**Calling London Residents**

[fieryred33143]

My coworker and I are trying to figure out whether it would be better to get a one day tube pass and do our own sightseeing or if we should do the grayline tour bus??

 

[Maisie]

When I visited London I did the whole tour thing. I loved sitting on the top deck of the bus looking at everything. I don''t know if its better to do the tube thing... but I hate being confined underground so I wouldn''t do it

 

[neatfreak]

I think it depends. If you like to be independent (as I do), then ALWAYS go for the tube/metro/whatever pass. You''ll discover all kinds of fun little things that you wouldn''t see on the tour and you can skip/add things as you like.

If you''re someone who gets scared in a new city, or wants to just hit the big tourist attractions, the tours can be a great way to see it. But I think the tours don''t let you into a city''s heart, so I prefer the pass!

 

[Kats]

How long do you have in London? If it's only one day, then I would recommend the hop on, hop off bus tour as it takes you to a lot of attractions in a short amount of time and you can choose what you want to spend time on rather than spending half your time trying to get there.

 

[Rhea]

You don''t see much on the tube. It''s great for getting from point to point, but not for actually seeing London. When a friend visited about a year ago I went on the hop-on, hop-off siteseeing tour with her. I really learned a lot about where things are actually located in London that I never saw on my daily commute with the tube.

 

[D2B]

for one day I would recommend the bus. No need to spend ages finding your way around and you get to know some of the facts etc. Any longer the tube for independance and finding your own way around.

d2b

 

[fieryred33143]

Thanks everyone!

It will be one day. We get there at 9:30AM on Sunday which would be 4:30AM here

. I told my coworker that we should just put our bags in the hotel room and leave so that we can sleep well that night. So I''m guessing we''ll have between noon and evening to see things.

 

[sammyj]

I agree with most of the posts...When I visited London last year I did a 1-day city tour and they have discount tickets for certain attractions (e.g. London Eye) that you can buy at the ticket office as well. I loved the commentary on the double-decker bus and I learned much more than I would have if I just walked around on my own. As for London''s tube system, the best thing to do is to buy an Oyster Card and add money. There are different zones and travelling between zones cost different amounts. I''m not sure if they have single day tube passes since i was there for over a week.

Have a great vacation!

 

[Rhea]

I found the one I used with a friend last year. I think I''m going to do it with everyone who comes over if they''re interested! http://www.theoriginaltour.com/

 

[fieryred33143]

Thanks for the link Addy. That''s actually less than the grayline!

 

[princesss]

Just wanted to ditto the bus idea.

I always have a blast on those big buses because I can get a sense of where things are, what''s close enough to something else to walk to, etc. If I''m only around for one day, then hey, I get to see all the major spots. If I''m there for a while, I actually still do them sometimes. I hit it the first day (when I''m exhaused from traveling), get my bearings, see the stuff I''m interested in pictures of but not really spending a lot of time on, and then re-visit the important stuff. It''s worked pretty well for me.

When given several days, though, I always dedicate at least one to just walking around and seeing the actual city instead of just the tourist spots. It''s so much fun, and a great way to relax after some jam-packed days.