London Bus Tour?

A question about : London Bus Tour?

Hi, we (two adults, two children aged 3 and 5) are going to London for two days next week and we want to book an open top bus tour.

What is the cheapest way of doing this and does which bus companies have the most buses? I've seen an online deal with the Original Tour company for Ј63, or one with Hop on Hop off buses for Ј49, both do a 24h + 24h free offer. Anyone recommend either of these or someone else?

Not being a London regular, are the offers if you just walk up on the day better or worse than this? Any chance of haggling?

Thanks!

Best answers:

• I haven't checked today, but did see Groupon had some good London bus and boat tour deals and there was a 20%off code that was stated on the site on Saturday ( that I used to book a restaurant deal voucher).
• I suggest you save yourself a whole heap of money and simply use a one day Travelcard, Oystercard or contactless debit card on LT bus routes 9 and 15 (no cash fares on London buses any more). These cover exactly the same 'heritage' sights with modern double deckers (unlike the ancient relics used by the tour companies), and you won't get rained on. All payment methods cap the maximum daily payment, so you can jump on and off as often as you like without paying more than the daily cap. And both your children can travel free if accompanied by a ticket holder.
  The open top buses are just a very expensive tourist scam.