Reply from BigbusTours San Francisco
[REPLY]
- Reviews (220)
- Chan Sun Lee
- 1 Review
exchange the tickets
Only 1 problem,they never tell us where I go to exchange the tickets
- sam jamasji
- 1 Review
A worthwhile experience
Living very close to the city, had seen all the major attractions, but the experience we got from the double decker top was fantastic, especially the drive from the south side to the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge was great. And of course the commentary recorded and live was both very informative and interesting. Strongly reccomend a 48 hour experience with the Big Bus. One suggestion please have proper cards as tickets instead of a grocery store sales slip.
- Tami Horvath
- 1 Review
Overall was entertaining and as imagined
The driver and guide were helpful, communicated well and professional.
- Robert Appleyard Jr
- 1 Review
A great way to see SF for the first time!
We had never been to San Francisco before ... and only a day to experience it. The Bigbus tour was perfect introduction to this beautiful city and helped us choose the highlights for our first visit. The guide, Anthony, was well informed, funny and helpful. The driver led us safely through the busy streets and yet could slow down when needed to let us catch the many sights. We now know what else we want to see when we visit again.
- John Summers
- 1 Review
Wonderful way to see San Francisco!
We loved Bigbus Tours San Francisco! The buses were clean and on time. Loved the routes they took, we saw so much of the city without having to drive ourselves. It was great riding on top of the open top buses, you can see so much. We would definitely use this service again.
- Tamara Ammon
- 1 Review
See San Francisco effortlessly!
We enjoyed everything about the bus with the exception of one that had no headphones. It was windy and we could not hear a lot of what the guide said on that leg of the tour.
- Jason
- 1 Review
Unprofessional guidance
Need to provide guidance in the professional manner.
- B. Malinowski
- 1 Review
San Francisco Big Bus tour was fun - fun - fun!!
We experienced the Big Bus Tour in San Francisco on May 1st and had a fun day exploring the city. We purchased the two-day pass because we wanted to take advantage of the night tour as well. We were able to take the Chinatown walking tour with Thaddeus and enjoyed his insights immensely. The night tour was really cool... going over the Bay Bridge to see the city skyline at night was fantastic! The entire daytime loop was about 2 1/2 hours filled with great information. The ability to hop on and hop off at any stop afforded us the ability to explore areas we were more interested in.... well worth the price!
- Denver John Cenidoza
- 1 Review
convenient and informative
The buses come very often with narration on tourist spots provided for via recorded voice message or person on bus which is very helpful and educational.
I wish they would provide extended hours, because our experience was cut short when we ended up at fisherman's wharf late in the afternoon and we were told that the bus we're on is the 2nd to the last bus to take us back to downtown area. overall the experience was great and highly recommended for first time travelers in the area.
- Kathleen Larson
- 1 Review
Fabulous view from front seat of open top bus!!
This was a great experience. The tour guide was very informative and helpful. Length of tour was just right. We weren't quite prepared for the very cool, breezy day as we had come from hot Arizona, but still enjoyed it. The only thing I would recommend is that the tour director be seated further in the front as his head was turned to the back most of the time, making it hard for those of us up front to hear what he was saying (or maybe turn up the microphone). Thanks for a great time.
- Angie Brandt
- 1 Review
Could Be Excellent With A Couple of Changes
We thought it was very easy to locate most of the bus stops, the narration was excellent, and it was comfortable. We really only had 2 suggestions for improvement. Our first is that we weren't dropped off AT all of the attractions...we'd have to hike to them from the stop, which wasn't easy because there wasn't a detailed street map provided with the tour (just a larger map). Our second is that the buses should have the name of the company on them. Instead, some of your buses had advertisements but no names. We, along with another couple, waited for 30 minutes on a bus and then realized that the bus that pulled up was for BigBus even though it didn't say that anywhere on it. The only thing it said was "open top tours", which there are about a billion of in the city, so how would we know this was BigBus over another company? If these 2 things could be worked on, the service would be excellent. At this point, I can only rate it as average because these things are so important.
- JAMES DAVIS
- 1 Review
Wish we had more time to enjoy the two-day pass.
The tour was thorough and enjoyable. Liked the idea of stopping on both sides of the Golden Gate Bridge for terrific views of SF and the bay. Only problem was the sound system for riders inside the bus.
- Brian Bosher
- 1 Review
Poor Booking processes
Took two tours. Greatly enjoyed both of them. But disappointed in booking process which meant I had to pay twice for two of my tickets, and I am still awaiting a promised refund.
- Vaida.R
- 1 Review
All "lines" in one for lesser price!
