Our verdict
Best overall
London: Live Guided Sightseeing Tour on Vintage Open-Top Bus
A 90-minute loop on a 1960s Routemaster converted to open top, with a live guide on board. 4.6★ from 4,400+ reviews is the strongest record of any single-loop bus tour in London.
4.6★ · 4,417from £30 GetYourGuide →
Best value
London: Vintage Open-Top Bus Tour with Live Guide
Same idea — vintage Routemaster, live guide, guaranteed top-deck seat — from about £13 in our feed today, and rated 4.7★ by 600+ travellers.
4.7★ · 641from £13 GetYourGuide →
Best with kids
London: Peppa Pig Bus Tour with Entertainment
A Peppa Pig themed afternoon tea bus with on-board entertainment. Under-fives get a tour built for them rather than an hour of dates and dynasties.
4.3★ · 241from £48 GetYourGuide →
Skip it if
You want to get off and explore
Guided loops don’t stop. If you want to hop off at the Tower and back on later, buy a hop-on hop-off ticket instead.
Which London bus tour should you book?
There are three kinds of London bus tour, and picking the right kind matters more than picking the operator.
- One guided loop. A 75–120 minute circuit on a vintage Routemaster or modern open-top bus, usually with a live guide, no getting off. Best for a first afternoon in London.
- Hop-on hop-off. A 24- to 72-hour ticket on a network of routes with recorded commentary, usually with a river cruise. Best if you’ll actually use it to get between sights — compared in our hop-on hop-off guide.
- Themed buses. Night tours, Christmas lights, afternoon tea on a Routemaster and Bustronome’s lunch and dinner bus. Here the bus is the occasion.
| Type | Length | From (per person) | Commentary | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vintage Routemaster loop | 75–90 min | ~£13–£30 | Live guide | First afternoon, photos |
| Panoramic open-top loop | 2 h | ~£27 | Check listing | Seeing a lot without walking |
| Theatre & comedy bus | 1 h | ~£42 | Live performers | Families, repeat visitors |
| Luxury bus (Le Grand) | 1.5 h | ~£40 | On-board service | Comfort over open air |
| Hop-on hop-off | 24–72 h | ~£22–£32 | Mostly recorded | Using the bus as transport |
| Night tour | 75–90 min | ~£23–£35 | Mostly live | Floodlit bridges and skyline |
| Afternoon tea bus | 90 min | ~£48–£59 | Light or none | Birthdays, grandparents |
| Bustronome lunch / dinner | 1 h 45 / 2 h 45 | ~£80 / ~£104 | App | A proper meal with a view |
Prices are the “from” prices in our partner feed today; open a listing to see your date and ticket type.
London bus tours you can book now
London: Live Guided Sightseeing Tour on Vintage Open-Top Bus
from £30
See on GetYourGuide
London: Vintage Open-Top Bus Tour with Live Guide
from £13
See on GetYourGuide
London: Panoramic Open-Top Bus Tour
from £27
See on GetYourGuide
Best of London by Le Grand Bus – London's Luxury Bus Tour
from £40
See on GetYourGuide
London: Sightseeing, with Live Theatre, Comedy & Music
from £42
See on GetYourGuide
London's First Electric Vintage Bus Tour with Live Guide
from £21
See on GetYourGuide
London Afternoon Tea Vintage Routemaster Bus Tour
from £48per person
See on HeadoutPrices and ratings checked 21 Oct 2026; they change daily.
Live guide or recorded commentary?
This is the single biggest difference between tours, and listings don’t always make it obvious.
- Vintage Routemaster loops — the best-reviewed ones sell themselves on a live guide standing at the front of the top deck. The most-booked, rated 4.6★ from 4,400+ reviews, bills itself as a 90-minute “Round London Sightseeing Tour”.
- Hop-on hop-off — Big Bus runs pre-recorded commentary in seven languages on all its buses; The Original Tour uses audio in ten. Golden Tours says live English-speaking guides work on many of its open-top buses — the details are in our operator comparison.
- Night and Christmas tours — usually live-guided. Big Bus’s evening tour, Golden Tours’ lights tour and the vintage night tours all advertise live guides. City Sightseeing’s Christmas tour has recorded commentary “from Santa”.
If the guide matters to you, look for “live guide” in the listing title, not just the description.
How much is a London bus tour?
A guided loop costs about the same as a cinema ticket; a hop-on hop-off day costs a little more; a meal on wheels costs a restaurant dinner. Family tickets help: Big Bus, for example, sells a two-adult, two-child Essential Ticket on its own site, and children under five travel free on The Original Tour and Golden Tours.
What you don’t get on any of them: entry to sights. Tower of London or London Eye tickets are extra unless you buy a combo or a city pass.
Which tour for which trip
- Two days, first visit: a guided Routemaster loop on day one to get your bearings, then walk.
- Three days or more, lots of sights: a hop-on hop-off ticket with a river cruise.
- Evening free: a night tour — or the Ghost Bus if you prefer comedy-horror to history.
- Six people or more: a black cab tour can come out at a similar price per head, door to door.
- Looking for the amphibious duck bus? London Duck Tours stopped running in September 2017; our duck tours page covers what you can do instead.
Questions people ask
What is the best bus tour in London?
How much is a London bus tour?
Is there a live guide on London bus tours?
Which bus tour is best for families?
What if it rains?
Can I do a London bus tour on an ordinary TfL bus?
Sources
- GetYourGuide — bus tours in London (partner feed)
- Big Bus Tours London — tickets, routes, commentary (checked 21 Oct 2026)
- The Original Tour — routes and Kids Tour (checked 21 Oct 2026)
- Golden Tours — hop-on hop-off and live guides (checked 21 Oct 2026)
- Transport for London — bus and tram fares (checked 21 Oct 2026)
- Transport for London — routes 11 and 15 (checked 21 Oct 2026)
- Route One — London Duck Tours to cease (2017) (checked 21 Oct 2026)
Written and checked by the Private Tours London desk