Beatles Magical Mystery Tour

BEATLEMANIA!
£17 buys you a 2 – 2.5 hour bus tour through Liverpool seeing some of the most famous Beatles sites, most notably Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. They do stop for photos and there are a lot of people, but I didn’t feel rushed and everyone was being good about taking turns. The tour guide is a wealth of information… I imagine he could’ve easily talked for 20 hours straight about the Beatles. I’m not a big Beatles, but still found this all very entertaining. They also give you a free ticket to the Cavern Club, which normally costs £4, so overall this is a great value!
If you have a car, you could probably do this entire tour for free. But then you have to navigate Liverpool traffic (challenging for us Americans), no tour guide, and no ticket to the Cavern Club.
TIP: Go to the bathroom before getting on the bus… there aren’t any bathroom breaks!

As far as Beatles tours go, this one is just fine. There are so many tours out there, but this is probably the cheapest. As a result, it’s also the most crowded — rather than a few people in a taxi, it’s a bus of 30+ people. The bus itself was fairly comfortable, and the guide was incredibly knowledgeable and funny. However, stopping at each site meant a nearly impossible photo opportunity as you had 30 other people crowded around you.
If you’re a Beatles fan like me, and want a quick and cheap tour, this is fine. If you’re a Beatles fanatic and have one shot at Liverpool, spend the extra money for something more intimate.

Very nice tour! The guide is great and funny :) the tour take about two hours and goes thru the main places during the beatles times, in the end they leave us at cavern club with a free entry and a postcard.

Delightful Beatles tour at a reasonable rate. The tour guides are knowledgeable — though Eleanor Bron was in Help! rather than A Hard Day’s Night — and friendly, and as a Beatles fan since I was a kid it was pretty overwhelming seeing so many key places in their early development. I went with my wife while over on our honeymoon last year, and I took my 12-​year old daughter — also a Beatlemaniac — in late August of this year. It was just as much fun the second time around.

I visited Liverpool again last year and decided to give the Magical Mystery Tour another go since it has been years since the first time. It was still fabulous! The bus took the same route as it did the first time, but learned so much more. It was fun to hear so many little tidbits and fun facts about the Beatles you may not have heard before. The tour guides are always informative and funny and so happy to have a chat with you. The bus itself isn’t the most comfortable and I think I hit my head on the ledge over my seat about five times, but it’s still so fun you don’t care about the bus. And of course you’re surrounded by Beatles fans so conversation is easy and you may make a friend or two. As I mentioned in my first review, my aunt introduced me to The Beatles when I was young and it became a love that we both share to this day. I’m so pleased that I was able to experience this again and this time take my daughter with me and expose her to something I love. This tour is fab and I hope it continues for years to come!

Todo mundo gosta de Beatles, pelo menos um pouquinho, e se você veio até Liverpool e se arriscou a subir no Magical Mystery Bus Tour você gosta mais do que bem pouquinho, certo? Bom, eu não sou a maior fã de Beatles do mundo, mas vir ao Reino Unido, passar por Liverpool e não ser Beatlemaniaca por um dia é quase um pecado.
No momento que você entra neste ônibus você é teletransportado a um universo «misterioso e mágico» através dos anos e da história dos Beatles. É claro que a trilha sonora você já sabe qual será, e entre uma piadinha e outra (com um sotaque um pouco curioso) você vai se divertir como ninguém.
O ônibus é algo pitoresco e antigo, super adequado para a experiência e a viagem começa nas Albert Docks (onde você deve comprar seu ingresso com antecedência) e vai pela cidade. Passa pela igreja onde a banda se formou, por Strawberry Field, por Penny Lane, pela casa dos Beatles (quase todos) e termina na esquina do famoso Cavern Pub — a casa em que os Beatles tocaram mais de 300 vezes.
Eu acho que o tour vale a pena, são duas horas divertidas, escutando boa música e é claro conhecendo um pouco mais de Liverpool. Não há muito o que fazer na cidade (você descobrirá logo), então um tour relativamente barato e divertido deveria estar na sua agenda.

