I had the one day Hop-On Hop-Off pass through my Go City All-Inclusive pass that was extended for a 2nd day through September. I showed my Go City pass to the bus driver at one of the stops, and he provided a paper ticket that gave me the two days. When you board, there are ear plug sets. Get the ear plug set, since you will need them to hear the stops called out. There are two jacks for each set of seats and a running narration with fun information about the city and the stops. You can sit inside or upstairs in the open air area. I used the bus at the end of July in the mornings starting around 10:15 - 11:00 am at bus stop 2, Columbus/Ghirardelli Square which is in front of the Hotel Caza across from Marriott Fisherman's Wharf. It is a 6 minute walk to Ghirardelli Square. I always found a seat, and the bus was about 10 - 20 minutes after the time the app said it would be. I recommend you go to the website ahead of time and have the list of stops and the attractions near each and plan ahead. Bring your coat if you plan to get off at the Golden Gate stops 11 and 12. It is super windy and chilly. I took the bus to the stop 3 North Beach / Chinatown which lets you off at North Beach and stop 5 Ferry Building which lets you off across the street. I also did the entire loop getting off at stop 11 South Vista Point / Golden Gate Bridge - get off there for the Golden Gate Visitor Center, a view of the bridge, and information about the bridge up the ramp, and a cafe. Bathrooms are in the parking lot. Hold onto your hat as your cross the bridge or it will get blown off when you ride the bus. IMPORTANT NOTE: ** Stop 11 South Vista Point / Golden Gate Bridge lists Botanical Gardens. It is about 3.2 miles or over 1 hour, 15 minutes by walking. ** Stop 12 North Vista Point / Golden Gate Bridge gives you a panoramic view of San Francisco. The last stop is stop 17 Pier 39 with the sea lions, Aquarium of the Bay, Boudin sourdough bakery, and restaurants. A short walk away: - Alcatraz ferry at Pier 33 - Red and White Boat tours at Pier 43 - USS Pampanito submarine is docked at Pier 45 read more

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This is going to sound so silly but here it goes. Have you seen Voicemails to Isabelle? If you have then you'll understand why it's so important to do this hop on hop off route. I was able to see so many spots from the movie and it felt nice to feel a part of that. There were plenty of stop to make this a 1-2 day adventure. Seeing the Golden state bridge was amazing. IF YOU ARE RIDING ON TOP make sure you bring a sweater, the drip does get windy once you get on the freeway to head to the bridge. Please put on sunscreen, yes SanFran can be cloudy some days and fresh and sunny others HOWEVER please were sunscreen, bring sunglasses and a hat that won't fly away. Not sure what everyone was complaining about in these reviews but my and my fam had a blast. Would definitely do this again we find ourselves in town. read more

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Hop on hop off is my favorite way to get the lay of a new city when we visit so when our friends came into town and had a punch list of places to see, naturally this was my recommendation. Who wants to drive to these locations and pay for parking? The good is that the bus gets you to tourist got spots and picks you up. Best to download the app to follow when the bus will arrive mostly correct. We were in the 5pm bus and it was chaotic because we had to switch buses and it was crammed. It's misleading to say the pass is valid 24 hours because if you start at 10am, you are done at 5pm and can't use it again. I miss the live narration and at least a welcome from the driver. Our first driver at least was friendly and even came upstairs to tell us what was going on with the 10 minute break at the GG bridge and the rest stop at Fisherman's Wharf. Buy the tickets in Groupon to save a few bucks. Overall, our friends were happy and that is all that matters. read more

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The Good? You get to see many attractions along the route. I got the 48 hour option. I was able to stop at a few of my must-see places on my list while I was in town including The Golden Gate Bridge, Palace of The Fine Arts and Pier 39. It is a bang for your buck and you will save - especially if you didn't rent a car and are ubering around. It's a good value. If the weather permits, it's fun sitting on the top of the bus. Always bring a sweater or coat just in case. I loved the automated audio guide you can listen to with the headphones provided. Learned some really cool facts about the city. The Not So Good? It is a long ride. I would guess about a two hour ride from stop to finish. I did two days and the bus drivers weren't very friendly. read more

