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Big Bus
Categories: Hotels & Travel Transportation Hotels & Travel Tours Transportation, Tours [Edit]
317 Water StreetVancouver, BC V6B 1B8
Neighbourhoods: Downtown, Gastown
(604) 299-0700
16 reviews for Big Bus
16 reviews in English
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Review from Gary E.
8/16/2010 2 photos
As first time tourists in BC we purchased a 2 day family pass for the Big Bus tour to get a sense of Vancouver's popular points of interest. For two adults and our girls we dished out a hundred bucks total which wasn't too bad I guess for an unlimited hop-on hop-off privilege.
They offered adult, child, senior and family pass discounted pricing. Kids under 6 ride free. You can purchase the tickets online or at a retailer.
Bus hours are seasonal. In our case it ran from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. There are 23 stops on the route which included the popular Gastown, Canada Place, Granville Island, Stanley Park & Aquarium, Robson Shopping District and more. There's roughly a 15 to 20 minute wait frequency for a bus.
During our tour we had to deviate from two of the stops due to road construction on Robson but the driver was kind enough to give everyone a heads up and dropped off and picked up folks close to the original route stop.
A pre-recorded tour guide's voice played on the speakers as we made our stops. However, the recorder occasionally had to be manually fast forwarded or rewinded and sometimes played over and over again. The driver though would throw his two cents in for accuracy and more details. I say invest in a GPS based digital recorder.
Regardless, we all enjoyed the tour and convenience of the Big Bus with the wind blowing in our hair it was all smiles... -
Review from Billy P.
4/15/2012
Horrible!
First time in Vancouver and wanted a ride around the attractions of the city, and some insight in the process.
Bought a ticket for $45/ 2 day pass. The bus was 40 minutes late at our first stop!
The driver was nice, but when he accepted our voucher and printed out actual receipts for us as tickets, he printed out 1 day passes. Another headache to remedy!
We took the bus to Granville. When we went to the stop to wait for the bus, again, it was over 30 minutes late, and we weren't the only ones at the stop complaining.
Overall, horrible experience, and for sure not worth the money. Rent a car, or go with a different company. -
Review from Angela F.
7/23/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Big Bus is a great concept; unfortunately, a really poorly executed one.
Be warned this is not what I'd call a 'tour' - it's more of a really slow shuttle bus that happens to stop at a few of Vancouver's popular attractions when it's not stopping at a hotel to pick up passengers.
The majority of the drivers we encountered were apathetic and did not acknowledge the passengers on board. Perhaps it was an anomaly the days we chose to ride, but the pickup times printed in their map/brochure were completely inaccurate. Not to mention the hours the busses run are prohibitive to some of the landmarks (last pickup at Stanley Park 5:40pm in the summer?!)
Very unlike me, but I didn't consult Yelp! prior to shelling out the $100 for our 2 day pass. Shame on me this time, but you won't fool me twice Big Bus!! -
Review from Brisa de la Mañana F.
9/7/2011
We got the Capsilano & Big Bus Route combo tour. $72 per person. I don't recommend it.
There is a recording in the bus to explain highlights and the sound is quite bad. I didn't learn anything because I could barely hear.
Ground transportation in the city is quite good and easy, so I would skip using this bus if I go again. The city is not THAT huge, so this bus was not too useful.
Capsilano is not THAT far away, and quite easy to get to. Big Bus makes it sound like they are giving you a free shuttle. Capsilano itself offers a free shuttle - and taxis and buses also go there. (Tip: from Capsilano, take a city bus to Grouse Mountain).
I also took the Stanley Park excursion. A total waste of time. 45 minutes turned into 3 hours with all of the waiting for buses. The tour itself was about 20 minutes with two 15 minute stops at only mildly interesting areas of the park. -
Review from D D.
11/22/2011
During our first visit to Vancouver, we had a $125 gift voucher from the hotel to use at the tourism office for local attractions. Seeing as we did not hire a car but still needed a form of transportation to get around town, we figured the Big Bus 2 day pass would be a great way to save us some taxi fare.
Unfortunatley, it was raining and during their 'off season', so we ended up waiting in the rain for 20 to 30 minutes at a time. Once, when it finally came, it was their half bus with an open roof - DURING POURING RAIN! Needless to say we were cold and wet.... Another time, at Stanley Park, we could not find the bus station and ended up taking the local transportation instead.
Overall, not a good option for tourists looking at sightseeing. -
Review from Kimli W.
8/31/2010 1 Check-in Here
It was a fun way to spend an afternoon, but I think the real value is in the 24-hour ticket and multiple stops that allow you to get on and off. Granted, it's an expensive way to get around the city - but if you're from out of town and don't want to deal with transit, this is a viable option.
That being said, we had a bus driver with a serious attitude problem which kind of soured our trip. I'm glad we went on a Groupon; this would have been an expensive way to be told off for offering a correction otherwise.
