Thames River Cruise London: Single Journey Ticket
Board at any pier, hop off at any landmark
You board a climate-controlled Uber Boat at any pier between Battersea Power Station and Barking Riverside, travel past Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Canary Wharf, the London Eye, and a dozen other landmarks, and get off wherever you choose. The ticket covers one journey on your selected day, with frequent departures and step-free access at most piers. No guide, no fixed stops. Just you and the Thames.
Step-by-step itinerary
River Thames cruise with city sights
- Board Uber Boat at Battersea Power Station
- Pass by Lambeth Palace
- See Houses of Parliament and Big Ben
- View London Eye from river
- Explore South Bank arts complex
- Visit Shakespeare's Globe theatre
- Cross Millennium Bridge
- Visit Tate Modern gallery
- See St. Paul's Cathedral dome
- View The Shard skyscraper
- Tour HMS Belfast warship
- Explore Tower of London
- Cross Tower Bridge
- See Canary Wharf skyscrapers
- Arrive at Up at The O2 dome
- Battersea Power Station 1m
- Vauxhall Bridge passing by
- Lambeth Palace 1m
- Houses of Parliament and Big Ben 1m
- London Eye passing by
- South Bank 1m
- Shakespeare's Globe 1m
- Millennium Bridge 1m
- Tate Modern 1m
- St. Paul's Cathedral 1m
- The Shard 1m
- HMS Belfast 1m
- Tower of London 1m
- Tower Bridge 1m
- Canary Wharf 1m
- Up at The O2 1m
What’s included
- Your single journey ticket includes one-way travel on Uber Boat by Thames Clippers between any two piers in the Central and East zones (Battersea Power Station to Barking Riverside).
- You get comfortable indoor seating in an air-conditioned cabin, access to covered outdoor areas, a free digital River Guide, and the freedom to board or disembark at any pier on your selected day.
- The boat is wheelchair accessible at most piers, and infants in prams or strollers are welcome, as are service animals.
Times
- Every day No fixed time
Information
Single-journey ticket on Uber Boat between Battersea Power Station and Barking Riverside with climate-controlled cabins and outdoor deck seating.
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The experience
The boat pulls away from Battersea Power Station and the Art Deco facade shrinks behind you. You're standing on the outdoor deck or settled into the air-conditioned cabin, your choice, and London starts to move past in a way the Tube never lets it. The Thames Clippers single journey ticket gets you from any pier between Battersea and Barking Riverside, which means you're not locked into a route or a schedule. You board when you want, get off when something catches your eye, and the whole central and east zone of the river is yours to navigate on your own terms.
The landmarks come in sequence but not in a tour-guide rhythm. Lambeth Palace slides by (800 years of history in red brick), then the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben appear exactly as they do in every photograph, except you're seeing them from the water, which changes the angle and somehow makes them feel less like a postcard. The London Eye rotates slowly ahead. South Bank's galleries and Shakespeare's Globe pass on the left. The Millennium Bridge frames St. Paul's Cathedral's dome in a way that makes you understand why it ended up in the Harry Potter films. Tate Modern's industrial bulk rises where a power station used to stand. The Shard cuts upward like a glass knife. Tower Bridge (the one everyone confuses with London Bridge) lifts its Victorian arms, and then you're past the Tower of London with its ravens and Crown Jewels locked behind stone walls that have held them for a thousand years. Canary Wharf's glass towers cluster like a separate city. If you stay on long enough, the O2 dome appears at the end, massive and white.
What makes this different from a guided river tour is the silence of it. There's no commentary, no scheduled stops for photos, no group waiting for stragglers. You move through the city at the boat's pace (frequent departures mean you're never waiting long), and you decide what matters. The cabin is warm if the weather turns, the outdoor deck is there if you want the wind and the sound of the water. Boarding is first come, first served, and children up to ten need an adult with them, but everyone else moves freely between decks. The boat is wheelchair accessible at most piers (Cadogan, London Bridge City, and Wandsworth Riverside Quarter can be steep depending on the tide, so check ahead if that's your stop), and prams and strollers fit fine. Service animals travel with you. You get a digital River Guide when you book, which tells you what you're looking at if you want to know, or you can just watch the city change.
The ticket is valid for one journey on the day you book it, and you can board or disembark anywhere between the two endpoints. It's not valid on the O2 express services, and you'll need to show your printed or e-ticket at the pier. Most people use this to get from one side of central London to the other without the Underground, or to spend an afternoon drifting east and watching the city shift from Westminster's stone to Canary Wharf's glass to the quieter industrial stretches near Barking. Some just ride it once to see what they've been missing.
Top questions
Can children come?
Yes. Ticket types: Child (5 to 15 years). Children under 5 can't be included in the booking.
Can I get on and off at different piers with one ticket?
Yes. Your single journey ticket lets you board at any pier between Battersea Power Station and Barking Riverside and disembark at any other pier in that zone on the same day.
Is the boat accessible for wheelchairs?
Most piers are step-free and wheelchair accessible. Cadogan, London Bridge City, and Wandsworth Riverside Quarter piers can have steep access depending on the tide, so check with the operator if those are your stops.
How often do the boats run?
The service has frequent departures throughout the day. Exact schedules vary by season and day of the week. Check the Thames Clippers website for your travel date.
Is the ticket valid on the O2 express services?
No. Your single journey ticket is not valid on the O2 express services.
What landmarks will I see?
Depending on your route, you'll pass Battersea Power Station, Lambeth Palace, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, the London Eye, South Bank, Shakespeare's Globe, the Millennium Bridge, Tate Modern, St. Paul's Cathedral, The Shard, HMS Belfast, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf, and the O2.
Operated by Uber Boat by Thames Clippers. Explorevia does not run this tour: we compare it with similar options, and you book it with our booking partner.
Prices and times updated today
Thames River Cruise London: Single Journey Ticket
1h
from £ 9.80 per person
≈ US$ 13 in your currency
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