Reviews of Big Bus Tours Chicago (Tours begin at 98 E. Upper Wacker Dr.) (Tourist Attraction)

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Here you will see all the information of real people who are buying the services of Big Bus Tours Chicago (Tours begin at 98 E. Upper Wacker Dr.) (Tourist Attraction) in Illinois area.

As of day this business receives a score of 3.6 out of 5 and this rating was based on 224 reviews.

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Where is Big Bus Tours Chicago (Tours begin at 98 E. Upper Wacker Dr.)?

REVIEWS OF Big Bus Tours Chicago (Tours begin at 98 E. Upper Wacker Dr.) IN Illinois

Jay Weger

I had just walked out of Skydeck at Willis Tower and saw the bus leave so I decided to wait for the next one. I enjoyed all 3 different tour guides as they were unique and had a different style giving out the history of the landmarks we passed by. I was able too hop off and get a bite to eat at stop 12 Water Tower and hop back on to see more of the city. Again hopped off at Millennium Park to get my free tote bag and hop on again to finish the sight seeing of the city. A great way to see the city and listen to interesting facts about Chicago. P.S. Wear a hat or apply sunscreen if you are going to be hopping on and off frequently.

Rohit Nair

Great way to take a peek at Chicago's various landmarks. Awesome tour guides with a quirky sense of humor. Cool trivia. Some stops can get crowded and you might have to wait for another bus to get seating on the upper deck. 2 hrs well spent, great value if you want to get off and on at spots.

A G

Awesome tour guides, very knowledgeable and funny. We bought a 2 day deluxe ticket which included a night tour. We loved everything about our tour and the way they show you around the city. In my opinion, this is the best way to explore the city.

Deirdre Cooper

Great way to see the City. Loved the ability to hop on and off at preferred stops! This was the 2nd time using this tour with family and highly recommend. Ms. B was our guide and she did an amazing job. Very entertaining and informative. Certainly enjoyed the covered top since it was a chilly cloudy day in Chicago. Always check schedule for last pick up at your stop so you don't miss out on getting back to where you started. The complete tour from stop 1 to 13 takes approximately 2 hours depending on traffic and construction. Also remember you will receive a printed ticket that you need to keep to show before getting on bus. I believe a wristband would work best in this situation ...we are in the windy city after all!!! Highly recommend the Big Bus Tours!!

Kathy Mason

Our guide and driver, Nick and Doris, were awesome! Thoroughly enjoyed Nick's knowledge and delivery of the very many fun facts this city has! Highly recommended!!

Rutger Rubensson

The speaker system is quite poor on the busses. We even change bus hoping it was better as a different guide on the next, but the result was the same. We kindly asked the driver if he could adjust the speaker system, which he couldn't.

Dani Sousa

Very angry. The guide skipped one of the stops we wanted to get off at, and then told us to take a public bus back to the spot after the tour was over. Spent a lot of money on a bus tour, and got told I would have to spend time and money after the tour to actually see the stop I wanted.

Kielette Rodriguez

After being misinformed CSR..we ened up at physical office..no good but such good people didnt turn us away and take cab bck to point of orgin. The staff was so great they offered us a ride back to bus starting point...Me and my Husband thank you Big Bus Staff!!!

Liz Wingert

Bought tickets on Groupon. Which is was taking more than normal to process. We went and talked to the workers in person and called the company and got no place. Ended up buying tickets through another cheaper bus company

Kelli Sinclair

Our Chicago tour bus was a Godsend on a very rainy day. Gamma was our guide and Jerry our driver. Oustanding. Thanks a bunch!

Katie Manzella

If you cannot get a seat uptop, DO NOT BOARD THE BUS! We were stuck in the bottom since the top was full, and there was NO air conditioning on the lower half. Everyone was fanning themselves and felt like we were about to have a heat stroke the 10 minutes we were down there. We felt so miserable and fatigued after that bus ride that we hopped off at the first stop that we could, and chugged glasses of water. Other than that, it is a great tour as long as you're sitting uptop.

Aradhana Dalai

I would definitely recommend this to anyone visiting the city for the first time like we did. The tour covers all major attractions. The pick up places can be reached easily and frequency of buses are also good. The tour guides are knowledgeable and eager to help with any questions you have. They even offered us ponchos for a ride when it started raining!

Sabrina Sicola

STOLEN MONEY FROM COMPANY EMPLOYEE!! Just today I was riding the bus of the Big Bus Tours Chicago and had $180 stolen from me out of my wallet. I had forgotten it on the bottom of the bus when moving to the top. No one came in or out of the bus before I got to my purse. The only person who had my purse was the bus driver. I do not recommend going with this company.

Casey Oglesby

I visited Chicago with my family this month for a short trip. We had a great time on the tour. The guides and the drivers were all great and very helpful. Megan was a fun guide and Terrance was very wonderful that sold us the tickets. It was a great way to see all of the history of this beautiful city and to give the kids legs a rest while taking it all in.

Jamie Budwell

We had a great day on our tour with Jack our tour guide! He was very fun and knowledgeable about the city!

Raghul Manoharan

Took the night tour. It was good. It is a good way to visit Chicago if you can't walk or don;t wish to spend time in each attraction. It last 1.5 hours. Matt, the guide, was funny

Naila M

First time coming to Chicago, decided to do the big bus tour. It was awesome, 14 stops at all the must see tourist attractions and parks. Bus came regularly every 15-17 minutes so had enough Time to get off and see the area abit and get back on. Tour guide provided good info, best resteraunts (what to try) shops, building information. Really enjoyed the tour! Learned lots of cool things.

Erika Metz

Updated: With a phone call, big bus did everything they could to make it right. Updates review from 1 to a 3. First bus was great but once we had to catch another bus, their schedule was completely wrong. The second bus we missed even though we were five minutes earlier than the scheduled time but apparently they were earlier. We waited about 40 minutes, called and then were told basically "sorry not sorry, walk to the next station or wait for the next one". Are you kidding? Well, we got some lunch and waited for the next bus which was late. We get it, it happens. Got to Michigan Ave and needed to get back to the stop because the next bus was scheduled to leave at 5:28 PM. Due to prior experience, we got there at 5:10 just in case. Guess what? This bus was there at 5:45 and we had already called an Uber. The whole time the 5 of us are standing the cold because we didn't want to miss it like before. We canceled the Uber because the bus pulled up but are still possibly possibly still getting charged with it. Could have been great but don't get off the bus!