The tour itself was .. okay. Too much emphasis on SPEND MONEY IN VANCOUVER K??!?!!??!, not enough on history or facts. It's extremely obvious that the company only talks about local places they're in cahoots with - how can you basically drive around Hotel Vancouver and not mention it once? - and that left a bad taste in my mouth. All in all, I was underwhelmed by the experience .. but I did like the bus. It was like riding in a giant convertible! -
Review from Brynn M.
5/20/2009
So we are getting off our cruise ship, trying to figure out what to do in Vancouver. We didn't want to do the shore excursions, so we decided to go walk around and see what we could find.
At first we were feeling a bit distraught. Looking around we didn't see a whole lot, but decided to walk and see what we could find. As we are walking, a guy comes up to tell us about Big Bus.
Hop on and Hop off? You get to see all the major sights in the city? Hum... Could be good. Sure, why not? Sounds like fun.
So we get on the bus and have a seat. Our bus driver is HILARIOUS! We really didn't want to get off because we really liked him, but when we reached Stanley Park we decided it was time. So we got off, walked around, and then decided to hop back on and go find a place for lunch.
Got off in the shopping district, found some lunch, and then went back to the stop to wait for the bus. Okay, so at this point we had about 1.5 hours until we were suppose to be back on the boat. So we waited.
And waited.
And waited.
The guy from our original bus had told us that it was only 15 or 20 minutes between buses. 45 minutes later a bus showed up. Yeah, not 15 minutes....
And guess who was driving? Our favorite driver! So we had a seat and got ready to enjoy the rest of our tour.
Only the tour was interrupted when our driver tried to take out a bicyclist. Seriously. The guy started yelling at the driver, who yelled right back. He then opened the door and told the guy to get on the bus so they could "talk about it." Please no.
Seriously, don't get on the bus.
He didn't and the driver took off. Only to try and run the guy over again. Okay, at this point we were a little scared. But the bicyclist disappeared and everything went back to normal.
We made it back to the ship with plenty of time. We enjoyed our trip through Vancouver and we can't wait to go back. But with the time we had, the Big Bus was the way to go. If I ever make it back to Vancouver, I would definitely take the Big Bus again. -
Review from Scott P.
7/28/2010
Really people? You call this a tour? If I had to judge Vancouver based upon this tour I would just go back to San Francisco.
I recently relocated to BC. I am currently living on Vancouver Island and will eventually come to reside in Vancouver. I thought I should get to know my new city and what better way than on an open air bus, with a narrated tour of this fabulous city. My expectations were just tossed out the window.
It was a sunny day so i wanted to sit towards the back of the bus where it was open to the elements. I was looking forward to starting the tour only to discover you can't hear anything back there. The speakers are all under the roof of the front of the bus and not loud enough to hear in the back. I wasn't happy but I made the most of it and moved to the enclosed portion.
Well that didn't help. The tour is prerecorded and it isn't all that great! There is not much information but more importantly the recording didn't match the location of the bus. I guess I should have asked the guy who sold me the ticket if it was recorded or live. I wouldn't have done this tour if I knew it was recorded.
There was still some time for the operator to redeem himself but he didn't. The few questions he was asked about China Town he couldn't answer. Why bother having a driver who isn't knowledgeable about Vancouver represent the city?
Needless to say I got off the bus and marched my ass back to Gastown where the main office is located. Although my receipt said "NO REFUNDS" I told them I wanted a refund. Much to my surprise they did with no problem.
I guess you could say I was another satisfied customer for all the wrong reasons. I got my $38 returned and decided to forgo another guided tour for fear of the same experience.
If you want great tidbits of this wonderful city from a live person this is not the tour for you. If you want to be driven around in a big red bus and confined with a bunch of other obnoxious tourists then this is the tour for you!Comment from Hans K. of Big Bus 8/27/2010
Thanks for your honest feedback about our service and for… More » -
Review from Rachel T.
9/13/2010
I have been on open top bus tours all over the world, from San Francisco to Glasgow, from Barcelona to Chicago, and truly believe that it's the best way to learn about a new city you are visiting.
However, in the case of the big bus vancouver this is definately not the case. It's about the same in cost as other bus tours i've been on ($38 for a 24 hour pass), but in all other criteria it is definately sub-standard.
The route has 23 stops - of these 8 are hotels!! I did not come to Vancouver to learn about the Hyatt Regency! Also - unlike other tours which the driver will talk to you about the history or there will be an actual tour guide, on this it is a pre-recorded tape... So when stuck in traffic, or making good progress through traffic, the driver either pauses it or fast forwards it!! Leaving massive gaps in stories you are listening to.
Quite frankly, the whole tour was a complete waste of time and I don't feel I know anymore about Vancouver than when i got on it. To round it all off, the bus driver obviously had 'somewhere to be' so he missed 4 stops on the route, pulled up at a stop in Gastown (not where we got on) and said "this is the last stop. Get out." The only thing i'm glad of is that we only got a 1 day pass.
So in summary, the only way i would get on this tour again is if i was trying to escape a pack of rabid dogs and this was my only option of safe passage to higher ground. -
Review from Tom H.
6/26/2011
Big Bus is a poor excuse for a bus tour. The ground staff seemed unorganized and mildly annoyed that we wanted to give them our business.
