Extremely disappointing customer service experience. We went to the Big Bus Tours ticket counter by the waterfront in Vancouver because we thought we needed to purchase tickets there in order to do the Grouse Grind hike. We were unaware that we did not actually need to purchase these tickets. We told the employee that we wanted to do the Grouse Grind hike and he sold us tickets to Grouse Mountain. I asked him if the shuttle was free because I remembered it being free and he told me that it was included in the price of the ticket. Based on that conversation we purchased the tickets. We were charged $186 for two people. The amount sounded quite high to me so I looked it up afterward to make sure the price was correct. That's when I discovered that we did not actually need these tickets. The shuttle was free and we only needed a $20-per-person gondola ticket to come down. We immediately returned to the counter and asked for a refund but were refused and told to contact customer service. We were never told that the tickets were non-refundable. I contacted customer service as soon as we returned home from our vacation. I was then told that I should have contacted them the same day despite nobody at the ticket counter telling us this. I was also told their system showed that the tickets had been scanned. We did not scan or use them. We still have them in our Apple Wallet and had separately purchased the gondola tickets we actually needed to come down. I even offered to provide proof of that purchase. What was most frustrating was how the customer service representative handled the situation. Rather than acknowledging that there could have been a misunderstanding I was repeatedly told that their employees are very good at their jobs and know what they are doing. This made me feel like my account of the conversation was being dismissed and that I was being treated as though I was lying. I have now had to dispute the $186 charge with my credit card company because Big Bus Tours refused to resolve the issue. Being told the shuttle was included when it was actually free and then refusing to refund the unused tickets felt like a serious misrepresentation and was borderline fraudulent. read more

Only negative for me was that it's overpriced. Other than that, the app worked great, the drivers were friendly and helpful, and the recorded historical info was interesting. We enjoyed hopping on and off to see different areas of Vancouver. read more

We did the Big Bus in Vancouver. The buses were well behind the promised 30 minute intervals, the speakers were terrible when they actually had any. I would not recommended in any way shape form. read more

Big Bus - Cramped inside the bus. - Transportation Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

WOW. Don't take this in Vancouver. They dropped use off several blocks from China Town at the scheduled stop. It was quite the walk. The drop off was not close enough to China Town. We passed several people smoking crake openly on the street and unbeknownst to use walked right in the middle of a drug deal going down. China Town was terrible, a lot of the shops were closed with gates across them, it was dirty and just unbelievably bad. We were so frightened we took an Uber back to our hotel. DON'T spend the money on this bus !!! read more

WAIT, WAIT, WAIT. Fee is too high for poor service. We waited 20+ minutes at Stanley Park & Granville Island stops. Actually it was longer at Granville Island because too many people had been waiting longer than us. Not enough room on the first bus so we had to wait for 2nd bus. Then everyone had to get off at Gastown. No explanation was given. We had to wait for the next bus while standing on a sloped street. Recorded tour was sparse & repetitive. Walking tours on app didn't work. I wish I'd read reviews first. City transportation seems plentiful & easy to navigate. Only good thing was adding on Granville Island sea taxi for $10 CAD each. That was fun. read more

Taking the bus tour is 100% worth it! Their ticket system of 24/48 hours made it where we can get on and off anytime! Their estimated pickup was ~45 minutes, so you can explore the area or wait patiently. Sherry and Hadi (I believe that's their names) were our bus drivers, and they were amazing! Thanks to them, we had a great time exploring while being safe! read more

Sherry was great to be on board today! Did her own tour stories! No voice recordings...Best so far! Yesterday was not so good- that bus dropped us off at 4:30 on a stop and it was supposed to go on until at least 6pm. We had to wait for another bus- very disappointing!! read more

Sherry was a delight, she was interactive and keep the ride interesting. She offered interesting commentary along the way.

As I got off the cruise ship, Big Bus had a booth right in the Port. My flight home was that evening and I had my luggage with me. They sold me a ticket to the Capilano Suspension Bridge park for $54.91 US saying I could store my luggage there. It turned out that the transportation was free for anybody. It stopped at the Port as well as various hotels. Then what made me mad was the entrance would have been free because I use a walker. Afterwards I looked at their website and did see that people with mobility issues were allowed in free. Big Bus should have known this and should not have sold me a ticket knowing I could get in free. I contacted big bus and the response was basically sorry, too bad you wasted your money. BTW, the park was terrific and worth the money even though I feel scammed by Big Bus. read more

Sherri was an amazing tour guide! She was very friendly, funny and informative! We enjoyed our ride, which was a top rate tour! We got onto the Big Bus on our way home and were so sad she wasn't the driver. That driver (can't remember his name) looked like he was not enjoying his job. Barely grunted when we said hello and he turned in a recording over the speakers instead of him doing as Sherri did pointing out everything worth seeing and know about! Thank you Sherri and no thanks to Mr. Grumpy! read more

Sherry gives awesome information about Vancouver with humor and wit! Well done! We enjoyed our time.