SHOUNAK DEY

Really convenient for a quick trip through the city. The guides are well versed and entertaining. Every guide seemed knowledgeable on different topics.

Karen Hepp

We were in NYC for 2 days and was on/off bus several times. Staff was knowledgeable, funny and courteous. We had a fabulous experience!! Would definitely do it again!

Thomas Alexander De Leon

We had a fabulous time in Chicago. Came for 4 day tour and bought this hop on and hop off bus tour... very convenient and stops in almost all famous landmark... the tour guide Sam is the best of all... gave us all the historical facts, recommended restaurants where can discounts too.. thumbs up Sam!!!

Allison Keeran

Tour was great until the end of the day. Denise, the tour guide was awesome! 5 stars for her. The tour gave a good lay out of the city to see a little bit of everything. The free sample of Garrett's popcorn was a bonus and wish we could have gotten more. At 315pm we decided to get on at stop 2 to travel to our final destination, Union Station. When we got to stop 2 (Old Navy) our group along with another couple waited for over 30 minutes without sight of a bus. I tried to call customer services with no answer so we ended up having to Uber. Not sure what happen. All in all we had a great day in the city and would use Big Bus tours again, pending the route was open all day.

Cathy Grace

Great experience and great guides!!

Joe Eaton

Really enjoyed this hop on hop off tour. The crews we had we very knowledgeable of the city and wonderful tours guides. We had Ian, and Jack were awesome. Well worth it.

Wanda Millians

The Big B bus tour was great. Ms. B and Dareus were very entertaining. She told us about all the buildings & history of Chicago. We found the tour very informative. They were so funny.

Lisa Maiorana

Subpar. Bus broke down and had to wait at Navy Pier for quite a while. Then the last bus was to be there at 6:15pm and they decided to end their day early I guess. Touring agents were not knowledgeable and this made the entire thing not worth the price. I wrote an email and no response to my comments. Not a surprise.

Kimberly Drummond

Nice tour, but wish we got to see more things outside of downtown with less emphasis on "tall buildings" learnt some things, but not that much. Guide was entertaining, though.

Mario Celsi

Couldnt hop on on first bus because no chance to redeem pre purchase tickets on the bus. So we werent allowed to get in. Lost 30 minutes waiting on the second one...no sense

Debbie McElroy

Frank did a great job as our tour guide on the bus. He made it fun with music synced to the facts he told as we went through Chicago. He was by far better than any of the other guides we had while riding the buses. The impersonations he did as well as the facts he told were great! I felt like I had a good history of Chicago after riding on the bus while he was guide. Great job!

Adnan Almuslem

Indeed, the big bus is one great way to discover the beautiful Chicago city and the bus routes cover most of the tourists’ attractions. The big buses were new and all tours’ guides were very knowledgeable and friendly. We did enjoy all rides and we had the opportunity to hop on and hop off very frequently; as the schedule is very well articulated with very minimum waiting times. I guess, the only drawback was that early quitting time, other than this I would strongly recommend the Big Bus tour to all Chicago visitors.

Ashwini Birla

Bad experience We did the tour in Winter and despite having a 1 year old - they kept asking for actual paper tickets. We showed how it was torn but we had the electronic version and picture of the ticket. Despite windy and cold outside, the lady driver just refused to even see it. This is really not worth it. Overall it was an uncomfortable trip. What surprised us was the lack of empathy towards a baby who is outside in the cold waiting where the bus stops have no heaters. We were surprised because we booked it after reading positive reviews.

Ioana I.

This was AMAZING and mainly because of Frank, our tour guide - young guy raised in Chicago that knew all the spots. He asked all of our questions and he was knowledgeable architectural wise as well as events / sports you name it. He made our ride so much fun - he was genuine and with a smile even after an 8 hour day and he was so polite and nice with EVERYBODY. I would strongly suggest a tour with Big Bus and if you happen to have Frank as your tour guide than you are in luck. Thank you Frank, in case you are also reading this.

donna greene

This was such a waste of time and $!! I would honestly give zero stars if I could. Do NOT recommend at all! Bought for a first time trip to Chicago. Couldn't find the busses anywhere. Stops were not clearly marked and very hard to find. Employees at stops were inside because of cold. GPS for busses was horrific. After trying for over two hrs to find a bus we gave up and ended up using Uber's all day. Ubers were quicker, easier, and CHEAPER!! Do not waste $ on this! For the actual two stops on the bus we did ride we were very disappointed with the tour guides. Complete let down and disaster of an experience.

Bongi

Great tours. Good company.

Mindy Olsen

We loved our experience with 2 of the 3 Big Bus tour guides in Chicago. I've done Big Bus tours in other cities but this is the first Hop on, Hop off one that I've done and it was great! We ended up riding all day to the different areas we wanted to see and saving money on other transportation. One of the tour guides did more 'comedy' than tour guiding which was disappointing and we ended up with her twice. It would be nice if you could see who was guiding each bus on the app so you could decide whether to get on or wait for the other bus. It rained for a little bit during our trip but the bus tour has ponchos they give you for free. The last bus stopped running around 5:45 so that they can run their night time bus, I wish it would've ran longer since this was our transportation through the city. Overall, this greatly enhanced our Chicago experience!

Christine Ruck

Definitely the first thing you should do. You learn about the city's history, places to go, places to eat and it helps you get your barring on where you are. So glad we saw the bus at the Navy Pier on the first day. It saved us tons of time! Dress warm in the winter, although they have a cover on the top deck it's still very cold and with crazy traffic in Chicago you may have to wait a little longer at the stops... But that's all part of the experience!

