16 Sep 2025
This ended up being a semi-private tour with me & my mom and a guide-in-training. Our guide, met us at the Canada memorial fountain and we walked from there to the changing of the guard but by the time we arrived it was already crazy crowded and we weren’t able to see ANY of it (also, we are short so not even our phones above our heads showed us anything). We basically watched it happen on other people’s phones. I think better planning would be necessary to make this a worthwhile experience. So for us shorties, this part of the tour was a waste of time. We thought the guide would be taking us to a higher point or somewhere we could see better, even if from farther away. But we were right by the gates, in the crowd, which was extremely uncomfortable, and we saw nothing at all. The one redeeming aspect was that the guide knew exactly when things were happening and when to leave, which was very helpful.
Our guide was very sweet and knowledgeable and told us a lot of facts and history. However, the tour erred on the dry and purely historical side with little entertainment for a private 2-hour tour! The guide-in-training provided some additional comic relief which was much appreciated. We then walked around to see St. James’ park, Downing Street, Churchill War rooms (outside), Westminster (outside), and the Houses of Parliament (from the outside). I think this tour would benefit from an extended option that includes entry to one of these buildings (and maybe skip the change of guard instead). Overall, although we appreciated the guide’s time, knowledge, and expertise, I can’t say I would really recommend this tour. Maybe try a self-guided audio guide so you can go at your own pace and enter wherever you want to go.
That said, this company does great Oxford and Cambridge tours, which I highly recommend!!