We liked Bigbus Tours San Francisco very much, especially when we compared it with other tours. Price of Bigbus tour was lower than others and offered points of interest were all in one tour as to compare with other Hop on-hop-off tours where you had to choose green or red lines depending what points of interest you want to visit. This tour offered all "lines" in one for lesser price!
One small issue we had that in couple busses we changed, tour guide voice was very difficult to hear. Microphones had to be adjusted keeping in mind that top floor is roofless and it is very noisy from wind and streets.
Other than that, everything was perfect! We could never could see so much in one day on our own.
I would rate 4.5!
- Rolando Soliz
- 1 Review
The route was perfect, the tour was worth the price.
It was a great tour for people who have never been to San Francisco. The stops were short, and the length of time was perfect. The double decker open top was a great way to see the architecture and beauty of the city.
However, I was disappointed in the person on the microphone. At one point, driving through a very poor and homeless part of SF (The Tenderloin), she said, "there is nothing to see here, this is a very poor neighborhood, don't come back here."
I wouldn't have minded as much if the bus was enclosed, however, the people on the street could here her because it was an open top bus. I was disgusted at her disregard for the people who lived in that neighborhood. I would recommend that while driving through that neighborhood, only facts are given or nothing is said at all.
- Michelle F Reade
- 1 Review
Great Overview of San Francisco
I was born in San Francisco but raised further down The Peninsula. We visited SF often to visit relatives, but I never really grasped the layout of the City. This tour hit all the neighborhoods and highlights of this beautiful city and I was able to put it all in perspective. The tour guide added interesting and fun information about many of the sights/landmarks, that I was unaware of. This tour is a must for new visitors to San Francisco and fun and informative for natives as well.
- Nikki
- 1 Review
Great Way To See San Francisco!!!
Had an awesome time in San Fran and taking the tour was the highlight of the trip. Sitting up in the bus was amazing. Got and a scenic view and also could hear the tour guide better. The great part was being able to get off and on the bus as we pleased and being able to see the sights at our leisure. The tour gave a good overview of the city and also the tourist highlights. Would do this again!!!
- CECILIA CARVALHO
- 1 Review
Fantastic!!!
We loved the Bigbus tour in San Francisco, tour guys was funny, very helpful and informative.
- DENISE CAHILL
- 1 Review
Website deceiving, couldn't hear guide
I purchased tickets online to get the discounted price. Nowhere did it say the discount was not valid if tickets were purchased the same day. It shows the discounted price even after adding to your cart, then changes at the very end. I noticed the lack of discount while waiting for the bus (I had the hotel clerk complete the transaction online for me because I didn't have a printer so I didn't catch sooner). I e-mailed the company as soon as I caught it and was told too bad, it was disclosed on the website that the discount didn't apply to same day purchases (I never saw that. As an aside, tickets are processed overseas so you likely will get currency conversion charges by your credit card unless you caught that in the fine print and used a card that doesn't charge them). Very poor customer service! They should have refunded me the difference, and I told them I'd leave a review indicating their poor service if get didn't remedy (no response to that e-mail, so here's the resulting review).
As for the tour itself, the first bus we were on had a live guide. He, and we, we're upstairs and we had a really hard time hearing him. He also did not add a lot of info about the city. We changed buses at a stop and got on a multi-language one with headphones and that was so much better - we could hear because we all had separate earphones (except for the seats where the connector was broken) and the recording gave lots of great info about the area that I hadn't heard before.
Overall customer experience not great. If I'd gotten better customer service and we had only gone on the recorded bus I'd have rated higher.
- Sofia
- 1 Review
- Maria Alejo
- 1 Review
CAUTION! Make sure you choose the right company: this one!!!
I was very pleasantly pleased with Bigbus Tours. When I was shopping around I saw another company that seemed to provide the same service for less money, but no! I am glad my daughter recommended we use Bigbus Tours. The tour guide was exceptional and the bus was very comfortable. When we arrived at the pick up spot I saw the "other" company's bus and was absolutely relieved by the excelent choice I made, but I felt sorry for the people on that other bus :(
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- Ilivea Suenleigh
- 1 Review
some good, but overall horrid, illegal experience
In San Francisco, 13Apr2013, my boyfriend purchased 24r tickets. All info stated we could "hop on and off" at any of their stop locations along the way, for a full 24 hour period. He bought the tickets at noon and at 3pm we started. By 5:45 we were informed by the bus driver in an extremely rude, crass manner that we were being "kicked off the bus" and to "buy our own bus/taxi ticket ride home.". We explained politely and had in writing our tickets were for 24 hours and requested to finish the tour and return to the location near our hotel (Hilton). They refused. We spoke to the Fisherman's Wharf main office personnel (Victoria - very kind but without knowledge, and her 'supervisor' Brian - extremely rude, snide, neglectful and without any knowledge of proper legal business skills). We stated our problem (repeatedly as both Victoria and Brian ignored us while helping others in line behind us). We pointed out that nowhere - not their website, brochures, nor any other information packet - did it state that that 24hrs was only good from 9am to 6pm. Nowhere. We asked for a refund and had to suffer numerous insults and poor behaviour from "supervisor Brian" while we waited for him to stop his illegal activity. He offered us a "shuttle" and then after wasting an our of our time refused the shuttle (with the tone of a childish schoolgirl). "supervisor brian" then tried to illegally take our receipts from us (our only form of writtn proof to dispute these illegal charges. After his horrid demeaner we nearly called the police, as we suspected he was high from his erratic behavior - to report the crimes and help prevent any others should he continue to escalate and physicially harm someone. Instead, other customers began asking him the same things and we decided to let the next group of customers decide if police intervention was necessary. We started the 2mile walk through very cold evening of hilly San Francisco, and were lucky to have the most courteous cab driver give us a ride for discount - whom we gave a generous tip for our appreciation of just having basic, legal, kind business behaviour.
