Question on the hop-on, hop-off, double decker bus tours in London

You will sit in traffic. Better to take Tube to various sites.

In all honesty not worth the time or cost. They get stuck in traffic. You can see so much of London on foot complimented by Oyster card usage.

When you arrive at Heathrow get 4 Oyster Cards
via machines at the Underground Station. Use a debit or credit card. Each will need a 5 pound deposit and I’d put 10 pounds on each as well.

Now everyone has an Oyster so hop on the Tube and take the Piccadilly line into London. Easy Peasy.

From where ever you are staying use the closest tube station and head to Westminster station. Exit and you are at Parliament Square. Start your trip there.

Use Google Maps satellite view on your laptop to see why I suggest starting at Parliament Square. Westminster Abbey, scaffolding covered Elizabeth Tower with the Big Ben Bell, iconic Parliament Building, Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms, London Eye, St James Park, Buckingham Palace, Horse Guards, and Trafalgar Square ALL with in easy walking distance.

In most cities I love the HoHo buses but in London they can be an absolute ordeal. They take hours and a lot of the time you’re just stuck in traffic thinking “it would be quicker to walk.”

I’ve twice bailed from the bus tours when accompanying young relatives visiting the city. In each case they’d requested we go on one but after about two hours getting virtually nowhere they soon changed their minds.

You can have fun riding the normal double decker buses which tend to be faster and a lot cheaper!

Or do a walking tour. Or a Thames cruise.

One of the problems with HOHO is that if you actually hop off to visit one of the sights, you might not be able to get back on. The buses can get full in a hurry and there can be lines of unhappy people waiting and waiting to get on.

I agree others. If you try to use HOHO, you won't be laughing.

Agree with all the above, you’re paying a lot of money to look at bank buildings and to see office workers having a smoke.

There are some cities where the HOHO might make sense London isn’t one of them. In fact, I’m not even sure they really help you get the lay of the land, since you’ll probably be staring at your phone as a way to alleviate boredom from all the traffic.

To answer your question, I don’t even remember the name of the company that did the one I went on a few years ago. I’ve been around travel forums for a while and I don’t recall anyone saying that one company is preferable to another.

As an alternative, I do highly suggest a walking tour from London Walks. These are excellent and you will see things up close and most of them don’t have much time where you’re just walking past nothing of interest.

I like the idea of using city (public) buses instead of HoHos, but aren't they subject to the same traffic problems?

I like the idea of using city (public) buses instead of HoHos, but
aren't they subject to the same traffic problems?

Not so much. For one thing they don’t stop at stops for as long - and also they’re doing shorter more clearly defined routes.

I will disagree with the others here. I like the HOHO busses, particularly on the first day after arriving. Personally I find then a great way to get "the lay of the land" in a low-energy-exertion environment (i.e., minimal walking after flying overnight and dealing with the nightmare that can be Heathrow). Unlike the tube, the HOHO busses are above ground. Since this is a family trip I am assuming that children are involved - they'll love riding outdoors on the top of a double-decker bus). There are several companies - research them on the internet and see which ones pass by the things you want to see and/or have a stop close to your hotel. Generally you purchase the tickets on the bus, but I assume that you can purchase in advance if you really want to.

Thanks, This Person Who Writes Stuff. I'm surprised that the HoHos stop for any appreciable length of time--seems like they'd do no more than allow time to disengorge and then take on the new passengers.

IF one were to want to ride a HoHO, would Sunday early AM be the best time?

They do stop at several places around the routes for fairly long periods. That's what they do.

Thanks, This Person Who Writes Stuff. I'm surprised that the HoHos
stop for any appreciable length of time--seems like they'd do no more
than allow time to disengorge and then take on the new passengers.

No, there seem to be several places en route where they stop for a substantial length of time. Sometimes it’s to even out the buses on the same route. Sometimes there’ll be a change of driver. Plus it takes a long time to load people on because whereas on ordinary buses people just tap in, at every stop on the HoHo there’ll be new tourists getting on, asking the fare, paying with unfamiliar money, picking up headsets, getting settled.

Honestly, I took a young relative on one. He had specifically asked. We bailed out (at his request) about a quarter of the way round and just took a tube to Tower Bridge, his must-see attraction.

Thank you, everyone. This is very helpful!!!

I find then a great way to get "the lay of the land"

Agree :-)

But if you have studied your priorities beforehand and know which sites you want to see, the tube and buses and your feet will bring you around much faster.

Oh - and don't use them if you have jet lag. They are far too expensive to sleep in.

I once found this comparison site when I planned to use a HOHO bus in London: https://www.londontoolkit.com//whattodo/london_hoho_bus_discuss.html

(but we ended up just taking the first one to arrive - and bought the ticket from the driver)

Given the downsides of the HOHO buses as outlined by previous posters, if you still want to take an overview bus tour, consider these two non-HOHO options:

1) See London by Night http://seelondonbynight.com/
I did this one in December 2016 on my first visit. I easily found a 20% off voucher by searching online. It was December, so dark early and fun to see an overview of some of London's iconic sights plus Christmas lights. Yes there was traffic, but I didn't mind having extra minutes to see a particular streetscape. I wouldn't do this on a Friday or Saturday evening though as I'd expect traffic would be even worse. And in summer obviously only the later evening tours will be after sunset.

2) London Megabus nonstop tour https://uk.megabus.com/products/london-bus-tour
this is a newer (daytime) offering, a 2-hour loop with recorded commentary. Pricing is dynamic, with a few super-cheap tickets and then prices rise from there. I've not taken it myself because it began business once I'd already been to London a few times. And yes, I'd imagine Sunday morning would have the least traffic. At least that's been my experience as a pedestrian in London.

Enjoy your visit!

I’m a big fan of hop on hop off buses and have used them in a London twice, once on my first visit there and once with my mom. The only time I had trouble with delays was the day that Trump was in town last summer and there were protests going on around town. Other than that, for me, I found the buses just as efficient as in other cities (Rome was the only city I had issues with).

My sons (12 & 10) and I did the London megabus tour on our first day. I was pretty pleased with it. It was considerably cheaper, gave us a good overview (particularly of areas we wouldn't see otherwise), and then was done and forced us to figure out public transportation. The downsides: It is an audio tour, rather than a guide. And though we went on a sunday, traffic was still a problem. I can't imagine doing it on a weekday!

Thank you for all the great insight!