Hari Hara Kumar Earlapati

Liam was a great guide with great sense of humor. Enjoyed our bus tour . Only complaint is that, last bus starts at 5pm from Stop 1 which may not be really convenient for all.

Jordie Palanzi

First driver was rude and not helpful. We weren't sure how to access tickets. Didn't explain anything except that we were late and needed to come back in the morning. Now on the tour, windows are filthy. Don't sit in the back because you will be elevated and won't be able to see anything. Tour guide was very knowledgeable about Chicago.

Amogh Sabnis

One of the guides was the worst and most arrogant guide i have ever seen. I won't recommend big bus tour if you are traveling with kids

Bec Jane

Great, informative staff. Buses arrived in a timely manner. Excellent tour!

Marie Green-Ylui

The tour guide Alan was extremely perfect. He is knowledgeable and funny, knows how to make things different for you to learn.

PHX

I hopped on and off three of their buses. The loop tour of Chicago was good, tour guides knowledgeable, drivers skilled, and some staff members were unfriendly. The tour is interesting and worth the price as of today, 9/25/19, $39 from Groupon to low (Big Bus online) and high $40s (purchase in person) for one adult for a classic one day ticket.

Mrs B's

on off on off was great, was fun just One guide needs to be a little more invested in the program....Becca not really familiar with Correct Facts, limited on seats yet she put her feet up on the seat next to her for Her Comfort actually couldn't wait for next stop to escape her, other than that ALL THREE of our other Guides we TERRIFIC!!

Sue Bartolotti

Loved this tour of Chicago. Our guide was miss b and driver was Bianca. So funny and knowledgeable about the city. Had wonderful stories throughout the tour. Would highly recommend it to anyone!

Lindsey Wilson

Our experience was less than ideal at the beginning. We waited as two buses passed us, but we were not able to board because those buses were too crowded. On top of that, those drivers were very unpleasant and rude when we asked when the next bus was scheduled to arrive. We finally find a bus that has room for my family after about 30 minutes of waiting. James was our driver and he was absolutely amazing. Very courteous, friendly and understanding of our situation and our frustration at this point. Jonetta (hope I'm not butchering that) was our tour guide and she was fabulous. She had a great personality and provided us with some awesome history about Chicago while maintained a positive attitude. They are the only reason I would ever use big bus tours again. Thank you, James and Jonetta for turning our experience with Big Bus Tours around!

Eddy C

took tour Dec 30th for downtown Chicago extremely entertaining tour, knowledgeable and friendly guide, good option also to hop on and off diff locations (save on taxi/Uber costs) used with Chicago Travel pass, very good value for the $$

sparkle monkey

Tourist trap. Poorly managed by guy name wade. Demanded refund for entire group.

Melissa Bullard

We did have a bit of a hard time finding the street location of stop #1 where we were trying to get on. I bigger, more visible stand or umbrella would be helpful, as we walked passed on the opposite side of the street and didn't notice it. Our tour guide Rich and driver John were excellent. enjoyed the information and "fun facts" about landmarks of the city. We had to transfer buses to go back around to Willis tower so we opted to let other passengers get up top to have a view. It is very hot on the bottom level of the bus. There needs to be some small fans or something if the a/c can not keep up with the fact there is a "hole in the roof" But overall it was a good experience.

Chantal Meloche

We had chosen to do this as part of our explorer pass on our last day in chicago, and only because we wanted to visit the pier again. We should have chosen to do this the first day of our trip though because the tour guide Alex was amazing. He was very knowledgeable the whole way, so much that we did not even want to get off and risk losing such a great guide. He pointed out restaurants that he recommended trying and sites and buildings to visit. We would have liked to have visited these places but were not able to because we didn't know about them like the federal bank (if that's what he called it) who have a money exhibit of some sort. Alex was very entertaining, he randomly started belting out Donkashane and pulled out a harmonica on lakeshore drive. I dont know if the other tour guides were as good as him, since when leaving the pier we got on a different big bus with a guide who didnt talk of the sites but rather he talked about his acting career. Thanks to Alex and Kim the driver I'm giving 5 stars.

Callum b

Tour guides were great. I’ve been on the same tour bus in New York and didn’t enjoy the experience but the Chicago tour was great. Interesting staff and very punctual buses

Jean True

My granddaughter and I took the tour of Chicago on the Big Bus. It was fun, but, the "guide" on bus #126 gave "fake" info to the passengers. Chicago is 7th, not 1st, in being the best city for critic reviewed restaurants(Portland, Oregon is 1st), the Art Institute is not the 3rd largest museum in the world for the Acropolis Art Museum in Athens, Greece is the 3rd largest, and Marshall Field's isn't the oldest department store in the world as he told us. It actually opened in 1852. Fortnum and Mason in London began in 1707. Brooks Brothers is the oldest in the United States, which began in 1878. Just seems for your credibility, your staff should have accurate information to share with the public. Thank you.

Francesc Tormo

$40 per person and: -No air conditioning. -We were waiting at the stop and they made us wait for the next bus because they had to scan our ticket (1 printed paper). It literally took 5 secs to do that. It was 90 degrees and we had 3 children under 3. -And they didn't allow us to get to our stop, making us walk with 2 toddlers and a newborn. -Service only in English, being for tourists. -A very loud speaker ok the back on the bus. A good suggestion for the company would be to have headphones and comments in other languages.

J

Busses are always full. I would suggest the other buses.

Shane Peidl

Matty made this tour delightful. We didn't even want to get off at any stops. It was cold, wet and so foggy you could hardly see any of the skyline but we just couldn't get enough of our hilarious guide. Was truly a pleasure meeting you Matty! -Champaign

Sunil Tandon

Great way to experience the city. The driver and guide on the bus are very courteous and experienced and will keep you thoroughly entertained and busy throughout the ride. Good frequency throughout the day. A must experience on your next visit to chicago..

Sue Adames

This was a great way to see the city, and learn valuable history along the way. Elgrin from the Sheraton stop was so nice, and amazing, he sold us our tickets. He gave us all of the info we needed, and tips on how to make the most out of our day! The guides are so knowledgeable, and funny! Each one puts a different spin on the info making it a great way to pass the time! I hope upon return Elgin will be there with his smile to help us out!

