Buckingham Palace & Afternoon Tea Sightseeing Tour with PG Tips

The best part of this experience is the chance to combine Buckingham Palace’s State Rooms with a quick survey of London’s biggest sights. You’ll see the Throne Room, White Drawing Room, grand artworks, and royal furnishings, then take afternoon tea aboard a sightseeing bus before entering the palace independently.

I like the efficient timing and the audio guide inside the palace, which lets you move at your own pace. I also like that the coach passes the London Eye, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, and St Paul’s Cathedral without making you plan separate visits. The catch is that the palace visit is not guided by the coach tour, and the transfer from Victoria Station to Buckingham Palace is on foot.

Key points to know before booking

• See the State Rooms at 4:15 PM: The palace visit follows the tea tour and lasts about two hours.
• Tour four major London sights by coach: The panoramic route includes the London Eye, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, and St Paul’s Cathedral.
• Afternoon tea is served on a tea bus: Freshly prepared food, tea and coffee, a toilet onboard, and a branded travel cup are included.
• Expect a self-guided palace visit: You receive an audio guide rather than a personal guide inside the State Rooms.
• Allow time for the walk: The coach ends near Victoria Station at about 3:30 PM, and Buckingham Palace is roughly 10 to 15 minutes away on foot.
• This suits a busy first visit: At $151.24 per person, the price makes more sense if you value convenience and want several London highlights in one afternoon.

Why this tour works for a short London visit

London can eat up a day simply through transport and queues. This outing gives you a fixed plan: meet at Evan Evans Tours on Vauxhall Bridge Road at 2:00 PM, ride through central London with a live guide, enjoy tea, and reach Buckingham Palace for a timed 4:15 PM entry.

That structure is useful if you have only a few days in the city. You get a broad first look at London from the coach, then spend your best sightseeing time inside one of Britain’s most important buildings. It is not a slow, specialist tour of each neighborhood, but it covers a lot without asking you to organize every piece yourself.

I especially like the contrast between the two halves. The coach portion gives you an overview, with landmarks passing outside the windows. The palace portion is slower and quieter, with an audio guide helping you understand the rooms and objects at your own pace.

The arrangement also explains the overall duration. The tea sightseeing portion finishes at about 3:30 PM near Victoria Station, then the palace entry begins at 4:15 PM. The listing gives the full experience as roughly four and a half hours, but the coach tea portion and the State Rooms visit operate as separate parts.

Starting at Vauxhall Bridge Road

You meet at Evan Evans Tours, 258 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1BS. Arrive 30 minutes early, not at the last minute. The tour begins at 2:00 PM, and the group may include up to 52 people, so a calm check-in gives you time to find the right departure point.

The meeting point is near public transport, but hotel pickup and drop-off are not included. You need to make your own way there and later continue from Victoria Station to the palace.

The first portion is a live guided panoramic coach tour. That means you get commentary while riding past major sights, rather than a series of long stops with time to explore each one. Keep your expectations clear: this is an orientation tour, not four separate sightseeing visits.

The London Eye and Big Ben from the coach

The London Eye is one of the easiest sights to recognize from the riverfront. Seen during a coach tour, it gives you a sense of how central London’s landmarks are arranged around the Thames. You will not ride the Eye as part of this experience, but you can check it off your sightseeing list from the route.

Big Ben is another quick but useful sighting. The famous clock tower forms part of the Palace of Westminster, and the coach view lets you connect the tower with the wider parliamentary district. If you want a close look or photographs from the riverside, plan a separate visit on another day.

This is where the coach format is both useful and limited. You cover ground without walking between sites, but you may not have much time to study a building or stop for a photograph. I would treat the ride as a guided introduction, then return to the sights that interest you most.

Tower Bridge and St Paul’s Cathedral

Tower Bridge gives the route a different character. Its high towers and crossing over the Thames are among the most recognizable views in London. Seeing it from a moving coach is a convenient way to include the eastern side of central London without arranging a separate trip.

