Big Bus: London Hop-On-Hop-Off Tour with Thames River Cruise

Big Bus London is an open-top, hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus that takes you past more than 50 of the city's sights on three routes: Red, Blue and Green. Choose a 1-Day Pass, a 24-Hour Pass with a Thames River cruise, or a 48-Hour Pass that adds guided walking tours and, on the Explore option, an evening tour. Get on and off as often as you like while your pass is valid, and plan your day around landmarks such as Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London.

Which Big Bus London pass should you book?

There are four options, and the right one depends on how much time you have:

• 1-Day Pass: unlimited hop-on hop-off travel for one calendar day, whatever time you first board.
• Discover (24-Hour Pass + Thames River cruise): 24 consecutive hours of bus travel from your first boarding, plus a cruise on the Thames.
• Essential (48-Hour Pass + cruise + walking tours): two days of bus travel, the river cruise and three guided walking tours.
• Explore (48-Hour Pass + cruise + evening tour + walking tours): everything in Essential plus a 2-hour evening tour of London.

The date you select is the first day of your tour. Your pass starts when you first board, so you can plan the rest of your stay around it.

Routes, buses and commentary

Buses run on the Red, Blue and Green routes and arrive every 15 to 45 minutes, depending on the route and time of day. Pre-recorded commentary is available on board in seven languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin and Brazilian Portuguese. Free Wi-Fi and headphones are provided. The Big Bus mobile app has a route map and live bus tracking, so you can check when the next bus is due before you leave a stop.

Buses cannot stop right outside Buckingham Palace. The nearest stop is about a 5-minute walk away.

Thames River cruise and evening tour

The Discover, Essential and Explore passes include a Thames River cruise of about 40 minutes with an English-speaking guide. Boats leave Tower Pier from 10am, with the last departure at 6:55pm, every 40 minutes, and take 30 to 40 minutes to reach Westminster Pier. From Westminster Pier, boats leave from 10am, with the last departure at 7:20pm, every 40 minutes, heading to Tower Pier or the London Eye.

The evening tour, included only with the Explore pass, lasts 2 hours and leaves at 7:30pm from stop 11 at the London Eye. There is one departure per evening. Details and meeting points for the cruise, evening tour and walking tours are sent with your ticket after booking.

Plan your day around London's landmarks

A hop-on hop-off pass works well with timed attraction tickets. Ride up on the London Eye, see the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London, or visit Westminster Abbey between rides. For a fuller day, the Madame Tussauds and London Eye combo is another option, and you can browse more things to do in London.

Tickets and cancellation

Your mobile voucher is emailed to you straight after booking, so there is nothing to print. Show it to the driver when you first board to collect your bus ticket. Get a full refund if you cancel up to 24 hours before your booking. This applies to every pass option. If you need wheelchair access, contact the service provider before your visit to arrange assistance.