In sum, despite the illegal false advertising, the lack of legally required communication terms regarding ticket sales, and the extremely rude "kick off buy your own ride home" and verbally and physically assaultive illegal behaviour from the Fisherman's Wharf "supervisor" Brian, there were some tour guides we enjoyed greatly who shared wonderful information about the city. Our favorite was "Molly" - excellent business and people skills, wealth of history knowledge (shes just finishing her university history degree), and love to share stories with others... also with excellent communication skills.
If you chose this company - beware of what you buy. "24 hour ticket" does NOT mean 24 hours. and many other problems.
Such illegal activity should be stopped - thus my intent to write all this to the company's supervisors in Maryland immediately after this.
Good luck - our opinion ... avoid this company.
Dr. M.L.Mandich and R.H.Dolan Esq
- Tania_Robinson
- 1 Review
Best open deck tour in San Francisco
I did a lot of research before leaving NZ and out of all the double decker open bus tours on offer, this company had by far the best deal. This was both in terms of pricing and the actual bus routes offered. We only had 3 days in San Francisco with our 3 boys, so needed to see as much as we could within the 48 hour ticket period. We did just that! There was one bus guide in particular who stood out to all of us, and I am just disappointed that I didn't get his name. He was soooo informative that we didn't even bother using the headphones. His narrative was much more entertaining and he knew so much about the places we were passing. So a big THANK YOU to the blond haired man that had a 'different' type of moustache. I have friends travelling to San Francisco soon and I have just passed onto them the link to book themselves onto this tour whilst in San Francisco. If we ever have the pleasure of visiting that part of the world again, we would most certainly go on this bus tour without hesitation. Cheers!
- Michael Currykosky
- 1 Review
Say what??
Good experience if I could hear anything. I was sitting 2 rows from the tour guide who was standing on the open deck near the steps. It would of been more enjoyable if I heard anything he could of said. i think it was a combination of the speakers, wind and the tour guide hiumself.
- Shireen
- 1 Review
Mediocre experience.
More options along the route to stop for just 2 minutes and take photos would be nice. Busses are spaced too far apart in the evening which may leave you stranded. At 5pm, they said there were no other buses coming after the one I was on, so I couldn't get off and take pictures. Seems kind of early in the evening to not have any more busses in such a big city, if you ask me. Wouldn't have booked with this line if I knew the cut off was so early. Otherwise it's a good way to see the city and (most of) the highlights because you don't need to worry about parking, getting lost, etc. One of the guides was very friendly and informative, but the other guide was short tempered and a little rude with other passengers.
- Roshan Lala
- 1 Review
Can't get any Bigger than BigBus tours
Being a Bay Area native, I brought my cousin from Australia to San Francisco and decided to give him a tour of SF. Big Bus tours offered the best stops and covered everything important in SF. With buses arriving every 15 minutes it allows time for you to get off and enjoy the scenes. Awesome tour guides on board hand downs great experience.
- jeff batty
- 1 Review
We played tourist for the day
We lived in California all our lives and never hopped on a bus in the city until today. We had a chance to stop places we had talked about but just never wanted to look for a parking spot or deal with cost of parking so we never went with the hop on hop off we had a chance to just relax look at the sites and have fun. one of our best day trips to the city have told so many friends.
- Jennifer P
- 1 Review
Could have been great, but way too crowded!
We have used Big Bus Tours before in San Francisco and it was great, so we wanted to take the kids with us this time. It was way too crowded. We had a difficult time getting on a bus since they were all full. Then, once we got on a bus we had to sit on the first level, which in no fun when riding a "open-top bus." Eventually we squeezed into a seat or two on the top level. We got off at one of the stops t grab some lunch and walk around. Later in the afternoon, we had much better luck getting on a bus and getting a seat upstairs. We ha very entertaining tour guide the second time, much better than the automated one we had in the morning.