K K

I love our tour guide-Marty! He is hilarious! This is my first time trying tour bus since the weather was not so great in the wind city this weekend when I'm in town. (raining and snowing, great) This is also my first time coming to Chicago. We decided to get on bus tour to learn this city. I don't regret it at all! We got to see many places in a short period of time, also learn so much about this history and cultural about the city. Thanks to Marty! The whole tour was fun. The only reason I gave them 4 starts instead of 5 because I think this company should/could treat their employees better. It's windy here (pretty much all year around) also gets snow and burning sun in the summer. Their tickets guys have to stand outside without a covered booth!! That's brutal. This company has so many great workers that deserve to be treated better.

Vinay Kumar

Please stop advertising a free pop corn on the big bus ticket ($40 worth). We came to visit chicago and have heard about Garrett Popcorn. Were happy to see Garrett offering popcorn to people who bought City Pass/Big Bus tickets. I went down to the shop feeling excited to have a popcorn for a snack (10-15 min walk from selected Big Bus stops) and on showing this free voucher was given 0.00001 lbs of popcorn. It is slightly more than the sample that they offer to taste. I am a reasonable person and it offends me when customer is made a fool of like this. Recommendation for Garrett Popcorn: Please be a little generous and I am sure more will come to you back from customers like me. Your popcorn are really good but I would never enter or support any shop which is miser in their promised free portions.

Robin Anne Peterson

Very dissapointed did not take route promised, full of excuses and miscommunication. Spent $80 for nothing. Feel like I was conned.

Infinite Sunrays

This was a great bus ride. The tour guide Rich was amazing. He had a wealth of information and good energy. He will even take a picture for you if you need him to. Mario was an excellent bus driver and we did not experience any issues while riding. The only downside to this tour is that it does not go to the south side area of Chicago. Otherwise you will enjoy this tour.

趙若妘

The bus was not on time. We’ve been waiting at the stop for nearly an hour with strong wind, low temperature and rain. It shows that it only take 25-30minutes to wait, however, we were there for 1hour. Not seeing any bus coming. The price is totally not worth it.

Karmin Sandiego

Hit or miss depending on the tour guide. Lance is the best, informative, funny and quick. Some of the others ranged from bored to terrible, barely literate. If you get a dud, hop off and get on the next bus!

90msoria

Tour was very fun and informative to be on and the the hop on and hop off feature is great. Thank you!

Tiffany Hill

Best tour bus in Chicago!! A must do! Hits all the hot spots and the staff is the best - from the guys working the stands all the way to the drivers and tour guides! We had a group of 20 Girl Scouts and our tour went off without a hitch. Thank you Big Bus company!!!

Riajojebens@gmail.com Jebens

We did both the daytime and night time Hop on Hop off bus tour and we had a great time. The guides and drivers were great and the attendants at the stops were very helpful. The narrators teally seemed to love Chicago and were proud to share it. We had a 15 and a 12 year old and they both really enjoyed the tours. I woukd recommend this to others.

Libby Baker

We had three different people giving the tours, but I only remember the names of two of them: Daniel and Rafiel. All three of our tour guides were very fun, and we learned a lot from our trip. We also went on the night tour, which I highly recommend. Seeing the city with narrative made the whole experience so much better. Loved it!!

shauna wesbey

This tour was a good way to see the city. I initially rode the bus with Ms. B as the guide. Not only was she knowledgeable but she was very entertaining. She was nice enough to take pictures for us when we got off the bus. She made the experience quite enjoyable. As sometimes tour guides can be monotonous or boring. I actually went around the city tour twice (just to kill some time). Even though I went to the same buildings, each guide shared different facts about each one. I liked that aspect so I wasn't hearing the same information twice.

Joern Hoppe

Vincent is the absolutely best city tour guide ever!!! We had a great trip with him and we learned a lot of details about Chicago as well as of the history of the USA. He is really the only one that would get me back on a city tour

Lee Moore

Currently sitting on a bus that is at capacity with no air conditioning. Not to mentioned that we were informed that the busses run every 15-20 minutes and waited an hour for this one - for NO air conditioning! Completely unsatisfactory!!!!!!

Douglas Hamilton

Truly one of the best ways to go sightseeing in Chicago. The prices were reasonable and had many photo opportunities while on the upper deck of the bus. The staff were friendly and very helpful.

Nancy Taylor

We decided at the last minute to take the night tour. We are so happy how it worked out. If you don’t know the city this tour will give you the highlights and on a Saturday night the city is alive and spectacular. Our guide Matty did a great job and we had some laughs. We send him another shout out and heck yes it was fun. Our driver did a fantastic job. He has a unique name and I won’t slay it by attempting a misspelling. Starts with a T. Beautiful green eyes. Doing this tour at night brought all the excitement, energy and power the city of Chicago holds. Thank you again for making our visit a wonderful experience.

Charles F

Good tour. Our tour guide was David and he was funny and informative. Would have given 5 stars but the WiFi wasn't working.

parag patwardhan

Great experience with BigBus.. the guide for my night tour was funny, well versed with history of Chicago. The busses were on time and took us to all the best spots around town..

Jenna Wirth

Our Big Bus tour started out great with Jack as our guide, he was hilarious and informative...but he had to switch buses and then we had the pleasure (not) of having Matty as our guide. Let's start with the fact the he voice texts someone about the "piss poor" condition of the bus, which it really wasn't that bad, the windows were fogged up because of the weather conditions. Next he tells all of us that we need to talk softer because our voices echo off the plexiglass, then insults other patrons with what I can only assume is his twisted humor. Needless to say my husband and I got off at the nearest stop along with several other people. Thank god there was another Big Bus 25 minutes later and we got to enjoy the rest of the tour with your "rockstar" Jack. I highly recommend the management of this company take a closer look or listen to their less than mediocre guide...Matty.

