Day 1: Double decker bus tour

Innocents Abroad

Just wondering about the nature of the bus tour on the first day of the trip. Is it jump on/jump off like many other cities? Will we get to go in some of the attractions rather than just see them from the street?

Any information from other travelers or Tauck is appreciated. We are trying to decide what to do in London on the day prior to starting the tour. If the bus hits Westminster Abbey, for example, we will go other places.

British

You tour begins at 3pm. You will definitely not be getting on and off the bus if it starts at that time of day. London is a largecand busy city. I am sure TAuck is using this as a highlight and introduction orientation to the city. I would think to see most of the main sites in London you would need two weeks there.

Tamar94

We are traveling in August with two preteen children and arriving the day before tour. We're planning on hitting the natural history museum the day we get there (has dinosaurs) for my nephew and getting tickets for Buckingham Palace state rooms the morning tour starts for my niece.

British

You will arrive in London early morning after a five hour forward time change, so for example if you are coming from the east coast it will be like arriving about 3am US time, after being woken up an hour before landing by cabin staff, standing in line for passport control, baggage and traveling into London which if I remember correctly is about 45 minutes from Heathrow. Last summer we flew into Heathrow business class, not usually how we fly, for a stay in London and we were still just as tired the first few days. You can try staying up or go to bed for a few hours, either way you will be jet-lagged for about 3 days, don't do too much before the tour starts, not things that mean you have to be up too early because you may find you can't get to sleep until about 1am. Book your Buckingham palace tour well in advance but be careful to use the official Buckingham palace website because it is easy to be directed to ones that look as if it is necessary to book it as part of a bigger ticket, which is incorrect. Have a great trip!