thames river cruise hampton court to westminster

• Things to Do
• Restaurants
• Holiday homes
• Travel Stories
• Add a Place
• Travel Forum
• Travellers' Choice
• Help Centre

Hampton Court to Westminster - Thames River Boats

• Europe    
• United Kingdom (UK)    
• England    
• London    
• London - Places to Visit    
• Thames River Boats

We did a round-trip from Richmond to Hampton Court on board the Princess Freda punctual, polite... read more

The tour has a beautiful route, is on time, and has plenty of seating. The host provided a brief... read more

Hampton Court to Westminster

We took a riverboat from Hampton Court to Westminster on a hot afternoon in July. It was a great way to finish our day out to Hampton Court. The journey took about 3 hours. We enjoyed the changing scenery, the bridges, the locks and travelling along the course of the Boat Race.

Cruising the Thames in October takes stamina--if you want to sit up top. (There is an indoor area.) It was quite chilly but doable . Make sure that you have gloves, coat and hat. I have taken the cruise in summer and it was a great way to cool off since there is a breeze. You can see many of the major sights up and down the river and determine what you want to explore in detail. Tip: Make sure that you pay attention to where you want to get off. The sound system was broken on our tour and no one came upstairs to let us know where to get off so we stayed on and went to Greenwich! A 30-45 minute tour turned into 3 hours. Not what we were planning. They would have refunded our ticket but we had purchased it as a combo ticket with the hop on/hop off bus tour. We were offered lunch and drinks from the snack bar which was a help since we were missing lunch. Still worth the time to tour.

We had friends over from America and they wanted to visit the Thames Barrier, so we took the trip down on the boat. The boats are quite basic and, on the day we were there in late June, the bar was not open so no food or drink was available. The commentary was good and contained some light humour, which was nice. However, the person doing the commentary was not slow to point out that this was voluntary on the part of the crew and not part of the trip, so tips would be gratefully accepted on disembarking. I'd suggest checking on TripAdvisor before deciding who to sail with, as other may get better reviews.

Did the return trip from Westminster Pier to Hampton Court. Traveller upriver on the Henley, a small boat with quite a history, and returned on the Cockney Sparrow, another small boat, after a pleasant lunch in The Mute Swan at Hampton. On the first part of the outward journey we had "the commentary" which was not particularly audible where we sat (near the bow) and I was surprised at this because you ought to be able to clearly hear the safety announcements. Then a crew member comes round with a hat! For a not inexpensive trip this does not seem right. Either provide a proper commentary and include it in the price or get the crew to stop conning passengers into paying extra for a half-baked effort full of personal opinions and "facts". There was no commentary on the return trip. There are two locks on this stretch of the Thames (Richmond and Teddington) although Richmond is not used around high tide. On the return journey we passed through Richmond lock at what must have been around low tide because the boat was then scrapping the bottom of the river on and off for quite a few miles with the helmsmen seeming very concerned about getting stuck! Although the helmsmen are qualified MCA Boatmasters on the return journey their actual boat handling skills seemed to have deserted them with several rather rough and poor skills at a couple of the landing stages. At one pier the boat was at one point at about a 45 deg angle to the mooring as we crashed in! Not sure either how their humour went down with visitors to the UK who may not be fluent in English. Before going we couldn't find out about onboard catering etc facilities from the website. Both of the boats we used do have a licenced bar in the small saloon and serve "snacks". In my opinion not a place on the boats where you want to linger for long. Toilets are "marine" - that says it all! Boats are old and rather tired and noisy (especially the Henley) - providing quite an experience. All-in-all a good day out (having spent a total of nearly 7 hours on the river). Just left us wondering what would have transpired if the water had been an inch or two lower and we had run aground!

Took a leisurely trip from Westminster Pier to Kew for a picnic and stroll around the gardens and then the return trip to the centre of London. Loved the characterful oldish boat and thought the fare was very reasonable by London standards. We had one day travel cards which reduced the fare by one third. Maybe we should have continued up river past Kew as the scenery was just getting more pastoral by that stage. Maybe next time. Our only significant criticism was the really naff commentary. Instead of a relaxing quiet boat ride to the sound of the waves lapping against the boat we had absolute tosh which mainly consisted of what "celebs" lived by the river, what the property prices were and a very bad attempt at cockney humour. Bad enough on the way up but the exact rerun on the way back was painful. If it hadn't been for that I would have given it a five.

The boats were very smooth and relaxing. The tour guides were professional for the most part with sometimes throwing in cheesy jokes. Use your London Pass and or Big Bus Pass for free tickets! Worth it! Can pick up the boat at Westminster Pier, London Eye or Greenwich. It was a very nice way to see London at a slow pace for about an hour roundtrip. Tickets are easy to get at the pier, so you don't need to reserve ahead of time. We only waited a few minutes before getting on our boats. It just happened that our particular boat was at the right time and place to be able to see the London Bridge open up for a tall sailboat!