Big Bus Tours - Bus Tours Near Me - San Francisco, California

We love Big Bus Tours where ever we travel! We sit back relax, take in the sites, and see places in the cities that we wouldn't see otherwise. This week we're in San Francisco and we had the best driver we ever had!!! He is kind, personable, very much a people person, funny, and you can tell he loves what he's doing. If you're ever in this city, you should definitely get on Raphael B's bus. You will be glad you did! read more

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Very disappointing. Many of the stops were located in odd locations around the city and very few of them were marked at the street level (none were marked with anything about Big Bus Tours) which made it difficult to find where along the street to stand. Bought a 2 day pass, only rode it the first day. Driver gave absolutely no commentary as we passed various landmarks. The audio program that was available was poor, at best, with virtually nothing about the landmarks we were passing. Complete waste of money. Complete tour around city was supposed to take 2 hours, but it took 3 hours due to traffic. After the first trip, we used Lyft to get to the various sights. Get a city bus map and take the city bus instead. read more

Great way to see the City quickly [San Francisco CA] We took the Big Bus Tour in San Francisco for the first time. We've done it in other states and have enjoyed our experiences for the most part. It allows us to discover/explore places we have not been to especially for the first time. The tour covered lots of ground. We live 2 hours away from San Francisco. Since we've been to the City many times in the past we were familiar and have visited many of the attractions it covered. We still enjoyed the experience listening to the informative pre-recorded audio guide. We booked the Day Tour (Red Route). The bus routes provide access to several significant attractions including the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, Chinatown and Union Square. It starts off at Fisherman's Wharf on Jefferson Street, there were 17 different stops. We love the flexibility of being able to hop on and hop off whenever we want at our own pace. Turns out we only hopped off once in this tour LoL! We got off the bus at Chinatown to have an authentic Chinese dining experience. The bus drivers were engaging although there were some difficulty understanding some of them due to English as a second language. They do need to keep more buses running especially during peak season since the buses get full and had to turn away some people to wait for the next one. They are not always on time as scheduled, not every 15 mins interval, nope. Dress in layers because San Francisco weather is unpredictable. The drive on the Golden Gate Bridge was super windy and cold (if sitting on the top deck which we always like to do), also, we had some light drizzles in the morning. Overall a fun, worthwhile experience in SF. Review #3850 read more

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I loved the big bus tour! It allowed my family to sightsee without driving all over the city or taking their public transportation. We didn't get off and on, just rode almost the whole way through. My favorite part was the Golden Gate Bridge. The viewpoint was closed and the company should have had that info ahead of time, but I liked the experience nonetheless. read more

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Super fun!! Recommend getting on a bus early in order to get off at stops walk around and then catch another bus. The golden gate bridge on the top deck was the best!!! read more

Big Bus Tours - City tour - Bus Tours Near Me - San Francisco, California

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My husband and I went on the Woods & Wine tour on a Saturday morning. We arrived right at 8am as instructed but were waiting around for a good while. It gave us time to grab a coffee and something to eat beforehand. I'd recommend having breakfast before this tour because you start with champagne! It was a small group of us (12) so things ran very smoothly. Check in was easy and the employees were welcoming and accommodating. Our driver was Debi who really enjoyed her job and was enthusiastic. We departed a little after 8:30am to head to Korbel Champagne Cellars. On our way there, Debi shared so much historical knowledge about the landmarks we were passing by which I loved! We arrived to Korbel & we were greeted upon entrance and treated to 6 champagne samples (one was an extra) and learned about each. We were given time to purchase premium sandwiches at the deli before heading off to Armstrong Redwoods State Park. We had about an hour to walk around the state park which was just enough time for us and then headed to Horse & Plow for 3 wine tastings. We made it back in by 4:30pm! Overall, it was a very positive experience! Four stars just due to the price. It's definitely not a jam packed tour - there is down time and at times my husband and I were just kicking back and relaxing especially at horse & plow. It felt like we could've left sooner or more things could have been added. Husband and I will be back for another big bus tour! Debi spoke highly about the company & the working conditions which is always good to know. read more

