Big Bus Tours Washington DC Reviews 2,681

Purchased a multi day pass and was very disappointed. Busses were running late. Then suddenly numerous buses behind each other. Also dirty on board.

Air conditioning didn’t work, driver wouldn’t turn it on.
The bus took us off route early between 4:00 & 4:15 and left us a mile away from the train with seniors and cancer patient.

Save your money. Lies on top of lies.

We signed up for the June 20 2025 24-hour hop on/hop off tour. We waited at station 8 for an hour and none of their buses came to that station. You will not be able to get hold of them by phone and would have to chat with them should any issue arise. We were able to get an actual person after 45 minutes of just getting the canned responses on the virtual chat. She informed us that station 8 is closed that day for them even though other tour buses are stopping there. Their website did not advertise said closure of station 8 (Jefferson Monument) but only advertised closure of station 14 (Washington Monument East I believe). We had to drive to another station, station 10 (Lincoln Monument), to catch the bus. When we finally boarded the bus, there was no AC running and its 90 degrees in DC that day. All the passengers were suffering in silence like us. When I asked the driver why they wont turn on the AC, he said (with a sheepish grin) that it doesnt work.

Overall, its a waste of time and money ($55). If you have a rental, just drive to the monuments and pay the minimal parking fee ($6 for 3 hours). Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Washington Memorial, War Memorial, are all walking distance from each other.

This bus company ruined our day in DC.

Complete rip off price of £50 for one ticket for a day pass. Don’t buy at Union station. Still a rip off but cheaper to buy in advance.

Our bus broke down at Stop 4 on Friday 25th after being on it for about 10 minutes. Everyone chucked off onto the pavement and told to wait for the next one. The next one only had 5 spaces. Had to wait for the one after that so about 40 minutes sat on the pavement.

The company still refuse to offer any sort of refund, just a voucher for another day which was completely useless as we were only in DC for 6 hours. They just stop replying to emails.

The bus is painfully slow and often stops for 10 minutes at the stops. It also loops round on itself. A really bizarre routing. It took 2 hours to complete the circuit on Friday afternoon.

It was an overcrowded nightmare. The boat was packed with tourists, leaving no room to move or enjoy the views. The guide’s commentary was barely audible over the noise of the crowd, and there was no effort to make the experience enjoyable for everyone. The promised "exclusive" stops were overcrowded with other boats, making it hard to appreciate the scenery. The tour was rushed, and it felt like a cattle drive rather than a relaxing boat trip.

Wish I came here rather than Expedia or TripAdvisor for an accurate review before wasting my money. We booked this as an activity to do for several hrs on our last day in DC. We started the tour at the White House stop. It was at 1030 am and already 90 out. The staff were friendly and they are not the issue it is the company itself. First off, it’s absolutely outrageous to have such poorly maintained buses that they are charging people 54 dollars plus a person to ride that are filthy and junk boxes. Got on first stop with others and the bus was hotter inside than it was outside. We all couldn’t breathe. One man even went up and complained asking why even the vents weren’t working. The bus stopped at the next spot of union station where everyone got off and the driver said the bus was out of commission. I asked an employee if this is an issue with all the buses they said they are not too much better. Got on another bus to try to at least get down toward our hotel at the wharf. Took 3 stops for air to begin to flow into the bus. Myself and another passenger were saying how we basically paid to be tortured and with how bad we were all drenched in sweat it was probably more comfortable outside. It is horrible they have their staff working like this. The second bus was so loud and vibrating so bad it was hard to hear the tour anyway so never got to hear the tour and was on it about 30 minutes just to get to the wharf stop so we could get off it! Requested a refund via my Expedia booking and received a response that big bus refuses any reimbursements per their purchase agreements. Leaving this review for others to be aware that their buses are old, dirty and poorly maintained. They are brutally hot inside so hot you will be dripping in sweat! The ONLY asset is their employees and they obviously only care about raking in a buck and not on providing a comfortable experience on their vehicles. Honestly, the worst experience! I’ve done the hop on/off trolly in past having visited DC about 5 times over the years with family. Even though it is all open they maintain their equipment so much better and the tour was much more pleasant even in heat. This was my first and LAST time I would ever use this company and I would not recommend it to anyone unless you have a huge discount and it’s very cool outside otherwise be prepared for a terribly uncomfortable day.

