves Pocket London guidebook...not expensive.$14.95.
https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/pocket-london
Your trip is coming up very soon, I know.

If you have a local bookstore such as Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million, they will have it in stock.
The book has valuable information to read in the days before your trip, plus a map of London, which I believe you will need.
Small and light enough so you can tuck it into a shirt pocket, purse, or day pack.

It would make good reading on the plane on the way over.
It will have all the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus info in it, plus restaurant and museum suggestions.
The tube map will come in handy, too.

It will serve you well when you begin planning a return trip to London, also.

Instead of the Hop-On-Hop-Off tour, you could follow Claudia's instructions and arrive at Westminster, then see some sights by river cruise.
Quote from Claudia's post:
"Once you walk out of Westminster Station you will be in the shadow of Elizabeth’s Tower which houses the Big Ben bell. If all of the foursome is mobile it’s easy to walk about Parliament Square ( Parliament and Westminster Abbey). From there you can follow Birdcage Walk adjacent to St James Park up to Buckingham Palace."

You could then do a tour of Westminster Abbey, if you want.

You could then catch a riverboat at Westminster Bridge, traveling east along the river, to Tower Pier behind the Tower of London.
You will see a good many of the sights of London from the water.
St. Paul's Cathedral, the Gherkin, the Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern, the Shard are all seen from the river.
https://www.thamesclippers.com/plan-your-journey/route-map
You could then do a tour of the Tower of London.

When you're finished, you could take the tube/underground back to Westminster and go back to your hotel the way you came.
Or you could take the tube all the way to Heathrow and a taxi/shuttle bus from the terminal to your hotel.
Or you could have a car service pick you up somewhere in London and return you to your hotel.
The expense would be mitigated somewhat by the fact that there are 4 of you traveling to split up the cost.
https://www.blackberrycars.com/

Can not recommend Hop on Hop off, the bus moves as slowly as traffic and it’s possible to sit in traffic and not see something for several minutes. Taxi the same, sit in traffic. It would be nice if this were not the case.

I’m one of those who like to take the HOHO if it’s my first time in a big city. I realized this after I did the HOHO bus in NYC after being there multiple times previously! I remember thinking why have I never done this before?? I saw so much more than I ever had. The trick is not to think of it as transportation but do it purely for the sightseeing. Hop on a bus and try to stay on for the entire route. Hop off for a meal or if you want to see something that’s quick and then try to hop on a different route. We made the mistake of taking it to Tower of London and spending a few hours there before hopping on again. With the traffic, I feel like we didn’t get our money’s worth.

The busses stop running around 6 and the bus driver will let you know that it’s time to get off because he is done with his shift. I think we did the Big Bus Tours and they do have 48 hour tickets. Try to get on a bus with a live guide as they are more entertaining than the taped commentary. The HOHO busses also usually include a ticket to a boat ride on the Thames from Westminster to Tower of London or vice versa so take advantage of that. You said you were seniors and I don’t know if you have mobility issues but this is a great way to get an overview of any city. You will have to walk up a steep set of stairs to get to the top deck.

Whatever you decide to do, enjoy London. It’s one of my favorite cities to visit.

Our London Hop On Hop Off experience was sitting in traffic, horrible. Don’t bother with it.

I used the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus about eight years ago. It was great to get initial bearings but that’s about it. The routing was so long and the ride slow. Traffic wasn’t an issue but getting from point to point via the HOHO was tedious. After a once around we got off and made our way using the public transportation system - train, underground, etc.