Big Bus Tours - Korbel - Bus Tours Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Complete waste of time and money. Do yourself a favor and just use Uber. You'll spend less time, less money, and avoid the frustration. On August 4, just before 12:55 p.m. at Stop 16, I asked the employee stationed at the kiosk to confirm where the bus would stop. Without even looking at me, he vaguely pointed in a general direction and recited his scripted line about the museum route having "zero wait." It was obvious that answering my question was an inconvenience to him. My wife, our three kids, and I went to the stop and waited from 12:55 p.m. until 1:17 p.m. without a bus ever arriving. I walked back and asked if he knew the bus's status since it had already been over 20 minutes. Again, he acted irritated that I had the audacity to ask a reasonable question and simply repeated his line about the museum with "zero wait." I told him I wasn't interested in the museum and that I just wanted to get on the bus. At that point, he became openly rude. We walked back to the stop, but we'd already wasted enough of our day. We ordered an Uber and left at 1:22 p.m. Still no bus...a total wait of 27 minutes. We spent $150 on Big Bus tickets and didn't ride the bus a single time. We used Uber for the rest of the day, and it was faster, cheaper, and far more convenient. The long wait was frustrating enough, but what really sealed it was the complete lack of customer service. When employees can't be bothered to answer simple questions politely or provide useful information, it reflects poorly on the entire company. Save yourself the time, money, and aggravation. Skip Big Bus and just use Uber. read more

Complete waste of time and money. Do yourself a favor and just use Uber. You'll spend less time, less money, and avoid the frustration. On August 4, just before 12:55 p.m. at Stop 16, I asked the employee stationed at the kiosk to confirm where the bus would stop. Without even looking at me, he vaguely pointed in a general direction and recited his scripted line about the museum route having "zero wait." It was obvious that answering my question was an inconvenience to him. My wife, our three kids, and I went to the stop and waited from 12:55 p.m. until 1:17 p.m. without a bus ever arriving. I walked back and asked if he knew the bus's status since it had already been over 20 minutes. Again, he acted irritated that I had the audacity to ask a reasonable question and simply repeated his line about the museum with "zero wait." I told him I wasn't interested in the museum and I just wanted to get on the bus. At that point, he became openly rude. We walked back to the stop, but we'd already wasted enough of our day. We ordered an Uber and left at 1:22 p.m. Still no bus--a total wait of 27 minutes. We spent $150 on Big Bus tickets and didn't ride the bus a single time. We used Uber for the rest of the day, and it was faster, cheaper, and far more convenient. The long wait was frustrating enough, but what really sealed it was the complete lack of customer service. When employees can't be bothered to answer simple questions politely or provide useful information, it reflects poorly on the entire company. Save yourself the time, money, and aggravation. Skip Big Bus and just use Uber. read more

I love these Big Bus Tours. I have used them in other cities. It is the best way to see the city and get to know its history. It does get a bit windy up top so wear something warm. read more

Big Bus Tours - Bus Tours Near Me - San Francisco, California

Tours from the Big Bus Tours are helpful to learn about the city you are traveling in. You can find reduced rates through a variety of apps and maybe even at your hotel. I enjoy taking them to learn a little history and seeing the sites. read more

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Bus tours aren't my go-to MO, but this option made sense since my party and I hadn't rented a car. There's a lot of ground to cover in SF, and Big Bus' "hop on, hop off" option offered flexibility and access to the popular destinations, including the Golden Gate Bridge. I am glad we went this route. We'd explore a section of town, and then when we were ready for something new, we'd get picked up and taken to another destination, listening to the guided tour audio in between. Buses came to the stops within every 15 minutes, and we never had an issue with lines. Also, I learned a lot about the colorful history of SF. We spent a total of eight hours touring, and I'd say we got our money's worth. One could easily purchase a second day's pass in order to properly see everything SF has to offer. Additionally, we went through Big Bus Tours for a discounted half day tour to Muir Woods/Sausalito the following day. Although I wish we could have stayed at Muir Woods longer, Big Bus Tours offered the opportunity to see it without worrying about transportation and a reservation to the park. (Side note: though we booked it through Big Bus Tours, Tower Tours was the company that provided transport + a guided tour). read more

