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Paris Toolkit Golden Tours (Gray Line) hop-on hop-off open top bus tour
Hop-on hop-off double deck open top sightseeing bus tour with tickets for 24, 48 or 72-hours
Cruise around London with Golden Tours hop-on buses
Golden Tours London hop-on hop-off sightseeing tour
The Golden Tours London hop-on hop-off service is one of the three main London hop-on, hop-off sightseeing tours operating in London.
Unlike the other two London hop-on, hop-off sightseeing bus operators, Golden Tours also offer a broad range of guided coach tours from London to places like Windsor, Stonehenge and Oxford.
You can even choose to combine your Golden Tours hop-on bus ticket with the popular Warner Bros Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter by selecting the option using the banner below.
Golden Tours are currently the only tour operator to consistently offer a fully live-guided tour on their 1.5-hr Express ticket (not hop-on, hop off).
BOOK GOLDEN TOURS HOP-ON BUS TICKETS What's included About Golden Tours ticket options Routes and buses With Warner Bros Studio Tour With Merlin attraction pass River Cruise Walking tours Add-ons to Golden Tours tours & themed tours Golden Tours included with London Pass Golden Tours compared with Tootbus & Big Bus Covid-19 Hop-on buses price comparison table
GOLDEN TOURS HOP-ON BUS LONDON TICKETS
Hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus London
Choice of 1-day, 24, 48 or 72-hr tickets • Free one-way Thames river cruise (if selected) • Two walking tours • Free Wi-Fi on board • Audio in 11 languages • London in your Pocket app access
Golden Tours hop on bus London - what's included in your ticket
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Unlimited travel for 24, 48 or 72-hours on the Golden Tours London sightseeing bus network that visits all major attractions in Central London
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Free one-way river cruise included with ticket
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Free walking tours - Coronation and/or Jack the Ripper
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4 open top sightseeing routes with pre-recorded commentary in 11 languages
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90-min open top bus tour featuring English speaking guide
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Cancellation policy - up to 24 hours beforehand to get full refund
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Free Wi-Fi on all buses
What you need to know about Golden Tours London tickets
The basic format of the Golden Tours sightseeing bus is the same as for its two competitors, Big Bus London and Tootbus: a hop-on, hop-off bus service stopping at all the major tourist attractions supplemented by a one-way river cruise.
Golden Tours tickets
You can buy tickets for the Golden Tours service in 24, 48 and 72-hr durations. So, if you buy a 48-hr ticket, the ticket is valid 48 hours from the time you activate the ticket by boarding the bus.
Tickets can also either be purchased with or without the Thames river cruise.
There is a best price guarantee if you purchase direct from the Golden Tours website, see banner link above.
Golden Tours advance tickets - how it works
You pay for your tickets on the website in advance, by credit/debit card at the time of purchase.
A confirmation ticket is sent to you immediately by email which you need to print out.
You can join the tour from any Golden Tours bus stop, exchanging your email voucher for your tickets. Your tickets start from the time when you board the first bus.
Golden Tours routes and buses
Golden Tours offer 4 routes that between them cover all the major sights in London. You can switch from one to another as you please if you buy the hop-on hop-off ticket.
The Classic Tour (Blue route): Covers all the main Central London sights and visits London’s Museum Quarter.
The Essential Tour (Red route): Passes Madame Tussauds and Kings Cross, as well as Hyde Park and Regents Park, two of the prettiest parks in London.
The Morning and Evening Drop off Service (Yellow and Green routes): Operating in the morning and late afternoon, this route travels from the popular hotel districts to Central London.
Golden Tours route map London 2023
Frequencies are every 5-10 minutes at the main tourist points where routes overlap and 10-20 minutes at the outer reaches of the network. The main routes start up about 8.30am to 9am and start to wind down around 5pm.
Guides and audio guides
Golden Tours offer the most languages of all the hop on bus companies on their audio guides, currently 11. These are: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Indian, Japanese and Arabic.
No live guide is available currently on any of the hop on hop off bus routes, but there is a continuous 90-min route that does have an English speaking guide, called the Open Top London Bus Tour With Live Guide.
Golden Tours 4-hr hop on bus + Warner Bros Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter
Experience the magic of Harry Potter at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter.
This tour gives your great value: a 4-hr hop on bus tour seeing all the major sights in London plus return transportation and entrance tickets to the Warner Bros Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter.
At the Studio, you will get to adventure through The Great Hall where Harry Potter, Hermione and Ron were chosen for Gryffindor, see Harry’s bedroom, discover spells at the Ministry of Magic, step onto Platform 9 ¾ and wander through the Forbidden Forest.
Click the link below to step back into Hogwarts...
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter - what to expect
GOLDEN TOURS 4-HR HOP ON BUS PLUS WARNER BROS STUDIO TOUR LONDON
Combine Harry Potter Studio with Golden Tours hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus package
• 4-hr Hop-on Hop-off London Bus Tour - all routes • Transport and entrance tickets to Warner Bros Studio Tour London
Golden Tours 1 day or 24-hr hop on bus, river cruise + Merlin attraction pass
The Ultimate London Experience
With this pass you can be fully flexible. Choose to combine a 1-day or a 24-hr hop on bus tour of London with a combination of three different Merlin attractions, or all five - it's up to you.