St Paul’s Cathedral brings the route back toward the City of London. The dome is easy to spot, and the building helps show how London’s older financial district fits into the modern city. Again, the coach passes the cathedral rather than providing entry.

The value here is breadth. You get a quick sweep from the London Eye and Westminster toward Tower Bridge and St Paul’s. If this is your first day in London, that overview can help you decide where to spend the rest of your time.

Afternoon tea aboard the sightseeing bus

The tea element is the most unusual part of the outing. Rather than taking tea in a hotel dining room, you eat aboard the sightseeing bus while London moves outside the windows.

Freshly prepared afternoon tea is included, along with a selection of teas and coffees. A branded souvenir travel cup is also part of the package. There is a toilet onboard, a small but practical detail during a four-and-a-half-hour outing.

A glass of prosecco is listed among the inclusions, and prosecco is available only to adults aged 18 or over. If you are booking for a mixed-age group, confirm the current serving arrangements when you reserve. Dietary requirements should be sent to reservations at least 72 hours ahead, and the menu changes with the season.

The bus setting makes the tea feel more like a sightseeing activity than a formal meal. That can be fun if you enjoy combining food with city views. It is less suitable if you are hoping for the polished quiet of a traditional afternoon tea in a grand hotel.

The price deserves an honest look here. At $151.24 per person, you are paying for the combination of a guided city overview, tea service, a souvenir cup, and timed palace admission. The value is strongest if you would otherwise book several separate activities and prefer one organized afternoon.

If your main goal is simply to enter Buckingham Palace, buying official palace admission directly may be cheaper. This package becomes easier to justify when you also want the coach tour and tea, and when your schedule is tight.

Walking from Victoria Station to the palace

The coach portion ends near Victoria Station, on Victoria Street, at approximately 3:30 PM. The tour company does not provide the transfer to Buckingham Palace. You walk for about 10 to 15 minutes to reach the palace for the 4:15 PM entry.

This gap is manageable, but do not treat it as spare time for a long café stop or shopping trip. You need to leave the coach, find your bearings, walk to the palace, and arrive in time for a fixed admission slot.

Wear comfortable shoes. You will have already spent time seated on the bus, but the palace visit involves standing and walking through a sequence of rooms. A moderate level of fitness is recommended.

This separate transfer is one of the details that can catch people off guard. The itinerary is not door-to-door, so download or check the walking route before the tour. If you use mobility equipment or need extra time, contact the operator before booking to clarify the arrangements.

Entering Buckingham Palace at 4:15 PM

The State Rooms entry is taken independently after the tea tour. Once inside, you explore with an audio guide rather than following the live coach guide.

The palace visit includes important rooms such as the Throne Room and White Drawing Room. You can also expect grand stairs, marble interiors, royal portraits, artwork, furniture, and decorative details that show how the building functions as a working royal residence.

This is not just a chance to look at the palace from outside the gates. The interior is the reason to book. The rooms show the formal side of royal life, from ceremonial spaces to carefully arranged collections. The scale can be surprising, especially when you consider that the building still serves an official purpose.

The audio guide is a real strength. It gives you context without forcing everyone in your party to move at exactly the same speed. Several parts of the experience are self-guided, so you can pause when a painting or room catches your attention.

There are limits. Photography is not allowed in the State Rooms, which may disappoint anyone hoping to document the interiors. Seating can also be limited, and busy admission periods may make the route feel crowded. You may need to keep moving with the flow rather than stand in one room for a long time.

The audio system is generally easy to use, but pay attention to the room numbers. The commentary may need to be restarted as you move from one room to another, and locating the small number for each room can be irritating if you rush. Give yourself time to get used to the handset at the start.

The palace route takes about two hours for many people, though the exact pace is yours within the admission period. The visit typically leads toward the Garden Cafe and gift shop. Access to the broader gardens is not included, and a garden tour costs extra, so do not assume that State Rooms admission lets you wander freely through every part of the grounds.