I don't normally write bad reviews, but this tour bus was absolutely terrible. I purchased a 2 day tour online before we came to DC. When we arrived, we quickly realized this was not a reliable or pleasant way to see DC. There were extensive waits at each stop (30-45m, and the app did not show waitntimes) stops were hard to find, and buses had no AC or relief from the 95 degree heat. One bus had "mechanical issues" and was out of service after going 1 stop. I have asked for a partial refund, and the company will not issue it. Please save yourself money. Use the DC metro!

Just wished I'd read these reviews before wasting over £100 on this incredibly useless tour which avoided just about every attraction in this wonderful city which, as we later discovered , has so much to offer. I presume the abrasive driver was unfamiliar with the city and simply meandered his own handpicked dull and boring route. The provision of headphones is absolutely pointless as the minimal commentary is inaccurate, inane and juvenile. Most if not all the passengers on my trip disposed of them after several minutes of looped pipe 'music'. I had thought the Big bus tour New York was bad but Washington plunged to new depths. Absolutely appalling on every level. AVOID.

Hi everyone if they the option of half a star that's what big bus tours D.C would get from me. I was traveling with family ranging from 8 to 72. What attracted us to this particular bus tour was the open upper decker.
On a 90 or above weather bus #40 had NO A/C!!!! we did not get any relief either from the upper open deck.we ended getting off and missed a couple of sites because we walked for a little while then hopped back on the next bus which was a little better. Now I know why I didn't see any phone number.But I did write complaint email and got a response but still got no refund from my bad experience.
Listen all, you get what you pay for this site had a lot of discounts for tickets and in the we did not have a good experience and was left with a bad memory. We all know kids don't forget bad times.

....the 'Big Bus' tour in Washington, DC. Nothing they say is like it is. They say they have signs all over the place for pick up points. Never saw a sign when we were there. We were let off at the Vietnam Memorial (a designated stopping point) . When we went to board the bus again, the driver just pointed to the next stop and went on. We had to walk 1/2 mile to the next bus stop (marked for the Metro, no sign for Big Bus). They say the buses run 15-20 minutes apart. We waited over 45 minutes for a bus. When it stopped, the driver said he was due to be off and acted like he was doing a favor picking us up. We got two rides out of them. One from Arlington to the Vietnam memorial and from the WWII memorial to the drop off where we could walk to L'Enfant plaza to catch the Metro back to our hotel. We spent most of our time chasing buses on foot, as if we hadn't walked enough already. I rate Big Bus in Washington DC, NO stars and consider it to be a rip off by paying good money for very little promised service.

Like so many of the reviews, one of the worst issues is the lack of air conditioning on a very hot summer day. Buses were mostly on time. One bus went completely off the route and did not even stop at the advertised places (such as the capitol). A bright spot is that most of the drivers were very nice and answered questions with a smile and good attitude. However, one was flat out rude and looked like she was mad that I was even asking a question of her. Lesser issues (but still not good) include: No notification of what stop number or place we were at. (note: sometimes I could hear the driver say something about does anyone want to get off here but was unclear. Could definitely use a pa system on the bus.) Stops not explained clearly and stop signs were not clearly explained by anyone. We did not know what to look for until I happened to see one. On one of the buses the windows had screens which prevented us from taking clear photos through the windows; especially bad when several of the sights were just by a "drive by" instead of a stop. NOT worth the money!
OVERALL: NOT GOOD. I will not use them again and cannot recommend them.

Don't waste your money. I bought two tickets for two days. First time we tried getting on the bus the bus driver said our tickets had already been redeemed so we couldn't ride on the bus and we never used the tickets. I'm requesting a refund. Busses looked packed and it was really hard to even find the bus stops. No signs or anything else! I really wish I had read these reviews.

It was way too expensive and very difficult to follow what was explained by the recorded guide. The landmarks were not pointed well enough, and what was explained was quite dull and superficial.

On top of that, the headphones didn’t work on half of the seats at the top floor of the bus.