They say every 15 minutes, but it's it's more like every 70 mins. I have been waiting on this hot bus for 30 mins now while the drive is "taking a break". So far I'm very unimpressed! If you say every 15, it should be every 15. I waited 30 mins for the bus to show up at stop 17, it drove 1 mile. Made us switch buses, that took 10'min, then wait for the driver to finish their 30 min break before the buss stars moving. I'm 70 mins in and have gone anywhere and seen anything. And still in a hot buss with no ac waiting for the you shove more people on the buss. Pretty horrible way to start A $300 bus ride. read more

My family and I spent $170.00 on three tickets and we regret purchasing the tickets and having this company. First and foremost, the drivers are AMAZING! They are all very friendly and professional and do what they are paid to do and that is to drive these big noses and get passengers from point A to point B. All the other employees were nice and friendly but they appeared to be more like salespeople as they were trying to recruit new passengers at two or three areas of the tour. The tour itself is good as passengers are taken to sixteen different and popular locations within the city. Passengers are allowed to hop on and off of the buses at any of these stops. Where the HUGE problem lies is that after hopping off of a bus and touring the area, the wait time to board another tour bus is UNBELIEVABLE and EXTREMELY disappointing. Waiting for a bus to board in order to continue the tour, TRULY kills any excitement you felt at the start of this nightmare. As an example: My family and I hopped off the bus in order to tour the Height/Ashbury area of town. We had lunch, shopped numerous stores and had a great time taking pictures. When it came time to leave, we returned to the same area we were dropped off in order to board the bus. Unfortunately, we had to wait over one-hour for a bus as FIVE different buses stopped in front of us and each driver opened the door and advised us, "I am full. We have no more seats but the bus behind me will be here in ten minutes and they have plenty of seats". This was EXTREMELY frustrating, unacceptable and left many of the over thirty other customers, (including my family and I), regretting we ever purchased tickets for this bus tour. These buses do not pick customers up near bus stops so in this case, there was nowhere to sit. For senior citizens and a man in crutches, this was a bad scene as they were hurting and there was nothing anyone could do to try to help. As a somewhat emptier bus FINALLY arrived, it was total chaos as people were desperate to board the bus and get going. People could be seen attempting to cut in front of others, people shouting in frustration and pretty much, hating life at this point. As we boarder the bus and continued with the tour, my family and I were afraid to hop off the bus for fear of having to wait a long period of time once again. As the we rolled on and our bus, which was filled to capacity stopped at each mandatory stopping point, the same nightmare played out over and over as new passengers attempted to board the bus, only to be told, "we have no room but the bus behind me ....." . The verbiage was shared with customers like a script. We finally reached our desires destination which was Chinatown. We toured the area for about one hour and returned to our drop off point to hop back on the bus. The EXACT scenario as earlier played out once again with the exception of the waiting time which was now down to forty-five minutes. Bus after bus would arrive only to be told they were full and had no room but the bus behind them had avail seats and would arrive in ten minutes. The same script being read to everyone, the same chaos with people groaning frustrated and attempting to cut in line etc.. I truly have no idea what the solution is to resolve this, "Happy killer" of a bus ride but buying a ticket to use these buses to tour the city, left my family and I with nothing but regret of ever buying tickets. I do NOT recommend using these buses. Sorry Big Bus Tours. Simply keeping it real read more

An amazing experience from ferry building to treasure island. Big bus was spacious with double decker, came on time and left the venue on time. read more