De turista papelão todo mundo tem um pouco. E apesar de ter estado já por 3 dias em Liverpool (e, portanto, sem mais conseguir pensar nos Beatles sem chorar), decidimos que seria bacana ir no tour. O ônibus super clássico, a chance de ver os lugares de verdade… Tudo isso foi muito sedutor pra gente e acabamos embarcando na Magical Mystery Tour. E foi mágica mesmo!
Os senhores responsáveis pelo passei conheciam muito e eram super simpáticos. Assim, de uma maneira ímpar! Rimos, olhamos as ruas eternizadas nas músicas, conhecemos as casas de cada um dos meninos de Liverpool. Aliás, pela configuração da cidade, seria bem difícil fazer de outra forma.
Recomendo até para quem é mais curioso que Beatlemaniaco. Você vai curtir certeza! É só deixar seu espírito turista falar mais alto e sorrir perto da placa que diz «Penny Lane». :D

Roll up for the Magical Mystery Tour! Step right this way!
I was born with The Beatles. Not literally, mind you, but when other children were listening to music made for kids, my mother was playing music made for hippies. The Beatles was the soundtrack of my childhood and hearing Hear Comes The Sun or Octopuses’ Garden still makes me feel like little all over again.
We knew, from a young age, that they were four lads from Liverpool. This legendary city that birthed arguably the greatest band of all time.
Up until I moved to England, I never thought I would go and check it out. And then I moved to England and it still took me a year to go. And when I went, I wanted to do it right.
The Magical Mystery Tour is a two hour two on a old and fun blue and yellow bus modelled after the one from the movie. It pulls up right near the Albert Docks information centre, and it cannot be missed. Buy tickets in advance because they do tend to sell out.
You meet tour guide Jay Johnson, brother of Holly Johnson, the lead singer of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, another band from Liverpool (sooo take that what you will) and off you go.
They take you through the city too see sights and sounds of The Beatles, including all their childhood homes, spots where they met or interacted or played shows, and yes, Penny Lane and Strawberry Field (not Fields, as learned, but Field. John added the s for the song.) The guide also plays a collection of Beatles songs and songs from the era to get you in the right mood. There may even be a singalong or two.
I wasn’t sure we needed to take a bus trip to see all the sights, and I was wrong. Even in a small city like Liverpool, you’ll miss so much without the guide. Sights like Strawberry Fields and their childhood homes are buried on the edge of the city, often times not even marked by a plaque. The ride was perfect to catch them all.
My ticket was £15, which was just a little higher than I wanted it to be (especially when you look back at the other reviews and it was only £11 two years ago.) Still, every seat was filled so they’re clearly doing fine. They’ve got a reputation for being the best and it was easy to see why.
The tour ends right around the corner from The Cavern Club, where the Beatles played their first shows and were discovered (and your ticket gives you free entry into the pub if there’s a cover, like there was when we went.) The whole tour takes two hours and it flew by. I would easily recommend it to anyone looking for a little magical mystery in their Liverpool trip.

Amazing! I went last June and we had a fantastic time! Liverpool, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields! In my life… I’ve loved them all! :) I’m a huge Beatles fan, and to be able to go around to the places where they grew up was wonderful. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable, so quick witted and funny. I would highly recommend this tour to any Beatles fan that would like a inside peek of where the lads grew up.