  Kingston and Hampton Court sailings Tues-Sunday through April and May. Richmond sailings on Saturday and Sundays through April and May   

The timetable below shows the departure and arrival times depending on which direction you are travelling.   please check daily updates for up-to-date information on changes to the service. , the below services run tues-friday in april and may.  , the below services are running on saturdays and sundays in april and may (and bank holiday monday) , our boats  .

• Things to Do
• Restaurants
• Vacation Rentals
• Travel Stories
• Rental Cars
• Add a Place
• Travel Forum
• Travelers' Choice
• Help Center

Hampton Court to Westminster - Thames River Boats

• Europe    
• United Kingdom (UK)    
• England    
• London    
• London - Things to Do    
• Thames River Boats

We did a round-trip from Richmond to Hampton Court on board the Princess Freda punctual, polite... read more

The tour has a beautiful route, is on time, and has plenty of seating. The host provided a brief... read more

Hampton Court to Westminster

We took a riverboat from Hampton Court to Westminster on a hot afternoon in July. It was a great way to finish our day out to Hampton Court. The journey took about 3 hours. We enjoyed the changing scenery, the bridges, the locks and travelling along the course of the Boat Race.

Cruising the Thames in October takes stamina--if you want to sit up top. (There is an indoor area.) It was quite chilly but doable . Make sure that you have gloves, coat and hat. I have taken the cruise in summer and it was a great way to cool off since there is a breeze. You can see many of the major sights up and down the river and determine what you want to explore in detail. Tip: Make sure that you pay attention to where you want to get off. The sound system was broken on our tour and no one came upstairs to let us know where to get off so we stayed on and went to Greenwich! A 30-45 minute tour turned into 3 hours. Not what we were planning. They would have refunded our ticket but we had purchased it as a combo ticket with the hop on/hop off bus tour. We were offered lunch and drinks from the snack bar which was a help since we were missing lunch. Still worth the time to tour.

We had friends over from America and they wanted to visit the Thames Barrier, so we took the trip down on the boat. The boats are quite basic and, on the day we were there in late June, the bar was not open so no food or drink was available. The commentary was good and contained some light humour, which was nice. However, the person doing the commentary was not slow to point out that this was voluntary on the part of the crew and not part of the trip, so tips would be gratefully accepted on disembarking. I'd suggest checking on TripAdvisor before deciding who to sail with, as other may get better reviews.

Did the return trip from Westminster Pier to Hampton Court. Traveller upriver on the Henley, a small boat with quite a history, and returned on the Cockney Sparrow, another small boat, after a pleasant lunch in The Mute Swan at Hampton. On the first part of the outward journey we had "the commentary" which was not particularly audible where we sat (near the bow) and I was surprised at this because you ought to be able to clearly hear the safety announcements. Then a crew member comes round with a hat! For a not inexpensive trip this does not seem right. Either provide a proper commentary and include it in the price or get the crew to stop conning passengers into paying extra for a half-baked effort full of personal opinions and "facts". There was no commentary on the return trip. There are two locks on this stretch of the Thames (Richmond and Teddington) although Richmond is not used around high tide. On the return journey we passed through Richmond lock at what must have been around low tide because the boat was then scrapping the bottom of the river on and off for quite a few miles with the helmsmen seeming very concerned about getting stuck! Although the helmsmen are qualified MCA Boatmasters on the return journey their actual boat handling skills seemed to have deserted them with several rather rough and poor skills at a couple of the landing stages. At one pier the boat was at one point at about a 45 deg angle to the mooring as we crashed in! Not sure either how their humour went down with visitors to the UK who may not be fluent in English. Before going we couldn't find out about onboard catering etc facilities from the website. Both of the boats we used do have a licenced bar in the small saloon and serve "snacks". In my opinion not a place on the boats where you want to linger for long. Toilets are "marine" - that says it all! Boats are old and rather tired and noisy (especially the Henley) - providing quite an experience. All-in-all a good day out (having spent a total of nearly 7 hours on the river). Just left us wondering what would have transpired if the water had been an inch or two lower and we had run aground!

Took a leisurely trip from Westminster Pier to Kew for a picnic and stroll around the gardens and then the return trip to the centre of London. Loved the characterful oldish boat and thought the fare was very reasonable by London standards. We had one day travel cards which reduced the fare by one third. Maybe we should have continued up river past Kew as the scenery was just getting more pastoral by that stage. Maybe next time. Our only significant criticism was the really naff commentary. Instead of a relaxing quiet boat ride to the sound of the waves lapping against the boat we had absolute tosh which mainly consisted of what "celebs" lived by the river, what the property prices were and a very bad attempt at cockney humour. Bad enough on the way up but the exact rerun on the way back was painful. If it hadn't been for that I would have given it a five.

