confused on booking tours on my own in London

[Dznypal]

we are on the BI cruise in sept and have a private taxi tour booked for London--we are coming in a few days early
bascially we can plan were and when we want to go--I have them booked for 4 hrs
2 things wed like to do is the London eye and crown jewels
now the taxi doesnet book tickets but will get you there in time for your tour if you book the tickets yourself
and then they wait till you get done

now Ive been looking up tickets for both by doing searches--and they both do like a skip the line ticket
which Im planning on doing
but how do you pick the company your actually buying tickets from
I actually prefer buying through the official site but how do I know which one that is
hope this makes sense

 

[Skippyboo]

Don’t know about the London Eye but the Crown Jewels are in Tower of London. The Tower is run by the Historic Royal Palaces. (HRP). They are a charity that run the non occupied royal palaces so not Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle.

 

[SirDuff]

Those two tours will take up most of your four hours - seems a waste to pay for a cab to sit around. Both are easily accessible by public transit.

 

[Suzabella]

The Tower of London can easily take up that 4 hours all by itself. The eye revolves very slowly so be sure you allow enough time. We went through Trip Advisor for our tickets to both.

Definitely book whichever one you do in advance and do the fast track line for London Eye.

 

[Marthasor]

Those two tours will take up most of your four hours - seems a waste to pay for a cab to sit around. Both are easily accessible by public transit.

I agree with this, or just flag cabs as needed. I took my DS all over London a few years ago and it was very accessible via tube and cab.

 

[Marthasor]

I believe this is the official website: https://www.londoneye.com

IMHO, the London Eye is incredibly boring - having a birds-eye of London really isn't that spectacular, IMHO. If your time in London is limited, in addition to the Crown Jewels/Tower of London, I would highly recommend Westminster Abbey and the British Museum to name a few things.

 

[Dznypal]

thanks for the advice--I should have mentioned though that were only really interested in seeing the crown jewels not really the tower parts--just the jewels--also thats why we were going to do the fast pass at the eye

also we only have one full day in London--

 

[Flossbolna]

I would suggest you end your taxi tour at the Tower of London. This way you will be able to decide on the spot if you want a bit more time to explore besides the Crown Jewels and will be less under pressure to make it out again as quickly as possible to get back into your cab.

 

[DisneyBelle_x]

I live in London and honestly feel like you’d be wasting time with the taxi tour, London eye & Tower of London are pretty close but opposite sides of the river and quite frankly you’ll spend more time stuck in traffic in a taxi than anything else, depending on fitness you could walk between them, get the tube or even Uber boat. Getting around London by transport especially tube is extremely easy and much quicker than taxi as traffic gets very heavy in central London

for Tower of London tickets - https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-lon...fih1YPscZxpykTuKtcnMZAaAvnCEALw_wcB#gs.1s04gm
London eye tickets - https://www.londoneye.com/

 

[dcassetta]

thanks for the advice--I should have mentioned though that were only really interested in seeing the crown jewels not really the tower parts--just the jewels--also thats why we were going to do the fast pass at the eye

also we only have one full day in London--

If your only goal at the Tower is to see the Crown Jewels, you should arrive at the Tower at least half an hour before opening time to get in the security line. Then once inside the Tower go directly to the Crown Jewels as long lines will develop. If you are planning to use the cab to tour London, rather than just for transportation, I would have them pick you up at the Tower, use the 4 hours to tour with the cabbie, and then have them drop you at the London Eye.

 

[DCLMP]

Why do you need a taxi? Take the tube or walk. A lot is of the sites are clustered in a few areas. Hop on hop off is another good option.

 

[Suzabella]

I 2nd the Hop on Hop Off bus option. We got to see a lot in a short amount of time on our first trip to London. Basically, we saw the highlights. We only had 2 days that trip.

 

[auntlynne]

Here are some reviews from TripAdvisor - with helpful tips on getting the most out of a visit to the Crown Jewels.

 

[auntlynne]

Are the Jewels and the Eye the only things you want to visit?

People are discouraging use of a taxi - probably because the streets are crowded, public transport is usually reliable and gets you to most places - especially where tourists want to go. But not everyone likes the be in a crowd.

If you want other suggestions, many of us have opinions and recommendations!

Did you find the site for booking your Tower tickets? It looks like you would be better off purchasing your tickets online from the official site - The Tower is run by the Historic Royal Palaces. (HRP). - as @Skippyboo mentioned. It is ~ £34 pp. date, but not time specific. Get there first thing (looks like opening is 10 am). Get there before that in case there’s a queue. You will have an e-ticket if booked online.

Then head straight for the Jewels display. I recommend you heed the advice in the the above reviews - go slowly, repeat if possible. I honestly have very little memory of that part of my visit, other than it seemed dimly lit. But we had also had a great tour with the Beefeater guide which was very well done.

Otherwise, most of the front-of-the line tickets are guided tours, typically several hours.

 

[DCLMP]

When we were there the line for the crown jewels was very long. Do you get to skip that line or just the line into the tower of London? There was no line into the tower on our visit.

Have you looked at buying a London pass? If you have two days don't you want to see more than that? I highly recommend the British Museum and its free. Westminster Abbey was also a must for us.

 

[DCSWO]

We were there last September and during the few hours we were at the Tower of London, I never saw a line for the Crown Jewels out the door. Get there before they open and you should be in and out. I agree with those recommending skipping the cab and taking the tube - we moved around quickly on the tube and walking. You could also just walk from the Tower of London to Tower Bridge in 10 minutes. The bridge is a nice elevated view and just a short walk away. Tickets were $15USD per person. You can ask to take the elevator (up and down) to save time climbing the stairs. Much more culturally significant than the London Eye - but to each their own. Have fun.

 

[auntlynne]

When we were there the line for the crown jewels was very long. Do you get to skip that line or just the line into the tower of London? There was no line into the tower on our visit.

Have you looked at buying a London pass? If you have two days don't you want to see more than that? I highly recommend the British Museum and it’s he Eye free. Westminster Abbey was also a must for us.

The Eye us not included in the Pass. Depending on what else they might wish to do, it could be less expensive to buy individual venue tickets.

Tower ticket £33.60.
London Pass £84

For many of us, the Pass us a great idea.

And the British Museum is at the top of my recommendations - so much history.

For first timers, a Hop On / Hop Off bus would give a great overview. Depending on when it starts running in the morning, using it to get to the Tower can help maximize seeing the city. Especially if staying near one of its stops.

 

[SirDuff]

People are discouraging use of a taxi - probably because the streets are crowded, public transport is usually reliable and gets you to most places - especially where tourists want to go. But not everyone likes the be in a crowd.

I'm discouraging the use of a four-hour "tour by taxi" which is what the OP said they are doing. Which means she's paying for the time when the taxi sits waiting for her to see the jewels and ride the Eye. Using a "normal" taxi to travel around, while not what I would do, is more reasonable.

 

[Lilsia]

If you want to see the jewels, get to the tower early and try to be one of the first ones there. Go directly to where they are held. Just an FYI, when you get to the actual jewels part, they have a moving walkway to keep everyone moving. So you can't really stand there and get a good look at them.
As others have said, take the tube or walk to where you want to go. London is very easy to navigate, just study the map ahead of time so that you know where you are going.

 

[Flossbolna]

Another thought: I think the view out of the black cabs isn’t that great. The hop on hop off bus offers much better views from the upper deck.