Earlier today I went on the Grand All Day Tour through DC Trails with Thomas as our tour guide. I moved to DC two days ago and decided a tour of the city and surrounding areas would be a good idea before I start work and I could not have made a better decision regarding which company to go with. From the moment I met up with Thomas to the end of the tour, I had an absolute blast! Thomas is personable, knowledgeable and too funny to even describe. The twelve tour attendees all had a blast and it truly felt like we were hanging out with an old friend. I highly recommend this tour, as we were able to see the: US Capitol, White House, US Treasury, Washington Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam War Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Arlington Cemetery (including the changing of the guards at The Tomb of the Unknown Solider and JFK Eternal Flame, Jefferson Memorial, Roosevelt Memorial, and MLK Memorial. Thomas, and his partner Pauline were both so kind and attentive to the needs of each of the group members. I will recommend this tour to every guest I have come to visit in DC. A+++ experience. read more

We took the twilight tour with Dion last night. He was absolutely AMAZING. He was very energetic, passionate, funny and so knowledgable! Our driver was also terrific! read more

My Uncle made reservations on Tuesday for the DC tour on Friday. Pick up location was The Gaylord. We were told pick up time was between 8 and 8:15 AM. We arrived at the Gaylord before 8. My Aunt called the tour company a little after 8 to make sure we were at the right place. They told us where to be at the hotel. When they hadn't arrived by 8:15, my Aunt called again. We were assured the bus would be there. It was running a little late. After 8:30, she called yet again. They'll be there, they said. They had found our reservation and knew we were waiting. My Uncle called as well, and around 8:45, we were told by someone different our reservation hadn't been found by a different employee. They could pay for a taxi to join the tour. We had already wasted an hour waiting and we had to pay for parking in an area far from where we wanted to be, after getting up early and driving half an hour to the pick up point. We told them no. My Uncle paid over 200 for those tickets, and hopefully they will refund the money, despite their no refund policy. The fact we missed the bus was not our fault and we missed a portion of the trip. Not a good experience on our last day in DC. We thought we had done everything we needed to do for a positive, memorable experience. So, we returned to my Aunt's house in Alexandria to make alternative plans. read more

My whole family calls this day of our wonderful DC trip "bus tour gone bad". We had a few minor complaints throughout the day - like why are there only 4 buses circulating? We waited over an hour at the Jefferson Memorial (it was very windy and cold that day!). Trying to map out exactly where the stops are (on which side and which street of the crazy busy intersection is the dc trails stop? - hard to know really) was annoying. But then when the bus came to the main station was where things fell down hill for us! We wanted to just stay on the bus and proceed to stop 3 just simply by riding so we could get closer to our rental. It was NOT the last bus of the day. But for some reason they had us sit there and wait for the next bus so we could trade buses or something (no-one from the staff knew exactly what was going on). We ended up waiting an hour! Finally they put us on a bus that goes in the opposite direction and loops us back to the main station! This was so maddening. No one was listening. We tried to get clear answers on where the main office but had to weave around in a mall to find it. They took the complaints and did apologize. We demanded a full refund. It is a month later and I have NOT SEEN THIS refund. I have emailed and called multiple times, nothing but talking in circles to no-one. Looking back, If it would have been nice out I would have rented bikes or segues. I would not recommend this company! There was a lot of them to choose from - especially ones that appeared to have way more buses going around! Stay away! read more

Would rate 0 stars if I could. They claim that buses come through every 30 minutes but there doesn't really seem to be any schedule for when they come through. Spent the whole day waiting on the next bus while their competitors buses came through regularly. Spent over an hour waiting for the bus at our first 2 sites. Didn't bother getting back on at the third. It's just not possible to see/enjoy the city when your entire day is spent at bus stops read more

Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and funny too! He made our experience with D.C. Trails a pleasant one. Our driver Ms. Jackson was really good too. read more

Bought 2 adult passes and 1 child pass knowing we had about 5 hours to see a few sights. Thought this would be the best way to get around town and see a few things. The website stated we would be told where to park when we purchased out tickets. No information was given, we found parking on our own. The bus departed from the plaza promptly at 9am, which was great. We hopped off at the capitol building, when we were ready to leave we walked to stop 3, the app stated a bus was 5 minutes away. Great, or so we thought. The bus driver started to pull up, never fully stopped, or opened his doors and drove away. After about 5 minutes of disbelief we called an uber, who drove us to our next destination. After that bus not picking up us, it was difficult to "catch up" with another bus. The tour ended up being a bust read more