The boats were very smooth and relaxing. The tour guides were professional for the most part with sometimes throwing in cheesy jokes. Use your London Pass and or Big Bus Pass for free tickets! Worth it! Can pick up the boat at Westminster Pier, London Eye or Greenwich. It was a very nice way to see London at a slow pace for about an hour roundtrip. Tickets are easy to get at the pier, so you don't need to reserve ahead of time. We only waited a few minutes before getting on our boats. It just happened that our particular boat was at the right time and place to be able to see the London Bridge open up for a tall sailboat!

• Things to Do
• Restaurants
• Holiday Rentals
• Travel Stories
• Add a Place
• Travel Forum
• Travellers' Choice
• Help Centre

Hampton Court to Westminster - Thames River Boats

• Europe    
• United Kingdom (UK)    
• England    
• London    
• London - Things to Do    
• Thames River Boats

We did a round-trip from Richmond to Hampton Court on board the Princess Freda punctual, polite... read more

The tour has a beautiful route, is on time, and has plenty of seating. The host provided a brief... read more

Hampton Court to Westminster

We took a riverboat from Hampton Court to Westminster on a hot afternoon in July. It was a great way to finish our day out to Hampton Court. The journey took about 3 hours. We enjoyed the changing scenery, the bridges, the locks and travelling along the course of the Boat Race.

Cruising the Thames in October takes stamina--if you want to sit up top. (There is an indoor area.) It was quite chilly but doable . Make sure that you have gloves, coat and hat. I have taken the cruise in summer and it was a great way to cool off since there is a breeze. You can see many of the major sights up and down the river and determine what you want to explore in detail. Tip: Make sure that you pay attention to where you want to get off. The sound system was broken on our tour and no one came upstairs to let us know where to get off so we stayed on and went to Greenwich! A 30-45 minute tour turned into 3 hours. Not what we were planning. They would have refunded our ticket but we had purchased it as a combo ticket with the hop on/hop off bus tour. We were offered lunch and drinks from the snack bar which was a help since we were missing lunch. Still worth the time to tour.

We had friends over from America and they wanted to visit the Thames Barrier, so we took the trip down on the boat. The boats are quite basic and, on the day we were there in late June, the bar was not open so no food or drink was available. The commentary was good and contained some light humour, which was nice. However, the person doing the commentary was not slow to point out that this was voluntary on the part of the crew and not part of the trip, so tips would be gratefully accepted on disembarking. I'd suggest checking on TripAdvisor before deciding who to sail with, as other may get better reviews.

Did the return trip from Westminster Pier to Hampton Court. Traveller upriver on the Henley, a small boat with quite a history, and returned on the Cockney Sparrow, another small boat, after a pleasant lunch in The Mute Swan at Hampton. On the first part of the outward journey we had "the commentary" which was not particularly audible where we sat (near the bow) and I was surprised at this because you ought to be able to clearly hear the safety announcements. Then a crew member comes round with a hat! For a not inexpensive trip this does not seem right. Either provide a proper commentary and include it in the price or get the crew to stop conning passengers into paying extra for a half-baked effort full of personal opinions and "facts". There was no commentary on the return trip. There are two locks on this stretch of the Thames (Richmond and Teddington) although Richmond is not used around high tide. On the return journey we passed through Richmond lock at what must have been around low tide because the boat was then scrapping the bottom of the river on and off for quite a few miles with the helmsmen seeming very concerned about getting stuck! Although the helmsmen are qualified MCA Boatmasters on the return journey their actual boat handling skills seemed to have deserted them with several rather rough and poor skills at a couple of the landing stages. At one pier the boat was at one point at about a 45 deg angle to the mooring as we crashed in! Not sure either how their humour went down with visitors to the UK who may not be fluent in English. Before going we couldn't find out about onboard catering etc facilities from the website. Both of the boats we used do have a licenced bar in the small saloon and serve "snacks". In my opinion not a place on the boats where you want to linger for long. Toilets are "marine" - that says it all! Boats are old and rather tired and noisy (especially the Henley) - providing quite an experience. All-in-all a good day out (having spent a total of nearly 7 hours on the river). Just left us wondering what would have transpired if the water had been an inch or two lower and we had run aground!

Took a leisurely trip from Westminster Pier to Kew for a picnic and stroll around the gardens and then the return trip to the centre of London. Loved the characterful oldish boat and thought the fare was very reasonable by London standards. We had one day travel cards which reduced the fare by one third. Maybe we should have continued up river past Kew as the scenery was just getting more pastoral by that stage. Maybe next time. Our only significant criticism was the really naff commentary. Instead of a relaxing quiet boat ride to the sound of the waves lapping against the boat we had absolute tosh which mainly consisted of what "celebs" lived by the river, what the property prices were and a very bad attempt at cockney humour. Bad enough on the way up but the exact rerun on the way back was painful. If it hadn't been for that I would have given it a five.

