Rome Toolkit 
Paris Toolkit London red bus tour - vintage Routemaster open top trip
Famous classic London red buses, plus river cruise and sightseeing opportunities
Vintage London Red Bus Tours with exclusive river tour
The Vintage Red London Bus Tour is a popular half day sightseeing tour (morning or afternoon) seeing the iconic sights of London and a great orientation of central London too.
In addition to a fantastic view of London's most famous sites by 1950s classic vintage Routemaster bus, you will also have the opportunity to enjoy the sites on a private guided private extended boat trip on the River Thames.
Morning tours will take you to witness the spectacular Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, and your professional live guide will be with you all the way to really bring London to life!
Plus: upgrade this tour to add on further attractions such as:
- London Eye (available now)
- Fish & chips (available from March 2023)
- The London Dungeon (available from April 2023)
- SEA LIFE London Aquarium (available from April 2023)
- Buckingham Palace (taking bookings now for July - September 2023)
- Stonehenge (available from May 2023)
- Cream Tea at Harrods (available now)
VINTAGE OPEN TOP RED BUS AND RIVER CRUISE
Open top vintage bus tour with live professional guide
• Panoramic tour of London on Open top Vintage bus • Thames River Cruise • Photostop outside Buckingham Palace • Professional guide • Opportunity to book add-ons to core tour including: London Eye, 2-course meal, London Dungeon, SEA LIFE London Aquarium
Key features of Vintage London Red Bus Tour
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Both tours leave from Victoria Coach Station - Morning tours depart 7.45am and afternoon tours depart 12.45pm.
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Most months the tour runs daily, in the mid-winter months there are days when the tour doesn't operate.
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Tours end at 12.30pm/4.30pm. Am tour finishes at Victoria, the pm tour you can choose to either finish at the London Eye or take the bus back to Victoria.
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Professional English-speaking guide.
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Enjoy great views of London's iconic sights from top deck of the vintage London red bus, including Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, St Paul’s Cathedral, London Bridge, The Shard, Tower Bridge and the London Eye.
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Am tour: Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace - watch the world famous Changing of the Guard ceremony of soldiers. Photo stop at Westminster Abbey.
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Pm tour: photo stops at Buckingham Palace, Tower of London.
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Thames River Cruise. The tour ends with a river trip seeing London from a different perspective and enjoying excellent views of St Paul's Cathedral and Shakespeare’s Globe among others. The am river trip lasts thirty minutes from/to Westminster Pier, passing all the main attractions. The pm river trip lasts forty minutes, running from Tower to the London Eye.
Visit our blog to read our experience of this vintage red bus tour
We have written up our experience of the morning Vintage London red bus tour on our blog. Check out all the pictures and discover what going on this tour is really like.
What if it rains?
Just like the open top hop-on hop-off sightseeing buses the tour operates in all weather conditions.
On rare occasions like if very heavy rain is forecast the open top bus may be changed to a closed top bus.
Please be prepared though for the possibility of rain.
Add-ons to core tour
At the end of the tour you can leave the tour and explore independently at this point or you can continue the tour with many exciting and money-saving options.
These tours are not available all year round. Please see top of page for more information on when the tours are available.
Add on using first banner above:
- London Eye: Add a trip on the London Eye
- 2-course pub meal: either Fish & Chips or Vegetarian Sausages and Mash and Brownie for desert
- London Dungeon: Add priority entrance to the London Dungeon (morning and afternoon tours)
- SEA LIFE London Aquarium: Visit the SEA LIFE London Aquarium, home to one of Europe's largest collections of global marine life.
Add on using individual banners below:
- Exclusive cream tea at Harrods: Enjoy the English tradition in a place like no other. After your scones and Harrods preserves you will have plenty of time to explore the rest of the iconic store.
- Buckingham Palace: Only open during the summer months (July - September). Bookings open in the autumn for the following summer. Visitors to the State Rooms can see many of the magnificent rooms which form the heart of the working palace and are used regularly by the Royal Family for official entertainment, ceremonies and State functions.
- Stonehenge: Connect to an afternoon tour to Stonehenge in a luxury touring bus returning early/mid evening to London. (Morning tour only.)
VINTAGE OPEN TOP RED BUS, RIVER CRUISE PLUS BUCKINGHAM PALACE ENTRANCE
Vintage open top bus tour with Buckingham Palace - summer months only
• Panoramic tour of London on Open top Vintage bus • Thames River Cruise • Entrance to Buckingham Palace including Audio Guide • Professional guide
VINTAGE OPEN TOP RED BUS, RIVER CRUISE PLUS STONEHENGE
Vintage open top bus tour with Stonehenge
• Panoramic tour of London on Open top Vintage bus • Thames River Cruise • Changing of the Guard • Entrance to Stonehenge & Stonehenge Visitor Centre • Professional guide • Transportation by luxury air-conditioned bus
VINTAGE OPEN TOP RED BUS, RIVER CRUISE PLUS CREAM TEA AT HARRODS
Vintage open top bus tour with cream tea at Harrods
• Panoramic tour of London on Open top Vintage bus • Thames River Cruise • Photo stop at Tower of London & Buckingham Palace • Exclusive cream tea in the Harrods Tea Rooms • Professional guide
Victoria departure point
Your tour will begin at Victoria Coach Station, one of the major transport hubs in central London and very close to Victoria Underground and Railway Station.