Danell Lagomarsino

We purchased four tickets at 4 pm on July 4th at the Navy Pier Kiosk and we were told we would be brought back to Navy Pier. They finish at 7 pm and we would have enough time to see all the stops but no time to get off. We thought that would be fine, but after four stops and only 30 minutes later we were told we had to get off because that was going to be there last stop. They were finishing all tours at 5:30. They dropped us off 10 blocks from the Metro. We walked all the way with my two six year olds and we were very upset. I called the next day about it and was told I had to fill out a refund request online. It’s been five days and still haven’t heard back. Will be contacting them again tomorrow! Don’t fall for the kiosk salespeople. I think they are just trying to make quick sales! Very unhappy!

Jim Jones

I'm IKEA kib8ky 99I has o0m

Armand Angelina

We loved this two-day tour. Matty and Miss B were informative and hysterical. We felt like we really got to see Chicago and they recommended wonderful places. The free Garrett's popcorn and the appetizer at Lou Malnati's were great too.

Diwash Guragain

Mattie is the man. Make sure he is your tour guide. Your tour will be amazing. Thank you Mattie!

Tiffany Stephens

We had the privilege of having Miss B as our tour guide... she was AWESOME!!! Definitely try to get on her bus if you can... she made it soooo much fun!!!

Gerhard M

During our visit to Chicago, we also took part in this bus tour. We took many opportunities to disembark and saw a lot. Unfortunately the weather was very bad. Storm and rain. Nevertheless, we held out and even the guides were always in a good mood. We rode the tour twice and heard new things every time. However, the guides should take care that the guests do not always speak perfect English and pay attention to their speed and pronunciation. We really liked it and would recommend it to anyone.

Nicole Alt

Me and my 6 yr old son enjoyed the hop on hop off bus tour this afternoon. Our guide's name was Ms. B and she made it very fun for both of us. She had a wonderful personality, and made the information fun and interesting for both of us. Great way to have some downtime when touring Chicago with a child. Will plan on enjoying this tour again and we hope we get Ms. B.

Emily Pitts

I did the night tour, the ticket seller was very nice, that's where it ended. Tour guide was crass and unprofessional. I got off at one of the stops (that was not scheduled, the guide wanted to watch the fireworks, we were going to wait thirty minutes for them...) and took a nice CTA bus back to my hotel. Bummer, I should have done a little more research

LAUKESTER

Terrible! Expensive and never came back around waiting about an hour.

Sharon Corbett

My husband and I did the tour on Monday 26th October 2019 at 4pm we had fun especially seeing the lovely architecture. The tour guide was very verse and the lady driver was the best. We will tell our friends in Trinidad and Tobago

Connor Moorman

Not worth the $41/ticket we paid. The tour guide didn't go into much detail about buildings, explained obvious information ("To the left is this venue, where events are held!" Gasp! ). Pretty sure this tour has paid ads in the "guide". Some of the buildings we drove by were explained to have a specific chain store where we can buy that chain's food. Not very useful when trying to learn the history/architecture of the building. The sound quality of the speakers was also terrible. Tour is only given in English, with no options for any other language. We received advice from someone on the bus to use another companies app for an audio tour in the language we wanted. Also, the bus was packed, no matter where we hopped on/off. A lot of people were standing on the bottom level and there was no AC, ridiculously hot.

Nandan Mahajan

Not worth for Chicago city as the area covered by Big Bus is small and can be explored by walking , Big Bus Kiosk Agents was rude/not polite at stop 4 ( near Millennium Park) also bus driver was behaving similarly, they can ruin your day

ctelles22

My husband and I spent 4 days in Chicago touring the city! By far our two days spent on The Big Bus was the most amazing part of this trip! Great story telling and detailed fun facts about the city made our trip complete! We highly recommend you take advantage of this great way to see the city :)

Elizabeth Goeller

Best tour guide we had was Frank! Drivers name was Frank too so we called em Team Frank and they did a great job together. Frank knew what he was doing and talking about and was great with crackin jokes and making the tourists feel welcome!

Heather Myers

We hopped on and off all day! Josh and Miguel were great! Also. Isabelle and Cassandra were great as well!

Mag S

Really enjoyed the tour in Chicago. It was a cold rainy day but Matty made the tour fun. He knows so much about the city and it's history. We laughed the entire time and enjoyed the stories told to us. He really interacts with everyone. I hopped off at stop 12 got back on a few hours laters, very convenient!

Latisha Humphries

Our first driver and tour guide were terrible. The driver was cheesed off we didn't have paper tickets, just our e-tickets. She told us we had to get off at Navy Pier to get paper tickets. If their site I purchased them from said all I needed was my e-ticket, that should've been good enough. She drove recklessly because she was late on the route due to traffic. The college age guide screamed in the microphone the whole time and it was so loud we had to move seats. She knew zero about the city but we got to hear all about where she eats with her friends, what she's studying at college, how much her haircut cost in the city... nothing of any interest or use. It was all about her. We were made to get off and switch buses by Riverwalk and thankfully that driver and guide were much, much better and informative. Overall, it was just okay. I wouldn't say do it nor discourage it...if you want to pay $40 for a bus ride around the city and not drive in the traffic, do it.

Joe

Miss B and Tisha were awesome! Great driving and the most entertaining commentary of the five cities I’ve toured by bus.

Jacob Son

They oversold the bus tickets. We spent 30min waiting for the bus to arrive. One of the buses was full to capacity so we couldn’t get on. After another 20min we were finally picked up and got the luxury of standing with a bunch of people. The next stop had a massive line of people waiting to get on. We decided to just bike around the city instead of spend our vacation corralled into a bus with clusters of other people. The idea is good, but the execution sucked. Oh, and they don’t refund your money on top of that.

Valerie Fontan

My daughter and I had so much fun on this tour! Our trip to Chicago was my college graduation gift for my daughter. Matty was our guide. He was not only knowledgeable, but he was very funny! We laughed and laughed. He not only told us all about the city and made us laugh hysterically, but he took the time to mingle and make a personal connection with the tourists. The couple sitting in front of us told Matty that this was the best thing they did in Chicago. Our trip had to come to an end, but I would have done the whole bus tour again if Matty was our guide.

