London Christmas Lights Bus Tours
Hours, prices and access verified by the London Christmas Lights Tours team — last checked 2026-09-29.
London Christmas lights bus tours give you a seat on a double-decker and a live guide for an hour or two among the West End displays. You pay per seat, you never walk, and from the top deck the lights hang level with you.
Christmas lights bus tours to book
★★★★☆ 4.5 (2,049 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes)
Open-top busOxford St: walkers only from 26 OctLondon Eye bus stop
An open-top double-decker from the stop in front of the great wheel, with a live guide for 60 to 90 minutes. Up to 72 aboard, no stops and no toilet, so arrive 15 minutes early.
From $40 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Best value
★★★★☆ 4.0 (1,137 reviews · 1 hour 15 minutes)
Open-top RoutemasterOxford St: walkers only from 26 OctNorthumberland Avenue
The lowest bus fare, and the one bus that promises a top-deck seat: a 1960s Routemaster with live commentary for 75 minutes, boarding by the Grand Hotel near Charing Cross.
From $29 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
★★★★☆ 4.0 (135 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours 10 minutes)
Vintage double-deckerOxford St: walkers only from 26 OctVictoria Coach Station
A restored bus about 50 years old, boarding at Gate 0 inside the coach station at Victoria, with a local guide. It runs 1.5 to 2 hours in traffic; the upper deck is not promised.
From $43 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
★★★★☆ 4.1 (185 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes)
Vintage bus, snacks aboardOxford St: walkers only from 26 OctEmbankment, stop 40B
A vintage bus with tea, coffee or hot chocolate and festive snacks served on board, for about 90 minutes with a live guide. It boards at stop 40B on the Embankment.
From $59 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The open-top bus from the wheel
A live guide on an open-top double-decker for 60 to 90 minutes, boarding in front of the great wheel, for $40.45 a seat.
See this tour
What a Christmas lights bus tour of London is
It is a seat on a double-decker, a live guide and about an hour and a half of the West End's
displays passing overhead. You board at a stop, sit down, and the bus does the moving. From the
top deck you look straight into the lights hung across the streets, not up at them.
Every bus here has a live guide, not a recording. Routes take in the Strand, Piccadilly Circus
and Regent Street, and the squares and smart streets to the west. You stay on board from start to
finish. None of them is hop-on hop-off, and the open-top bus from the wheel makes no stops at
all.
Seats cost $29.69 to $59.65 a person, the lowest fares of any way round the lights.
You pay per seat, so the fare grows with your party.
Why choose a bus tour
You see the most for the least
No other way covers as many displays for the fare. The Routemaster costs $29.69 for
75 minutes, and the bus from the wheel $40.45 for up to 90. A group walk costs more a head and
covers less ground.
The top deck is the view
The lights hang high across the street, and from upstairs you are close to them. The displays
fill your view instead of the sky above your head. The Routemaster promises you a seat up there;
the others seat you first come, first served.
Nobody walks
You sit for the whole evening, which suits older travellers, tired children and anyone who
has shopped all day. The only walking is to the stop.
A guide talks you through it
A live guide on board tells you what each display is and who hangs it. You get the stories and
the jokes along with the lights.
Bus tours vs a private black cab
The real choice on wheels is a seat on a bus or a cab of your own. Here it is for two people
and for six, computed from each fare.
| Fare | Priced | For two | For six | Length |
|---|
| Routemaster, top deck | $29.69 | Per seat | $59.38 | $178.14 | 75 minutes |
| Open-top bus | $40.45 | Per seat | $80.90 | $242.70 | 60 to 90 minutes |
| Vintage double-decker | $43.15 | Per seat | $86.30 | $258.90 | 1.5 to 2 hours |
| Bites bus | $59.65 | Per seat | $119.30 | $357.90 | About 90 minutes |
| Private black cab | $372.16 | Per cab of six | $372.16 | $372.16 | 2.5 hours |
Check availability from $40.45
For two of you, the bus wins easily: $80.90 on the open top against $372.16 for
the lowest cab. For six, the gap closes. The lowest cab then costs $62.03 each,
close to a seat on the bites bus, and it collects you from your hotel. Compare the cabs on
private London Christmas lights tours.
