Bus tour, walking, day pass or car: how to see Brighton

The verdict

For a first visit or a short one, the open-top hop-on hop-off tour is the easiest way to see everything and understand how Brighton fits together. If you are counting pennies, a Brighton & Hove day pass costs a few pounds and reaches the same stops without commentary. If you are staying central and have time, your own two feet are free. The table below plays it straight.

Check Live Availability & Prices on Viator →4.6 across 162 Viator reviews

Side by side

Fares are the operators' own published figures. Where a price moves with date or currency, we point you to the live source rather than freeze a number.

OptionRough costBest forThe catch
Open-top hop-on hop-off tourFrom $20 per adult, 1 or 2 daysFirst-timers, views, seeing a lot fast, discounts on attractionsSeasonal and weather-dependent; hourly off-peak
Brighton & Hove day pass (citySAVER)About £6 on the app, £6.80 cashBudget travel; reaching the same sights on normal busesNo commentary, no open top, you plan your own route
WalkingFreeThe compact centre: pier, Lanes, North Laine, seafrontThe Marina, i360 end and Hove are a long way on foot
Driving & parkingPricey city-centre car parksArriving from out of town, onward tripsParking is expensive and scarce; the seafront gets busy

Which one fits you

First visit, want the overviewThe bus tour. One 50-minute loop covers the pier, Pavilion, i360, seafront and Marina with commentary, so you leave knowing where everything is. The ticket also works on normal buses all day.
On a tight budgetDay pass. A citySAVER at around £6 reaches every stop on the tour route. You lose the open top and the commentary, but you keep the flexibility.
Staying central, plenty of timeWalking. The pier, the Lanes, North Laine and the beach sit within a twenty-minute stroll. Save the bus for the day you want the Marina or Hove.
Travelling with kids or tired legsThe bus tour. Sitting up top beats trudging the seafront, and the discounts on SEA LIFE and the Pavilion soften the day's spend.
Visiting in deep winterDay pass. The open-top tour pauses off-season, so the normal network is your route to the same sights.

Our take

We send readers to the open-top tour because for most visitors it does the one thing the alternatives cannot: it turns a scattered coastal city into a single, sit-down loop you grasp in under an hour, and the ticket still works as a normal bus pass afterwards. That is genuinely good value on a first trip.

If you live nearby, know Brighton, or are here for a week, the honest answer is that a day pass or your own feet will serve you just as well. This page exists to route you well, not to push a link. The full detail on the tour is on the tour page, and our guides cover walking and getting around without it.

★ 4.6 · 162 reviews Book the tour →