Hop-On Hop-Off Sightseeing River Cruise on the Thames
London, England
- 1 hour (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Discover the sights and history of London at your own pace on this hop-on hop-off cruise of the River Thames. With your 24-hour pass, enjoy unobstructed views of the city’s main riverside attractions away from the crowds on land. Disembark at the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament—or whichever attraction catches your attention—from within an all-weather vessel, which lets you sail regardless of rain.
- Skip the hassle of navigating on foot and admire landmarks from the water
- Check off plenty of London’s highlights in just one tour
- Hop on or off wherever you like throughout the day
- Create your own London adventure with this customizable tour
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
This flexible pass lets you explore the sights at your own pace without having to stick to a strict timetable.
What's Included
- 24 Hour Pass, Hop-on hop-off cruise
- Recorded commentary onboard
- GPS Recorded commentary in various languages available to download
- Licensed bar available (Card payments only)
- Food and drinks
- Hotel pickup and drop off
Meeting and Pickup
Departure Point
- You may start this tour at any of the stops listed.
Itinerary
This flexible day cruise embarks regularly from central London piers—Westminster Pier, Waterloo Pier (near the London Eye), Tower Pier, and Greenwich Pier. Board at your leisure and grab a seat in the glass-encased saloon or on the open deck. Sip on a hot or cold drink from the full-bar and enjoy panoramic views of the river as you set off.
Drift in warmth and comfort along the banks of the historic River Thames and discover London’s history through lively onboard commentary. Relax as the boat makes the entire sightseeing loop or hop off at any stop—another boat will be along shortly to pick you up. With your flexible pass, hop on and off as many times as you’d like throughout the day to visit iconic landmarks from Westminster to Greenwich and back again.
Drift in warmth and comfort along the banks of the historic River Thames and discover London’s history through lively onboard commentary. Relax as the boat makes the entire sightseeing loop or hop off at any stop—another boat will be along shortly to pick you up. With your flexible pass, hop on and off as many times as you’d like throughout the day to visit iconic landmarks from Westminster to Greenwich and back again.
Sightseeing Cruise
4 Stops
9 Points of Interest
Duration: 1 hour
Operating Schedule: Tickets are valid FROM 10am - Last available cruise
1
City Cruises
2
City Cruises
3
City Cruises
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City cruises London Eye pier tickets
Points of interest passed by on this route
Tower of London
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
Houses of Parliament
Big Ben
City Cruises
Thames River
London Eye
The View from The Shard
Thames River
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Bar, cafe and toilets are available onboard
- Most travelers can participate
- Tickets are valid between 10am - last available cruise
- GPS Recorded commentary in various languages available to download via the City Cruises App
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.1
based on 1,260 reviews
Constance_M, Mar 2026
My daughter and myself used this as our river tour while in London. Learned a little bit about the different things along the river. Can get a little breezy while sitting on the top deck (we went in March) so dress in layers!
G_D, Mar 2026
Decided to see London from the river Thames with a friend visiting from Bermuda, Guide was excellent & great fun!
We had a ‘hop on hop off’ ticket which gave us the chance to walk to key sights & then get another boat back up river.
Desiree_S, Feb 2026
This cruise was on a vessel that stank to high heaven of URINE. The staff on the vessell didnt even carry a can of Lysol or another air purifier to eliminate the gagging odor. On top of that, the vessel left the pier prior to 4:30, it's scheduled departure time from Greenwich. I had to purchase a ticket for 11 pounds from another provider. However, their vessel was lovely, clean, and overall much better than that which Viator used. Please issue a refund, Viator. This cruise was the worst ever.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Hi,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We are truly very sorry to read your comments.
The condition you’ve described on board is completely unacceptable and certainly not the standard we expect to deliver. Cleanliness and guest comfort are extremely important to us, and we take concerns like this very seriously. Please be assured that your feedback has been escalated to our operations team for immediate investigation with the vessel crew.
We are also very concerned to hear that the cruise departed before the scheduled 4:30pm departure time from Greenwich. Departing earlier than advertised is not in line with our procedures, and we understand how frustrating and inconvenient this must have been, especially as it resulted in you having to purchase an alternative ticket.
Bookings made via Viator must be dealt with directly through their customer service team, we strongly encourage you to contact them.
