I spent more time waiting for buses than actually riding them. Other bus companies had 2 -3 buses pass for every Big bus that might arrive. Commentary was childish. Top floor was cold if it was windy.... See more
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Our London bus tours present the capital's crown jewels, with endless chances to hop on, hop off and explore. Glimpse the Queen at Buckingham Palace, set your watch by Big Ben, or take a leisurely spin on the London Eye. The city is your kingdom with Big Bus Tours.
Contact info
London, United States
- 020 7808 6753
- info@bigbustours.com
- www.bigbustours.com
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Wait times for a bus were extremely excessive
We were extremely disappointed in the hop on hop off tour in London. We waited at a stop for over 45 minutes waiting for a bus to come through but none ever came. We walked to another stop to wait for another 10 minutes but a bus still never arrived. The company advertises that it is a 15-20 minute wait so over an hour is unacceptable, especially when buses from other companies were able to reach the stops.

Reply from Big Bus Tours London
ZERO STAR!! VERY RUDE AND RACIST STAFF
The worst tour guides I’ve ever encountered. Very rude and racist!!! And this goes to the red line big bus tour the stoped in Marble Arch at 17:30 on 26/11/19. The manager who was a black lady and the tour guide. I think they have to realise that they are representing not only the bus company but also the whole country. I’m from here and I was so embarrassed to my visitors whom I have to tour in London with this company. Because of this the end of our tour was very very disappointing. First time to use this bus tour and compared to other bus tours, this is the worst experience ever. I highly NOT recommend this.
not worth the money
not worth the money, better walking tours around
Great for sightseeing in London when…
Great for sightseeing in London when you have a limited amount of time to spend.
Great day around London
Great day around London . I went on two bus routes the Red and Orange route. Travelled on the boat from Tower Bridge to Westminster Pier. Ear bud earphones where provided on the Bus. Lots to see commentary was good on the bus
Has good tour guards but few get tired…
Has good tour guards but few get tired and don't can't give ys the history needed.
Most of the drivers and staff went out…
Most of the drivers and staff went out of their way to help. Maybe one driver not so friendly. We used you in New York, London 2 years ago, Washington DC and are using you in Rome. Love the fact you are in so many places. The walking tour guide Joe was particularly good at getting us to see the Changing of the Guard.
With no advance warning the green route…
With no advance warning the green route did not stop at Temple Underground Station, causing problems with a pre-arranged meet up. Your map/route guide is poor. Not enough information regarding which direction the bus routes follows - which route is Eastbound and Westbound on your maps?. A different colour for each would be very helpful. Very poor value for money.
We had a tour Guide (Wikipedia Will)he…
We had a tour Guide (Wikipedia Will)he was very good and helpful,had alot of interesting facts as we went around,even with some of the roads being closed
Bus and stuff was great
I bought 3 days ticket ... I really enjoyed at cruise on river Thames.
we've had a wonderful time during our…
we've had a wonderful time during our tour listening to him talking about the history of the places we've seen. He is very knowledgeable and I guarantee if you have him as guide,
Worst Customer Experience in a Long Time
Seriously poor service. We've used Big Bus tours in Paris and San Francisco as a way to get oriented to a new city upon arrival. We thought we'd do the same thing in London and catch up on a little local history at the same time. We picked up the blue line near the Victoria and Albert Museum and intended to ride the full loop. It was near to our hotel and seemed like a good option. About halfway around the loop, the driver departed from the indicated route, drove to a bus pull off where several other buses were parked and told us all we'd have to get off and get on another bus. We were surprised to realize we were now by Madame Tussaud's wax museum which isn't even on the blue like we'd chosen. When we got off, we asked the rep on the sidewalk how we could get back onto our line since we wanted to ride the full loop. He pointed at another bus and said that that one would be leaving in 15 -20 minutes and would take us back to the blue line. We asked if it was a blue line bus and he said "No...this is the orange line. You have to change to get on the blue line!" He seemed kind of angry off at us for even asking. We got on the bus he'd indicated to wait, out of the rain, and were surprised when, a couple minutes later, a driver walked up and closed the doors and locked them from the inside with us and a couple others in the bus. When we all knocked to get his attention he opened the doors and said "What the F*** are you all doing on here????" We told his we'd been told to wait there and he pointed to yet another bus and said 'get on that one'. We'd noted that one was full and told him so. He pointed at the upper deck of the other bus and said 'looks like there's room up there' (Bear in mind, it was literally pouring rain, not just London drizzle. We both had Goretex jackets on, but still....kind of ridiculous in that kind of rain to expect people to sit out in the open. When we asked him what line the other bus was, he turned his back on us, lit a cigarette, and walked away. At that point we decided to cut our losses. We walked to the nearby tube station and worked our way back to our hotel. Overall, a really poor experience, really bad customer service from multiple staff, and we spent a lot of money to not be provided with the service we'd contracted for. Won't use these folks again....anywhere!
All very helpful
All very helpful. Especially on purple line at the end of a long day.
First bus tour as it’s was poor
First bus tour as it’s was poor. At point of booking the ticket and stating the day we want to go the bus company didn’t tell us that day there will so many diversions and stops not available due to the March. We only got a txt the night before. Spent half the day walking to the open stops. On the bus no one offered us headphones and we only sat on the bus from Victoria to London eye. It wasn’t worth £149 we paid for 4 of us. Deserve a refund.
Best tour guide Lionel!
I would like to give a shout out to our lovely guide Lionel who made the tour interesting and entertaining. He is truly passionate about what he is doing and we've had a wonderful time during our tour listening to him talking about the history of the places we've seen. He is very knowledgeable and I guarantee if you have him as guide, you won't get bored :) . My apologies for the late review, our tour was back in August and I am writing the review just now...but it needed to be done! Thank you!
Julia to the rescue...
On a rainy day on the red line, out trip was saved by Julia the guide, because of her good mood, laughs and stories.
She actually got people to come upstairs no med matter the wet seats.
We stayed longer on the bus because of Julia. So thumps up to her from me and my family. 3 adults, two kids age 8+11.
This company needs to be investigated!
If I could give 0 stars I would, this company preys on people because they know the majority of customers are tourist and will likely go back to their home country and not fight the battles, luckily I live in London ...My family and I are still waiting for a refund for over a month now, they gave us four different excuses as to why the refund has not been submitted even though we were doing everything they said, they continuously changed their stories, as to why we have not been paid back, tried to call multiple times no one ever picks up the phone, I was on "hold" for 40mins at one point, they have now stopped replying to my emails, after telling me they need my bank card details for the refund (the 4th time they changed their story on how they do refunds ). they just steal peoples money and they don't care and the minimum service that they do give is appalling!
The number of buses or I should lack of…
The number of buses or I should lack of buses made watching filled bus after filled bus go by. Since we are not in the high demand season, I can’t imagine it could only get worse.
Waited sometimes SO long for a bus as…
Waited sometimes SO long for a bus as we watched a different company go by several times over.
Bus and staff was great the traffic and…
Bus and staff was great the traffic and road closures left us stranded and had to us taxis to get back to the hotel. Next time we will look at demonstrating times to plan our trip I think October is the month that you don’t want to visit London but not sure.
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