Andrew and Morgan McAllister

Liam, our guide, was hilarious and knowledgeable and our bus driver (name started with a C or S I believe) was a very skilled driver. The app was convenient and accurate for tracking busses and we really learned a lot about Chicago. I do wish they ran a little later into the day than 5pm, but there is a night tour available. The highlight was really Liam’s narration. Everybody on the tour was smiling and laughing and we joked about stuff he said even after getting off the bus. He has a great sense of humor.

Carlos Ramos

Staying with family here sightseeing... the hop on/hop off in Chicago is an absolute must. The staff was very knowledgeable and friendly. We got to see a lot... we hopped off quite a bit at different locations, including the Hancock tower, where the views are incredible. The best thing is the next bus to hop back on comes often enough.

Angie Keeting

There are supposed to be 14 hop on hop off quick stops. At stop 1, they literally make you change buses & wait for the drivers & tour guides to take a break. 20-30 minutes wasted! They don't tell you this until you get to the stop everytime. Should be in their brochure.

Ellen Mills

This is a farce. Paying big bucks for a 3 day pass. Then when activated, they tell u the bus is your first attraction!! So if u want to ride the other 2 days u have to pay $10 a day more right then. Not enough clear information on the site. If I come back to Chicago again, I will NOT be using the Big Bus Hop On Hop Off. Asking questions of staff.....many could not answer and no referral on where to inquire. For a tourist place, many not polite. Visit New York......they know how to treat visitors!!

Kassandra Aguilera

Having been in Chicago multiple times, this was a the first time that I ever got on the Big Bus for tour and it was really cool to see all the main attractions on one ride. Great group of employees you have working, right from purchasing our tickets by Navy Pier the lady helping us made us laugh and was amazing. The first bus we got on we had Ricardo for our Tour Guide and did an amazing job with telling us everything there was to know about Chicago, and made me and my family laugh. The 2nd and 3rd bus we took our tour guides also did an amazing job everyone knew amazing facts about the city and it was great to hear how other people give their tours and was glad it wasn't all the same or scripted which is what I was a little worried about. When I come back to Chicago I will definitely do the tour again!!

Claudena Sanderd

The staff was very helpful and informative. They were entertaining and funny. Had an awesome experience on this tour!

Patrick Villacorta

Our Big Bus experience didn't start out too well because we did not research the latest "check-in" time (5pm I think?) and the limited places where you could obtain your pass (we used Go Chicago). There were also troubles with the connection (for the payment machine I think) at Navy Pier so it took a while to get started. One more issue is that the bus we took when we boarded at Willis tower had no guide for a stop or two so we likely missed out on some interesting info. Otherwise, the trip itself was great as you can just sit back and relax while enjoying the sights, especially the architecture of Chicago. It is a good complement to the river cruise as you see the city from a different viewpoint. They hit most of the main attractions so you can just hop off/hop on as advertised. Note though that the bus is more crowded at certain points of the route so you may not get the prized upper deck seats that you want. The guides were entertaining and put their own spin/personality/experiences in their narration. Visited September 2015

B Jobi

Our guide, Luca, came on our senior citizen bus and informed us of Chicago. He didn't have a microphone (nor did our bus), however he did a FABULOUS job. He projected his voice nicely and gave us in-depth information about Chicago. VERY INTERESTING!!! I don't think he had a single moment that he stopped giving us information; he knew SOOOO much about Chicago. He was FANTASTIC!!!!

Cathy Galan

Spent two days in Chicago and Big Bus was the best money I spent! David our tour guide had incredible knowledge of Chicago. Mario the driver was awesome. Will do this again! Great way to see the city when your tired from walking.

Vince DeLuca

Don’t bother with the free Garret’s popcorn, or the rude service that makes you wait until every paying customer is served first, even the ones behind you, will leave a bad taste in your mouth. The Big Bus should be more careful with their “giveaways”.

Nicole Svejda

I will first start with the positive. Our tour guide Luca was awesome !! very informative. BUT that is all I can say. I tried using a groupon and the sales person(cause that is what they are ) outside of navy pier assured me her prices were better and she would even give me an extra 5.00 off a ticket PLUS free loot around the route. Well guess what, 140.00 was almost 40.00 more than groupon and there was no loot. our bus left at 404 PM from Navy pier. We decided on the bus tour (instead of the boat tour) so we could get on and off and take pics, eat, use restrooms, etc. Well, at our third (of 14) stop we were told if we got off, we could NOT get back on any of the other buses. The traffic was bad and the buses were all backed up and beings they needed to start their night time tour, nobody was permitted to get back on any of their buses. We then got stuck in traffic for over an hour as nobody at the bus company was aware of a concert near grant park ....so we were on this bus for OVER three HOURS ....Yes, the bus did pull over so we could stretch, but come on?!?! 140.00 to get stuck on a bus, no bathroom, no food and no free loot since we weren't allowed to get off and use the free coupons (unless we wanted to pay for another means of transportation. My two small children were two of six. It was the most miserable time ever and not worth 1/4 of that dollar amount .

Tom

I made this bustour today. it was very interesting. I had a great time with our tour guide matty. I really liked his humor!

grapplefart

Took half of the tour with one guide, then switched buses, and the second half of the tour with Lance. Incredibly funny, entertaining, informative and personable. Highly recommend Big Bus Tours, and Lance (he told us if we were going to leave a negative review, his name was Bob :) ).

Md Toufikul Islam

Tour guide needs to improve their quality. Could be better . Really dissapointed with their service.

Gabriella Fabbri

Bongi was our guide on the first and last bus we took. She was fantastic! Spoke very clearly, was informative and was very upbeat. The other two buses we took, the guides were informative, but not as clear as Bongi. The tour rout was great, it stopped in all the major spots and buses came every 20-25 minutes (on a Tuesday). Would recomend!

Desiree Lueloff

Don't book with these guys! They seemed great in the beginning then when we got to alder we got off checked that place then walked to shed aquarium where we were planning on staying till last pick up at 5:58(that's what the brochure they gave us said) then ride to navy pier but instead they decided to stop route at 3:30 and not tell anyone. Myself and my boyfriend along with about 20 other people were stuck in the meuseum district without a ride. Ended up having to pay for a cab and big bus did nothing to compensate or care that we were ditched. Worst shuttle experience ever!! Never again!