Plus - your hop on bus pass also comes with a FREE Thames river cruise.
A great bundle of top London attractions.
Big City Saver (aka Merlin's Magical London) pass - more details
MERLIN'S LONDON ATTRACTION PASS 3 OR ALL 5 ATTRACTIONS - WITH HOP ON BUS
HUGE SAVINGS: Buy a 3 or 5 attraction pass
for top 5 London attractions plus hop-on bus & river cruise
including:
• 1-day or 24-hr hop on bus tour London • Thames river cruise • London Eye • Madame Tussauds London • London Dungeon • Shrek's Adventure! London • SEA LIFE London Aquarium
Adult from £88. Child (age 3-15) from £71
Free river cruise with Golden Tours
Free Thames river cruise with Thames River Cruising
Enjoy a complimentary river trip included in your Golden Tours hop-on, hop-off bus ticket. The river service that the Golden Tours ticket covers runs from the Westminster Pier by Big Ben to the Greenwich Pier in the east, with several stops along the way.
Cruises are for one-way only.
Frequencies are approximately every 20 minutes in the summer and every 30-40 minutes in the winter.
Note - the river cruise is not included in the one calendar day ticket.
Free walking tours with Golden Tours hop on buses
Golden tours hop on buses also include a free Jack The Ripper Walking Tour and/or the Coronation Walking Tour.
The Jack the Ripper tour offers you the chance to explore the locations where vital clues were found and play detective in trying to solve this morbid mystery.
Alternatively, you can choose the Coronation walking tour: a majestic 2-hour stroll through the capital uncovering spectacular Royal sites. Learn more about coronations past and present as well as quirky facts such as where The Queen Mother bought her cigarettes and Queen Elizabeth’s favourite off-licence.
Golden Tours hop on bus alternatives and top London attractions
As well as the traditional hop-on bus services from Golden Tours, there are also a range of other services to choose from.
Options include:
- Night tours
- Christmas lights tours
- Add on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter
- 90-min non stop open top bus ride with a live guide doing the commentary
Click on the banner below for more details.
In addition to these options, Golden Tours have also bundled many of their top London attractions with a hop on bus service.
Choose from:
Tower of London with hop-on bus
View from Shard with hop-on bus
Westminster Abbey with hop-on bus
The London Dungeon with hop-on bus
Madame Tussauds with hop-on bus
Shrek's Adventure! London with hop-on bus
GOLDEN TOURS HOP-ON BUS LONDON ALTERNATIVE TOURS
Hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus London with add-ons
• 90-min bus tour with LIVE GUIDE option • Option to add on WB Studio - Harry Potter • Evening tours • Christmas lights tours
London Pass - Golden Tours included (or Big Bus)
The London Pass is a flat rate sightseeing pass to many (but not all) of London's main sightseeing attractions. You can buy a London Pass for 1, 2, 3, 6 or 10 day durations
The London Pass gives you entry into more than 60 London tourist attractions and a river cruise on the River Thames.
The London Pass also now includes use of either Golden Tours or Big Bus hop-on hop-off bus for one calendar day, whatever the duration of the London Pass.
Key points of the London Pass Ho Ho bus offer
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You can choose to ride on the Golden Tours or Big Bus hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus for one calendar day. Tootbus (Original London Tour) is not covered.
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The Ho Ho bus offer is for one calendar day not for 24 hours.
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Most people use the Ho Ho facility on the first day of their London Pass, but there is nothing stopping using it on another day when the London Pass is valid.
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The Ho Ho bus offer with London Pass doesn't include the walking tours and river cruises included in the standard tickets issued by the Ho Ho companies concerned, only the bus tour (but you do get a river cruise included in the London Pass separately anyway)
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You show your London Pass to the driver or tour guide of the first bus you board. They will scan your London Pass and issue you with a separate ticket for the bus company concerned valid for the rest of the day. You cannot switch to the other bus company once you have made your first journey.
Golden Tours v Big Bus v Tootbus
In terms of London coverage all three Ho Ho sightseeing bus operations visit the same areas and all the main London attractions.
Live guides
Currently only Golden Tours offer a regular service operating with live guides - however this is not a hop-on-hop off bus but a fixed duration of 90 minutes (the price is nearly the same as the hop-on bus price).
Otherwise all three companies use pre-recorded commentaries for their hop-on bus services (they vary on the number of languages offered).
However, during special 'promotional periods' Tootbus sometimes put on a special service with an expert live guide. These tours are based on a first come first served basis and cannot be guaranteed (although they do run hourly).
Durations
All operators offer tickets with 24 and 48-hr validity periods; Tootbus and Golden Tours also offer 72-hr tickets.
In addition Tootbus offer a 1.5-hr Bar Bus ticket, while Golden Tours offer a fully guided 1.5-hr Express ticket (see above).
