Looking for information on which of the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus companies in London offers the best service. Advance planning for a July trip.
Theses are the two biggest operators:
http://www.theoriginaltour.com/
http://www.bigbustours.com/eng/london/default.aspx
They're both good....kind of like Coke and Pepsi
I was there in Oct 07 and took the Original Bus but I think they are both similar and have an additional boat tour. One word of advice, find out when the latest bus is if you decide to get off at a certain spot to have dinner and look around. We got off at Leicester Square to have dinner and wanted to catch a bus for one more tour that evening but found out we missed the last one from that stop. Make sure to squeeze in the boat tour!
As said above the Original Tour and Big Bus are almost identical in the service offered.
If you are staying in the Kensington, Bayswater, Paddington area by any chance the Big Bus has an edge as it runs much more frequently through the hotel areas here.
The boat cruise is a must. The is a great souvenir shop called The Big Red Bus near the London Eye. Great shop!