London Tootbus Kids Tour

My Daughter and I did the kids tour which departs from Haymarket and takes around 45 mins to complete. This is a perfect duration for kids, covers the essential London tour locations and has a kid based commentary from a live tour guide. We arrived about 45 mins early as all of our travel plans to get to the Haymarket stop had gone perfectly and around 15 mins later, a cheerful Toot London customer assistant arrived and scanned our app which printed off the tickets basically 'checking us in' for when the bus arrived. He did this to everybody else in the order that they arrived and then ensured that instead of a 'bundle' when the bus came, those that had arrived at the stop first, boarded first. The bus itself was excellent, the driver was very smooth and the tour guide was great, very knowledgeable and the kids (and adults) on the bus seemed to have a great time with him. My Daughter and I had a lovely time. The inevitable 'protestor movement' were out and about moaning about something or other (I gather it was Extinction Rebellion this time although there always seems to be some protest or other happening 😡 ) which meant that the trip took nearer an hour instead of the advertised 45 mins but there was nothing that Tootbus could have done about that. Another review was complaining about the departure location being different from that advertised, all I can say is that when booking the ticket, it makes it clear at the top that a new temporary pick up point outside Tiger Tiger in Haymarket is in place, even supplying a postcode which makes it easy to find. Lastly, the price is about right and is a perfect alternative to the 24hr hop on/hop off tours which are around twice the price but obviously give more freedom and a longer route.

Really enjoyed the kids tour today with my 10 year old son, who also loved it. The highlight of the tour was Tim, the avuncular and entertaining guide, whose capacity for historical detail, random trivia and dad jokes was astonishing. The bus itself was lovely, having never seen London from the top deck of an open topped bus, it really has to be done to appreciate London’s visitor highlights. The journey was a reasonable time, especially for younger children but we could have - and will - stayed on for much longer. It was the price that originally attracted me, feeling far more reasonable than most of the tours I’d looked at and having done it I’d say it was excellent value. Would thoroughly recommend. When we’re back in the Summer we’ll be trying one of their other tours.

I did this tour with my 6 and 8 year old and it was really good. 45 minutes is just right and we got to see all the main sights. Our tour guide was very knowledgable and child-friendly in the way he spoke and it was pitched just right. It’s first come first serve for the top deck and they start a queue with whoever gets there and shows tickets first so it’s wise to be there around 20 minutes early to be able to get a top deck seat. Recommended.

After booking the tour we were not sent any practical information or QR code. In order to access this you needed to download an app which is problematic as not everyone wants to download apps. The tour is basically a bus ride around the immediate area with basic commentary. There were a few jokes that no children could really access. There was no kid friendly content, it was exactly the same as the adult tour.

Fantastic tour for kids. The safety measures were wonderfully reassuring during COVID. Special shout to the people selling the tickets for ensuring social distancing & to a fantastic tour guide Shane, fantastic age appropriate tour with lots of fun facts.

Before the actual busride we had an amazing experience! Jet lag and error in timing, we missed out 11 am thinking it was a 1 pm. I contacted tour operator and within and hour they got us on the next bus no questions or extra fees! The tour itself was also perfect for the whole family of 6 withe kids ages 1, 3, 7, and 9 years old! Love the guide activity book for kids and the length kept them engaged the entire time!

We booked this tour to give the kids in our group (6, 5 and 4 yrs) an introduction to London. When you book, you are given clear instructions on where to meet. We were met by the guide and a colleague who welcomed us, checked tickets and kept us informed on the whereabouts of the bus very efficiently. The bus was about 10/15 mins late but there is only so much you can do about the traffic! Everyone got a seat upstairs and when we got going, our guide (Jez) shared lots of interesting information that really engaged everyone on board. 45 mins was just the right length for the kids, who also appreciated the free activity book they were given.

