London HOHO Bus - Big Bus or City Sightseeing?

[Firstin87]

We are visiting London for the first time for four days post-cruise in mid-May.  I've booked us to visit the Tower one morning, Westminster Abbey another morning, and Kensington Palace our final morning.  I'm thinking of buying a 2 day HOHO bus pass for Day 1 overall tour, get the lay of the land, and Day 2 after our Tower visit doing the river cruise that comes with the HOHO bus and possibly using the HOHO that afternoon to return to places we didn't get a chance to see on Day 1.  Both Big Bus Tours and City Sightseeing look good - pick up right outside our hotel, almost the same route; the only difference is that Big Bus gives us a couple of walking tours included, which is nice but not a deal breaker.  Anyone have any experience with either company and can recommend or discourage one over the other?

 

Thank you!

[Island2Dweller]

The HoHo are fine for getting the "lay of the land", but do not consider them as a transport option in London.

I would suggest just do a one day pass, and if there are things you want to return to on the next day, just use normal buses (of which there are thousands and thousands in London) or the underground.  Far faster and cheaper.

[MBP&O2/O]

I would have thought, that with the crowds, a walking tour could prove frustrating at best? Not something I would entertain. As stated earlier, tube and bus will get you everywhere.🙂

[Thejuggler]

HOHO are great for an overview and the commentary is always useful if you get a knowledgable guide as there is so much history in London.

 

However to get from one area to the next public transport is better.  Underground for longer trips, but for shorter hops use the buses.  They are plentiful, have a flat fare of £1.75 per trip (regardless of distance) and a daily cap, you just need contactless or Oyster payment cards (one per person).

 

It needs some planning to know which bus and which stop, but Citymapper app can provide all this information.

 

My last visit I took a seat on a bus and happened to be sat near a guide who had some visitors.  I had a free HOHO experience between the Tower and Trafalgar Square as he explained what was being seen along the route!

 

Joolz Guides is a fantastic youtube channel if you want to know interesting facts about different areas of London.

[Firstin87]

Thank you all for the great advice.  Perhaps the single day HOHO and use my free afternoon the second day (second day a.m. is Tower of London) to return to other sites.   The third day is Westminster Abbey (hoping to get a vespers tour) and a self-guided walking tour of that area.  Excited that the Abbey currently has a Notre Dame exhibition.

 

I understand that England is 'very cashless', but I'm wondering how many GBP to have on hand and am nervous that our Visa will actually work.  Heard that it's a common credit card taken, but our bank says we do not need to let them know we are travelling, they'll just know and won't block our card.  I'm not confidant that they'll know I'm in England (from Calif.) and fear having the card declined at first use and calling the bank to straighten it out at .25 cents a minutes for a call will be a headache.  Also have an AmEx and debit cards, so can get GBP at ATMs fairly easily, it sounds like.  I know things will make more sense when we're there, but planning our first trip is somewhat anxiety ridden - lol.

 

[Island2Dweller]

London is not cashless, but it's getting that way.  You can't use cash on buses, and many cafes / restaurants in central London won't take cash either.  So long as you have what we call "contactless" and in some places call "wave pay"

 

[Firstin87]

Thank you @Island2Dweller!  All cards we're bringing are 'contactless'.  Got Apple Pay set up to use on the Tube and I guess the buses, as well.  I feel like I should have a few GBP for a small purchase?  tipping the chambermaid?  I also think having a couple of paper bills with QEII's picture will be a good souvenir, as they are transitioning to KCIII over time.

[Island2Dweller]

8 hours ago, Firstin87 said:

I feel like I should have a few GBP for a small purchase?  tipping the chambermaid? 

People really do pay with card / phone / watch for anything here, however small the price.

Tipping a chambermaid is an unknown concept to most Europeans, myself included.

And as for paper bank notes  - we don't have any!  They are polymer now.  Britain has a habit of changing bank notes reasonably frequently, and many travellers have been caught out trying to spend old notes, and discovering that they are no longer valid.  So if you want notes as a souvenir that is fine, but be aware they may be superceded.

[Thejuggler]

About the only time you will spend less than £5 on anything in London are public transport fares and they are cashless anyway.  Buses you just tap the reader when you board as its a flat fare, the tube you tap on entry and on exit so the fare can be calculated.  Most readers are on the ticket barrier gates at the station.  Some stations don't have barriers, but you are unlikely to venture to them if you are staying central.

 

As a result the majority of people use cards or apple/google pay.

 

I'd certainly set up every card on a phone as its a useful alternative.

[Firstin87]

Very helpful information!  Got all the credit cards in Apple Pay and it sounds like I don't need any GBP.  I'm worried about Chase bank declining my Visa the first time we use it.  Both online and on the automated voice when I call say you don't need to let them know that you're travelling, they'll know and will accept your card.  Not sure how confidant I am about that.  Don't want to have a problem paying for dinner when the first night.

[fruitmachine]

4 hours ago, Firstin87 said:

Very helpful information!  Got all the credit cards in Apple Pay and it sounds like I don't need any GBP.  I'm worried about Chase bank declining my Visa the first time we use it.  Both online and on the automated voice when I call say you don't need to let them know that you're travelling, they'll know and will accept your card.  Not sure how confidant I am about that.  Don't want to have a problem paying for dinner when the first night.

One of the ways the automated fraud systems spot that you are genuinely abroad is by analysing your spending pattern in the period immediately before the first foreign transaction.  So make sure you use it in the airport, and/or to book airport parking or other similar transactions.

[Firstin87]

Thank you, @fruitmachine!  I was planning on using it to book tickets to one of our early activities in London in hopes that would trigger their system.  Now I can feel more comfortable about not getting our card denied.  Everyone on this thread has been so very helpful.  I really appreciate it!

[jstewie23]

For using the Tube with 4 of us (2 kids don't have apple pay on their phones), will it allow me to tap multiple times using my phone/apple pay? Should we get the kids cards to use? Appreciate any advice.

[fruitmachine]

17 hours ago, jstewie23 said:

For using the Tube with 4 of us (2 kids don't have apple pay on their phones), will it allow me to tap multiple times using my phone/apple pay? Should we get the kids cards to use? Appreciate any advice.

No - it's one card (or device) per person.  

 

If you're not going to extensively use public transport, and don't mind paying an adult fare for the kids, then you could use a different card or device for each person, even if it's the same card on each device. 

This is the corollary of a single person travelling alone needing to use the same card or device consistently.  If one person used a card and a phone and an Apple Watch at different times, the system sees you as three travellers, wouldn't apply capping and you'd potentially look like you entered and never exited, or exited without entering, triggering the maximum fare possible to be charged.