Dawn Gordon

Miss V? or is it Ms B? and Darrius = great guide and driver! Free comedy! Loved them!

Monica Renteria

Loved this tour! Ben with the blonde/blue hair, our guide did an excellent job! He was very funny. I rode tour 2 days. Very easy to use as transportation around the city. However the weekday tour was better then the weekend tour, simply because there was way less people on the bus.

Alli Brake

Skip it. Want to be crammed into a sweltering bus? Oh and if you want to actually enjoy the tour, you better bring your own headphones. They won't tell you that. You'll show up on the bus and figure it out while you sit in silence and hope you can figure out where you are. Oh and driver didnt even speak at stops, so hope you have a map for yourself. They're offer to make it right was another bus ticket for san Francisco, after we left. Reflects on the company as a whole.

Darrol Aday

Big Bus Tours Chicago was above expectations. Staff was courteous and outgoing and our bus driver was highly skilled. Our tour guide was Matty and I hate to be selfish but I hope he is there next year when we return. Matty has a natural connection with people and he is very informative. Save your money on those comedy clubs because he is funny as hell!

Greg Benoit

DO NOT do this tour. My parents were visiting from out of town, and it was their first time in Chicago. I wanted to give them a good impression of the city i love, and thought this tour would be a great starting point. Instead, I experienced EXTREME rudeness from two of the staff members when boarding the bus at the 360 Chicago (Hancock) stop. One was the ticket taker, and one was the bus driver. As we went to board the bus with our Go Passes, the ticket taker turned to me and said, 'oh, now you're gonna just show up here with your Go Passes...' like he was annoyed that we were putting him out. Then as he started to scan the passes, he complained, 'this is a long process you know...' and then gruffly told us to go ahead and get on after scanning only one pass. Then, immediately after boarding the bus, the bus driver yelled at us to "take your seats quickly people! We're ON A SCHEDULE!" I've rarely been spoken to so rudely in my life. I will never take out of town guests on this tour again. What a disappointment.

Sara Elmer

We had fun and the staff was super courteous! Our bus broke down and we waited thinking we’d get to finish. But! Derrick took us to the doorstep of our hotel, and Jack told us stories the whole way about whatever we wanted to know! Thank you for an interesting evening, and thank you for taking the time to get my kids and I back to our hotel safely! :)

John Mgtow

Love the bus tours. This is a pic when i hopped off. If i was thinking i would have taken a photo while i was still on the bus! Haha oh well maybe next. This is a great way for tourists to see the city. They drive through Downtown, River North, Streeterville and a few other places as well. This is very good service!

Brooke Kelley

We've been using big bus tours on all our major city visits and been very pleased. This group of individuals were not very informative or friendly. Sarcastic but not funny at all. Not enough buses running for the amount of people and activity going into the weekend of chicago marathon.

Matt Zambrio

Matty was an amazing guide, one of the best things about the bus tour. He was hysterical and also had good facts about the city. If we had him as the first host we never would have gotten off the bus. He was one of the best parts of our trip and I'm still laughing three days later about the jokes he told. The tour route it self is pretty good and gets you to most of the places you would want to see. The only downside, which they can't avoid, is all the traffic in the city so it can be a little slow to get around. We were on the bus from maybe 130-after 5pm and we got off 2 times only and did the loop once. You really need the whole day if you actually want to spend time at some more of the stops. The reason for only 4 stars, the first two tour guides we had. The first guy wasn't bad but he was just ok, he wasn't funny and had some ok facts about the city, solid 3 stars. The 2nd tour guide was terrible, absolutely awful. She repeated the same line about how the city is unoriginal with naming things, she talked about her self, how she looked like her father, where she went to school, how she got the job and how she was called the natural after only three months of being on the job and yet she sucked. She thought she was funny, she wasn't. The people behind us hated her as well. She even had the nerve to ask for tips, so did the 2nd guy, but not the amazing Matty, it says something.

Sepp Reichholf

been on a tour last monday with Ben as our guide. he was pure entertainment... thank you!!!

Joel Shavers

All of the guides are highly educated on the history of Chicago, also you get photo opportunities and personal suggestions on where to eat and hang while visiting Chicago. I suggest using it in other cities as the first thing you do to get a good idea of where to start.

Daniel Gates

Check groupon for discounts. I got adult tickets for $39 each.

Ed Dialadent

Great trip around Chicago, tour guide was quite funny and knowledgeable. Cheap fun day out a must if you go. Cheers

doddy amijaya

rode with them the first time last week. the overall experience was awesome. my daughter loved it! we really enjoyed the ride and all the commentary that were provided by the tour guide. our tour guide Teddy and Isabelle were awesome! definitely will ride with big bus tour again when we visit chicago again!

Sherri Rose

GET AIR CONDITIONING!!!! There is NO air on the lower level and the upper levels are full. You can't even open the windows.

stephenieleanne

I come to Chicago at LEAST two times every year since 2014. I am not one for touristy things really, but this go round I came to Chicago with my boyfriend's family who are from Dublin and, honestly, this was one of the best experiences I have had in the downtown area thanks to Liam and (I am not 100% positive of our tour drivers name, please forgive me it was 3 weeks ago) John. Liam's personality was spectacular and he is a little weird which made me the happiest camper. We had smiles on our faces the whole time. Thank you again for the insanely pleasant guiding and knowledge.

Steven Schuebel

Oversold the seats, too busy, you’ll leave dripping sweat if you don’t get a seat up top as there is no AC and no open windows inside the bus. Not a great way to jump off and explore Chicago. The speaker quality was also terrible. Sounded like I was listening to a drunk rambling South Park character, most of it not distinguishable.

