Travel Diary: Exploring London with Megabus UK

Having been born and raised in London, it's very easy to take a lot of sights for granted. However, when I was recently invited by Megabus UK to try out their brand new Megabus Sightseeing tours, I thought it was time to soak up some culture. 

I currently work in central London which means my lunch breaks (and sometimes weekends) are regularly spent wandering it's streets. Often just trying to keep my steps up, shopping or hunting down the latest foodie spot, I tend to avoid tourist locations where possible; mostly due to my hatred of humans. That said, however, I am a firm believer in soaking up as much culture as possible and one thing I do enjoy is showing my out-of-town friends around whenever they come to visit me. And so, when Megabus invited me to try out their latest service, I was certainly keen to give it a go. 

Starting our adventure on London's Southbank, myself and a group of fellow bloggers boarded the London Eye for a VIP experience. I hadn't actually been on the London Eye since it opened back in 2000 but we could not have asked for a better time to do so. As you can see, the sun was shining and the sky was a clear blue - perfect for seeing all that London had to offer. 

Having finished up our champagne (or sparkling elderflower), we took a short walk across the Southbank where we were taken aboard one of Megabus UK's very own open-top tour buses to be the first to try out their brand new London Sightseeing Tours. Armed with our Megabus goodie bags and cupcakes, we were ready to set off on a two hour tour of the city as the sun began to set. Better yet, the tours start from just £1 per seat! Better yet still, Chloe, Kim and Sophie were there to keep me company along the journey. 

I had forgotten just how many historical buildings and locations there were across the city. It's also worth noting that, unlike some tours, the bus doesn't have a physical human tour guide. Instead, it has an automated voice which provides information at appropriate locations. I actually think I preferred this somehow as it meant we could talk and listen at our own leisure. It also meant that we had a great balance between fun, popular culture facts and actual historical facts. And I actually learnt a thing or two! Who knew? 

Overall, as a major history buff, I think this event was genuinely one of my most favourite events as a blogger. I honestly think these tours are an excellent and affordable option for people visiting the city. And if you try it and don't like it, you've lost nothing but £1. Not bad, aye? 

So if you think you'd like to try out one of Megabus UK's sightseeing tours for yourself, here's how does it works... 

• Check out their website here* to see how you can book 
• Prices start from just £1 plus 50p booking fee - crazy to think how low the prices are compared to some city bus tours which can cost around £40 per person.  
• Pick up points are located at Waterloo, Park Lane and the Tower of London meaning you can jump on and off as you please. 
• The tour lasts for 2 hours and provides a mixture of popular culture and historic information as you make your way through the sights of London. 

Well, that's it for another London blogger event. Have you ever taken a tour of London before? Or perhaps explored your own hometown? As always, I love reading your comments so please do leave me lots of lovely ones below. A huge thanks to Megabus for having us for the evening, and to the girls for being great company. 

Until next time, 

*Disclaimer - I was invited to attend the launch of Megabus UK's sightseeing tour for the purposes of review. As usual, all thoughts are my own and do not reflect that of the brand.