Here is a message I sent to DC Trails on 9/11. I missed their phone call the following day (9/12) to discuss my concerns. I returned the call about 15 minutes later the same day and left a message. As of today, 9/14, I still haven't heard back: *** I purchased and used two tickets for the DC Trails Hop on Hop Office bus on Saturday and would like to request a refund. I had a guest in town from the Netherlands and thought this would a nice experience because your website advertises that all of your buses are live narrated ("No handsets or recordings, our tours are live narrated. Our tour guides/drivers are the best storytellers and know all the history, anecdotes and ins-and-outs of Washington DC. You'll feel like you started the day with a tour guide, and end with a new friend.") Unfortunately, one of the two buses we used was not narrated. We picked it up at the Lincoln Memorial and remained on the bus until it returned to L'Enfant Plaza. In addition to no narration, the bus driver did not announce when we arrived at a designated stop or where the bus was going (we thought the bus would go to Arlington Cemetery, but it stayed inside the District instead). I called to complain while on the bus and was told there was no narrator because your company is short-staffed. While I understand the challenges of being short-staffed, the consequence of having too few employees should not fall on tourists who are in DC for a once-in-a-life-time experience. At a minimum, the possibility of not having a narrator should have been clearly stated to us at the outset. Additionally, we waited for about 30-40 minutes for the bus to pick us up. I understand that is how long your website says one must wait for a bus, but your company should consider adding more buses to reduce the wait time, particularly on a Saturday. I was embarrassed at having recommended this tour, and disappointed that your company did not live up to the guarantee of live narration on your website. *** To interested tourists: As a 16 year DC resident, I'd recommend looking at other options. There really is no excuse for not to have a narrator on a bus (or at least no excuse for not warning us of that possibility in advance). The narrator that we did have was average at best. I also think waiting 30-40 minutes is too long. Hopefully other tour companies in DC offer shorter wait times. read more

We got the 48 hour groupon deal with the twilight tour included. Our first daytime tour was great, the tour guide was funny, easily understood, and had great knowledge of the city that checked out. The staff was friendly and helpful, but it was during the week and not very crowded. The next day, when it got busier, it seemed they were disorganized with the reservations and the tour guide we got could barely be understood. The twilight tour only has one bus each night and he night we booked ended up being overbooked so we got started a half hour late and then ended about an hour to an hour and a half later than expected. The tour does allegiances with local souvenir shops and it seems it stops an excessive amount at places that don't matter and not enough time at the cool monuments. I would recommend the hop on hop off tours during the day, on a weekday for sure! But steer clear of this company for a twilight tour. You also may want to plan better for a weekend due to the high volume of people. read more

Best tour ever. The staff is knowledgeable and fun. I would use them again every time I go there..

Night tour guide Dre and driver Rob were wonderful. Dre had a lot of knowledge about the sights. We enjoyed the night tour. The only reason I gave 4 stars is during the day we got on 2 buses that did not have a tour guide to tell about sights just a recorded narration that we could barely hear and it was not explained very well when we first got on the bus how the hop on hop off worked. But overall we would use this bus again. read more

Terrible try another bus company. Bus should come every half hour and it doesn't. Had to wait in the rain. Called the company and was told they only have a few buses. Seen a lot of Old Town buses and Big Bus I guess we picked the wrong bus tour company. read more

Tour guide was Dre (his nickname) and he was so knowledgeable! This was my second trip to DC and I've had several Hop On Hop Off guides and he really was a standout! He was loaded with details about the historical sites. Great job Dre, you definitely added to our experience and trip 7/29/17 read more

Purchased a 48 hour tour on groupon. It was a good way to get around to see the monuments. Air conditioning was mediocre on the buses. Tour guides were interesting but offered personal political opinions. There were not enough buses we waited up to 30 minutes. The night tour was included. On arrival I was skeptical. The person greeting guests with reservations was abrupt and rude. No place to wait if you were early, had to sit on the ground. Bus boarded on time. The tour guide was Henry and he was amazing. Personable and funny. He offered a lot of information. He left the bus and was available for personal questions. read more

Waited 1 hour for a bus yesterday and waiting 45 mins already for one today. These DO NOT run every 20 mins as advertised. And missed stops, absent stops, one driver apologized that "they just put me here this morning" and barely spoke English. Yes, it's 4th of July weekend, but DC Trails knows the 4th is busy and dropped the ball. Price was right with groupon......but classic case of getting what you pay for. read more

Very disappointed by the service we had recently. We parked at Arlington Cemetery due to needing handicap parking for our parents. There was no marked pick-up spot and it took 3 phone calls and 40 minutes after our arrival we found out that there was no actual bus that goes to Arlington, that is was a shuttle. After making it to downtown DC, we attempted to find the pick-up spot near the WW II Memorial. After another phone call and more walking than expected, we were able to find the pick-up area. When we got to Stop #1, we found out that the bus wouldn't be departing for 20 minutes and that we would not be making the last shuttle back to Arlington. We were told that it was a walkable distance from the MLK drop-off area back to Arlington. This was not an option with having someone in a wheelchair and another elderly person with us. We ended up getting off the bus and taking a taxi back to Arlington Cemetery. Wishing we would have went with a company that had more buses, better marked pick-up areas and buses that ran directly to all sites. read more

They get one star on customer service alone !! When you call the woman is SO RUDE AND UNHELPFUL!!! Every single time. Awful experience.

