Vintage Red Double Decker Bus Tour London

My daughter Aurora requested one thing when we went to London, to ride a double decker bus! She had seen them before and was dying to ride one. So I searched and instead of booking a traditional tour, I booked a vintage double deck bus tour. Here is what to expect on the tour and what sites you can plan to see.

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Vintage Double Decker Bus Tour of London
Booked on Viator
49-61 Pounds Per Person
3.5 Hour Tour
These lovely vintage red buses were actually the original public transportation buses used in London. There were actually still a few in use up until 2020 and then the City of London officially retired them. The red double decker buses you see today are the new and improved buses used for public transportation in London. I found this tour on Viator, and there is a morning and an afternoon option. Both tours are 3.5 hours and include a boat ride on the River Thames.
View the full listing for the tour on the website HERE.

I chose to book the morning tour because that includes the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace whereas the afternoon tour does not. Though I was disappointed because our boat tour ran late and so we actually missed the changing of the guard.

Also, plan for the weather because the tour goes on regardless. Most of our weekend in London was beautiful sunny weather and into the low seventies but the morning we did the bus tour it was cold, windy, and in the fifties. I highly suggest bringing layers of jackets and a blanket just in case. Our tour was not full so we were able to retreat into the downstairs enclosed area, but the best view by far of the sites is the open top deck.

I loved being able to see the sights of London by this high point of view. It is completely different than walking around London and you feel so much closer to these famous landmarks. The tour drives you around all of the most popular sites in the city of London and Westminster. The guide will also give you a wealth of information about the history of all of these sites.

Obviously my personal favorite was seeing Elizabeth Tower and Westminster’s Parliament building. Not to be confused with “Big Ben”, which is actually the name of the bell inside the tower.

I also thought it was interesting to see this church that still has visible damage from a bomb during WWII.

About two hours into your tour you will get off the bus for your Thames River cruise. e had about a ten minute break to use the restroom and grab a snack before meeting back by the dock. We took a City Cruises boat to cross the Thames.

It was very spacious inside and there is also an open upper deck for viewing. The boat has restrooms and a snack bar on board. here will also be some history presented with the buildings and bridges you will pass by during your boat ride.

You will get to see several famous bridges from below, including London Bridge.

If you sit below during the cruise I highly suggest going up top to get a good photo with Elizabeth Tower before departing. At this point is where you will head to Buckingham Palace (only if you are on the morning tour) for the changing of the guard. But as I mentioned above we unfortunately missed it because the boat was late and so we departed from the tour there to finish the rest of our day.