The Afternoon Tea Bus in London: Is It Worth It?

An afternoon tea bus tour sounds like the sort of thing you would talk yourself out of. A proper tea, with sandwiches and scones and a glass of something, served at a table on the top deck of a 1960s Routemaster while it drives past most of central London.

It is much better than it has any right to be, and it solves a real problem: it is the only way to do afternoon tea and see the city in the same ninety minutes.

Two rules first, because both are published and both sink plans. Children and babies under the age of five are not permitted, which B Bakery attributes to health and safety regulations. And there is no toilet on board, on a ninety minute tour that serves you a pot of tea and offers you a bottle of bubbly.

Neither appears in most write-ups of this, and between them they rule it out for a good proportion of the families who book it.

What was checked

Every B Bakery figure on this page was rechecked against their own tour page on 28 September 2026: the £45 and £37, the wording that prices vary by date, time and seat, the three daily departure times, Victoria Coach Station, the 2013 origin, the 1960s Routemaster, the five menus, the £3 supplement and the fifteen to twenty minute arrival. Nothing needed correcting there. Golden Tours, on the other hand, has cut its price to £45.32.

B Bakery was also running a September sale when this was checked, 25 per cent off weekdays and 15 per cent off weekends with a code at checkout, which is the sort of thing worth looking for before you book at full price.

Who runs them

Two operators matter, and the difference between them is the route rather than the tea.

B Bakery, also trading as Brigit’s Bakery

£45 an adult, £37 a child, varying by date, time and seat. They invented this in 2013 and still run the original, aboard a restored 1960s Routemaster.

Departures are from Victoria Coach Station, 164 Buckingham Palace Road, at 12:00, 14:30 and 17:00 daily, which is also the drop-off point. Arrive fifteen to twenty minutes early.

Under fives are not allowed on board at all, babies included, which B Bakery puts down to health and safety regulations. If you are booking for a family, that is the first thing to check and the thing most likely to catch you out.

The route runs west: Whitehall, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park Corner, Harrods, the V&A, the Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Palace, Mayfair, the Ritz, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square.

Five menus, all confirmed on their own page: traditional, halal, vegetarian, vegan and gluten free, with a £3 supplement on the vegan and gluten free versions. Prosecco from £9 a glass; Champagne from £28. Dietary requirements must be sent by email at least 72 hours ahead, not mentioned on the day.

The rest of what is included, in their words: a recorded guide commentary, premium Birchall teas or coffee or hot chocolate, a Brigit’s Bakery travel cup for every guest to keep, and takeaway boxes for whatever you cannot finish. VIP seating is the front row of the upper deck. There is also a wheelchair-friendly bus for these tours, which is worth asking about when you book rather than assuming either way.

You stay on the bus. This is a tour you watch through a window with a scone in your hand, not a hop-on hop-off. Ninety minutes, approximately, and longer in traffic.

Golden Tours

From £45.32, also about ninety minutes, departing from Bulleid Way, a couple of minutes from B Bakery’s stop. Times are 11.30am, 12.15pm, 2.30pm, 3.15pm, 5pm and 6pm, so there is more choice.

The tea includes a glass of prosecco in the price, which narrows the gap on cost. They run a double-decker with premium seats at the front of the upper deck.

The route is the reason to pick them. It goes east, taking in Tower Bridge, the Tower of London and St Paul’s, none of which B Bakery covers.

Which one

Choose by what you have not seen yet. That is genuinely the whole decision, because the food is comparable and the format is identical.

If this is a first visit and you want Buckingham Palace, Knightsbridge and the museums, take B Bakery. If you have done the west and want the City and the river, take Golden Tours. If you have seen all of it, take B Bakery for the Routemaster, which is the nicer object to sit in.

On price they are all but level, £45 against £45.32, and Golden Tours includes a glass of prosecco or a soft drink where B Bakery charges £9 for a prosecco. If you want the drink, Golden Tours is the better value.

What to know before booking

Children under five are not allowed on either tour, and Golden Tours also needs a paying adult with anyone aged fifteen or under. This catches families out regularly.

Dietary requirements need 72 hours with B Bakery, which is longer than most restaurants and much longer than people expect. Golden Tours asks for 48.

Book a window seat if you can. The point is the view, and the tables are arranged so that not every seat is equal.

Go earlier in the day in winter. The 5pm and 6pm departures are in the dark from about November, which removes most of the reason to be on a bus.

It is a bus. Pouring tea in traffic is part of the entertainment, but if you are unsteady on your feet or dislike being in moving vehicles for long stretches, one of the hotel rooms in our main afternoon tea guide will suit you better.

Discounts come and go. Both operators run seasonal promotions. Check before paying full price, and do not assume a rate you saw quoted elsewhere still stands.

Is it worth doing?

Yes, with one condition: go in expecting a good sightseeing tour that happens to serve an above-average tea, rather than a great afternoon tea that happens to move.

The tea is decent. Sandwiches, scones with cream and jam, a few cakes, unlimited hot drinks. It will not trouble the Ritz, and at a third of the price it is not trying to.

What it does that no hotel can is give you ninety minutes of central London from a good height with a drink in your hand and no walking. For a first visit, or a day with mixed company and limited time, that is a genuinely efficient use of an afternoon.

The alternatives

For the traditional version in a grand room, afternoon tea in London covers every major hotel with what each actually costs once service is added. If the appeal is the moving-vehicle part rather than the tea, cool things to do in London has better options on the water.

And things to do in central London covers the ground this route passes, if you would rather walk it and eat somewhere at the end.

Questions we get asked

How much is the afternoon tea bus in London?

£45 an adult and £37 a child, varying by date, time and seat. There are five menus including vegan, halal and gluten-free options, with a £3 supplement on the vegan and gluten-free versions. It is the only way to do afternoon tea and see the city in the same ninety minutes.

Where does the afternoon tea bus leave from?

Victoria Coach Station, at 164 Buckingham Palace Road, with departures at 12pm, 2.30pm and 5pm daily. Arrive fifteen to twenty minutes before your departure, because it is a coach rather than a restaurant and it leaves on time whether or not you are on it.

Is the afternoon tea bus worth it?

It is considerably better than it has any right to be, and it solves a real problem rather than being a novelty: it combines afternoon tea and sightseeing into a single ninety minute booking, which nothing else in London does. If you were going to do both separately, it saves you an afternoon.