Tour & explained Vancouver. Our first day was rainy and wet so we rode practically all the way around after walking at Stanley Park since we bought a two day tour we noticed items that we will visit tomorrow. The second day was sunnier and we visited most of the places we highlighted. I definitely would like a seaplane excursion. read more

It's a pretty simplistic tour, but gives a nice look at the city. If you get lucky, you'll have Sherry, like the Spanish wine she reminds you of regularly, as your driver and guide, instead of the pre-recorded version. read more

The bus went to all the places we wanted to see. Sherry, like the Spanish wine, was amazing! 5 Stars are for her. The other buses we took played prerecorded sound track, informative, but not as fun. Thanks Sherry! read more

When Sherry was our driver - the ride was fun and super informative. She is worth a 5 star rating - lots of good information and a positive attitude. Other drivers just play a pre recorded audio. That is worth a 2 star rating. The buses are sometimes overcrowded and you have to wait another 30 minutes for the next bus. No standing allowed for safety reasons (which is understandable). It is a decent way to see the city but understand that the buses stop fairly early. It may be more cost effective to do uber to see the areas you want to focus on. read more

We had Sheri ("like the Spanish wine!" ). She was very knowledgeable and was very funny! I highly recommend this tour if you are new to Vancouver like my family! read more

We thoroughly enjoyed Sherry! Sherry gets 5 STARS...She made the trip worthwhile. The other driver's not so much! They get only 2 stars. Good way to see the city. read more

Trash. No guide of the city. Just a recording with advertisements and nonsense. The driver was coughing, muttering and singing into the microphone oblivious. For over 70/ticket. Cannot recommend. read more

Worst hopon/hopoff tour ever. Taken many of these tours in many large cities all over the world and this one had terrible information given about the city and area. Very few interesting stops. Beautiful city but VERY overpriced tour, take an Uber to see the sights for much less, if you have 3 or more people!! read more

Buses are infrequent and the tour is a canned narration with too much advertising. The prerecording was light on facts and not very interesting. Bus driver hit a car and got into an argument with the driver. Probably better to walk between most stops. read more

The pass is for 24 hours. So even after a bad first day I went back for day 2 at it was much better. The right tour guide makes all the difference! Sherry personally narrated with humor, wit and local knowledge. read more

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Me and my family hopped off the bus with a whole new appreciation and understanding of vancouver. All thanks to Cherrys entertaining and informative commentary. read more

Tour is GPS triggered recordings, that go off when nowhere near the attraction.. You have to have Google and Google maps up constantly to get any value. Does not tell you where and when to look. Complete waste of money? . If you want it Asa tour, yes, for just transport... Maybe, there have to be better values read more

Yelp won't let me give a zero star review. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!! We travelled in a group of four with a single bus ticket costing about $71 per person. We were lucky enough to get the last four seats on the bus when it arrived at our hotel, but trying to get a bus at Stanley Park? Forget about it. We waited over a half an hour and by the time the bus showed up there were so many people it was impossible for all of us to fit. We ended up having to pay additional money for an Uber to get to the next place we wanted to go. Seriously. Save your money and just take an Uber from the get go. read more

In Vancouver for one day before a cruise. Hopped on the bus right outside hotel. First driver was definitely not great but then they switched drivers at the next to last stop and we got Sherri ( like the Spanish wine) and she was fabulous!! All live commentary about the city and lots of fun stories. She is a GEM and we had so much fun that we stayed on for a second trip. Thanks Sherri for a great time. read more

Driver Sherry was awesome! We were very satisfied with bus timeliness, cleanliness, and customer service! Rock on Vancouver!

Big props to driver Sherry, she made the ride around Vancouver interesting, she deserves 5 stars. Unlike the recorded narration on some of the other rides we took on Big Bus, which spent more time promoting a walk around app and not enough of historic info. some of the recorded narration had an agenda slant to it. Big Bus was convenient to get around the city. They need to focus on drivers like Sherry who offered great observations and historical information that was interesting. read more

Sherry is a great tour guide. She personally gave the history and fun jokes and stories about the city. The next driver was poorly spoken and used the Canned narration. He also couldn't figure out the AC. I would give Sherry 5 stars. But if the other driver was our only experience. Then 2 stars read more

My husband and I purchased tickets in Vancouver, but there were only 2-3 buses running. We ended up waiting 45 minutes to an hour at each stop, and once on board, the buses sat at stops for another 10 minutes. It felt like such a waste of time getting on and off. Honestly, you're better off exploring Stanley Park on your own--skip this bus. It's not worth your vacation time or money. I even spoke with someone about the issue but never received a clear answe read more

DO NOT waste your money. Buses were few with super long waits. THEN! When we did finally get on a bus we were kicked off with everyone else and told to catch the next one. The line for the next bus was huge. It would've taken multi buses before we could get on one. We walked the rest of the way back to our hotel. So for over $100 we got 1.5 rides. Uber or Lyft instead. The "tour" is prerecorded and hard to hear, so there's just zero upside. Booooooooooo! read more