- donna murray
- 2 Reviews
wrap up warm
excellent tour with lots of information, enjoyed the tour but would recommend anyone who does the tour to wrap up warm, towards the end of the tour we were frozen and just wanted to get back to the hotel to get warm. need hats, gloves, coat and scarf. I have been to San Francisco in March and August and it was cold in March and foggy in August. You need lots of layers.
- Elizabeth costello
- 1 Review
Very disappointing
The tour guides and/or drivers seemed more interested in keeping to a time table then accommodating their passengers. Would not recommend.
- Nancy Rose
- 1 Review
Had a great time, the bus drivers were very nice and helpful
Had a great time seeing the sites by bus. I left a package on one of them and it was turned in and I was contacted promptly so that I could pick it up that day. Everyone was very helpful. Would recommend it!
- barbara runyan
- 1 Review
Good
It was ok but half to do it again it rain the night we went and was sick so got to do again
- Shannon
- 1 Review
Hop On Hop Off
I saw these buses all around town and so I got online to see what the tour was all about. 20 stops all over San Francisco. You can get off and on at any of the stops. You can purchase your ticket at any of the stops. Super easy to use. Informative and funny tour guides. We enjoyed our time seeing and learning about SF. Would definitely do again!
- ROSANE AGUIAR
- 1 Review
Bom porém não cumpre horários estabelecidos.
Os ônibus eram para passar de 15 em 15 minutos, porém em nenhum momento vi os horários serem respeitados. Um dos exemplos por que passei: cheguei a Union Squre as 14h e 30 min. e o ônibus somente. Passou as 15h e 20 min ou seja 50 minutos depois. São ônibus novos com boa infraestrutura, mas pontualidade nesse tipo de serviço e fundamental.
- Randy Davis
- 1 Review
Rigid and disappointed with the staff!
My family and I were looking forward to taking the evening tour. The traffic driving from the airport was terrible and we arrived six minutes late. The young lady at the desk was quite curt and informed us that the tickets were nonrefundable and there were no other options. These policies were not clear on the online booking form and we were all extremely disappointed. The whole experience basically wrecked our evening.
- Jason D. from Austin, TX
- 1 Review
A wonderful way to view San Francisco!
As college students, my three friends and I wanted to be able to explore the city on a budget. This bus company allowed us to be able to explore all different parts of the city while always having a reliable transportation source to go back to. However, we wanted the live guided tour the whole time, and only 1/3 to 1/2 of the buses seemed to have a live tour guide, and there was no schedule we could find that told us when live and recorded bus tours would stop at which locations. If a schedule like that were to have been published and given to us, this would be a 5 star "no reservation whatsoever" review. Thanks, though, for a wonderful experience! Ash was a great tour guide.
- THOMAS GOEHLER
- 1 Review
- Lara Wilson Bilbro
- 1 Review
Delightful day on the bus!
We toured around the city on The Bus and had a splendid day. Easy access on and off at all destinations. We enjoyed the knowledgeable and funny commentary about the city. Would definitely recommend the experience.
- cheryl ludvik
- 1 Review
excellent
Our tour guide Mark and James were awesome!!!!!! The driving was fantastic and the nighttime tour was excellent, filled with great information and also a great sense of humor. I would do it all over again!!!
- natalie gonzalez
- 1 Review
BEST TOUR OF SAN FRAN!!
First off, we saved about $10 just ordering our tickets online instead of same day purchase so that was a good perk! and honestly I was surprised that we got to experience and see all of San Fran in such a short time. We got to see all the places we'd want to got back to and stay a bit longer at. We got lucky it was such a beatuful sunny day with awesome weather, especially for being San Fran in Febraury, normally being cold and overcast. The weather was a bit windy but the sun made it warm for the most part, and to top it off, we had an awesome tour guide, I believe his name was Mark (blonde pony tail and glasses) he sure kept the jokes coming along with being so informative about the entire city and its' unique history, for not being an original Frisco native, he sure was proud of his town and that's something to admire. My boyfriend and I definitely recommend the tour for anyone looking to see the whole island, in a short amount of time "2 1/2 hours", what it has to offer, and a good laugh all at once. Even though we only stayed overnight, we definitely want to go back for a whole weekend and stop at all the places we saw and learned about on the tour the next time we head up there. Continue the great tours and we definitely recommend Big bus Tours! We've already recommended BigBus Tours to our friends here in SoCal if they ever go up to visit!
Best Regards,
Natalie and Alex