If you require more assistance working out your journey, click through on the link below, where we give more detail of how to join the tour at Victoria Coach Station.
How to get to Victoria Coach Station & map with previously asked questions
Vintage bus tour prices & tour reservations
Prices displayed on the table below are the current prices for this tour. Major credit and debit cards are accepted.
You will be emailed a confirmation with a booking reference after reservation.
The booking reference and the name of the person ordering is all that you need to quote when joining the tour. There are no paper tickets.
On the tour detail page displayed after selecting the “More info/book now” buttons below, there is a red “Book this Tour” button at the top right of the page, which when selected displays a calendar depicting which dates still have availability.
By selecting your required date you start the reservation process.
Vintage Bus Tours - safety measures during COVID-19
Hop on hop off bus services offer one of the safest ways to see the capital.
Travelling in the open air and distanced from other passengers will help ensure your experience is a safe one.
Visit Britain has put together safety guidelines which reputable companies like Premium Tours, who provide this service, has signed up to.
You can see what procedures have been put in place on their "Good to Go" safety video.
VINTAGE BUS TOUR WITH AT LEAST £5 ATTRACTION DISCOUNT
Tour |
Adult |
Child† |
Senior/student* |
| Morning or Afternoon Standard Tour | £38 | £28 | £35 |
| Tour + 2-course pub meal | £51 | £41 | £48 |
| Tour + London Eye | £63 | £53 | £60 |
| Tour + The London Dungeon | £63 | £53 | £60 |
| Tour + SEA LIFE London Aquarium | £63 | £53 | £60 |
| Tour + Exclusive Cream Tea at Harrods | £64 | £54 | £61 |
| Tour + Buckingham Palace | £61 | £51 | £58 |
| Tour + Stonehenge | £72 | £62 | £69 |
† Children (3-16 years)
* Seniors (60 years +)
LONDON'S OPEN TOP HOP-ON, HOP-OFF SIGHTSEEING TOUR PRICING 2023
Online advance ticket price adult/child/family |
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Tour |
*24 hrs or 1-day bus only |
24-hrs or 1 day with cruise |
48-hrs or 2 days with cruise |
72-hrs or 3 days with cruise |
London Evening tour |
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| Tootbus (Original Tour) | Adult Child Family |
£24.00 £15.30 £80.00 |
£32.30 £18.70 £98.00 |
£34.85 £21.25 £107.00 |
£37.40 £23.80 £116.00 |
£21.25 £12.75 £65.00 |
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| Big Bus | Adult Child Family |
N/A |
£39.13 |
£55.00 |
£65.00 |
£28.00 |
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| Golden Tours | Adult Child Family |
£30.00 |
£35.45 |
£41.00 |
£45.45 |
£24.00 | |||
| London's hop-on buses - 3 hop on buses compared | |||||||||
Big Bus and Golden Tours prices are those offered through Travel Compendium using banners on this page. Savings can be made compared with original retail prices. Hop-on companies regularly offer sales so to be sure of the best possible price it is advisabe to compare with official websites:
Big Bus official website Golden Tours official websiteTootbus also have periodic sales throughout the year so you can use this link to see up to date prices:
Tootbus official websiteAll Big Bus tickets run for calendar days only (not 24-hr periods). These include a river cruise. Big Bus are the only company of the three to offer a free guided walking tour included.
* Golden Tours and Tootbus offer cheaper tickets, which are bus only, no river cruise. Tootbus offer this for a 24, 48 & 72-hr ticket and call theirs 'London Discovery'. Golden Tours offer the bus only option for either 24 hours or a 1-day period only.
All other Tootbus and Golden Tours tickets are for 24/48/72-hour periods, unless stated otherwise.
Family hop on bus tickets and other tour options
Family prices for Big Bus and Golden Tours can be found through the operator's website (above).
For family tickets for Big Bus as well as tickets for add-on attractions such as Madame Tussauds and St Paul's, Christmas Lights or Harry Potter Photographic Exhibition use the official website link above.
For family tickets from Golden Tours as well as other options including bus only, seasonal tours, non-stop live guided tours and evening tours use the official website link above.
For a big range of Golden Tours hop on plus attraction tickets see: Golden Tours hop-on bus plus attractions
