Brilliant way to get your bearings in Chicago! The roadside staff were very helpful, the buses were pretty regular and the guides onboard were an absolute hoot - knowledgeable (as you'd expect) but wi... See more
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We had just one full day in Chicago before starting our road trip so thought a hop on hop off bus tour was the answer, how right we were. All of the guides and drivers were exceptional, very knowledge... See more
We found your service to be helpful and handy, we enjoyed using it. One other thing that would be helpful would be a description of where the bus would load at the stop by posting a street name/cross... See more
I visited the salon for a manicure and was generally satisfied. The technician was very friendly, careful, and approached her work professionally. The result was really nice, and my nails look well-gr... See more
Company details
Information provided by various external sources
Your visit to Chicago isn't complete without an open-top hop on hop off sightseeing bus tour; let us take you on an adventure with Big Bus Tours Chicago! • Our hop on and off service includes the two-hour 'Big Loop' showcasing Chicago by day, with 14 stops conveniently located close to key landmarks and attractions. Tweet, snap, and live stream your Chicago tour experience while using our WiFi enabled open top buses! Our double decker buses are ADA compliant and temperature controlled lower sections. • Explore Navy Pier, shop on The Magnificent Mile®, stand on air at the Willis Tower, and take fun selfies at Millennium Park all while learning about the history of Chicago. As our Chicago Bus Tour rolls down The Magnificent Mile and crosses the Chicago River, you can admire the ever-changing architectural styles on a historic avenue!
Contact info
630 W 41St., Suite B, 60609, Chicago, United States
- 877-285-4796
- infoCH@bigbustours.com
- bigbustours.com/chicago
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Start early and enjoy!
Great tour. Live tour guides are way better than recorded narrations. We experienced 2 different guides during our tour and they were both excellent. Highly recommended!
May 15, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Claude
Thank you for your kind words!
We'll make sure to pass them on to our team members.
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
In general it was good, but bus was late
In general it was good, but the buses were never on time. They are supposed to come very 20 minutes, so I planned out activities around that, but they were more often late than on time, so our day ended without us seeing all of the Chicago highlights. The last bus leaving was 4:00pm, which is really early so a warning to bus riders, plan your day knowing that or else you will get caught at a tourist place waiting for a bus that will never come.
The reason for the 4 stars was the bus tour guides - they were really good.
May 12, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Doug
Thank you for your review. Since we operate in a major city, we can't always know how the day's events will affect our route and timing. Construction, accidents, and road closures can happen at any time and we're at the mercy of the city workers. Thank you for understanding.
We'll make sure to let the guides know how much you liked them (enough to save us a couple stars!)
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
We had a very disappointing experience
We had a very disappointing experience. We paid for an all day pass but only got on the bus twice. The first time we got off was at Hard Rock Cafe and they said the next bus would be about 20 minutes. It was over an hour. They said they got stuck in traffic. When a bus finally arrived they took us to the next stop and said the bus would be out of commission for 20 minutes but there would be a bus we could switch to. When we got there the other bus had already left. We ended up getting off at the bean and just walking to the Navy Pier. It was taking way too long and we had to catch a boat. I feel like we wasted our money and we had 15 people in our group.
May 11, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Julie
We're sorry to hear about your less-than-stellar experience. Traffic, accidents, and construction congestion are all problems we face and have no control over; they end up affecting our route and timing.
When approaching Stop 1 from Stop 14, we do have a Transfer Process in order to allow guests to continue promptly while providing our employees a break. But, being stuck in traffic for an extended time (even though we allot some time for this) forces the Transfer Bus to leave in order to keep our Frequency appropriate. We wish that there could have been a bus, guide, and driver ready for you when you reached Stop 1!
We've checked our records and nothing indicates that there was an hour gap between service. That would mean 3 - 4 buses would have been out of commission back to back. 30 - 40 minutes is a possibility, but not an hour.
Please email us at 'infoCH@BigBusTours.com' if you have any more information you'd like to share with us directly.