Heard several calls on the driver's walkie-talkie that there were Big Bus patrons left stranded at stops, with no one to help them.
The pre-recorded audio sounded like story time for toddlers, with dubious facts and figures about the city's history. When we did have a live host on board - hit and miss - he was too preoccupied with mapping short cuts to avoid the city events and festivals, and made patrons feel like we were inconveniencing them for being on board.
Several of the stops were at hotels... I did not pay to ride a shuttle bus around town.
Not worth the time or money - give this company a pass. Vancouver is too beautiful to be seen on board a Big Bus. -
Review from Mark D.
10/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
Big Bus was a total waste of time and money. We spend more time looking for the bus stop. While we were in Stanley Park the bus drove straight passed us. We decided to forget Big Bus and use the public busses. I wish we decided the before buying a two day Big Bus pass. The public bus driver was so friendly. The Big Busses are so old. They have a bus that has no roof. How stupid can a company drive a bus around that has no roof in the rain. I think the first 6 rows of seats had cover. But everybody was so cramped. Water on the floor of the bus was rushing from the front of the bus to the back every time the driver stop and started moving the Bus. The Big Busses are also old. I have taken hope on and off buses in other large cities and they seemed very well organized. Big Bus is pathetic. I would not recommend anybody the service. I noticed another bus hope on and off service in the city. That company was driving a trolley. I wish we booked that company. That was my mistake for not doing my research first.
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Review from J C.
7/24/2009
Good value for transportation while in Vancouver! Highly recommended. It's $37 for adults per ticket which is good for 2 days.
It takes you around town, including Granville Island, you can hop on & off as many times as you like within the 2-day period. We thought this is a far better way to travel around Vancouver than taking a cab (which can easily cost you 12~15 bucks 1 way)! You sit on the bus, see something you want to go check out - get off the bus on the next stop and hang out for as long as you like before the last bus leaves...
P.S. sometimes the bus gets full and you'll need to wait another 10~20 minutes until the next one arrives, so be sure to allow extra time where ever you are going, and makes sure to arrive WAY before the very last bus takes off for the day! -
Review from Kat V.
6/25/2009
I finally did it. I caved and was the cliche tourist - and you know what, it was pretty dang fun!
I had not been to Vancouver in roughly a decade, so needless to say, the city has changed (and my memory is far from perfect). We wanted to see the beach, Stanley Park, Gas Town, the Olympic Village and everything in between - however we also knew that we were not about to walk that distance considering the extensive liver damage we had done to ourselves over the previous days!
The concept:
For $37 you get a map and a ticket. That ticket is good for 48 hours to hop on and off at any of the 22+ locations the buses stop at. This enables you to get off the bus and walk around at the places you are interested in and pass on by those you could not care less about. It is a great idea. With the back half of the bus being open air, it is pretty great for site seeing and taking it all in (unless it rains, which it did a bit on us, oh well).
The downside:
We had to deal with ridiculously ignorant southerners sitting right behind us. They were complaining and saying the most annoying things the entire time - no wonder my fellow Canadians have a bitter taste in their mouths about Americans...this is what they deal with! Then, we got to deal with the obligatory, "ha ha look at those people, they are on a big red bus tour." every time we stopped, so eventually, when we would stop, we would just do it for them, "HEY, look - we are the nerds on a bus - and it is AWESOME!" :) Lastly, the hours of the tour only go until 5 PM. While I understand that makes sense for traditional business, the sun does not even set until 9 PM in the summer, so it would have been nice to be able to see more of the city and locations at dusk. After all, it is tourists that utilize this service, they are not likely to need to head home to put dinner on the table or turn in for the night at 5 pm. -
Review from Andrew W.
8/30/2010
I read the other reviews for this service, and sometimes me thinks they're written by their own employees. Our experience with Big Bus was awful. Their claim that buses arrive every 30 minutes is categorically false. It's more like they arrive every 45 minutes and then wait for another 20 before departing. More than half of the sightseeing areas we stopped were useless - mostly hotels. On our bus from Granville Market, the bus driver had the audacity to talk on his cell phone while navigating the busy Vancouver streets. If we could do it again, we would definitely take taxis and metro to all the places of interest. It's a shame that Vancouver tourism authorities don't do a better job of regulating this industry. Big Bus was the one blemish on what is otherwise a beautiful city.
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Review from Laurie A.
11/9/2009
A lot of fun! There is a ton to see in Vancouver and this bus tour really covers pretty much all of it. The buses come by fairly frequently, so we never had to wait too long to catch the next one. I totally recommend this bus tour to anyone new to YVR. It's the best way to get your bearings in this growing, modern city. No, we didn't see them filming Twilight. Bummer:) Did pick up some cool Olympic pins though!
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Review from Julie E.
7/21/2009
The concierge at our hotel told us the Big Bus was a great value instead of taking taxis everywhere and she was right! We had a blast stopping and hopping off, shopping, then hopping back on! Enjoyed Granville Island. Skip Chinatown, it's seedy and depressing - go for Stanley Park, English Beach and shopping on Robson. A good way to see the city, especially if it's your first time in Vancouver.
