SF Open-Top Hop-On Hop-Off: Golden Gate & City Views

The drivers were very nice and the tour was informative. However we did have some areas of concern. The buses did not run every 15 minutes. At one point we waited 25-30 minutes on a chilly and windy day. Some type of sign at the bus stops would help or at least a list with addresses in the brochure. It is very difficult in unfamiliar surroundings to remember the exact spot. Also, a member of our group wears hearing aids, and there was no adaptation available to enable use of them for the audio tour. Trying to listen through hearing aids over the noise of the bus usually does not work for someone with hearing loss. Many modern hearing aids can connect via Bluetooth with phones. This would be one way to accommodate those with hearing loss.

Spoke to Blake and did the tour, he was very friendly and gave great advice. Recommended restaurants with discounts. Told us where to buy warm clothing, tour was great also.

It is very cold on the top of the bus. There were 14 of us. We got off three times and had no problem getting all of us on the same bus. Our longest wait time was 7 minutes.

Had the best day thanks to Blake. He told us about things I never even thought of. The Fairmont hotel to see the giant Giant gingerbread house, the light show at the church, Bobs doughnuts, pets in Macy’s window. Just the best. Thank you Blake!

Enjoyed this excellent introduction to the city. Visited the many points of interest and let us make good decisions for our return to those areas we wished to revisit. Commentary was clear and helpful.

We caught the first tour of the day and rode the entire 17 stop tour. This helped us know which stops we wanted to get off at the second time around. Take a jacket and warm cap if you plan to go over the Golden Gate Bridge because the temperature drops significantly. This is a great way to see the city, especially if you’re like my husband and me and are new to visiting San Francisco.

Personally I didn’t overall care for the canned commentary. It became somewhat inane after awhile. There was some nice highlights in there about San Francisco history. My two major issues is on of the reasons we chose this was to hop on and off at Ghirardelli square which they never stopped at. My daughter was crest fallen as that was going to be one of the highlights for her. Second, they stopped at their headquarters and we all sat on the bus doing nothing for forty minutes. When asked, the reply was our drivers need breaks too! I felt a bit trapped at that point as no options were given and we needed to loop back to our hotel. Lesson learned here is don’t have any plans for after the ride that have a timeline as you are at the whim of the service. Some of the buses were old but they also had one newer nicer one as well. San Fran is beautiful but be prepared with a thicker jacket in the evening if you want to be on the upper deck.

The tour was very nice and informative. It was pre-recorded and I was listening to it on headphones. Headphones were provided and every seat had a connection. I gave it 4 stars just because the seats on a bus are extremely uncomfortable, I don't think they are designed for a human body. That was the only negative. All in all, lived the experience

This was a fabulous solution to a short stay in a big city. We hopped off at Union Square for breakfast in a great spot. Hopped back on and then hopped off at Haight Ashbury for an hour or so for shopping and a drink at a fun bat. Walked in Golden Gate Park for a bit, then back on the bus for the final stops. One leg took us across the Golden Gate Brige. The audio information all along the way was very informative! The drivers were all helpful and engaging. We'll be using Big Bus Tours in all the cities we visit!

Good communication regarding weather while travelling over Golden Gate bridge as it was a bit windy.