Big Bus Tours Washington DC Reviews 2,681

The busses does not come past every half hour. Big bus personnel at bus stop rude and unhelpful. We waited 45 min and when we asked if the bus is comming they said yes in 5. Then they went inside a shop (out of the cold) and 20 min later appeared just before the bus arrived. So they knew the bus was not going to be there in 5 min also that was not the only time the bus did not arrive on the 30 min mark. This wastes a lot of your sightseeing time if you have to wait 15-30 min each time for the bus!

We went on a family day out a while back and used Big Bus. I thought the prices were good and I was happy with the service we received. Everyone was nice and friendly and it covered everything needed.

Buyer Beware!!!
I had purchased tickets for May 2020 on the “Big Bus” However due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, we were forced to cancel our trip. I contacted the company to request a refund. The response i received was that they would issue a credit for up to 12 months. I explained to them that these tickets where for 6 “senior citizens” who were very scared about the current conditions and in No way looking to make future plans. We went back and forth via email as i tried to explain and plead my case, however they would not budge or even show the slightest care. I can not believe that in times like this, a company can be so uncompassionate or understanding. Yes, It is disheartening and unfair that we are all being challenged with having to make hard decisions and changes. But a big company like this should be more aware of the public they are servicing. Their website also says nothing about NO REFUNDs. So I just don’t understand. I have opened up a dispute with my credit card company, And In the future If I do travel..i will not be using the “Big Bus”!!

I was definitely mislead when I bought the 3 day pass online. DO NOT BUY this!!!!! I did and tried to use it in DC and the kiosk lady told me, she didn’t understand why they sell this because they enter the first day in their system and that is all you get...24 hrs of the Hop on Hop off bus and that’s it!!!! Also, their is no option for the night tour if you wanted it. Most everything is free anyway and we went with the Trolley which was way cheaper BTW and was very good 5 star. We were very happy with them. I’ll never buy Big Bus again! I’m still fighting to get my money back!

We bought the two day deluxe package during our week stay in DC. We are so glad we did! Everyone we came in contact with, was so nice and helpful. We also got a third day for free along with some other great benefits during our stay. Rochelle was one of our tour guides, she was so pleasant and knowledgeable about the DC area. We also had Nur as our tour guide during the night tour. He was just as pleasant and knowledgeable and our bus driver Damian (I think that was his name) did a great job on getting us the best angles for pictures. We took our tours between February 27 and February 29. We took our night tour on the night of February 28th. This was both of our first time to visit DC and we are so glad we picked Big Bus to show us around. Thank all of you who made our trip to DC so much fun!! We will definitely use Big Bus in our future trips.

We did this the first day we toured and then a dcscooter.com tour was great too. I recommend both !

We were on a tour on a warm (65 degree) winter rainy day and the windows fogged up so much we could not see outside. The driver would not turn on the air conditioner because it is “winter time” and they only use a heater in the winter. Everyone was over heating and couldn’t see.

Rochelle was an awesome ambassador for your tour. Knowledgeable, friendly, and a great sense of humour. She brought a sense of connection and a personal nature to our tour. Many thanks.

For those who want to have an entertaining and educational narrative while riding the Big Bus Tours in Washington DC i only have one recommendation. Tom Thompson. Trust me you will not be disappointed, because he is the best tour guide out there.

Fun, cultural and very knowledgeable.

Having spent the last two days on Big Bus Tours in Washington DC, I have to rave about this touring company! The buses are clean, on time, the employees are very knowledgeable and go above and beyond to make your stay in Washington DC a great experience. Lillie (the driver on the Yellow bus route) went out of her way to make sure that both days of my stay were memorable. She gave me opportunities to take many pictures of the historical sites and helped me with the tour schedule so that I could experience as much as possible of DC! You won't be disappointed with this tour! 👍

This bus "Tour" was the biggest waste of money in DC. It says hop on hop off but there are only a few places to do this, the bus has determined stops, and only for a couple of minutes each place. It is dirty, and if you sit up to, there is no audio so you don't hear the "guide" which is useless anyway.

after our tour of Arlington Cemetery we missed the last bus of the change over J Johnson told us not to worry he would get us to the closest stop to our hotel you are so lucky to have him for your employee he does your co. proud

Awesome tour

Jay Johnson is a wonderful person. My elderly parents and my fiance and I were stuck on last bus in traffic and no chance to get to red loop to get back to hotel. JJ did not hesitate and offered to bring us to the air and space museum which was closest stop to our hotel. We had a great conversation with him on the ride. JJ went above and beyond and you are lucky to have him as an employee.

We had booked Big Bus Tours in New York, Philadelphia and Washington for our recent East Coast Tour, and I can honestly say that Washington was the worse.
The day started well and our first and second guides on the red line, which took us from Central Station to the Capital Building and there to the cross over stop with the blue line, were both very good.
We then hop on the blue line to Arlington, with no guide or audio commentary. From Arlington we jumoed onto another Blue line back into the city via Georgetown, and again no guide or commentary. In fact it was pop luck where you got on and off. We stayed on back to the cross over stop and got a red line back up town to do what we had missed before, but due to a road closure, he missed all of this out and dumped not a correct stop, but thankfully close to the White House. Agan there had been no guide or commentary. We then decieded to get a bus back to the Central Station. We tried to App but that showed that there was not a bus near us so we started to walk checking the App all of the time. Eventually we came across a Big Bus Employee, who said that a bus would be along in a couple of minutes. Not according to the App, but sure enough one did come along but stopped in the wrong place, which meant we had to run across a busy road to get to him. Admittedly there were only 4 more stops, but guess what.. again on guide or commentary. So in reality, we did not get our monies worth. It was a very poor show

If you are disabled, This bus company does not want you to get on their bus. My daughter is in a small manual wheelchair. Today on the WDC big bus service we were sold tickets for over $200 USD by one BB employee, ushered on to the bus by another BB employee only to be told aggressively SEVERAL times by the bus attendant we “ could not bring our wheelchair on the bus!” How ridiculous - why sell us the tickets if you have such a discriminatory policy? When we waited at stops, No other bus ever came that would accept the wheelchair. At the end of the day at the Lincoln Memorial THE LAST BUS would NOT ACCEPT us on board and drove off and left us stranded!! Appalling treatment of the disabled in a State that prides itself on fighting for civil rights and against segregation. We were absolutely segregated today from the human race. Thanks for making us feel like second rate citizens Big Bus WDC. Shame on you!

It was my first explorer tour in New York and Washington DC. Firstly, my sincere thanks to all the staff of BUS BIG TOURS, Union Station in Washington DC. The staff were very knowledgeable, hospitable and showed a willingness to help during my visit to Washington DC in August 2019. Particularly, Miss Lanise Scott Bood, a kinder lady I have ever met. I will highly recommend. She was worth meeting at the Union Station and fortunately for me, I met her again outside the Spy Museum. Such an incredible member of staff of the BIG BUS TOURS. Lanise is worth meeting because she made my visit worthwhile. My sincere gratitude to Lanise Scott Bood, staff of BIG BUS in Washington DC, for her dedication and passionate attitude towards tourists. The Museum of the Bible and Spy Museum tops it all. I will highly recommend the use of the BIG BUS Tours.