Much (I repeat, much) more fun is a power-boat tour with RIB Voyages. Granted, the sight-seeing is secondary – mainly because everything’s a bit of a blur as you speed past it at 35kmph on the 12m-long aero-dynamically designed fiberglass ‘Thames Rocket’ (read: a cool power boat), but you do pause to take a look at the stunning Greenwich Maritime Institute, the giant marquee that is the O2, and the Thames Barrier.
Aside from these iconic sights, it is the slightly less scenic end of the Thames, but the reason for heading in this direction is because it’s the ‘high speed zone’. So those slow Thames cruises can eat our spray.
Even better is the ‘Best of British’ soundtrack with iconic British music (think The Beatles, Oasis et al) accompanied by the unmistakable voices of Winston Churchill, Peggy Mitchell, Del Boy and Mayor of London Boris Johnson. On our trip we also set sail to the Baywatch soundtrack and many other sea/boat/speed-themed tunes (who knew there were so many?).
Couple this with a driver with a penchant for twists and turns plus the occasional shower of Thames water spray (not enough to give you some sort of weird disease, don’t worry) and you have a seriously fun tour on your hands.
We tried it out on a Sunday and think it should be medically prescribed as a hangover cure as it sure as hell freshened us up – and gave us some pretty interesting hair dos. Definitely the preferred option of seeing the sites: no more snail’s pace for us, ta.
Single ticket: £39.95, couples: £75, under 14s: £31.50, family: £135 private charter (12): £425. Click here for more information and to book.