We sincerely apologise for the disappointment and inconvenience caused. This is not the experience we want any of our guests to have, and we appreciate you bringing these matters to our attention.
Kind regards
City Cruises
John_A, Feb 2026
Arrived just after 12noon to be told the next boat was cancelled and the one after that was 12:50pm we went to get a drink and came back at 12:40 to find that the 12:50 boat was leaving, I asked to speak with the City Cruise representative and he just said we should have come earlier!!!! I phoned Viator who were lovely and while I was on the line spoke with a person from City Cruise who would not refund our trip. The next boat was 1:20pm and due to the fact we lost over an hour of our time we could not go all the way to Greenwich. So I trip was not as good as it should have been.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Hi,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We’re truly sorry to hear how frustrating and disappointing your visit was.
We completely understand how upsetting it must have been to arrive for your scheduled departure, be informed of a cancellation, and then feel that the subsequent departure was not clearly communicated. Missing the 12:50 sailing, especially after returning before the stated time, is certainly not the experience we want for our guests.
We’re also very sorry to hear that you felt your concerns were not handled with the care and understanding they deserved, both at the pier and during the follow-up conversation. That is not the standard of customer service we aim to provide.
We appreciate you raising this, as feedback like yours helps us review how schedule changes and boarding times are communicated to ensure there is no confusion in the future. We would welcome the opportunity to look into this further and review your booking in more detail. Please contact our customer service team by email to customercomments@citycruises.com with your booking reference so we can investigate properly.
We do sincerely regret that this affected your plans and meant you were unable to travel to Greenwich as intended. We hope you might consider giving us another opportunity in the future to provide the experience you were expecting.
Kind regards.
City Cruises.
William_M, Sep 2025
Very good. Easy to locate. The personnel very helpful. Not really hop on and off. Went from Westminster to Tower bridge and back. Guide told same stories each way.
Rosalind_K, Sep 2025
Not well marked leading the way to the boat
Download schedule online. Very accurate with showing up on time.
Martin_C, Sep 2025
Don't bother.
Cancelled sailings, then other sailing were fully booked. We were unable to use our tickets even though we hung around Westminster Pier for 2 hours.
Dinner reservations had to be cancelled and remade.
Absolute waste of time and money
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Hello,
Thank-you for you feedback, If you'd like to discuss your experience further, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at customercomments@citycruise.com. We’d love the opportunity to make things right and welcome you back in the future.
Kind regards
City Cruise
Suzanne_N, Sep 2025
I thought this was the on-off bus with a cruise option. NO. This was a boat ride only.
We had a hard time figuring things out.
We traveled to London for first time, had hard time figuring out how to find the pier. Asked for help many times. The information was very limited. It mentions 4 piers.
By the time we figured it out, it was 5pm. We got to enjoy a nice ride and narrative.
We discovered there are 5 different hop-on hop-off buses. There are a couple different hop-on cruise ships. Big city. Hard to learn in an hour or two, especially with no sleep.
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Hello,
Thank-you for your feedback, If you'd like to discuss your experience further, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at customercomments@citycruise.com. We’d love the opportunity to make things right and welcome you back in the future.
Kind regards
City Cruises
Haide_K, Aug 2025
Very memorable journey with city cruiser on the river Thames.you can visit few sights on one day without worrying about the transport .
Vickie_J, Aug 2025
If you have a ticket from Viator you don’t have to wait in ticket line (which we didn’t know) we were not sure which “line” we were supposed to be in at the port loading area (no sign showing city cruises name) so waited in ticket line to get info. It was lane A . Then missed the window to get onboard waited 20 mins for next boat. Good transportation to get to areas like London eye, London tower and towers bridge and Greenwich areas. They actually did a tour guide info on boat. Hop on hop off just gotta know when they return.
Martn_S, Aug 2025
Smooth and easy; informative overview; easy access, polite staff and comfortable trip. Live commentary was excellent
Niloy_C, Aug 2025
Tour was really good, absolutely worth it. I wish the tickets gave us more info about the tour. We had to ask people about certain things.. like pick up points, etc…
Joanne_C, Jul 2025
Great way to see and feel London. The in trip commentary is very informative the staff are great just remember to check boat times
Maureen_G, Jul 2025
Very friendly tour operator. Easy to understand and made it more enjoyable. We did not hop on or off as lines were long and we had other things to see. I wanted to come back and do it at night to see the lights, but we were exhausted and it got dark so late.