Absolutely excellent! I know some other reviews of the standard experience aren’t super positive, but the kids tour yesterday was fantastic! It was hot, there was lots of traffic, but Jez (our commentary guide) was absolutely brilliant. He knew SO much, kept the kids entertained and even had ideas to keep them happy when we got stuck in traffic. That man deserves a raise and all of the praise for a wonderful trip. Bravo, Jez! Our children (6 and 3) really enjoyed it, it’s only 45/50 minutes which is perfect. Take lots of water and hats as it is very hot up on the top. Would highly recommend (and try and get a tour with Jez!!).

What a fantastic tour for kids! We were very lucky to have the brilliant Alex as our tour guide and Steve the driver. Alex was an absolute credit to Tootbus! He was thoroughly engaging and enthusiastic, my 6yo son loved him and had so much fun answering his questions and looking out for the landmarks Alex was telling us about. The tour is just long enough for kids so as not to lose their interest yet takes in some really good sights along the way. Absolutely worth the money, we would do it again for sure and we will recommend the Tootbus Kids Tour to friends and family visiting London. Thank you to Alex from Gabriel, he had the best time!

Disappointing. It started off on the wrong foot when our tour bus went to the wrong bus stop! We'd been told that the normal bus stop on Charles II Street was closed, so we were told to go to a stop on Haymarket instead... but despite this, the bus still went to Charles II. By the time we and several other families who'd been waiting at Haymarket got to the other bus stop, other people had already boarded so the top deck was nearly full. We got lucky and were able to get a seat on the top deck (albeit under the covered section rather than the open air bit), but several families had to go downstairs - really disappointing as we were all waiting at the Haymarket stop in plenty of time to get a good seat. Once the tour started I'm afraid I wasn't impressed with the guide either. He started by rambling on about a bloke called Peter who apparently normally does the Kid's Tours, "but Peter's not here, so I'm stuck doing this tour today". Not a great first impression! Our guide didn't seem familiar with the route so his commentary didn't flow well - several times he pointed something out as the bus had already passed it and he repeated himself a few times too. He only seemed to talk to the people in the open top section of the bus, so because he didn't say "on your left" and "on your right", those of us seated behind him or downstairs had to guess what he was pointing at. To top it all off, the commentary didn't seem particularly tailored to children either - he pointed out the M&M's shop and talked about Hamley's toy shop (twice...) but other than that it seemed quite standard tour guide patter. He didn't engage the children very well at all. The 3 stars I've given this tour are 1) for the very quick apology I received from Tootbus when I complained, 2) the offer of a free family ticket to use in the next 12 months, and 3) because I felt really sorry for the poor Tootbus rep who had been waiting with us at the 'wrong' bus stop, also expecting to be picked up there!

Had an awesome time with my 5yr old nephew. Alex, our tour guide was so enthusiastic and so lively--he's very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. He kept all the children engaged and the adults too. The kids love the top of the double decker. It's a great tour for all ages and a must do for kiddos!

This trip is perfect for children of all ages. The tour guide kept us entertained and even I learned a few new facts about London. It was a little disappointing we weren’t able to drive down the Mall, my 2 daughters aged 5 and 7 were very excited about seeing where the ‘princess’ lives at Buckingham Palace, but still worth the trip.

Disorganised muddle sums up the start of our tour. We had pre booked the 3pm kids tour. We allowed plenty of time to get to the location we had been provided with for the start of the tour and arrived 15 minutes in advanced as directed. We then dutifully waited with other families who had pre booked. We were slightly concerned as there was absolutely no signage and no representative to meet us and confirm arrangements. With less than 5 minutes before the start time a bus arrived. However it was not our bus. Instead another family received information which wasn’t provided to us and started to head back up to the top of Haymarket. Finally a To-ot rep turned up and informed me that we were in the wrong location. Rather than an apology for the confusion arising from the poor communication I was informed that the correct details had been published on the website. However, this wasn’t much use to me, I had followed the links and directions sent in the confirmation email - the links had not been update and I had not received any email advising me to recheck the details on the website. My son and I had to run up Haymarket to ensure we didn’t miss the bus as we only had 2 minutes before the departure time. My elderly and immobile father then had to rush up Haymarket in order to get to the bus on time - this after we had allowed plenty of time for a gentle and relaxed walk. To put it bluntly I was disgusted with the attitude of this employee and the lack of apology for the considerable inconvenience that we (and more importantly my immobile father) had been put to. The tour itself was good and my son enjoyed it. However I will be reluctant to recommend a company that appears so disorganised and has so little consideration for elderly customers.

