First I should make it clear I did not use this company as a tourist. I live just outside London. But I’ve never done any of the tourist stuff, so being on a gap year I hadn’t planned on, and with very little to do, I decided to indulge in a spot of research, riding the buses, speaking to tourists and asking the people on the pavement awkward questions.
A 24-hour ticket for the Big Bus Company costs £17 for adults and £8 for children, but family groups of two adults and two children get an £8 discount. Children are aged 5-15, and under 5s ride for free. You ticket is valid for 24 hours after you buy it, and if you don’t want to use it immediately, you can buy an “advance” ticket which you get one of the people at the bus-stops to validate when you start using it, and your 24 hours start from then.
They have over 80 bus-stops, of which around 40 are permanently manned during the summer by people who will sell you tickets to the Big Bus and most of London’s main attractions (the ones you have to pay for, anyway!). For Madame Tussauds,
the Tower of London and the London Dungeon they sell “fast-track” tickets which in the summer can knock three hours of queing down to about 10 minutes. You Madame Tussauds and the Tower tickets have to be used within 48 hours of the start time of your Big Bug ticket, the London Dungeon ticket is valid for two weeks. Buying tickets for other attractions in advance isn’t guaranteed to save you time, but frequently does anyway, and most of these tickets are open-ended or last for three months
They accept cash, travellers’ cheques (sterling only) and most main credit cards, and the people on the pavement don’t get paid commission for selling tickets for the London tour. Included in that are two circular tours round London, one (the Blue Route) a little over 3 hours in length, with a recorded commentary in English and seven other languages, the other (the Red Route) only about 2 and a quarter hours long, but with a guaranteed live guide, who’ll answer questions and vary the focus of the tour according to who’s in the audience. Even if it’s raining, if you want to be on the top deck, the guide will be up there with you. There’s also the “Green Link” which isn’t guided but will take you up to the British Museum and the British Library, neither of which should be missed. The Link goes at 10 minutes and 40 minutes past the hour, the other tours (combined) run at a frequency of about ten minutes.
You also get a guaranteed 20-minute cruise on the Thames between the Tower and Westminster, and the average waiting time for that is only about ten minutes. They also do walking tours of London, including a Royal London Walk which will take you round the royal sights in London and get you a good view of the Changing of the Guard. If you don’t have a Big Bus ticket you have to pay £4 for the walks, and believe me when I say getting a good view of the Changing of the Guard is difficult to do without someone who knows what’s going on.
The people on the pavement are very knowledgeable about London, and more than willing to give advice and help you out (whilst encouraging you to buy tickets from them where relevant). As on many stops there’s only one person, this may well be because they’re lonely and want someone to talk to. There’s also an information centre in Victoria where you can buy attraction tickets as well as tickets to most of the London shows. Monday to Thursday Big Bus customers can also get a £7.50 discount to the Phantom of the Opera or Les Miserables, though this is subject to availability and of course they’re selling you the more expensive seats. They’ll also (both on the pavement and in the information centre) try and sell you their Out of Town Tours to Oxford, Stratford Upon Avon, Stongehenge, Bath, Warwick, Windsor and even Parid at every opportunity. These tours are in coaches, and there are coach company’s offering similar things at noticeably higher prices, but in greater luxury and with less freedom.
The guides on the Red Route vary enormously; some are very eager and entertaining, some seem like they’re reading a script off the back of their eyelids. But because you can hop on and off at will, if you get a guide you don’t find particularly enthralling, you can just get off and wait for the next bus to come along. The buses don’t really cater for the disabled, though; you can’t remain in a wheelchair on the bus as there’s no room, and even if you can be helped into a regular chair, you need to be able to fold your wheelchair up.
There’s a rival company called the Original London Sightseeing Tour which claims to offer the same things at only £15 for adults and £10.50 for children, but after you’ve looked at the small print it doesn’t look as good as the Big Bus – two of their services only run until 11:30 in the morning, their cruises only run once an hour and you’re not guaranteed a place on one, and not all the buses on their so-called “live tour” actually have guides on. Their basic route encompasses a slightly different area and is slightly longer, but I didn’t have an opportunity to make a direct comparison of which company’s route is more interesting; both show you all the main sights of London, both show you a few other things.
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When we were in London we decided to do a lot of walking and get a tube day ticket - didn't fancy the bus. Great op though. marc
susan1967 02.04.2004 20:00
I just did this tour the other weekend, it was a bit mad as we were detoured due to the anti-thingy march and our tour guide didn't know the area very well. It was ok though we made our own commentary up and had a great time. Good review. Susan xx
Critchyboy 01.04.2004 13:00
Great review - but must admit I've never done one of these tour things! C: )
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Advantages: On-the-bus purchase of tickets, comprehensive coverage of London attractions, all stops are short distances from attractions. Disadvantages: Occasionally, services are less frequent. Other times, a sudden gush of buses arrive.
piyuz 09.07.2001 ·
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Review of The Big Bus Company
Advantages: On-the-bus purchase of tickets, comprehensive coverage of London attractions, all stops are short distances from attractions. Disadvantages: Occasionally, services are less frequent. Other times, a sudden gush of buses arrive.
piyuz 09.07.2001 ·
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Review of The Big Bus Company
Advantages: Comfortable and Clean Busses, Comprehensive Routes Disadvantages: Time keeping often terrible, expensive compared to other operators in the area
shortiebabes999 24.02.2005 ·
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Review of Trent-Barton Buses
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