Evening Tours
All three operators offer evening tours. Big Bus also include a separate evening tour with their Premium and Deluxe tickets.
See websites for more details.
Walking Tours
Both Golden Tours and Big Bus offer highly regarded professionally guided walking tours included with your ticket (selected tickets only).
With Golden Tours you can choose from a Jack The Ripper Walking Tour or Coronation Walking Tour.
Big Bus offer THREE FREE TOURS with their Essential and Explore tickets: Changing of the Guard Walking Tour, City of London Walking Tour and a Jack the Ripper Walking Tour. Each tour is 1.5 hours long.
In addition Big Bus are currently offering a Royal themed hop on bus tour - 'A Big Royal Adventure'' together with a 45-min Royal Walking Tour.
Tootbus do not offer guided walking tours but instead give you the chance to download "Tootwalk" to your phone: a choice of three self-guided walks.
River cruises
Two different river cruise operators are used, City Cruises and Thames River Sightseeing.
Golden Tours and Tootbus both offer tickets which are cheaper because they do not offer the river cruise. River cruises come standard with all Big Bus tickets.
All river cruises are for one-way only.
Add-on attractions or alternative tours
Golden Tours offer a range of attractions as add-on to the basic 4-hr hop-on bus ticket.
You can buy discounted bundles of Big Bus and top London attraction through Discount London.
In addition, through the Big Bus official website you can also add on tickets to: Madame Tussauds, Tower of London and London Eye Fast Track.
Tootbus don't currently offer any add-on attractions but they do offer alternative tours such as a Windsor hop-on bus tour and a very popular Kids tour.
Click through on the banner for a thorough discussion on the differences between companies.
GOLDEN TOURS HOP-ON BUS LONDON TICKETS
Hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus London
Choice of 1-day, 24, 48 or 72-hr tickets • Free one-way Thames river cruise (if selected) • Two walking tours • Free Wi-Fi on board • Audio in 11 languages • London in your Pocket app access
Golden Tours safety measures during COVID-19
Currently there are no real restrictions in London.
If you are worried, then 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 Golden Tours has signed up to. You can see what procedures have been put in place on this "Good to Go" safety video.
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 no cruise |
**24-hrs or 1 day with cruise |
*48-hrs or 2 days no cruise |
**48-hrs or 2 days with cruise |
*72-hrs or 2 days no cruise |
**72-hrs or 3 days with cruise |
London Evening tour |
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| Tootbus (Original Tour) | Adult Child Family |
£24.89 £14.45 £80.00 |
£32.30 £18.70 £98.00 |
£27.30 £17.16 £89.00 |
£34.85 £21.25 £107.00 |
£29.71 £19.27 £98.00 |
£37.40 £23.80 £116.00 |
£21.25 £12.75 £65.00 |
|||
| Big Bus | Adult Child Family |
N/A | £38.00 £28.85 £128.30 |
N/A | £54.00 £45.63 £159.80 |
N/A | £63.00 £54.98 £191.30 |
£27.00 £18.88 £96.80 |
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| Golden Tours | Adult Child Family |
£27.00 £17.63 £75.65 |
£35.45 £20.00 £99.19 |
N/A | £40.91 £22.73 £110.08 |
N/A | £45.45 £24.09 £116.44 |
£24.00 £13.00 £64.00 | |||
| London's hop-on buses - 3 hop on buses compared | |||||||||||
All prices (except family prices) are those offered through Travel Compendium unless otherwise stated, using banners on this page. Travel Compendium aim to be price-competitive, offering you the best value price (against the hop-on bus company's own permanently discounted online prices, which are between 10 - 15% off their walk-up prices).
To be sure you are getting the best possible price it is advisable to check our prices above against the hop-on bus companies' websites as they occasionally run sales throughout the year:
* 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.
** Prices for Tootbus here use official Tootbus link, Big Bus and Golden Tours prices use our links.
Family hop on bus tickets and other tour options
Family prices for all companies can be found through the operator's own websites (above).
For a big range of Golden Tours hop on plus attraction tickets see: Golden Tours hop-on bus plus attractions
POPULAR LONDON ATTRACTIONS - ADVANCE PURCHASE AND/OR FAST TRACK TICKETS
| London Eye | Amazing panoramic flight on the world's highest observation wheel. » Fast track tickets available. |
| The Shard | Tallest building in Western Europe with viewing of London from the top. » Fast track tickets available. |
| St Paul's Cathedral | Cathedral of the Diocese of London, venue for royal weddings. » Pre-book to guarantee entry. |
| Westminster Abbey | Along with St Paul's, England's main religious building.» Pre-book to guarantee entry. |
| Tower of London | Home of the Crown Jewels and a rich thousand year history. » Fast track tickets available. |
| Madame Tussauds | See wax statues of the most famous people in the world. » Fast track tickets available. |
| London Dungeon | The creepiest attraction in town, the London Dungeon. » Fast track tickets available. |
| Hampton Court Palace | Henry VIII Medieval Palace set in vast grounds. » Pre-book to save money. |
| The London Zoo | World class zoo in the centre of London. » Flexi tickets available. |