Absolutely brilliant tour! Culture isn't usually my thing but the lovely smiling tour guide held both mine and the children's attention. My 4 year old is still quoting facts we learned 3 days on. Very knowledgeable, funny and interesting. Our tour was held up by traffic due to protests which the guide dealt with perfectly. He pulled a quiz out of his pocket to pass time and the kids loved it. Already recommended highly to my friends.

I’d been searching for a while for a London bus tour to do with my children (aged 7 and 3) and so welcomed the recommendation from a friend to book the Tootbus Kids Tour. Our driver was great and Jez the MC was brilliant - entertaining but not obtrusive at all. 45 minutes felt like the perfect amount of time and it’s an ideal route for a tour with kids, with highlight sights and interesting facts throughout, which kept us all engaged. The little activity books for the kids are also a really nice touch. A bonus too that we couldn’t have wished for nicer weather to be on an open top bus!

We were booked on the 12pm tour but got stuck in traffic getting there and thought we might be late. I rang the office twice, got through immediately (makes a nice change!) And the lady I spoke to was so helpful and said she would inform the driver to wait a few minutes which was reassuring. As it turned out we made it on time and the driver and guide were so nice to us and made sure we had seats upstairs. The tour was great, just about the right duration for children. We saw the main sights and our guide Jez was fantastic, informative and funny. My son enjoyed it and that's the main thing! With so many roadworks, protests etc sometimes changes have to be made, but just call the office before you go for reassurance if you don't have the app!

When researching bus tour options in London, I was thankful to run across this 45 minute Kids Tour. It was the perfect option to provide us a lay of the land on our first full day in London while also not exceeding our 5 and 7 year old boys's attention span. Other tours I looked at lasted three hours which would not have been suitable for our family. We arrived 15 minute early and there were already several other families waiting. The staff arrived promptly to check us in for boarding. We were fortunate enough to still get seats on top. Be sure to arrive 20-30 minutes early if you want to have better seating options on top. The booklets provided to the boys were informative and fun. The only issue we had was you could not hear the tour guide as he was housed on the bottom. The intercom system did not work well on top. This tour was perfect for a family friendly option to see a bit of London.

Absolutely rubbish. Couldn’t hear a word the guide was saying. Asked the people who were behind us and not in our group and they couldn’t hear either. Told the guide. He said he hadn’t had a problem on the mornings bus. But we did in the afternoon! Waste of money really. The kids were disappointed. Have emailed to complain but waiting to hear back from them.

Chose this trip for 4 adults and 4 children the bus didn’t do the full tour, no explanation from driver I’ve emailed them to complain can’t even login to see the progress of my complaint Should have paid the extra and chose a decent tour bus company

Wonderful guide and beautiful city! Our guide was great: super friendly and funny. 45 min is enough for families with kids. You see the main landmarks, he tells stories about them and makes a lot of jokes. He did a short quiz about London. Kids were involved and had fun.

The guide seemed more interested in pointing out shops and hotels than places of significance. You don't actually drive by that many sights and some you do just the side (palace, abbey). The lady tuned up once the tour had finished with the kids activity packs and certificates so a bit pointless really. I was really disappointed for the amount of money spent.

Friendly staff, nice tidy bus. Some interesting facts and a lot of dad jokes! Was good for young children who are unable to sit for very long (3 and a half year old) If you’re looking for something more detailed this is probs not the one for you. Would recommend for families looking for something to do.