The Best River Thames Boat Trips and Cruises
The Best River Thames Boat Trips and Cruises
You can’t really miss the Thames: it’s that big wet thing that snakes all the way through Central London before tipping itself out into the North Sea at the Thames Estuary in Essex. Here are a few of our favourite ways to experience this mighty river.
The All-Rounder: Thames Clippers
Do you know how many iconic landmarks you can ogle from the Thames? No? Well, we’ll tell you. Loads. It’s loads. We’re talking – deep breath – the London Eye, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, the Tate Modern, St Paul’s Cathedral and HMS Belfast. Need we go on? Oh, ok then: The Shard, the Tower of London, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the Cutty Sark, The O2, Greenwich Observatory, AND MANY MORE.
Dodge the Tube and make getting from A to B an integral part of your sightseeing experience. Operated by Uber Boats, the Thames Clippers are hands-down one of the best ways to get around Central London. Boats depart every 20 minutes from 24 piers across London, all the way from posh Putney in the west to the East London heartlands of Barking. Strike a light, guv’nor!
You get a one-day Uber Boat River Roamer ticket included when you buy a London Pass or London Pass Plus, both of which bag you major savings on an additional 100+ top London attractions.
Thames Clippers: Top of the Stops
Thames Clippers: Top of the Stops
Thames Clippers cover more ground (or rather water) than any other London boat service, Here are three of our favourite stops along the route…
- Battersea Power Station. This iconic London landmark has been reborn as a thriving entertainment hub crammed with green spaces and cool new shops, bars and restaurants. Ride Lift 109 up the chimney stack for panoramic skyline views or mosey over to beautiful Battersea Park with its pagoda, petting zoo, art gallery and (in case you rapidly tire of being a landlubber) boating lake.
- Bankside. Here be bucket-list biggies. Disembark for the Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s Globe, The Shard and the foodie fantasia that is Borough Market.
- North Greenwich. Heading for a show at The O2 Arena? This stop’s for you. It’s also where you can ride the cable cars for sky-high views of the city.
The Full Package: City Cruise Tour Experiences
The Full Package: City Cruise Tour Experiences
City Cruises provide an informative live commentary as you enjoy the short journey between Westminster and Greenwich. There are only four stops along this route – Westminster, the London Eye, the Tower of London and Greenwich (for the Cutty Sark and Greenwich Park and museums) – but you can hop on and off as you please, making it a solid option for first-time visitors to London.
City Cruises: Other Thames Experiences
As well as getting from A to B (and listening to the always-entertaining commentary), City Cruises also run several add-on experiences. For example…
- Afternoon tea cruise. Pinkies at the ready: this 90-minute cruise takes in several of London’s most recognisable landmarks but, more importantly, includes the opportunity to fill your face with sandwiches, pastries, scones and enough tea to sink the Titanic.
- Evening cruise. No surprises here, this one takes place at sundown. Expect illuminated city views accompanied by canapés, bubbly and live music.
- Elvis tribute cruise. Here’s one to leave you all shook up. Try to tear your eyes from those thrusting hips long enough to snap landmarks including St Paul’s Cathedral and The Shard. The cruise also includes a three-course dinner. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, anyone?
The White-Knuckler: Thames Speedboats
The White-Knuckler: Thames Speedboats
In the market for something a little more… high-octane? Less a sightseeing experience and more a hang-on-for-dear-life thrill ride, these rip-roaring rigid inflatable boat experiences (or RIB rides to you and me) are very much not for the faint of heart.
Prepare to see your life (and, yes, several somewhat blurry London attractions) flash before your eyes as your RIB twists, turns and generally whizzes up and down the Thames. Thames Rockets and The Thames RIB Experience offer a variety of different locations and experiences, including Canary Wharf, the Thames Barrier, and something called – rather frighteningly – the Tower Beast. Buckle up: it’s gonna be one helluva ride.
The Best Sedate London Boat Trips
The Best Sedate London Boat Trips
And now for something completely different: think the gentle putter of a barge forging its placid path along picturesque canals. Or the splash of oar meeting lake in bucolic parkland. Here are some of our faves for the more refined London lady or gent.
- Little Venice. All pristine Regency mansion, brightly painted barges and graceful swans, Little Venice is one of London’s most disarmingly charming neighbourhoods. Hop aboard one of Jason’s tour boats and chug east along the scenic Regent’s Canal to Camden Lock, passing London Zoo and the Maida Hill Tunnel, and admiring plenty of cool canal art en route.
- A day trip to Kew or Hampton Court. Indulge in the fine art of slow travel on a pleasure cruise with Thames River Boats from Westminster Pier to Kew Gardens, or beyond to the mighty Hampton Court Palace. The journey to Henry VIII’s medieval party pile takes a little over three hours – plenty of time, in other words, to admire the views of Chelsea, Putney, Richmond et al along the way.
- The Serpentine. To many, it’s the jewel in Hyde Park’s not inconsiderable crown. And with good reason, too. Take to the lake on colourful rowboats and pedalos during spring and summer, for the quintessential English experience.
- Crystal Palace Boating Lake. Come for the anatomically interesting model dinosaurs; stay for the tranquil boating lake from which – to complete your Jurassic experience – some of the creepy (but thankfully static) critters can be spotted lurking in the undergrowth.
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