Let me start by saying choose the Old Town Trolley instead! If you need more information other than that, then let me tell you. In the middle of freaking summer and almost every bus of theirs doesn't have a working AC unit!!! It's a literal sauna on the first floor of the bus. But what about the second floor you say?! Well, seats are completely full for those trying to survive the heat. But guess what, it's hot up there too! However, still not as bad as the first floor!!! Seriously, it should be illegal to allow them to run the buses that way. My poor 2 year old was crying from the heat. We got on at one stop and got off at the very next stop because it was unbearable. So, real simple choice. Don't waste your money with this company. They care nothing for your well being. NOTHING! The sooner people stop spending money with them the sooner they stop being cheap asses and do something about their problem. If you think I'm just whining, feel free to see for yourself. But don't say I didn't warn you...

The concept is great, a bus that stops at every important display in DC. Unfortunately, a company that is thrilled to collect your money, but not willing to put any of it back into maintenance. The first bus had no AC working and the air suspension system was gone. So the chassis was setting on the frame and rode like a buck board. The driver had no idea what an air suspension was, so probably never reported it. So, the next bus we got on had no room up top and the AC was not working downstairs, so it was an oven (in May no less, wait until J J & A). Out of six deferent busses we got on, only one had the AC working. The old relicts they called busses were well past their time. Except for one, the drivers were rude and offensive.

I felt they were more inclined towards emptying our pockets coupled with rash braking. Not my thing! Next!

TERRIBLE. We have done hop on hop off tours around the world, and this has been the WORST so far!!!!!

If I could give this 0 starts, I would immediately. Group of 6, in town for an event, decided to do a 1 day tour Saturday. 1: The buses do NOT come every 20 minutes. We waited 1hr 15mts for the first bus. While waiting, of course, approximately 55 people arrived for the same purpose. As the bus finally came, it was full enough where only 10 people could board. Although, there ended up being 0 seats...standing only. We were just happy to finally get on a bus. 2: They let us out at a closed stop, without saying it was closed. 3: They switched the order of 2 stops, which caused issues for other folks (and us) with the general plan around the city. 4: With the bus routes taking 45 minutes between stops, we had to walk rather than ride to ensure we saw even half of the stops. 6 tickets...only being able to utilize 3 out of 13 stops. Such a waste of money.

I traveled on Big Bus on June 21 and 22, 2022 at Washington DC. I was in a party of 6 with 2 children less than 5 years old and 2 older adults over 70 years old. We had a 2-day ticket booked for all 6 of us so that we could visit all the monuments at our leisure given the slow pace of the children and older adults. Day 1 went off without issues. We were given a printed ticket that looked like a receipt on day 1 which I had in my pocket all day. When we returned for day 2, there was no information that we were supposed to hold onto this printed receipt. Apparently, the email confirmation with the QR code does not substitute for a ticket once it has been converted into a printed form. This is an extremely archaic and meaningless practice since many of us now have converted to an electronic form of communication. When we attempted to get onto the bus at Washington Monument on day 2, we were confronted by the bus driver that we were apparently trying to get onto the bus without a ticket. I showed him the email confirmation for the 2-day package for 6 people including the QR code. He accused me of lying and that I had no proof. I was not told to carry the paper ticket with me on day 2. Regardless, there should be another mechanism to print this ticket out if that is of such prime importance since it is ridiculous to think that we have to carry this piece of paper around for 2 whole days. Furthermore, he told us to get onto the bus stating that, "I am doing you favor by letting you on the bus and will let you off where you want. You will not be allowed to get back on after that". This is extremely disrespectful and not at all customer friendly. We were treated very poorly by this driver. When we got off at White House, we spoke with a local ground agent who was profusely apologetic and attempted to help us. The bus driver walked past nonchalantly and told us that he could not care less about our situation. Unfortunately, despite company policy, he did not have a badge and I could not get his name. I have taken pictures of him both inside and outside the bus for proof. I have discussed this extensively with the ground agent, but I am not sure if this has been relayed. I have not heard back from them nor had any subsequent follow-up. This is extremely disappointing and cause extreme amounts of agony and suffering for my older parents and young children who were stressed out by heated conversation. Furthermore, I do not expect customers who have paid their dues to be treated so poorly and being blatantly accused of lying. Unfortunately due to these issues, we will have never travel with this service again. I will also attempt to speak to as many family and friends that I can regarding this, so as to spread the word regarding the poor service offered by this agency.