Friday, September 6, 2013

Big Bus Tours Washington DC

Big Bus Tours Washington DC is a hop-on hop-off sightseeing tour bus that includes recorded and/or live commentary. Hop-on hop-off tours allow you to see the most popular attractions at your own pace. The buses run in a continuous loop and usually arrive at the designated stop every 20-30 minutes. This allows you to ride to your desired attraction, get off the bus to explore the area and then take the next bus to another attraction when you are ready. There are day and night tours and the schedule varies based on season.

The Washington DC Big Bus Tour includes 4 loops - Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green. Between the 4 loops, a tourist would be able to see all of the highlights of the city. There is so much to see and do in Washington DC! This tour is great for those that want to see the most in a limited amount of time.

During our visit in September 2013, we purchased 24hr tickets from a Chinese Restaurant near the Woodley Park stop. The cost was $46/adult and $26/child (up to 15 years old). The 24hr ticket included free admission to Madame Tussauds wax museum. The 48hr ticket would have been $57/adult and $29/child, including admission to other museums and tours. The tickets are discounted up to 10% if purchased online .

We only had 1 day to sightsee and got a late start...so needless to say, we had to prioritize. Our target stops included the Lincoln Memorial, the White House and Georgetown/Niketown. During our journey, we rode the Green, Red and Yellow routes. So even though we only had 3 stops, we still saw a lot of the city. The commentary was informative and interesting.


We found the Houston Texans gear in Niketown
 
Visiting the Lincoln Memorial
We had a great time sitting on the upper level of the Washington DC Big Bus, but beware of the trees! Your safest bet is to sit on the left side of the upper level deck AND pay attention anytime the bus is in motion. As you can see from the picture below, the tree limbs are a hazard!

An alternative to the Washington DC Big Bus Tour is the Washington DC Hop-on Hop-off Trolley Tour. The concept is the same and this tour also has multiple routes covering all of the major attractions. Tickets for the trolley tour cost slightly less than the Big Bus Tour ($39 for the 1 day pass). Members of Resorts360 save more than $6/ticket. We choose the Big Bus Tour because of the upper level seating.

Overall, we thought the HOHO tour was a great way to see the city in a short amount of time. The ride was comfortable (minus the trees) and the bus route/times were accommodating. At the end of the day, we thought we would take a cab back to the hotel (for convenience), but we were actually able to catch the right bus routes to take us back without much fuss or wait. I would definitely recommend Big Bus Tours Washington DC to others, and I would definitely try this type of tour again in other cities.


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