HOHO Bus a Good Option? London, Dublin, Edinburgh

London- we had already been there several times. When our grandchildren wanted to join us we made special plans including the HoHo bus tour. It was a total waste of money and precious time. Over the top touristy while sitting stuck in traffic for what seemed like forever, over and over. Skip it!!!

I agree on London. Why pay to get stuck in traffic? Much better to walk. And I don't see the point in a small city like Edinburgh where everything is walkable.

"I have heard there are bus-only lanes, etc"

As far as London is concerned, bus lanes are for public buses only. And if you want a bus ride they'll be faster and much cheaper.

I agree with the two posters above about London and Edinburgh, but in Dublin, we had good value from the HOHO bus.

I have heard there are bus-only lanes

In London those are only for public TfL buses on a route, and motorbikes and bicycles and taxis (black cabs only - not uber or other minicabs).

London hohos creep very slowly, are infrequent, and often overcrowded forcing many passengers to the lower deck where visibility is very poor, and they are very expensive.

If you want good views of scenic stuff there are dozens of real public buses, very cheap, with excellent upstairs views (no narration of course) and because they have a lid on they are both much dryer and much shadier.

Have a look at this wonderful map and guide

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/key-bus-routes-in-central-london.pdf newly improved and even better than before.

Get on, go upstairs, move towards the front and ENJOY. All for £1.75 or less.

I have enjoyed the tea buses in all three cities. When you're drinking a hot (or cold, for that matter) beverage, you don't mind all the stopping. All offered very nice food and a fun time, if not the most informative. The one in Edinburgh featured campy songs that all the Scots sang along to. Here are the links:
London: https://b-bakery.com
Dublin: https://www.vintageteatrips.ie
Edinburgh: https://www.redbusbistro.co.uk
All require reservations in high season (and probably in low season, too, as I think the one we did in Dublin in March might have been cancelled if we hadn't booked ahead). All are to be considered an event/meal and not transport, as none allow HOHO.
London also has Bustronome, which I have done in Paris but not in London. Bustronome uses modern double-decker buses.

It's a no for HOHO in London. For Dublin; really it's quite a compact city. Seems unnecessary.

Thanks everyone…
Nigel-that map is the BOMB! I printed it for my trip book. Thanks for sharing!

G3rryCee - my husband and I did the Bustronome in Paris on our arrival day*- and we both thought it was a fun and memorable experience (gourmet dinner prepared and served on a double-decker bus with yummy wine pairings while cruising through Paris all lit up? Yes please!) And they ended it with a photo op at the Eiffel Tower while it ”shimmered.” Quite the lovely introduction to the City of Lights! We have considered the one in London since we loved that one so much! And I did see the “afternoon tea” bus tours also. Maybe we will save that one for Edinburgh!

We also had friends who recently took a trip and enjoyed the HoHo bus in Dublin, so that one is a possibility, but I think we will stick to the advice to skip that in London and instead just pick an afternoon when our feet hurt and ride the city bus for a bit.

*Yes, on arrival day! We did have a catnap in the afternoon, and it ended late (I think maybe 11:00 PM?) but it was a great way to stay awake! Highly recommend. https://bustronome.com/en/london/concept-2/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Organic&utm_campaign=Google+Listing

Jannypanny, my photo of my son and me on Bustronome with the twinkling Eiffel Tower in the background has been the Lock Screen photo on my phone for 6.5 years. It was Xmas Eve 2018. Absolute magic!

Purely anecdotally (though there are probably some figures out there) London traffic isn't half as bad as it used to be.

I happened to read the Trip Advisor reviews for "Big Bus Tours London" recently and they seemed to be pretty positive on the whole.

My tips for HOHO bus in London would be:

1. Take the bus after morning rush hour. 9:30 or 10:00am. Aside from after dark, that's the quietest time on the roads. Traffic builds from 2pm or so to the rush hour, which starts to clear by 6:30 or 7pm. Summer nights might be ok while it's still light.

2. Take the HOHO on a Sunday. Traffic can be much, much lighter on a Sunday, provided there's no diversions for events or parades.

3. Avoid rainy days. Traffic can often slow to a crawl with the slightest bit of rain. Really rainy days are a nightmare. You'll get wet in the open top bus too.

4. Avoid Fridays. Traffic is usually much heavier on a Friday, building into the earlier than usual rush hour start. Lots of people are getting out of London, or moving around London for the weekend, sometimes early.

GerryM, thanks, I was waiting for cover. The only place I have ever ridden a HOHO bus was London. A very positive experience. I used it to get orientated on my first trip. Worked well.

Well….no wonder I am confused! There seems to be quite a range of experiences here!

I found this link on TA and thought it was interesting enough to share. It shows the “leisure routes” for the public buses, grouped by subject matter:
https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/experience-london/bus-leisure-routes

This combined with Nigel’s map above, gives me some really good intel if I choose to do a jaunt on my own.

Dumb question…are all the public buses double-decker as well, giving you a “high up” view as you ride?

I justed looked at the classic bus routes you posted. I actually took parts of most of these routes last month to get from a to b instead of using the tube.

When are you traveling? The busses can get hot in warmer weather. We were in London during the heatwave in September 2023 and hopped on a bus, headed to the empty upstairs for a front row seat and immediately started to melt.

Some of the local neighbourhood buses are single decker, but you're unlikely to take them as a visitor.

It takes a degree of managing your expectations when using buses in London. It can be slow at times, but I have adjusted not to mind unless it's drastic. My expectations are maybe different to those not accustomed to taking buses. Bus Lanes speed things up for regular buses, but not HOHO.

I think taking some of the "tourist" recommended regular bus routes is a good idea too The 88 is a good route in central London that can take you to nice parts of north London. Upstairs, hopefully with a front seat. I like to sit in the middle on the left upstairs. That gives you a good view of the [sidewalk], and who's getting on and off the bus, looking down at the doors.

As one last edit: As to the temperature on London buses, yeah it can get hot in the summer. The "New Routemaster" buses that are common don't have proper AC as far as I understand it. More of a "swamp cooler"? Open the little window and hope for a breeze... The 35 route, mentioned in the TfL link from jannypanny, has nice buses with proper A/C, not New Routemasters.

trivia time - for the discussion about warm New Routemasters. Those are the distinctive buses with the strong curve and the long tinted window going down the centre stairs, and three passenger doors (the rear doors no longer work since the experiment with conductors failed).

These - extremely expensive - buses were ordered by Boris Johnson and his minions when he was mayor of LONdon. They were pretty much forced on TfL's bus operators and were great publicity. They almost immediately became known as Boris Buses. Recently as he went out of fashion the name has been fairly much dropped.

When it was discovered during a heatwave that the air con was middling at best and all the windows were sealed and a significant number of these New Routemasters failed in service due to that and other issues the London press and public rapidly renamed them Roastmasters. There was a redesign and some small windows which open were retrofitted. It was thought that the tinted glass all around and the a/c would be enough - boy were they wrong.

Great visibility, two staircases and all around decent eggs, but as GerryM says, avoid in a heatwave in favour of non-Roastmasters.

The driver will usually open the rearmost doors to let you off if the bell has been rung and you stand there. No boarding on those doors now, front doors only.

and no leaping on, and no leaping off, traditional Routemaster stylie

That's how I learned to ride buses. Self confidence, good balance, looking before leaping, luggage and prams under the stairs - no cotton wool