Adriana Nocera

Horribly biased Xio was our tour guide and was unbelievably rude and politically biased. This tour is for everyone and personal views should not be discussed on a tour. When I approached Xio about how rude he was, his response was "I'm sorry you feel that way and we do our own tours here" not caring at all about me and my family's concerns. Everyone pays fairly for this tour and should not be offended in such a manner. NEVER BUYING BIG BUS TOURS AGAIN!

Tisha Jacobe

Sitting on the bus right now watching the staff fight between two buses who has to take us back to our final stops. I took a picture of them arguing. Then they got on the bus and continued their argument. I am sitting here with a 5 year old and 8 year old and really just disappointed. Thanks for making me lose 30 minutes of my day while you made my family get off one bus to go to another only to be rudely sent back to the other and then having your fight. Awesome job!

Chuck Brandenburg

Fun and very informative. I had Frank and Jeremy which made it the best touristy thing we did while in Chicago, would highly recommend. Also, do it early in the trip as they recommend additional places to go see.

Debjani Moitra

Chicago is absolutely beautiful at night and what better way to take in all the arhictecture and stunning lights but a night bus tour. we took a big bus tour and it took us all the way from the navy pier to the magnificent mile to the Buckingham Fountain. The guide - Josh was very knowledgable and shared with us all the facts and fun facts. He also answered all our questions. Chicago has a rich history and it is best to have a guide who can share the wonderful stories. Like The Drake where celebrities stay. The bus will also take you to Adler's Planetarium where you will be able to click panoramic photos of Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan. This tour is a Must do!

vittorio o

Very nice and very informative, the guides where good and funny highly recommend it.

Thomas Markowski

We took the bus this past Thursday. It was very informative and entertaining. Best way to see the city, highly recommended

Susan Anthony

Great way to see the city. Guides were excellent...not only informative but fun. highly recommend this service

Jason Lee

Closed two days in a row after Christmas due to what they’re referring to as “extreme cold”. I won’t deny the fact that it’s cold outside, but it’s Chicago - it’s always cold! It’s not like the rest of the city shut down. No regard for people who are here visiting and planning to use their service. I’ve used the Big Bus in other cities and had a good experience but the one in Chicago is pretty terrible. Definitely wouldn’t be recommending to others - completely kinked my trip.

Todd Donehoo

Love, Miss B! Very enjoyable experience, highly recommend!

Ian CransonsKnees

Have used similar operators in other cities and was not disappointed in Chicago. Used the bus over 2 days as a way to get about town whilst learning about it. Guides were amusing and knowledgeable, even when you passed the same spot with a different guide we learnt something new. Drivers were friendly, professional and courteous. Highly recommended and well worth the price. A great way to see a city from a different perspective.

linda darling

Our overall experience was awesome! However a girl named Joy was absolutely awful. She was ignorant, irritating, SUPER LOUD and stupid, was so full of herself and just made up things as she went along, spent a lot of time shaking her hair from side to side. Just listen to her and you'll agree. Maybe she was high. Don't put people through that again!

Barry F

Ridiculously hot and overcrowded bus with no seats for the first thirty minutes. Passengers were even standing on the stairs the whole time. People had great difficulty getting off, it was so overcrowded. Finally made my way off the bus and waited for two more busses before finding one not overcrowded and continuing on.

Anabel Pachano-Arismendi

Very friendly people, amazing view from the top. It has a lot of stops and it takes long time to get to any place but you can look at everything from the upper side of the bus while listening to the explanation that tour guide gives you

T. Shelton

On my mission to do every tourist thing in Chicago and eager to ride a doubledecker bus, I decided to buy a ticket and hop on board for the twilight tour since it stopped near my hotel. I definitely recommend this tour because you get to see many areas where the sightseeing boats can't go like The Chicago Board of Trade Building. They cover a lot of area in a decent amount of time. If you're doing the night tour bring a hoodie because it can get brisk near the water. In closing, this tour is worth every penny. I want to give a special thanks to Matt, Ryan and Eddie. They were awesome and really made the tour fun and entertaining. It was nice meeting some fellow railfans as well.

Duby

Great tour!!! The drivers and guides are very nice/real/and know what they are talking about. The other passengers on the other hand can be rude and ridiculous. Make sure to first go to the Hard Rock Cafe and set up your tickets. Would use again.

Nakeisha Copeland

Great first time tour of the City. You can jump on the double decker in one place and enjoy the sites and jump back on at another. Our tour guide Wanda was great and informative about the city and it’s history. With the purchase of your ticket you get free samples at Garrett’s popcorn and a free backpack from the Bean area. If your purchase your ticket after 3p you can use it for the next day. Thank you from these Atlanta GA travelers

Julie Barker

Very friendly and helpful staff. Lots for characters though sometimes spoke too fast for people not familiar with their accents

Killer B

Hopped on the bus towards the end of its route yesterday. We (my wife and I) were fortunate enough to be the only two people on the bus at that time and even more fortunate to have Ian as the tour guide. His passion for the city of Chicago radiates with everything he says. He was beyond amazing! Made the tour very fun and gave great recommendations on what to see and where to eat. I hope you guys get Ian as your guide as well. He's the best and obviously knowledgeable and passionate about this city. Thanks for the great tour Ian!

Marian Petersen

The tour was nice,however the guide would just not shut up. Constant,nonstop,loud yacking from a guide named Frank. He would not shut up and was so loud we got off the bus and Did not get back on to finish the tour.

Aliana Williamson

I don’t exactly remember who I had but I absolutely loved the tour! I live in Chicago and I decided to go on the bus just for fun. The tour guide had brown hair and was very informative and goofy! I will be doing this again and he had fun facts!

Business Hours of Big Bus Tours Chicago (Tours begin at 98 E. Upper Wacker Dr.) in Illinois

SUNDAY
9AM–6PM
MONDAY
(VETERANS DAY) 9AM–6PM HOURS MIGHT DIFFER
TUESDAY
9AM–6PM
WEDNESDAY
9AM–6PM
THURSDAY
9AM–6PM
FRIDAY
9AM–6PM
SATURDAY
9AM–6PM

PHONE & WEBPAGE

Big Bus Tours Chicago (Tours begin at 98 E. Upper Wacker Dr.) en Illinois
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