London by Night Sightseeing Open Top Bus Tour with Live Guide
Live guide12 audio languagesMax 72
From $39 per person
London Night Tour Options
There are five genuinely different ways to spend an evening looking at London, and they are not tiers of the same product. A bus seat and a private cab are not a cheap version and an expensive version of one thing — they answer different questions, and the money only makes sense once you know which question is yours.
Each format below carries the same four lines, so you can read them against each other rather than in isolation. If you already know the shape you want, guided London night tour lists the actual departures.
The open-top double-decker bus
Ninety minutes on the top deck of a bus with the roof off, moving continuously past the floodlit landmarks without stopping at any of them. Two routes run this in London and both leave central departure points in the early evening.
What it is: a continuous circuit taking in Buckingham Palace,
Westminster, the London Eye, St Paul's and the Tower, with commentary from a live guide on
board.
Best for: a first visit, a short stay, and anyone who wants the widest
sweep of the city for the least money.
Watch out for: the cold, which is the commonest complaint in the reviews
of both routes, and the fact that this is a single loop rather than a hop-on hop-off
ticket — you cannot get off and rejoin later.
Roughly: $39 to $42 a seat, 90 minutes.
The private black cab
A licensed London taxi, a driver who has passed the Knowledge, and two to four hours in which the route is negotiable. The fare is charged for the vehicle, so the arithmetic changes completely with the size of your party.
What it is: door-to-door collection from a central London address, a
driver-guide who talks throughout, and stops wherever you want to get out and look.
Best for: groups of four to six, anyone with mobility concerns, and
travellers who want to decide halfway through that they would rather see something
else.
Watch out for: the price on the page, which is per cab and not per
person, and looks alarming until you divide it.
Roughly: $356 to $633 per vehicle for up to six, 2 to 4 hours.
The ghost walk and the Ripper walk
On foot, in one part of the city, told as a story. These are the cheapest thing on the market by a distance and the only format where the subject rather than the skyline is what you are buying.
What it is: a guided walk of between one and three quarters and two and
a half hours through Whitechapel and Spitalfields, or through the royal parks, with a
guide who tells the history as you go.
Best for: readers, true-crime listeners, and anyone travelling alone who
would rather not wander the quieter streets unaccompanied.
Watch out for: nowhere to sit, real walking on cobbles, and group sizes
of up to thirty-five on the shared departures.
Roughly: $27 to $31 a head, 1 hour 45 to 2 hours 30.
The photography walk
Three hours along the South Bank with a professional photographer who teaches while you walk. It is the only format where you go home with something other than a memory.
What it is: private tuition on your own camera, from a compact to a
full SLR, across eight riverside viewpoints, finishing with a review of the images.
Best for: anyone who owns a camera they have never got the best out of,
and couples who want a shared evening with something to show for it.
Watch out for: the level, which one reviewer honestly describes as better
suited to somebody with a little experience already.
Roughly: $337 per person, 3 hours.
Doing it yourself
The honest fifth option, and for some readers the right one. Most of what a bus route covers is a free walk along the Embankment, and the night buses that run the same roads cost the price of a fare.
What it is: a self-guided evening between Westminster and the Tower,
using the river as the route and your own timing.
Best for: repeat visitors, confident walkers, and anyone on a tight
budget.
Watch out for: the commentary you do not get, which on a first visit is
most of the value, and navigating unfamiliar streets late.
Roughly: free, or a bus fare. The
full walk is written out here.
The five formats side by side
| Format | Typical price | Length | Stops? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open-top bus | $39–$42 per person | 1h 30 | No stops | First visits, wide sweep |
| Private black cab | $356–$633 per vehicle | 2–4h | Wherever you ask | Groups of four to six |
| Ghost or Ripper walk | $27–$31 per person | 1h 45–2h 30 | On foot throughout | Story over skyline |
| Photography walk | $337 per person | 3h | Eight viewpoints | Camera owners |
| Self-guided | Free | As long as you like | Your choice | Repeat visitors |
What about a river cruise?
Evening cruises on the Thames do exist, and on a clear night the view of the Illuminated River bridges from the water is the best there is. They are not among the departures listed here, though — this site covers the fourteen night tours it has checked, and none of them is a boat. If a cruise is what you want, look for one directly rather than expecting to find it on these pages.
The one thing that decides all of this. None of these formats works in June at half past seven, because it is not dark. Check the month-by-month darkness table before you choose a format, not after.
Which one is you?
First time in London, two nights, want to see everything: the open-top bus, and take the latest departure.
Four of you, one free evening, money is not the constraint: the black cab. Divided four ways it is closer to the bus than it looks.
Travelling alone, on a budget, like a good story: the Ripper walk with projections. It is the cheapest and the most reviewed thing on this market.
You brought a camera and have not worked out night mode: the photography walk, without hesitation.
Been here before and know the river: walk it. Nobody needs to sell you an evening you already know how to have.
Picked a format?
Every departure in each of these formats, with live prices and availability.
The planning page has the departure timetables and the FAQs cover the rest. London Night Tours has everything in one grid.
One departure from each of the three main formats