Also ich hatte mich sehr auf diese Tour gefreut und sie von Deutschland (Hamburg, um genau zu sein nicht, weil ich kleinlich bin, sondern nur, um den Bezug zu den Beatles zu verdeutlichen) aus schon im Voraus gebucht.
Als es dann los ging, entpuppte sich der Bus als ziemlich eng und alt, was sich mir auf der offiziellen Homepage nicht so deutlich darstellte. Es war mir aber auch recht egal, denn unser Guide startete gleich mit Fußball-​Smalltalk und ein paar lockeren Sprüchen, um uns alle auf diese Tour einzustimmen. Natürlich durfte die obligatorische Beatles-​Musik nicht fehlen. Für meinen Geschmack hätte es davon gern mehr geben könnenaber egal. Die Tour führt zu bedeutenden Orten der Bandgeschichte wie z.B. dem Geburtshaus von George Harrison oder dem letzten Wohnhaus Paul McCartneys in Lpool, und an diesen Stationen gibt es auch Fotostops, wie auch beim legendären Straßenschild Penny Lane oder beim roten Tor zum Strawberry Field. Wer sich mit der Geschichte der Beatles schon auskennt, wird um einige Geschichten ergänzt und auch, wer wie mein Begleiter bei dieser Tour gar keine Ahnung hat, nimmt viel mit.
Und da ich in Hamburg schon den Museumsbesuch und auch eine Bustour gemacht habe, kann ich sagen, die Geschichten sind deckungsgleich, also beide Touren geben definitiv dieselben Fakten wieder und widersprechen sich nicht. Das war mir persönlich sehr wichtig, herauszufinden. Die Tour hat dafür gesorgt, dass ich Songs wie beispielsweise Penny Lane jetzt völlig anders wahrnehmeweil ich dort war, weil ich eingetaucht bin in die Welt der frühen Beatles bzw. der damals noch Quarrymen’ Zum Abschluß der Tour gehts noch in den legendären Cavern Club, wo es in fantastischer, für die Musikgeschichte historischer Atmosphäre geniale Live Music und lecker Bier gibt (das eigens für das Cavern gebraute Beat Ale ist echt richtig lecker). Wer in Liverpool und beatles-​affin ist, sollte sich diese Tour nicht entgehen lassen!

The bus is very cool, the tour is long and takes you to all the Beatles sites you’ll want to see in Liverpool. Being a huge (seriously HUGE) Beatles fan, I was very excited about the tour and all the sites we got to see.
The main reason why this tour gets three stars from me (which I don’t considered to be a bad rating, just an «okay») instead of four or five was because the tour guide on the day I went made some mistakes when explaining certain things! It was a while ago, so I can’t remember exactly what those mistakes were (I wish I could — I probably wrote down something about it somewhere), but I remember being kind of put off by the fact that a Beatles tour guide would say something incorrect about the Beatles.
Still, definitely a worthwhile tour and if you know your facts about the Beatles you won’t have to worry about picking up wrong information. If you’re just a casual Beatles fan, just be wary of the information you’re given and don’t take everything the tour guide says as necessarily absolute truth.

The best thing about this tour is that because the vehicle is just a very old coach, the kind that would take you to the swimming baths when you were at school, it has a charm that compliments the rather, er, low key tour shall we say!
The bus used to pass by my school at the same time every day and without fail we would be totally bemused by the sheer amount of tourists who would spend between 5 — 10 mins taking pictures of Strawberry Field which is, for those who don’t know, a tatty old wall and rusty gate covered in graffitti.
Not being a mad Beatles fan I find it hard to imagine who would find the tour interesting as many of the sites — Penny Lane could be a let down while John and Macca were born in very provincial looking suburban houses — are very drab.
However the tour is almost 2 hours long which is value for money and provides a nice narrative for people to see most of the city.

The Magical Mystery Tour is the original and best Beatles tour in the city and is a must-​do for tourists. As you step aboard the colourful bus, you gain the perfect introduction to the city of the Beatles and discover the remarkable story of how four ordinary boys met and formed the band that took the world by storm.
The two hour magical mystery tour takes you to their childhood homes and schools as well as places that inspired their song-​writing, such as Penny lane and Strawberry Field.
Each tour departs daily at 2.30pm, with additional tours on Saturday and Sunday at 12pm.
The price for each person (regardless of age) is £14.95 which is quite expensive but if you’re here on holiday and wish to learn more about the history of the Beatles, then this tour is ideal.

