Avoid the Glasgow Sightseeing Tours

I'm only kidding really
The Glasgow sightseeing tours
get you round cheaply!

The Lowdown | Fares, Timetable, Map | How to Book

Hop on, hop off, keep moving...

As in most other cities these days, there's a reliable hop on, hop off, open top Glasgow tour bus (known affectionately in these here parts as The Heidless Bus, in other words, the bus with no head!), and while elsewhere on the site I mention that the best way to see this City is to get right into the thick of it, rather than sitting on a bus and experiencing something pretty similar to watching a TV show about Glasgow without the ability to pause the screen, I do appreciate that I'm being a bit two-faced about the whole thing.

Any time Tracey and I go to somewhere new on holiday, we tend to get the tour bus around first of all, at least to make sure we can get our bearings, to help us firm up on what we plan on visiting. Even more than that though, given the cost of public transport in various places, the fact that you can usually hop on and hop off these kind of sightseeing bus tours, and also that normally your tickets for the tour will last you 48 hours, we've occasionally used the tour bus to get around the place we've been visiting just to save some pennies.

Yeah tell me about it - cheapskates!

On the Glasgow sightseeing tours, as with others you may have been on around the world, your ticket will last you two consecutive days and will entitle you to 10% off various paid attractions around the place that will be listed on the wee brochure you get with your ticket.

Other than the standard Glasgow sightseeing tours though, you can also book tickets for the Mackintosh Experience Bus Tour which takes you around the attractions designed by one of our favourite sons, Charles Rennie Mackintosh (you can read more about him in my attractions section), and there's also a Kids' Club for the wee lads & lassies. I'm pretty sure they also do a bus tour for the Doors Open days every September, where the paid attractions open their doors for free, so that's well worth booking up for as well.

So whatever you use your Glasgow sightseeing tours ticket for I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience and start working out from the tour where you'll want to spend the rest of your time here. And who knows, you might even see me sitting on the bus taking blurry motion photos as well, as I've been known to take the tour sometimes whenever I can't think of anything else to do!

Fares, timetable & map

The best place to start the tour is at George Square. The timetable changes depending on what season you'll be visiting the City, but generally the bus operates between just after 9am at George Square until just before 6pm again coming back to the Square.

The Glasgow City sightseeing tours run throughout the day departing about every 20 minutes, so if you miss one you won't have long to wait until the next.

As for where all the stops are, have a wee look first at this Glasgow tour map and have a think about what attractions you'll want to see. As long as you're within that timeframe of 9ish-am to before 6pm, whatever stop you choose to hop on or hop off at, you'll only have to wait a maximum of 20 minutes over the course of the day.

The fare tickets for the tour does vary, but you'll be looking at something in the region of £10 for an adult, £8 concession, £4 if you've a child over 5 (kids under 5 go free), and if you're in a family you can usually sort out a group discount.

As in other city bus tours, if you book online you can save even more as the online price is discounted. Failing that, just get your tickets from the wee gadgies hanging about in the red uniforms at the various stops around the City.

How to Book

Like I say, you can get your tickets from the folks at the stops or alternatively from your driver or online. The site to visit is City Sightseeing Glasgow which has the online booking form and also gives more information on the bus stops, up to date timetables and even some information on booking a private hire bus.

So I hope you enjoy getting around the place in the Glasgow sightseeing tours (given the usual weather here though you'll have to bear in mind you might get sodden wet on the Heidless Bus if you don't sit downstairs!), and if you need any more help, as always just let me know.