How Long Is a Thames River Cruise?
How long a Thames river cruise takes: 25 to 30 minutes from Westminster to Tower Bridge, about 1 hour to Greenwich, 90 minutes to 2 hours for lunch or tea, and 3 hours for dinner, from the operators' own listings.
A sightseeing cruise on the Thames takes 25 to 30 minutes from Westminster to Tower Bridge, about 40 minutes round trip from the London Eye, and about an hour from Westminster to Greenwich; the meal cruises take 90 minutes for afternoon tea, 105 for lunch and 3 hours for dinner. Those are the operators’ own times.
Check Tower Bridge cruise times
How long does each Thames cruise take?
| Cruise | Route | Time on the water |
|---|---|---|
| Westminster to Tower Bridge cruise | Westminster Pier to Butler’s Wharf Pier | 25 to 30 minutes one way |
| London Eye river cruise | London Eye Pier to Tower Bridge and back | about 40 minutes |
| Tower of London River Tour | Tower Bridge Quay, round trip | 40 minutes |
| Westminster to Greenwich cruise | Westminster Pier to Greenwich Pier | about 1 hour one way |
| Afternoon tea cruise | Tower Pier, round trip | 90 minutes |
| Lunch cruise | Tower Pier, round trip | 105 minutes |
| Evening cruise with bubbly | Tower Millennium Pier, round trip | 2 hours |
| Dinner cruise | Westminster Pier (Visit London), round trip | 3 hours |
City Cruises’ sightseeing legs between its four piers are shorter hops: Visit London gives about 30 minutes pier to pier, and about 10 minutes between Westminster and the London Eye.
How long is the boat ride from Westminster Pier to Greenwich?
About an hour one way on the sightseeing cruise, which calls at Embankment, Festival and Bankside piers and goes under Tower Bridge on the way. A return trip is two hours on the water, plus however long you spend in Greenwich; with the Cutty Sark, the market and the Royal Observatory to see, most of a day is easy to fill. The Uber Boat river bus is quicker: Thames Clippers times Tower to Greenwich at about 23 minutes, and Westminster adds the stretch through the centre.
How long to allow
- Arrive about 15 minutes before a meal cruise, when boarding starts. On a sightseeing boat, the ticket skips the ticket-office queue, but there is still a boarding queue, and if a boat fills you take the next one.
- The tide moves the sightseeing timetable, and operators say a sailing can run a few minutes off. Do not plan a tight connection at the other end.
- On a hop-on hop-off day, leave a margin for the way back: reviewers found the last boat not guaranteed.
Which length suits you
Thirty minutes from Westminster to Tower Bridge is enough to see the central landmarks once, and the cheapest way to do it at US$19. An hour to Greenwich adds the Docklands and a destination at the end. The meal cruises are about the meal as much as the river: 90 minutes for tea is an afternoon break, three hours of dinner is the whole evening. Dinner or lunch? helps choose between the long ones.
The calendar below is for the Westminster to Tower Bridge cruise:
Half an Hour From Westminster to Tower Bridge
Thames River Sightseeing's Westminster to Tower Bridge cruise takes 25 to 30 minutes one way, past the London Eye, St Paul's, the Globe, the Shard and the Tower of London, with live commentary. Rated 4.5 from 6,739 reviews, from US$19 a person as of October 2026, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Check Tower Bridge Cruise Times