Crowds, pacing, and the feel of the visit

Buckingham Palace is a major London attraction, and the State Rooms can feel full. When several groups enter close together, the rooms may become crowded, especially when people stop to listen to the same audio sections.

I would not book this expecting a private or hushed palace experience. The audio guide helps you create your own pace, but you are still part of a public visitor route. The best approach is to listen for the main points, keep an eye on the people around you, and pause when space opens up.

The setting itself is the payoff. The grand staircase, marble rooms, royal portraits, and formal reception rooms give you a direct look at the palace interior. If you enjoy architecture, royal collections, or British political history, you will likely find enough detail to hold your attention.

The visit can feel brief if you move quickly, but it is also possible to spend a satisfying couple of hours there. The palace experience is not a long lecture. It is a self-guided route through selected rooms, with the freedom to linger within the practical limits of the crowd.

Who should book this combination

This tour suits first-time visitors who want an efficient introduction to London and do not want to coordinate a coach ride, tea booking, and palace ticket separately. It also works well for people who place a high value on seeing inside Buckingham Palace.

Families with older children can enjoy it, but children and babies under five are not permitted. The palace audio guide and royal objects can hold the attention of history-minded children, while younger children may find the formal route less engaging.

It is a good choice for:

• First-time London visitors with limited time
• People who want a broad city tour and palace entry in one afternoon
• Visitors who prefer self-guided museum-style sightseeing
• Those who enjoy architecture, royal collections, and formal interiors
• Anyone who likes afternoon tea but wants a moving city setting

It is less suitable if you want a full guided tour inside the palace, plenty of photography, garden access, or a quiet formal tea service. It is also not ideal if you dislike fixed schedules or walking between separate meeting points.

Booking details and cancellation

The experience is offered in English and usually sells around 24 days in advance, so reserve ahead if your London dates are fixed. Confirmation is provided at booking.

You can cancel for a full refund up to 24 hours before the start time. Cancellations or changes made inside that 24-hour window are not refunded or accepted. The experience also requires a minimum number of participants, and if that minimum is not reached, you will be offered another date or experience, or a full refund.

At $151.24, compare the package with the cost of separate palace admission, a city sightseeing ride, and afternoon tea. The package is not the budget route into Buckingham Palace, but it saves planning time and creates a clear afternoon schedule.

Should you book this Buckingham Palace tour?

Book it if you want three distinct experiences in one afternoon: a panoramic look at London, tea on a sightseeing bus, and entry to the Buckingham Palace State Rooms. The palace admission is the strongest reason to go, while the coach and tea make the price easier to defend.

Skip it if you mainly want a cheap palace ticket, a personal guide inside the rooms, or a relaxed tea in a traditional dining room. For everyone else, this is a practical way to fit a royal interior and several famous London sights into a single, carefully timed outing. Just arrive early, plan the walk from Victoria Station, and expect crowds once you enter the palace.

FAQ

Where does the tour start?

It starts at Evan Evans Tours, 258 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1BS, England.

What time should I arrive?

The afternoon tea sightseeing tour departs at 2:00 PM. You should arrive 30 minutes before departure.

What time does the tea sightseeing portion finish?

It finishes at approximately 3:30 PM near Victoria Station, Victoria Street, London SW1E 5ND.

What time do I enter Buckingham Palace?

Your Buckingham Palace State Rooms entry is at 4:15 PM.

Is transport provided from Victoria Station to Buckingham Palace?

No. The transfer is not provided. The walk takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

Is afternoon tea included?

Yes. Freshly prepared afternoon tea is included, along with a selection of teas and coffees.

Is prosecco included?

A glass of prosecco is listed among the inclusions. Prosecco is available only to adults aged 18 and over.

Is there a toilet on the tea bus?

Yes. The sightseeing tea bus has a toilet onboard.

Are children allowed on this experience?

Children and babies under five are not permitted.

Can I cancel for a refund?

You can cancel up to 24 hours before the experience starts for a full refund. Cancellations or changes made less than 24 hours before the start time are not accepted or refunded.