River Trips on the Thames

One of the most overlooked things to do while you’re down in London for a theatre break is to take one of the trips on the Thames. The river is just the best place to see the sights of London without all the noise and traffic. On a fine day you can relax on deck and take photos to your hearts content. You can even enjoy a fine meal or dance the evening away by the lights of the city.

Luxury Dining Evening Cruises

These are the really romantic option! Ideal for couples, the evening luxury cruise with a fine meal and dancing afterwards is the perfect way to spend a second night of a theatre break in London. The Bateaux boats really are floating restaurants where good food and music combine with the river cruise to provide a really memorable experience. Not only that but when booked as part of a theatre break package they are surprisingly affordable with prices starting at around £65 per person. Try having a night out with dancing and a meal for less than that in London

Lunch Time Cruises

Don’t despair if you’ve got the kids with you and a romantic evening a deux is out of the question. You can still experience a delightful meal on the river by booking a lunchtime Catarmaran cruise. There’s a good set menu with vegetarian and children’s options and the cruise lasts around 2 hours. When booked with a theatre break package prices start from £19 for adults and £12 for children.

Lunch at Planet Hollywood and a River Cruise

Planet Hollywood is not so much a restaurant as a Hollywood themed eating experience. Situated just a short walk from the West End you can have a good mooch round looking at the theatres before you pop in for lunch. As part of the Planet Cruise offer with Show and Stay theatre packages lunch at Planet Hollywood includes any sandwich or burger platter on the menu, ice cream and soft drink.
The package includes a City Cruise river tour and costs just £20 per adult and £10 per child

The Duck

The Duck Tours are an institution in London. What could be better than a trip on an amphibious vehicle? Always going to be more appealing to those of us with kids, (of whatever age!) than a romantic dinner cruise, and yet the ducks are surprisingly comfortable!
You get the best of both worlds, seeing the sights from the river and being able to go right into the heart of the city. The tour starts from Chicheley Street (just behind the London Eye) then goes through the City of Westminster. On the way you’ll see Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Downing Street and Nelsons Column. Next it’s into the river down a slip way at Vauxhall. Now you cruise along the Thames and get the best view of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Lambeth Palace and other places of interest. There’s an interesting and informative commentary to explain what you are seeing. The round trip lasts 75 minutes.

Day Passes on the Catamaran Cruises

If you want a tour but not a meal why not book a day pass? This will give you unlimited use of Catamaran’s Cruisers sightseeing cruises.
The Catamaran Cruisers sail between Embankment, Waterloo, Bankside, Tower and all the way to Greenwich. You can stay onboard for the whole cruise but I think you should definitely hop off at Greenwich.

It’s one of my favourite parts of London. Lovely old buildings by the river to walk around, nice quirky shops, good food, pleasant pubs and a great little market.

Just get yourself a timetable and spend the day river hopping. It’s one of my favourite London pastimes The River Pass is great value and means you pay just one fixed price for a whole day, no tubes, no nasty traffic. If you don’t like somewhere just hop on the next boat and try somewhere else!