So, this week I’ve pretty much exhausted all the classic Beatles Nostalgia locations. And sure, you’re more than welcome to read these reviews and visit them all one by one. But if you’re short on time and have very little sense of direction, why not go with the super efficient option and hop on the Magical Mystery Tour?
The coach isn’t the classiest of vehicles, in fact it’s looking a little worse for wear but this just adds to the character of the situation. You’ll have great music played and perhaps even engage in a singalong. The tour guide on the coach is exceptional, and his rapport with the driver is hilarious — plenty of arguments about which Liverpool-​based football team they support and the like. Little things like this really add to the experience. In amongst disused or old lady-​occupied Liverpool houses are those the Beatles grew up in, protected by the National Trust. It’s a wonderfully nostalgic trip with a good few stops, along with superb commentary and a genuine love of the Beatles from the guide.
Your final destination is the infamous Cavern Club where the Fab Four cut their musical teeth and played about 300 times over the course of their careers. Bear in mind that the tour finishes up a good ten minute walk from where it starts, just in case any of your party have difficulty getting about, and also be aware that the Cavern Pub and the Cavern Club, confusingly situated opposite one another, are not the same thing. This tour is a great experience and encapsulates everything you need to know about our beloved Liverpool lads, it brings the Beatles story to life and takes you places you might not have thought of. It’s fantastic value for money and not to be missed for Beatles fans and Liverpool nostalgia buffs.

«Roll up, roll up for the magical mystery tour
Step right this way
Roll up, roll up…»
The original and most exhaustive Beatles tour in the city, Magical Mystery is a two hour tour that takes place on a psychadelic yellow and blue bus painted with shooting stars and rainbows. Beatles songs are played throughout the journey and the tour guides happily dispense interesting nuggets of information about the band between destinations.
As you’d expect, there’s a big emphasis on where the Fab Four grew up including John, Paul and George’s childhood homes and schools. There’s also references to places that inspired and influenced the band including Penny Lane, Sefton Park and Strawberry Fields. Interestingly, some of the locations don’t seem to have changed much the last fifty years whilst others look radically different from the original photos.
Tickets cost £14.50 and it’s worth booking in advance in high tourist season (spring to summer). The journey starts at Albert Dock and ends at the legendary Cavern Club where you can unwind with a pint and another photo oppurtunity! Whilst I enjoyed the tour personally, I have to say the décor of the bus is the most magical /​psychedelic aspect you’ll encounter. If you want to experience marmalade skies and other wonders, you might want to drop something pharmaceutical beforehand!

It wasn’t quite magical but I still had a blast. As a Beatles fan, I came in with high expectations, I wasn’t disappointed. The place is filled with a Beatles-​fan-​friendly atmosphere. It is still a bit museum-​y but a fun exploration nonetheless.
My Advice to Americans:
If you’ve got the time, go for it, especially if you’re a Beatles fan.

A wonderful experience not to be missed if you’ve got even the slightest interest in the legendary group — this really is a must. Just getting on the yellow 1960s Leyland Titan bus puts you in the mood! Very comfortable seats and a brilliant quality sound system too. Our guide, Paul, and driver, Ray, were very friendly and professional. Paul made us all laugh a lot with his quips and great sense of humour. The entire two hours were filled with Beatles music and an excellent commentary inbetween from Paul about the Fab Four’s upbringing, how they first met, where they first played, and many other anecdotes. It was marvellous to be in the places where they grew up and to learn more about the lyrics to some of the most famous songs.
We got off the bus twice to walk to George Harrison’s, and also Paul McCartney’s, childhood homes. The bus stopped often to allow for photographs to be taken of all the other special places, like Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. A lovely way to see a large part of Liverpool too.
All the people we met on the bus were friendly and there was a great atmosphere and some impressive singing along with the tracks! The tour finished near the famous Cavern Club so it’s possible to go down there to soak up the atmosphere, listen to a live band or two and have a drink, all the while trying to imagine what it must have been like when the Beatles played there.
Good value at nearly £15 each but I strongly recommend booking the tickets beforehand as the bus was completely full. Tours depart 2.30pm every weekday, but there are extra tours (such as the one we took) at 12 noon on Saturdays, Sundays and during school holidays.
A thoroughly enjoyable experience and my husband said it was the best birthday treat he’d had for years!