We hope you'll give us another chance when you visit Chicago.
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Mateja
Thank you for your kind words!
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
Was totally disappointed
Was able to use it for only 2 drops. the timing is only till around 5pm while the places are open past sunset. was totally disappointed.
May 4, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Shayan
We're sorry to hear of your disappointment. Our last Full Tour starts at 5:00pm in order to end by 7:00pm and creating a division between our Day and Night Tours. Since they are different products, routes, and services we want to make a differentiation between both tours. 7:30pm, when our Night Tour starts, is close to sunset and the city lights up, creating a vastly different experience from on top of the bus.
All of this information is presented in the brochures, along with a schedule for the last Full Tour starting at 5:00pm.
Please email us at 'infoCH@BigBusTours.com' if you have any more information on your experience.
Great way to get to all the major…
Great way to get to all the major sights for first time visitors to Chicago.
You need to sit upstairs to see up as that is where the buildings are.
We did it on a cold and wet day, and the roof did not seal all around, so all the edge seats were wet limiting seating capacity. A little silicone could solve that issue.
Our first guide, Jack was excellent giving history of the area. On a later bus we caught the guide was joking and just chatting too much for my mind.
As with all these hop on/off services, it would be good to have a bus going in the other area, in case you see something you want to get back to after passing. Otherwise it is a long 2 hour trip around to get back. You really need to be prepared and know what you want to get off and see.
April 29, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
David
Thank you for your review! We're sorry that it was a little leaky during the rain, but glad that Jack was able to provide excellent history. We've been wanting to have buses run in both directions, but the way Chicago is designed with the 1909 Plan of Chicago, it's not really possible with the Grid System. Too many one-way streets!
We'll go back to brainstorming on a good way to out maneuver the many one-way streets of Chicago.
Please visit us again when you come back to Chicago, hopefully it's not raining again!
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
Memorable experience with big bus.
Great experience, the guide was very cordial and knowledgeable about Chicago and it's rich history. The whole tour with big bus made my Chicago tour a memorable one.
April 25, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Sudipto
Thank you for your kind words! We'll make sure to forward them to our team members.
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
Absolutely fantastic!
This is an excellent choice if you want to see a lot of Chicago at once and you don't know your way around. The drivers were fantastic, the tour guides were entertaining, and the price was great. When I come back I want to do it again!
April 24, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Angela
WOW, IT'S GREAT TO HEAR ALL OF THIS!
(can you tell we're excited?)
We'll forward your amazing words to the rest of our team.
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
Free WiFi on board
Free WiFi on board, amazing staff and always been on time.
April 23, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Adam
It's great to hear that you had such a positive experience.
We'll make sure to forward that to the rest of our team!
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
Disappointed this time
I’ve taken the Big Bus tour in the past and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I was pretty diasappointed this time when my family came to town. The guides did some joke telling and were friendly and helpful. However, we also hoped to hear some history, stories, and interesting facts. Instead, they mostly just pointed out sites. At one stop toward the end of the day, we also had to wait over 45 minutes for a bus. Then the tour guide wasn’t even at the microphone as they made the final stops (at least another 40 minutes waiting for people and apparently a mishap but they didn’t tell anyone upstairs about it). Overall, it was a great way to be able to get around all of the city, but we were really disappointed this particular day.
April 22, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Marielle
Thank you for your very honest review. The behavior you mentioned is not the image we want to showcase with our team members. Our team should be attentive and informative at all times, especially if there are guests on the upper level.
If you could please email us at 'infoCH@BigBusTours.com' and provide any more details of your experience. Any and all information would be greatly appreciated.
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
Very good and informative tour
Very good and informative tour, I really recommended. The only thing that was a little problem is that the app doesn't work to check how close is the next bus and we spend a lot of time waiting for the bus and not enjoy the stops because we were worried for the next bus
April 22, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Anna
We're sorry to hear that our app wasn't working as well as it could have been and we understand how that could create a not-so-great experience. Please email us at 'infoCH@BigBusTours.com' if you have any more information on your overall experience.