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I would definitely recommend doing the hop on hop off tour for someone who is looking to have a good outline on the main attractions of San Francisco. We had some time to kill so we did the 3 hour option. There is a day pass and 2 day pass available. But we really only had time to do the 3 hour quick option. I will say with this, if you choose the 3 hour option, you will not have time to "hop on and hop off" if you want to see the entire tour. The entire tour loop without getting off was around 2 hours and 45 minutes. It was nice to see a lot of the different parks from the top of the bus and we even went over the Golden Gate Bridge which was neat! You are given headphones to listen to the audio for the tour. The audio is available in many languages as well. The audio quality was good. My main issue with the audio was a lot of the time it didn't match up well with where we were at. A lot of the time our driver was going too fast for the audio. So the audio would say something like "Up on the right you will see..." and at that point we had passed whatever the audio was pointing out. This was a little disappointing at times because we would miss things. The timing being off was not the entire time thankfully, but this issue happened a good 30% of the tour. Here are some more tips I would say about this tour 1. If you are planning on sitting on top, wear a jacket, bring a hat. It was warm for the most part but when we got by the ocean and went over the bridge it was so windy and chilly. 2. If you are planning on sitting on the top, wear sunscreen or a hat because you definitely will get burned (lesson learned on our part lol) 3. If you have any issues with motion sickness, this may not be for you. As the bus made very quick and sudden stop and go movements due to the driver having to deal with San Francisco traffic. read more

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This was an awesome tour! Got to sit on top of the double decker bus with an open roof and got to really experience San Francisco. The open top really lets you duly enjoy the scenery and buildings as you drive by them. They also give you map brouchers and headphones to listen to the in board audio as you drive through the sight seeing areas of the city. You can hop on and hop off at any of their stops throughout the city! 10/10 would recommend this, but remember to wear sunscreen if you are on the top of the bus, lesson learned! read more

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We walked to the bus from our hotel. It was fabulous. Sat outside, weather was great so got very lucky. July weather past week, July17 great sunny weather. So well done. The Driver was amazing that he could move and drive such a big bus filled with people all over the city and across the Golden Gate Bridge. Fabulous. San Francisco looking clean and more tourists and more upbeat. Everywhere we went was pleasant, beautiful and interesting. Great way to see San Francisco. read more

I've never done the Big bus tour in San Francisco but it was easily accessible and right on pier 39. My honey had taken it before and he was disappointed that we didn't have a live tour guide. However, it was fine and covered all the important areas tourists should see. I did like their 24 hour policy however and thought that was very fair of them for the price. I wanted to do the Golden Gate since I had never seen it and they take you on it twice! Great times and loved that I didn't have to park anywhere but at our starting place. I'll definitely recommend it to anyone who's doubting to do it. read more

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Changes routes with no warning. There's literally no customer service. Buyer beware! They might change the route with no notice and you will have no recourse. Again, there's literally no phone number to call, there's no way to reach a human. Awful business. read more

Mad that it took so long, about 45-60 min standing in line to get on the third bus. The first two buses filled up with all the people standing in line in front of us. Buses are advertised to run every 15 minutes. They said there was a cruise ship for the day and they said that was the case of the problem, but they should have allowed for that. We were able to get on the top deck. It was so busy that day that few people got off the bus before the last stop. We were all afraid of waiting in long lines to get back on the us if we got off. Loved the Golden Gate Bridge stop. They went slowly thru the parking lot on that stop so we could take pictures of the bridge. read more

