Golden Tours UK Sightseeing Reviews 1,798

Hearing Armando speak is angelic. He knows his UK history. You will not be bored.

Having booked a Sing a long Christmas bus tour for my family, what an absolute shambles. No christmas decorations on the bus, no members of staff spoke to the customers at all, no sing a longs and the food was cheap, unwrapped and simply dumped onto a plate. Never again and please see other companies offering the same service for a lot more organised and pleasant service.

This was my 2nd trip to Universal Studios making of Harry Potter with Golden tours. The first experience was excellent the tour guide was friendly and the screens on the bus played HP clips and music adding to the experience and journey to the studios. I recommended GT to my friend visiting from Melbourne, Australia with her teenage niece, The journey was a totally different experience on Jan 4th - pick up Kings Cross. The Driver and tour guide checking us in on HP bus were only interested in checking tickets and giving us wrist bands, Screens not working, no apology from driver or tour guide. When we Arrived at HP Studio, only indication of where to pick up HP bus and time of departure was on our wrist bands, Very disappointed with the customer service from both drivers to and from the studios. However, the tour guide and driver coming back both apologised that screens were not working and did try to fix the problem!
Return journey was not pleasant, very bumpy and heavy braking by the driver. My daughter came off the bus with motion sickness! Not experienced on previous tour!

Once in the studios the HP experience was magical and the Warner bros staff were fantastic. I would not recommend golden tours HP bus transport again!

Despite the cold it was great seeing London by night. The live guide made it all the more a better experience.

Harry Potter Studios was amazing. We had booked a private car to drive us there and back. I didn’t enjoy this part, the first driver made us car sick by hitting the brake every few seconds and the second driver should not be on the road, they were uber drivers who drove too fast and put our lives at risk by undertaking cars.

Outstanding bus trip to see the lights for Christmas. V was an amazing host and guide - shared excellent history and fun jokes. We saw all the best sights!

Had a wonderful experience on the Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath tour with Golden Tours, thanks in large part to the excellent team running it. The itinerary was well planned, with enough time at each stop to enjoy the highlights without feeling overly rushed, and the coach was comfortable so the day ran smoothly from departure to return. The time at Windsor Castle could have been longer as there is so much to explore, but given the tight schedule it would have been difficult to extend it; however, Bruce helped us decide what to cover so we could make the most of the time available. Bruce was a fantastic tour guide – extremely knowledgeable and full of interesting trivia– and he gave very clear instructions at every stop, which made navigation easy and saved time. Driver Armando was also excellent, driving safely throughout the journey and getting us to each destination on time, which really added to the overall positive experience.

I would not hesitate to recommend this trip. It far exceeded expectations - not only a feast for the eyes but educational and highly entertaining thanks to the brilliantly funny commentary. Thank you Aziz and Brandon for a joyful evening to end to the festive season.

Very good guide and location
I think Oxford should be cancelled from the tour cause there is really no time to visit,instead it would be better to use that time for windsor castle and the city.

We bought hop on hop off tickets with Golden Tours to show London to my nephews, nieces, and daughters. What should have been a memorable family experience turned into frustration and disappointment.

We boarded at Westminster and hopped off at Buckingham Palace. When we tried to get back on the bus shortly after, at 3:50pm, we were told the service was closed for the day. This was shocking considering we had purchased full day tickets. At no point during the purchase process, on the ticket, or at the stop was it communicated that the service would end that early.

The staff at the bus stop were dismissive and unhelpful. Rather than taking responsibility or offering a solution, we were simply told to call the company. No apology. No effort to assist a family left stranded mid route.

I submitted a formal complaint and have received no response. That silence speaks volumes about how Golden Tours treats paying customers once they have your money.

This was poor communication, poor service, and poor customer care from start to finish. I rarely leave reviews, but I felt compelled to warn others. If you are visiting London with family or limited time, do not rely on Golden Tours. You may find your day cut short without warning and no support when things go wrong.

We booked the New Year’s Eve party on the boat Wellington through Golden Tours and paid around £300 per person. Overall, the experience was extremely disappointing and nowhere near worth the price.

To be fair, the ticket process and check-in were smooth and uncomplicated. We didn’t have to wait long and were on the boat quickly. Unfortunately, that was the only positive aspect of the evening.

Once onboard, our excitement faded immediately. There was no decoration at all, no New Year’s atmosphere, and everything felt very loveless and poorly prepared. The entire event felt as if it had been put together at the last minute purely to generate revenue.

There were two bars (one on the upper deck and one below), but no drink menu, no price list, and no clear indication of what was available. All drinks were served in cheap plastic cups. For a New Year’s Eve event at this price point, proper glassware should be standard. Even the “welcome drink” at midnight was served in flimsy plastic champagne glasses.

The pricing was completely inconsistent and arbitrary. For example, a tequila shot cost £12 at the lower bar, while the same shot cost £6 on the upper deck. With no price lists anywhere, this felt unprofessional and misleading.
To make matters worse, when I asked the bartender on the lower deck for a double tequila shot, she simply poured two very small shots into one larger glass, which was both disappointing and frankly ridiculous given the prices.

The staff overall appeared very unmotivated and disengaged. Smiles were rare, service felt indifferent, and even in the restroom areas, staff members were frequently sitting on their phones rather than paying attention to guests. This further added to the feeling that no one really cared about the quality of the experience.