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
Hard to recommend on a cold day.
The tour guides on the bus were between average and excellent, so that's a plus. My chief concerns are with the frequency of buses that were out. In some cases we had to wait about 20-25 minutes for a bus to come. The app certainly helped, but especially in the morning there was a long wait. Another issue is with the plexi-glass that is on top of the bus. While it was great to be able to sit up there, it was so scratched that you actually had to go outside on the back of the bus to get a clear view (especially to take pictures).
April 16, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Nathaniel
Thank you for your review. We have a 'slower' frequency in March/April due to the service demand. 20 - 25 is actually pretty frequent for April; that's close to our early-May frequency!
We are sorry about the plexiglass, the branches in the city take no prisoners and scratch whatever they can. We provide the covered tops in order to create a more manageable experience during the colder months. Chicago can be a very cold and windy place, the plastic covers protect from the wind while allowing some visibility.
The back row is purposely left open in order to allow space for those that want to take pictures (and experience what the tour would be like without the protective cover. In a perfect world, we'd be able to have retractable scratch/shatter-proof glass, but we tried the best we could with the materials that we have.
Please visit us again, but next time, during the summer months: no plastic top or scratches!
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
Excellent all round service
Excellent all round service. Very straight forward booking ticket on phone and collecting receipt for boarding bus from staff member. Well placed easy to find starting point and stops throughout the journey. Staff members were very friendly and the on bus commentary was both informative and entertaining. The Phone App was great for knowing when buses were due to arrive, so no waiting around in the cold. I purchased the 2 day ticket as it gave lots of time to visit the various attractions. The bus tour is perfect for anyone visiting a new city as it also helps people gain an understanding of the layout of the streets. Would highly recommend.
April 12, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Paul
Thank you for your amazing review! We'll be sure to share your experience with our team!
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
Informative and a great way to see the…
Informative and a great way to see the city. I have used Big Bus many times and have always had an enjoyable experience. However, my most recent visit was during a cold spell and not all the buses were equipped with a cover on the top. It was miserably cold and windy upstairs. I would recommend adding tops to all the buses...or just make sure you get on one with a top. :)
April 9, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
April
Most of our buses do have majority-covered tops during April. Especially since the season in Chicago don't really like to match with the expectations of how warm 'spring' should be.
It's a guessing game during April/May, one minute it's 80°F...the next it's snowing. We do try to prepare for all types of weather, but Chicago doesn't like to cooperate.
Visit us in the summertime, we know it will be warm then!
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
Non refundable (even if unused).
March 30, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Patrick
Please email us at infoCH@BigBusTours.com to rectify this issue.
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
You should repair the audio system…
You should repair the audio system since it was not working to be able to use the headphones. Wifi is not working either.
March 26, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Jose
Thank you for your concern with our technology. We haven't offered translations for a couple of months since they were not to the standards we hold our guides to. As for our WiFi, we try our best to provide a strong signal, but moving through and around tall buildings does weaken the signal from time to time.
Technology aside, how was the information and content of the tour?
Please reach out to us at "infoCH@BigBusTours.com".
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Stephanie
Thank you for your review.
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
A Review from Local
Great. I have been living in Chicago past 6 years. I learnt 200% more in tour than what i knew before. It's not just going around the big buildings but real value lies in knowing the history behind them. Plus a live guide with neutral accent and funny commentary enhances your sight seeing experience.
March 23, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Bobby
Thank you for your review! We're glad we could teach you a little bit more about your home city; come back any time.
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
Best way to explore a new city
Best way to explore a new city. Hit all the major hot spots, and the tour guide gave interesting info about each venue.
March 17, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Nat
Thank you for your review and kind words.
We'll make sure to let our team know.
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
Fun tour
Our guide was engaging and knowledgable, and even chased us off the bus to bring us gloves my son had left. Great way to see the sights.
March 7, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Big Bus Tours Chicago
Jillian
Thank you for your review. It's great to hear that our team members will go above and beyond to return forgotten items.
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
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