Big Bus Tours - Sign - Bus Tours Near Me - San Francisco, California

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WE LOVED THIS EXPERIENCE! The SF Big Bus Tour was such a fantastic way to see one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Going to San Francisco for my mother's 70th birthday, her biggest request was a bus tour of the city. After doing the research, we came to SF Big Bus Tour. Going to their offices near Fisherman's Wharf and getting the tickets. We decided to wait for a bus we could sit on the top and in the back. Once we got our seats, we were treated to one of the neatest and most memorable experiences of our time in San Francisco. My mother had the absolute best time! The Big Bus Tour IS THE BEST way to experience every part and each of the unique neighborhoods of San Francisco. San Francisco is one the most unique and beautiful looking cities I've ever seen. From the stunning architecture to the history to the unique amazing local people. The Big Bus Tour took us to each unique neighborhood and allowed us the opportunity to get on and off at our leisure. We had such a great time seeing all of the historic parts of San Francisco. We also met tons of really cool locals who were amazing people. We went over the Golden Gate Bridge with an actor troupe from a local theater company. All of them looked like flower children out of the 60s and they all had the best energy. It will be a lifelong memory when one of the actresses lit up a joint on the back of the bus and offered it to us! My mother and my wife and I had the best time with these people! We found out the cool locals like using the Big Bus Tour as a party bus since it takes them from the happening spots from neighborhood to neighborhood. Very cool! The NO KINGS protest was happening while we were on this tour and our bus had to re-direct around it and we unfortunately missed a few stops on the tour but absolutely no big deal. Our driver had the patience of a saint trying to re-direct through chaos, traffic and craziness but bless him, he did a fabulous job. The audio tour part of the trip didn't really sync up with the tour but it did a good job of explaining where we were and what we were seeing. The Big Bus Tour SF will definitely be part of any future trip to San Francisco and I highly recommend to anyone fascinated with San Francisco, it's beautiful architecture and history. It's a little unique and it's a little loose, but once you get on the bus, you will have an amazing experience in this one of kind beautiful town. read more

A good San Francisco sampler! Good way to identify a few places to revisit. Great audio track that was well synchronized with the bus location. We took a daytime tour and did not interact with the driver who was left free to handle the bus. Not a great view of most attractions due to the city street layout. For example, we saw the TransAmerica pyramid either in the distance or extremely close to the bus. On a rainy day my iPhone focused on the raindrops on the window and not on the attractions, so it was hard to photograph the city. read more

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Terrible. Waited over 2 hours at a stop for bus that never came. Customer service also awful and wouldn't provide refund. App was unusable

The guys trying to sale tickets are rude, taking up the entire side walk, and are abusive towards the public. You all need to train your employees on customer service. Would NOT recommend this service. read more

My husband has always wanted to ride on the Big Bus, so I decided to surprise him on his birthday. I bought the tickets on Groupon since it was $58.40 per person for 1-day essential (hop on hop off) vs. $73 on the website. All sales are final so make sure to pick the correct date that you are planning to go. I purchased the tickets the day before. Tours run daily and the bus/establishment is located at 99 Jefferson Street. The bus leaves exactly at 10am, so we arrived 15 minutes before the tour. I gave the employee my Groupon vouchers, and he printed out two receipts with a map of the route. Another staff member was super nice and took a picture of us in front of the bus (without us asking). We decided to sit on the second level because it is open-top and gave us a good view of the city. I wish I brought a blanket because it was a little chilly, especially when we were going across the Golden Gate Bridge. I think the tour would've been even better if a live person gave us the tour instead of listening through the headphones. We didn't get off the bus because we knew the city pretty well, but it would be helpful of things to do once you get off at a stop, especially for tourists. The entire tour took about 2.5 hours and we arrived right where we got on. Overall, it was a very fun to be a tourist for half a day, and I think everyone who visits and/or lives in the city should experience the Big Bus at least once in their life! read more

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They make you wait until the bus is full, there is no bus every 15 mins. Total scam. You can walk places faster. They don't actually have as many buses to do 15 min stops. You might as well use public transport read more

The black curly hair driver drove 2 blocks downhill on California street at a very unsafe fast speed trying to be funny and cute. She took the treasure Island exit at 50 mph where it should be 15 mph without slowing down . At treasure Island she asked me if my 8 year old was scared when she drove downhill at California street smirking like it was a funny cute thing she did . She had the nerve to ask for tips TOO MANY TIMES and was standing outside the bus with her hand open when the tour was finish. I'll give you a tip, DONT DRIVE THE BUS LIKE YOU DRIVE YOUR TWO DOOR HONDA CIVIC. You try to be "funny " and scared people but you will end up killing people. It's a bus , not a minivan you are driving. I hope Big Bus reads this review. read more