I have been on a lot of Hop on Hop off bus tours. This was by far the worst. I don't know if it's all all the tours or just the driver/guide we had. When the passengers on the upper level complained about how hot it was, he told us to take off our jackets. When we asked to have the volume of the recorded narration increased, we were ignored. The driver's narration was incomprehensible ,and he insisted on talking at the same time as the recorded narration which was much better than his. I don't understand these unprofessional actions in a tip driver industry. read more

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... read more

Big Bus - Transportation Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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If you have read my Yelp reviews, I apparently have an aptitude which only surfaces on Yelp. Without any coaxing I seem to be able to be drawn to good restaurants, motels, airports, etc. having "bad days," with uncanny regularity. Yes, my Yelp reviews are usually the one-star experiences which punctuate the four-star reviews of others. Although my NY-Area roots makes me extremely skeptical of the hop-on/hop-off tourist buses, our experience with Big Bus was quite good. Our only full day in Vancouver found us with a long list of destinations. This would normally not be a problem, as my family and I have done 20+ mile urban hikes through several cities. The problem emerged when Vancouver decided to have its first rainy day in a month. The Big Busses weren't always big enough on a day when half of the seats were in the rain, and we waited a half hour for one bus. After changing busses for the Stanley Park excursion our driver-- on his first day on the job-- announced that he would only be making one stop. Despite his momentary reluctance, we were able to hop off at several, and the drivers who followed made unplanned stops without complaint. We actually saw everything that we wanted to see-- and much more-- without getting exhausted or too wet. Hardly perfect, but much better than it could have been. read more

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. read more

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! read more

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. read more

We booked our two day tour at the Stanley Park kiosk. They had a board and printed on the board for two days during the time we were traveling, it listed the price as $47. The woman at the Stanley Park Kiosk quoted my friend and I $47 for a two day hop on hop off bus for Vancouver. We paid the payment. My friend Peggy started her journey first and I chose to go see the Aquarium first. I met Peggy's bus near the Stanley Park Kiosk and hopped on giving the handwritten receipt to the driver and in turn getting a "ticket". When I sat down I noticed that the driver had exchanged the hand written receipt of $47 for 2 days of travel for a $42 ticket and one day of travel. So I inquired. The driver said that Stanley Park was selling the wrong priced tickets charging the winter price. If that is true, why is it printed on their price board, I asked. The driver became angry. She said that the price for two days was $63 and I could pay her the difference in cash. I refused. I demanded she return the written $47 receipt to me and then she kicked me off the bus calling me a "STUPID AMERICAN". Excuse me? So I walked back to Stanley Park kiosk leaving my friend on the hop off hop on bus. When I arrived, they refunded me my $47 for the ticket. They called Big Bus who owns the hop on hop off line and was told that the Stanley Park Kiosk had the wrong price. Dear Big Bus, You are in the tourist trade. That means that my money is how you pay your bills. I can understand a mistake but making that mistake mine is not good customer service. Your driver should have called management. Informed management of the issue, allowing me to stay on the bus and giving me a two day ticket that I paid for. Your miscommunication was between the Stanley Park kiosk and whomever provided them with your price list, was not my issue nor was it my fault. You made it my issue when I was kicked off a bus and called a "STUPID AMERICAN". I did not call your driver any names and removed myself from her bus when asked to do so. The price was clearly printed under the heading of May thru August and I was visiting in July. Stanley Park Kiosk claims they sold hundreds of these tickets prior to selling the two that my friend and I purchased. How many other TOURISTS were affected by this mistake and lost their extra $5 they paid thinking they were getting a second day? Can we say CLASS ACTION INTERNATIONAL LAWSUIT? As for this AMERICAN, I personally did not appreciate being called STUPID by your driver. ----- A sliver lining... not all HOP ON HOP OFF drivers are nasty... So I am walking toward my hotel, when a HOP on HOP off bus pulls up next to me and Denise the driver says, "We have been looking for you". At first I thought oh boy... am I going to be run over? But in the front seat is my friend Peggy. The whole bus was worried about me, including the driver. They were searching for the woman in blue and were happy they found me. We got off the next stop. Denise deserves a raise or perhaps, make him the president of your company. He knows customer service and the importance of tourists to your business. ---- Dear Fellow Americans, Please be aware. If you paid $47 and only received one day being told you did not pay enough or were over charged the $63 after paying the $47, I suggest that you ban together and do the class action lawsuit. See... this is how "stupid" I can be! read more

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! read more

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. read more

So, I do a HOHO in almost every city I visit. And they are mostly really fun. The one in seattle rocks! So does the one in NYC! Very fun! This was the worst one I've been on by far. We bought a two-day pass, only to use it one day and realize it was a HOT MESS and not worth it. The buses are always packed full (and leaving waiting riders behind), the drivers are insane, and the some hosts barely speak english. They play a recording sometimes, which actually is pretty good. There are just not enough buses running, apparently, to handle the load of passengers. The route is LONG in traffic, and you really do have to worry about not fitting on the bus and having to wait another 30 minutes AT LEAST to get the next one. For goodness sakes, don't be in any kind of rush. Having said all this, I'm not sure if there's another HOHO in the area. The trolly looked really good, and if it's the same idea as the Big Bus, take it! read more