The boats were very smooth and relaxing. The tour guides were professional for the most part with sometimes throwing in cheesy jokes. Use your London Pass and or Big Bus Pass for free tickets! Worth it! Can pick up the boat at Westminster Pier, London Eye or Greenwich. It was a very nice way to see London at a slow pace for about an hour roundtrip. Tickets are easy to get at the pier, so you don't need to reserve ahead of time. We only waited a few minutes before getting on our boats. It just happened that our particular boat was at the right time and place to be able to see the London Bridge open up for a tall sailboat!

• +44 (0) 20 3778 0700
• [email protected]
• Manage My Booking

• TICKET INFORMATION
• ACCESSIBILITY
• LONDON JOURNEY PLANNER
• PRIVATE HIRE
• TRAVEL TRADE
• THAMES HISTORY

Sightseeing At Its Best

Explore london with thames river sightseeing.

Make the most of your adventure! Join our local skippers and friendly team for an unforgettable Thames River cruise.

THAMES RIVER CRUISE TICKETS

Tickets & packages.

• Thames River Sightseeing Cruise Ticket

Westminster to Greenwich | Thames River Sightseeing

Travel from Westminster to Greenwich and enjoy beautiful views over London’s famous landmarks with our River Thames Sightseeing cruise.

Westminster to Tower Bridge Quay | Thames River Sightseeing

2 Day River Pass | Hop On Hop Off

Our 2-day hop-on and hop-off Thames River Sightseeing ticket is the best way to explore London from the water – with unlimited river travel over two consecutive days to enjoy at your own pace.

THAMES RIVER SIGHTSEEING

Featured Attractions

There’s so much to see when you’re on your Thames River Sightseeing cruise that you’re bound to find at least one place you’ll want to visit. Explore iconic landmarks like the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, Shakespeare’s Globe, the Shard, & more!

• Closest Pier: Tower Bridge Quay

TOWER OF LONDON

• Closest Pier: Greenwich Pier

ROYAL OBSERVATORY

• Closest Pier: Bankside Pier

SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE

St. paul's cathedral.

• BEAUTIFUL VIEWS
• EXPERT CREW

Are you a group of 15 or more? Book now and get 15% off your tickets. Please select a cruise below and the discount will automatically be applied for group bookings of at least 15 people.

Select a cruise for your group and get 15% off your tickets when check out.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Our common answer to your common questions. Didn’t see what you are looking for? Click the button below to read all our FAQs.

The Thames is a chock-a-block full of London landmarks, including the iconic Tower of London, Tower Bridge, and Cutty Sark, as well as modern attractions like the London Eye and the Shard. Rest assured your skipper will point out all the points of interest in an entertaining and informative commentary.

• Westminster Pier, Victoria Embankment, London, SW1A 2JH
• Embankment Pier, Victoria Embankment, London, WC2N 6NU
• Festival Pier, Riverside Walk, London, SE1 9PX
• Bankside Pier, Bankside, London, SE1 9PD
• Tower Bridge Quay, St Katharine Docks, 50 St Katharine’s Way, London E1W 1LA
• Greenwich Pier, King William Walk, London, SE10 9HT

• +44 (0) 20 3778 700
• [email protected]

• Destinations
• Fares & Sailings
• Private Hire
• Information
• Online Booking

• Thames River Boats Home
• Thames River Boats Fares & Sailings

Richmond to Hampton Court Service

Direct services between Richmond & Hampton Court passing through Teddington Lock & historic Kingston upon Thames. This service will begin on Friday 29th March 2024.

Ticket Prices

From Richmond Landing Stage

From Hammertons Ferry Pier

Tickets from Hammerton's Ferry Pier must be pre-booked onilne. Only our service between Richmond & Hampton Court will call at Hammerton's Ferry Pier, our service from Westminster to Kew, Richmond & Hampton Court will not call at this pier..  Book Tickets  

From Hampton Court Landing Stage

• Cockney Sparrow

The Cockney Sparrow was built in 1976 at Eel Pie Island. She is a two level boat with a deceptively large enclosed saloon and an open top deck. 

M.V Connaught was built by Salter Brothers of Oxford in 1911 & has been cruising between Westminster, Kew, Richmond & Hampton Court for over 100 years. Connaught regularly operates on our services & is also available for private charters.

• Princess Freda

Princess Freda was built in 1926 by T.C. Letcher on the Isle of Wight, and has been restored to a particularly high standard.

• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy
• Disabled Access
• Points of Interest
• The Bridges

Cookie Notice : This website does not store personal data in cookies. More info ...

I'm fine with this