City Cruises is probably the most well-known company offering a basic Thames River cruise. They are also the best value for the money, in my opinion.
City Cruises also offers speedboat tours and lunch and dinner cruises.
City Cruises offers both single tickets (which are fine) and a hop-on-hop-off service with 4 stops between Westminster and Greenwich (which is better).
The hop-on-hop-off ticket is called the River Pass and I bought this one just recently, when the spring weather finally hit London!
I used it to get me from Greenwich and back primarily, but I did make an impromptu stop at London Bridge to grab lunch at Borough Market.
I bought the River Pass, which gave me 24-hour unlimited access to the River on City Cruises Boats.
Even though I'm a tour guide, I enjoy going on other people's tours so I really enjoyed the live commentary on the journeys I took.
I was happy for the 24 hour pass, but if you want more time on the boat, you can get a 72-hour River Pass giving you three days to use the service, rather than the 24-hour pass I bought.
Since the weather was good, I sat on the open-aired top of the boat - but there is inside seating downstairs if the London weather gets a bit wet or chilly.
TIP: City Cruises' hop-on-hop-off service is included for free for holders of a London Pass, a tourist attraction concession card.
Click on the map for a larger view.
Single Tickets
Single-ride tickets vary depending on your starting and ending point.
Prices start at £10.80/adult (16+), £7.05/child (5-15), and free for infants 4 and under.
See their full list of single and return ticket prices here.
If you are planning on taking at least two rides, I recommend that you buy a River Pass.
This pass gives you unlimited travel between their piers.
River Pass Tickets
24-Hour Pass
- £24 Adults (16+)
- £16.00 for Children (5-15)
- Free for Infants (4 and under)
- More information or to purchase tickets.
Cruises run every 30 minutes. (Frequency changes seasonally).
Exact departure times depend on which pier you wish to depart from.
But, as soon as I got to the piers I was able to check the display board to see exactly how long I would need to wait for the next service.
Highlights along the cruise include the London Eye, OXO Tower, London Bridge, The Shard, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, and Greenwich.
TIP: City Cruises hop-on-hop-off service is usually included for free for holders of a London Sightseeing Pass, a tourist attraction concession card. It is also included for free with the purchase of a 24 or 48-hour hop-on, hop-off open-top bus ticket with Tootbus Tours.
City Cruises sports a 4 out of 5 stars rating on TripAdvisor along with mostly positive reviews.
Thousands of reviewers have given them a 5-star rating, which is a good sign.
The negative comments that have been left often mention unforeseen technical issues with the boats or scheduling software.
I haven't personally experienced any of that myself, however.
To avoid any issues, make sure to arrive early for your
Related Links