I went on a tour of muir woods (?) with big bus tours. I was looking at taking public transportation to the woods but then thought about renting a car instead and with my given time frame it was going to be easier and faster to go with the tour company. I went online and booked, it was easy and fast and got my instructions on where to met them and the time. Now I got there 5 minutes before departure but when I checked in they told me they usually have a 10 minute grace period before the bus leaves, thank heaven lol. The bus driver was hilarious and full of energy. As we drove our way towards the destination he pointed out different buildings/ points of interest, he shared his favorite places and shared some of his personal stories living in the bay area. He also played a fun game of 'is that a dog or a human baby in the stroller' haha. There is no doubt living in San Francisco is expensive but its even more expensive to raise and have kids here, he pointed out that lots of locals here have dogs/pets that they put in strollers instead of leashes and challenged us to find a human baby when we saw a stroller. Out of all the strollers we saw/drove by only 1 of the 8 we saw had a human baby haha. He even stopped at the Golden Gate overpass and let us have 10 minutes to take pictures and enjoy the view from there. I did not think I would have the time or the opportunity to do that when I went to visit and I will be forever grateful to the wonderful bus driver who mad that possible for us. On our way back to the tour headquarters he made 2 different stops where we had the option to get off but that would mean finding our way back across the bay. He alone carried the whole experience I had with this company, he did mention he had been working as a driver for over 15 years I belive. Wherever he is, I hope he is blessed with a good long and happy life. He made my day (aside from the actual visit to the woods). read more

BigBusTour SF- Nice drivers, good information on audio tour, helpful app, many good stops to explore. read more

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We booked big bus tours of San Francisco on the same day that we planned to take it. I knew in advance but wanted to wait to book to be sure the date worked out. I booked online for Sunday morning tour. We made our way to pick up the tickets and service was great. We got there around 11am and checked in right away. We used Groupon which saved a little money. It was overcast out and they said we probably didn't need ponchos but offered them anyway. We definitely needed them and glad we took them. I brought my own ponchos and we dressed accordingly. We were able to give one poncho to a lady on our tour. Overall, the tour was great, except for the weather. Our first stop was Chinatown and thankfully, we met Doug, who told us about the walking tour. He was excellent, and very knowledgeable. He even helped us get back after the tour was over. We got back on the bus for the rest of the tour and it is a great concept. You can hop on and off as you see fit. We downloaded the app and could follow along with the map. We should have started earlier and could have spent time at each stop. The audio portion was very good as it explained each of the 16 stops in detail. They provided the earplugs and it was available in different languages. If the weather cooperated, it would have been a perfect day. The only issue was the stop at Chinatown we waited about 45 mins before a bus came. The app actually told us about the delay but it was raining and cold and we didn't know why the bus was delayed if it was supposed to come every 15 minutes. Due to the delay, we didn't get off at several stops that we wanted to because we didn't want to risk running out of time and not getting to some of the later stops like the Golden Gate Bridge. The only recommendations I would have is to offer some guidance about what to do once you actually got off the bus. If we didn't run into Doug in Chinatown and take the walking tour, we would have been on our own and wandering around. Maybe there could be some cards or flyers to explain where to go at each stop to see the main features of that stop. read more

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I'm surprised how low the reviews are for Big Bus Tours because we had a great experience and it was such a good deal for the package we picked. On their website they offer a 2 day pass for the hop on and hop off tour, a night tour pass, tickets for the flyer or 7D experience, walking tour of China town, bike rental offer, and tickets to go see Alcartraz and for all of that we got two tickets and it was $240 total. It was an amazing deal for everything you get and it's such a smart way to see the city as you can get off and on the bus as much as you want. There isn't a lot of interaction needed with the tour guides as you use headphones to listen to the audio clips that describe the areas you are driving through. Some people say they don't like that but for me you can keep to yourself and listen on your own and it makes for an enjoyable experience. When we did talk to the tour guides all were nice and friendly and the one we had for the night tour was really nice and funny. On the night tour they stop at Treasure Island and you can get out and get some really cool pictures of the city and the Bay Bridge. The app for Big Bus Tours is super helpful so I'd highly recommend downloading it as you can see where the routes drop you off and where you can get back on as well as seeing where the next bus is in real time. We went to San Francisco during fleet week and Big Bus Tours did an amazing job with having to change some of the routes due to road closures and keeping us informed of the changes and where we needed to go. I highly recommend using Big Bus Tours and I will definitely keep them in mind if I'm ever in a city they have tours for! read more

