Being a tourist, sightseeing is one thing that should not be missed but sometimes time constraints and transportation can be a major problem. That’s why this time AnakJajan gonna share with you how to explore the city of London conveniently using BUS TOUR.

Being a tourist in foreign place, transportation can be quite tricky since we are not familiar with the streets, sometimes we could waste almost a day by being lost.

I normally count on internet and google map to help me finding the destinations I want to visit, even so there’s always a chance on getting lost. During my visit to London, I saw and experienced bus tour, I must say that it was a great and hassle-free option to explore the city.

Basically there are two vendors/ types of bus tour that I find interesting in London, Big Bus Tour and BB Bakery Afternoon Tea Bus Tour.

1. BIG BUS TOUR

Big Bus Tour is an interesting sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus tour where you can hop on from one to another destinations using Big Bus. The Big Bus is basically an open-top double decker bus that will drive around the city of London, pass through and stop at the London’s top tourist attractions such as Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, etc.

A recorded commentary is available in a choice of your languages inside the bus so you can get a glimpse info about each places you visited. You can just sit inside the bus, relax and enjoy the scenery as the bus passing through famous landmarks, it takes approximately 3.15 hours but the interesting part of Big Bus Tour is the hop-on hop-off feature where you are allowed to hop-off to the places you are interested in, strolling around, taking some pictures, etc and then hop-on again into the bus to another destinations all day long.

The first Day Tour bus departs from stop 1 at 8.30am. Last bus times vary depending on the time of year. They are usually 16:30 in November to February, 17:00 in March and October, and 18:00 April to September.

I didn’t have the time to ride Big Bus Tour during my trip to London but I’ve experienced it in other country (yup, Big Bus Tour is also available in another country). I must say that it’s an entertaining, complete and convenient way to explore the city.

You can purchase the ticket on their website, but it’s not mandatory as you can also purchase it on the bus from the members of Big Bus Staff or at most hotels.

Online price for one day tour is GBP 24.50 for adult or GBP 12.50 for children between 5-15 years old (free or charge for children under 5, children must be accompanied by an adult). Besides one day tour, they also offer two or even three day ticket.

You can start the tour at any of the ‘hop-on, hop-off’ points. The principal starting points for the tour are Baker Street Station, Marble Arch, Trafalgar Square, Green Park and Victoria Station.

eng.bigbustours.com/london/home.html

2. BB BAKERY AFTERNOON TEA BUS TOUR
People say you cannot leave UK without having an afternoon tea. Afternoon tea and city tour, why don’t we just do both simultaneously?

This was the bus tour I had during my trip to London. I was extremely excited knowing that I will be having a city sightseeing while having typical UK afternoon tea in a bus!! I don’t know if any other places have this kind of concept but afternoon tea bus tour is just a unique and interesting way to explore the city.

Love the vintage double decker London bus they use for this tour, the bus is vintage both inside and outside. My table was at the top deck and it’s highly recommended to get the best view.

The hightea consists of macarons, mini cupcakes, sweet pastries, scones, sandwiches, mini quiche, orange juice and tea (gluten gree and vegetarian menu are also available). All of them are deliciously produced by BB Bakery, as much as I enjoyed the sweet ones, my personal favorite would be the savory quiche, it was sooo good and addicting.

While enjoying the tea, bus will drive you around the town and pass by the famous places such as The London Eye, Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St James’s Park, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, The Royal Albert Hall, Marble Arch, Piccadilly Circus, Nelson’s Column, Downing Street and more.

Booking in advance is mandatory, you can book it via online on their website (check the link below). You can choose the seat on top or bottom deck. Due to the high demand, I highly recommend you to book in advance long before your trip to secure your seat.

The price for afternoon tea bus tour is GBP 45-48 for adults or GBP 35-38 for children (between age 6-11, children must be accompanied by adult).

There are 5 schedules each day from two starting points:
Victoria Coach Station – 164 Buckingham Palace Rd 12.00, 14.30 and 17.00; No. 8 Northumberland Av – Trafalgar Sq 12.30 and 15.00

The tour lasts for approximately one hour and twenty minutes, you must come at least 20 minutes before the bus departs. And since the afternoon tea bus tour is not suitable for young children, children under 5 are not allowed.

Overall, combination between sightseeing and afternoon tea is just an incredibly fun and satisfying experience both for the eyes and tummy. Definitely a must try for every foodie and afternoon tea lovers. FYI, besides afternoon tea bus tour, BB Bakery also offers afternoon tea boat tour, hmmm sounds interesting!!

www.bbbakery.co.uk/afternoon-tea/afternoon-tea-bus-tour

That’s all for my first London trip blog post, gonna continue it with another story. Stay tuned! Let’s Travel!!

More post about London on link below  https://anakjajan.com/category/location/united-kingdom/london/

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