Additionally, the entire ship was freezing cold, as the heating was clearly insufficient. At one point, it was even unclear whether all guests would be able to access the upper deck safely, as the deck appeared icy and poorly managed.

The food was another major disappointment. It tasted genuinely bad and was largely inedible. Only the small dessert bites were acceptable, but they did not come close to compensating for the rest of the evening.

In summary, the whole event felt as if the budget had simply run out, or as if this “New Year’s Eve party” had been created a week in advance with minimal effort. Considering what was offered, even £25 would have been a fair price, not £300.

We would not recommend this experience and would certainly never book it again.

Well we bought tickets on the day ( not like in advance ) and unfortunately our restaurant seated us late almost 45 min so due to this we were late for our appointment . We tried to push for late or swap the tickets to later entrance but customer service were very unhelpful and refused to swap. So we ended up buying another tickets. It should be a bit more helpful and flexible especially that they had availability and both tickets were bought on the day . Never mind next time we look for more helpful vendor.

Overview
The overall standard of the event fell significantly short of expectations and of what was advertised. The experience was poorly delivered, poorly communicated, and failed to provide the full duration and quality that guests paid for.

Communication & Passenger Information
• The vessel arrived late with no explanation provided and no estimated time of arrival communicated at any stage.
• There was no welcome announcement from the captain, which set an unprofessional tone from the outset.
• The safety briefing was minimal and inadequate, lacking the level of clarity and completeness expected for a passenger vessel.
• No itinerary or commentary was provided regarding the route or landmarks we would be passing, resulting in a complete absence of engagement or situational awareness for guests.

Entertainment
• The singer displayed little to no stage presence and was not suited to the event tone, performing Christmas songs on New Year’s Eve.
• While the singer clearly had a good voice, the performance itself was weak, ineffective, and disengaging, failing to create any celebratory atmosphere.

Crew & Service Staff
• Security staff were professional, approachable, and helpful throughout, which is acknowledged and appreciated.
• Bar staff worked extremely hard under pressure and remained cheerful, despite the operational shortcomings elsewhere.

Vessel Condition & Environment
• The vessel was uncomfortably cold throughout the evening, despite doors being closed.
• Guests were instructed to “dress to impress,” yet the vessel itself appeared drab, tired, and more akin to a basic water taxi service than a premium event environment.
• There was a clear mismatch between the advertised standard and the actual presentation of the vessel.

Schedule & Delivery of Service
• The cruise started late and, despite this, concluded approximately an hour earlier than scheduled.
• Guests therefore did not receive the full duration or value of the experience that had been paid for.

Conclusion
This event was poorly delivered across multiple critical areas, particularly communication, atmosphere, operational execution, and value for money. While individual staff efforts were commendable, the overall product was unprofessional, disappointing, and not aligned with what was promoted or expected.

Price is too high as for number of chairs provided, interiour of the ship is very basic and plain. Quality of the food is mediocre, personnel was very rude while misunderstanding drinks rules.

Bruce and Amrish were amazing. Bruce was very knowledgeable and gave great tips.

Bruce was amazing at giving directions, and things to look at when touring the different sites which I enjoyed. Also gave us a little bit of a history lesson, it was very enjoyable, very approachable and easy to have a conversation with about the different sites or just normal conversation. The driver Amrish was also amazing at getting us from different points quickly and safely

Bruce made the tour enjoysble
Extensive knowledge and witty

This is a scam!!! We booked tickets online for the 2026 New Year's Cruise in London with this company, but we wouldn't recommend it to anyone! The event description stated a 4-hour cruise on the Tamza River, assigned seats, a food and champagne basket for each adult, a sophisticated and elegant evening, and a dress code of evening gowns and tuxedos. In the end, we got a 4-hour cruise on the Tamza River on a regular public transport boat, crowded with people, and no designated seating. We were herded onto this ferry like a flock of sheep, where we sat on benches, each given a small bottle of champagne, and that was it. Of course, there was nothing for children at all. There was a counter where you could buy chips, nuts, and some drinks at your own expense. There were five of us, three adults and two children. We paid £3,000 for this horror! There were also a few families in evening attire, and they, too, weren't expecting such an event. The rest of the crowd was dressed casually, nothing special. We approached the ferry workers and asked if there had been a mistake, to which they replied regretfully that this company does this, and not for the first time. They offer tickets for their regular cruise, but the description is completely different. I think everyone there is involved in this scam. The live music was good, and they occasionally offered small snacks, which is a plus. But if you're looking for something more, don't expect it here.

The tour guide Brennan .He was so interesting and had some really fun facts that made it so much better .He was great with kids too

This review is in regards to the the Golden Tour Hop on Hop off bus in London. This company was referred to us by our hotel. It was the cheapest and had a 72 hour option which I wanted. In 2 days, I was only able to use the bus twice. First, the app was not very accurate in showing the location of the buses in real time. Also, the bus stops were not clearly marked and visible compared to the other companies. This made the stops very confusing and difficult to find. I saw very few Golden Tour buses compared to the other companies so the wait times were ridiculous. In one incident, we were standing at the bus stop marked Golden tours. We waited over 30 min and when the bus finally came, it just drove by and didn't stop. I called customer service and they told me to go to another stop. The other companies had customer service representatives at most stops and Golden didn't have any. I should have paid more money for a more reliable company like Big Red bus. They definitely had more buses, bus stops clearly marked, and a representative at almost every stop I saw.