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I arranged five charter tours with Big Bus Tours for my employer, John Muir Land Trust. It is not an exaggeration to say that Big Bus Tours and their staff have been wonderful to work with. I am definitely planning to schedule more charter tours with them and have already recommended them to someone planning a wedding. Big Bus Tours' reservation manager is incredibly helpful, responsive, professional, and friendly. She made working with the company both easy and a pleasure. We were fortunate to have the same driver for each tour, Marco, who provided safe and friendly transportation, even in the rain! Marco told me about his wine country tours, and I'm looking forward to joining one in the future when I have out-of-state guests. Marco is very knowledgeable about the Bay Area, including the Napa and Sonoma wine country areas. I highly recommend Big Bus Tours! read more

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I would have given this a 2 if I did not get Mrs T as my driver for sunset tour. if I was just reviewing her it Would be 5 stars. She was absolutely amazing. not driving like a crazy person like both the other drivers did. she wasn't rude like the guy in the bus tour office was. I couldn't believe how rude everyone was but her and the v First Gentleman we spoke to who recommended a couple of restaurants. Thank you Mrs T for having a wonderful personality. and finally a good experience. and for taking the picture for my daughter and I. we definitely appreciated you. Stacey. read more

Big Bus Tours - Sunset tour on treasure island. - Bus Tours Near Me - San Francisco, California

Excellent tour! Get your tickets online and pick your first stop. You can hop on and off of 16 different stops all day. We did a one day pass and in 2.5 hours, saw a ton of spots and learned a lot through the recorded narrative. The highlight was sitting on the top of the double decker bus and driving over the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a great way to spend the day in San Francisco! read more

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Hop On/Hop Off SF Red Route Tour October 2. I give the company and the tour a solid F by the old grade school grading system! The audio did not refer to the name of the stop or the number used in the brochure for the Red Route. In addition, there was no way to request a stop without standing to go up to talk to the driver. This created a confusing and frustrating situation. We especially wanted to stop at Fort Mason and Ghirardelli Square so we were watching closely. When the driver did not stop at Fort Mason, I held onto seat backs to go ask the driver to stop. She reluctantly did so. I would NOT recommend this to anyone. read more

We travel a lot and have used Big Bus Tours in many locations. We picked Big Bus because they normally have the lowest number of minutes to wait before the next bus comes along. Generally, it is 15-20" for the next bus. We picked up the bus at Union Square. The salesperson that sold us our tickets was John. He was helpful in explaining the additional perks of the 2-day ticket. We purchased the 2-day Essential pass. The tour to all stops was about 2.5 hours. There was a missed stop this day, due to the area being part of the San Francisco marathon. It was available after the marathon. We did use the bus both days. The stop we missed, because of the marathon, was the Haight-Asbury stop. I'm so glad we returned to it. This stop was where Jimi Hendrix and Janice Joplin hung out. It had a hippie's kind of vibe. I miss the Hop On-Hop Off buses that had the live tour guides. I'm sure it saves the company a boat load of money, but LIVE was best. I know there are some buses that do have live guides, but they also have less frequent pick-ups. The reason for 4 stars was that the recorded audio got off sync in one area. The building they started talking about was behind us. BONUS: The audio for the tour was different at some locations, which was great. This meant we got to learn a little bit more about the sites. read more

Big Bus Tours - Haight-Ashbury area - Bus Tours Near Me - San Francisco, California

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