The cab also keeps you warm, stops where you ask and waits while you walk under a display.
The bus gives you the top deck, a guide for a crowd and the lowest fare for a couple.
What you get, and what you don't
- Always: a seat, a live guide and 60 minutes to two hours past the lights.
- A top-deck seat: promised only on the Routemaster. The vintage
double-decker says the upper deck is not promised, and may send a closed-top bus or a coach.
- Food: only on the bites bus, with a hot drink and festive snacks.
- Not included: hotel pickup on any of them, and tips on the vintage
double-decker.
- No toilet: the open-top bus from the wheel has none, and makes no stops.
- Not this year: the central stretch of Oxford Street. From 26 October 2026 no
bus can drive it, between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street.
The lowest fare, with the top deck promised
A 1960s open-top Routemaster with live commentary for 75 minutes, for $29.69 a seat. Seats upstairs are first come, first served.
Check availability
Planning a bus tour
- Budget: $29.69 to $59.65 a seat; $59.38 to
$119.30 for two.
- How long: 75 minutes on the Routemaster, 60 to 90 minutes on the open-top bus,
up to 2 hours 10 minutes on the vintage double-decker in traffic.
- Where you board: in front of the great wheel on Belvedere Road, by the Grand
Hotel on Northumberland Avenue, at Gate 0 in Victoria Coach Station, or at stop 40B on the
Embankment. Arrive 15 minutes early.
- When: you pick a departure when you book. In the week of 7 December the sun
sets at 3:53pm and it is dark by about 4:33pm; in early November, not until 5:08pm.
- What to wear: everything warm you own. An open top deck in December is cold.
- Cancel: every bus refunds in full up to 24 hours before.
Every boarding point is on the meeting-point map, and which deck to pick is in
the upper-or-lower-deck question. For the week-by-week dark, see
the best time to see the lights.
Who should choose something else
- If you use a wheelchair. The open-top bus, the vintage double-decker and the
bites bus say they are not accessible, and the Routemaster says nothing. Every black cab lists wheelchair access; see private London Christmas lights tours.
- If you want to stand under the Oxford Street lights. No bus can take you
along that stretch this season. Walk it, with a guide on London Christmas lights walking tours or on your own with
the self-guided route under the lights.
- If you are six and staying central. A black cab costs about the same a head,
and collects you.
- If you want to linger. A bus keeps moving. On foot you can stop under a
display for as long as you like.
Still weighing it up? every way round the lights, compared sets bus, cab, walk and bike side by side.
Frequently asked questions
Which Christmas lights bus is the cheapest?
The 1960s Routemaster, at $29.69 a seat for 75 minutes, and it is also the one that promises you the top deck. The bus with hot drinks and snacks costs the most, at $59.65.
How long is a Christmas lights bus tour?
Between an hour and about two. The open-top bus from the London Eye runs 60 to 90 minutes, the 1960s Routemaster 75 minutes, and the vintage double-decker from Victoria 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on traffic.
Will my bus go along the big shopping street?
Not the closed stretch. The street between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street is closed to buses from 26 October 2026, though a bus can still cross it at a junction. Walk that part yourself before or after the ride.
Is there a toilet on the bus?
Not on the open-top bus from the London Eye, which runs 60 to 90 minutes with no breaks. Go before you board, and arrive 15 minutes early.
Can I use a wheelchair on the bus?
Not on the open-top bus from the wheel, the vintage double-decker or the bites bus, which all say they are not accessible. The Routemaster lists nothing either way, so ask before you book, or take a black cab instead.
Can I get a hot drink on board?
Only on the bites bus, which serves tea, coffee or hot chocolate and festive snacks. On the others, food and drinks are not included, so bring a flask.
How cold is the top deck?
Cold. Travellers who sat up top in December say to bring layers, a hat, gloves and a blanket, and one called it freezing.