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3 Days in London (with Tour Prices Compared)
A short first visit to London in November or December: a day around the Tower and the river, a day in Westminster that ends under the Christmas lights, and a day out at the Harry Potter studio (or Windsor and Stonehenge, or the Cotswolds). Every paid stop is a tour or ticket we compared across three booking sites, and the gaps are free time.
Day 1: The Tower, the Thames and Whitechapel after dark
- Morning: the Tower of London. The official ticket with the Crown Jewels and the Yeoman Warder (Beefeater) tours was cheapest on GetYourGuide, from $50 (£38 on its UK page; 4.6 from 33,158). Klook was from US$50.65 and Viator from about €42.87. Go early: winter last admission is 4 pm, and reviewers say to allow at least two hours with lots of stairs.
- Afternoon: a Thames river pass to Greenwich. City Cruises' hop-on hop-off pass stops at the Tower, Westminster, the London Eye and Greenwich. GetYourGuide's one-day pass showed from $12, but that's far below the official £24.50 adult fare, so check the adult total before you book. Klook was about US$16.89–21.15 and Viator's 24-hour pass about $33–34. The full Westminster–Greenwich run takes about an hour, and from October 26 boats run roughly every 30–40 minutes. In Greenwich, walk up through the park for the view back to the city (free; museum hours and fees unverified).
- Evening: a Jack the Ripper walk. Ripper-Vision's 1-hour-45-minute Whitechapel walk, with crime-scene images projected along the way, was cheapest on GetYourGuide, from $24 (4.5 from 1,915). Klook (about US$26.49) lists 5 pm and 7:30 pm starts from the Whitechapel Gallery, and Viator was about £20 / $27.27 (4.6 from 4,585). Reviewers say the projections work best after dark, which comes early in winter.
Day 2: Westminster, the London Eye and the Christmas lights
- Morning: Westminster Abbey. GetYourGuide's timed ticket with a multimedia guide was from about $36 (we saw $36–43; 4.6 from about 13,000). Viator was from $41.03 and Klook from US$42.29 with no refunds. None of them skip the queue, and the Abbey is open for worship rather than sightseeing on Sundays, so do this day Monday to Saturday. Afterwards, walk past Parliament and Big Ben and across Westminster Bridge (free).
- Afternoon: the London Eye. The standard ticket was cheapest on Klook, from US$36.29. GetYourGuide was from about $38–39 off-peak (4.6 from more than 40,000) and Viator from US$39.56. The official site sells advance tickets from £29, so check it for your date too. A rotation takes about 30 minutes; going near sunset gets you the city lighting up.
- Evening: a Christmas lights bus tour. Golden Tours' 75–90-minute open-top bus tour with a live guide was cheapest on GetYourGuide, from $33 (4.1 from 5,442), against $40.62 for the same tour on Viator. Klook's similar 1.5-hour tour was about US$34.85. It only makes sense once the lights are up, so check the first departure date for your trip (season dates unverified); before then, take a free evening wander through the West End instead. The top deck gets cold, so wrap up.
Day 3: A day out of the city
- All day: the Warner Bros. Studio Tour – The Making of Harry Potter. With a return coach from central London, Klook's version with a bus from Victoria was cheapest, from US$119.09. Premium Tours on GetYourGuide was a dollar more, from $120, with an audio guide and by far the most reviews (4.7 from 28,270). Viator's coach tour was from US$142.18. Expect about 7.5 hours door to door, and book well ahead for December.
- Or swap in: Windsor, Stonehenge and Oxford. GetYourGuide's full-day coach tour was from about $96 (4.3 from about 2,900); Klook's was about US$110.55 and Golden Tours on Viator from about A$186.43. Castle and Stonehenge entry depends on the option you pick, so compare like for like. Windsor Castle is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when these tours swap the castle for a walk around town.
- Or swap in: the Cotswolds. GetYourGuide's small-group tour was from $105 (4.8 from 5,316). Viator's small-group tour from South Kensington was about $113–134 and Klook's from US$152.89 with an optional lunch. It's a slower countryside day of about 9.5–10 hours.
- Evening: back in London, free.
Rough cost per person
| Item | Cheapest site | From |
|---|---|---|
| Tower of London with the Crown Jewels | GetYourGuide | $50 |
| Thames hop-on hop-off river pass (check the adult fare) | GetYourGuide | $12 |
| Jack the Ripper walk with Ripper-Vision | GetYourGuide | $24 |
| Westminster Abbey with multimedia guide | GetYourGuide | about $36 |
| London Eye standard ticket | Klook | $36.29 |
| Christmas lights bus tour | GetYourGuide | $33 |
| Harry Potter studio tour with coach from Victoria | Klook | $119.09 |
| Total, paid tours and tickets | about $310 |
That's $50 + $12 + $24 + $36 + $36.29 + $33 + $119.09 = $310.38 in "from" prices, before taxes, fees, meals, hotel and transport. Swapping the studio tour for the Windsor, Stonehenge and Oxford day brings it to $287.29; swapping in the Cotswolds brings it to $296.29. Skipping the Christmas lights tour takes off $33. If the $12 river pass turns out not to be an adult fare, the next-cheapest adult option we saw was Klook at about US$16.89–21.15.
Skip if…
- Skip the studio tour if nobody in your group is a Harry Potter fan; it's the priciest item and takes most of a day. The Windsor or Cotswolds swaps are cheaper.
- Skip the Windsor swap on a Tuesday or Wednesday if the castle is the point, and skip it if you don't want a 10–12-hour coach day; reviewers say Windsor and Oxford feel rushed.
- Skip the Ripper walk with young kids or anyone squeamish; it's a walk through murder sites with crime-scene images.
- Skip the Christmas lights tour if you're visiting before the lights are switched on, or if you'd rather walk the West End for free.
- Skip the river pass if you're short on time; sailings can run late or be cancelled, and the Tube is quicker.
A November and December note: short days, seasonal sets and holiday closures
Winter days are short, so put the Tower in the morning (last admission 4 pm) and save the walks and bus tours for the early dark. At the studio, the Halloween "Dark Arts" theme runs until about November 8–9 and "Hogwarts in the Snow" from mid-November to mid-January, and the studio is closed December 25 and 26. Over the holidays, the Tower is closed December 24–26 and January 1, and the London Eye on Christmas Day. December weekends are busy and "from" prices can rise, so book the studio tour first and keep free cancellation where you can (Klook's Abbey ticket can't be refunded, and the studio coach tours need up to 3 days' notice for a full refund).
See every price, rating and site side by side in the full London November and December tours comparison.