Corinne_L, Jun 2025
We were informed the days schedule was abbreviated but since then weather was bad we stayed in for round trip. City sightseeing allowed us to use the same ticket for the following day as well.
Ian_T, Jun 2025
A traffic free way to get about in London.
No stress just sit back and enjoy the views.
On the quays the staff need to be more active and inform passengers of where to go and better signage would help also.
That said an enjoyable trip.
Peter_H, Jun 2025
A super way to see London. We loved the Hop-on / Hop-off flexibility plus the commentary from the crew members was wonderful - very knowledge and fun
Judy_B, May 2025
We had a lovely cruise with many must see sights. We enjoyed this venue. People were very accommodating.
Llew_G, May 2025
Great weather London was meant to be seen from the Themes. Great photos short lines. The food on board is s but expensive
Emily_R, May 2025
I rather enjoyed the boat ride along the Thames River. The staff would explain different icons along the water way with recommendations of sights to see, pubs to eat ate and a joke here and there. I liked the light heartless of the journey. I also loved the hop on and off package. The staff gives a time table of docking and undocking making it convenient.
Jane_B, Apr 2025
So easy to do a river cruise, great live commentary and loved seeing everything from the river. Well worth it. Do go up to Greenwich, great destination boat.
Laura_C, Apr 2025
Unfortunately, this turned out to be a complete waste of money. About 2 minutes into the boat ride, the boat pulled into another pier and informed us the water level was too low and we had to wait at least 30 minutes before proceeding. When I later asked if we would be moving on soon, the boat driver informed me I would be better off walking 2 miles to get to the Tower of London. So that’s what we did. I was not able to fit in time to get back on the boat. Although not their fault, I was disappointed and am not sure the other boats such as Uber had this problem.
Rebecca_L, Feb 2025
Best tour experience in many years. The crew was friendly and efficient, especially liked the young man who offered a descriptive commentary on the sights. Glad we went to Greenwich, the Maritime Museum was one of my favorites.
This Viatour is excellent start to a first visit to London. You can get an idea of the environs of London. And it is a pleasant cruise.
Would recommend this cruise to anyone, first timers or return visitors.
I leisurely way to view London.
Aksana_L, Jan 2025
Them was took as from Westminster just until Tower Bridge and said its finished so it was not good becouse you paid a full amount but you get just half.
Miguel_S, Dec 2024
Great tour, full of information and fun guide! The tour had a good duration and covered interesting points and informations about London.
Jana_J, Nov 2024
We were disappointed with the cruise. It is not a hop-on hop-off in the true sense of the word because when we arrived in Greenwich, we were told that the last boat back would leave in 20 minutes and there would be no more boats (at 4:20 PM!!!). The boat has only 4 stops, and the cruise is incredibly slow. So, if you just want to ride on the river, it might be okay, but it definitely does not work as a hop-on hop-off service.
Mary_P, Nov 2024
Hopped off at Greenwich, and really enjoyed the market. Great commentary. Lovely day out.
Was impressed with the care I was given getting on and off.. ( I am disabled and use a walker)
Lea_R, Oct 2024
The tour guide were great! Funny and knowledgeable comments to keep you entertained while relaxing and enjoying the views. Inside and outside seating available. Food and beverage options. Always on time.
Graham_B, Oct 2024
Was only brief trip at 4pm from Tower Hill to Westminster. Nice weather and great commentary. But ticket said was for 24hrs but disappeared on Viator site next day so could not use. Not good if sold as 24hr ticket.
Nancy_D, Oct 2024
This is a nice, relaxing tour if you decide to hop on at one pier and stay for an hour or so. You will get nice overall views of the city and certain points of interest (The Tower, Tower Bridge, and The Eye, to name a few). Depending on your captain, you will also receive brief bits of information on the city and some of its history. If you wish, you can hop of and see sites more thoroughly then hop back on again later. Just be aware, the boat only stops at a few locations and at certain times. There are snacks and drinks on board as well.
From $32.96
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Hop-On Hop-Off Sightseeing River Cruise on the Thames
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