Several stops weren't marked, making it difficult to get off at one stop, see some things, then get back on at another stop. Staff were nice enough, quality of tour guide spiel varied widely. I would go with a different operator next time. read more

I just took the night tour with DC Trails and really enjoyed it. I normally don't take tours so was very pleased with the quality and professionalism. Our guide, Henry, was excellent. He was funny and provided lots of insights to what we were seeing. The bus driver, Rob, was also very professional and helpful. I would recommend D.C. trails. I had to call the office the day before our reservation started to make a change. Darnell was extremely helpful and courteous. I really appreciated how he was able to change my itinerary without any hassles. Thank you D.C. Trails read more

This is the worse company. We are now on our third bus for the evening. The man giving the tour is ok but his facts are not accurate. Very frustrating. If this bus breaks down we're u wrong back to our hotel. We should get our money back. We've spent more time waiting for a bus that works than seeing the sights! read more

The only reason I went with this tour bus line was because of a Groupon deal. We got the 48 hour pass for half the regular price. The first day was fine once we figured out where location number 1 was at. We had two different tour guides who were great. Very knowledgeable and interacted well with the riders. The second day was a different story. The first tour guide we had seemed like she was reading from a script and didn't interact with the riders at all. That I can deal with but when we were waiting for the shuttle to Arlington the driver never stopped. He just drove past. When he came back around we saw that he parked behind other tour buses where nobody could see him. When I asked him what the last pickup time from Arlington was all he said was 20 minutes, every 20 minutes. Low and behold we ended up waiting over an hour and had to call D.C. Trails twice to see where the shuttle was. Unfortunately that incident is why I would not recommend this hop on hop off tour. Like another commenter we did see multiple Old Town Trolley buses and Big Bus buses while we would be stuck waiting for 1 D.C. Trails bus to show up. If I ever go back I would use one of those other companies. I guess you get what you pay for. read more

I really wanted to like this tour. I was so excited to take my mom on a day trip to D.C. to explore the Nations capital but we ended up wasting approximately 2 hours of our day because of the bus delays. We would have understood if traffic or something would have been bad but other companies seemed to have multiplied while we where waiting for a bus. At one stop we waited for over 45 mins and we knew we hadn't missed it because there had been others waiting before us. Then we where told at the end of the line that the bus was going to be stopping for a break and we had to transfer to another bus but it left us. I ended up driving my car around D.C. just so we could make it to the places we wanted to see before closing time. We probably would have been better off walking but my mother has arthritis and we had my 3 children with us. Most definitely do not recommend this tour line. Also when I spoke with the staff about the delay they denied that anything was wrong and when I asked to speak with a manager they referred me to a bus driver that was less then helpful. They have terrible customer service and don't even try to be helpful or courteous to their customers. read more

This gets 2 stars only because of how great Henry was on the twilight tour. Being stranded at the Vietnam Memorial was bad enough but to be told THREE times a bus was coming and then being told on the fourth call there were no more busses on the route is completely unacceptable. No one has a clue and the app doesn't match the stops. read more

Great service!! Bella was a great commentator. Shuttle to Arlington was fast and efficient. Free night tour is a plus. Dion the night tour Guide was amazing! Super nice and informative. Anthony the driver showed us the very best views read more

Do not waste your money. We were stuck waiting for another bus for over a hour and had to call Uber. Every bust that came by was too full and we couldn't get on. When I requested my money back. Received rude customer service. While this may have worked for some it left us in a bad situation. Huge waste of money. They need to cap the amount of reservations so they can accommodate everyone. read more

Very underwhelming experience, we might as well have a maps app telling us the name of the building because that's all we got from them. We left after 5 stops as we felt like our time was completely wasted. The whole point of the tours is to know random pieces of trivia and add a little extra flair to the trip. No wonder why this company doesn't appear on the 'bus tour' search. Our own fault for getting on the first bus we saw without doing the research. read more

Our local elementary school in Virginia chartered this bus for the 45-minute ride to DC's Smithsonian. The bus was early, spotlessly clean, a very comfortable (large seats and windows, cup holders, even TV's). But best of all, the driver was friendly and smiling--he made sure the car following the bus stayed with him and had their EZ Pass for the toll lanes. Excellent experience! read more

Save your money! Bus broke down so missed some of the tour to begin with. Simple question "when do we need to be back on the bus? She refused to answer " I'll tell you later" I need to use the restroom when do we need to meet the bus again I was given the same answer. It's dark the Lincoln monument is crowned, we had no other choice but to walk away more than half the tour to go. No one was having fun. No fantastic information no real historical knowledge. CRAZY WASTE!!! I wish I could give 0 stars read more

This is a joke. They only run 4-5 buses and then promote the app. The app is terrible. They only show 2 busses and I didn't understand the lady when she explained. So you can't trust the timing. They say 30-40 minutes. We experienced 20 minutes up to 60 minutes. I would suggest updating your app. Technology has moved ahead enough you can do that. I spent $160 for 2 day passes for my family. The first day we only caught the bus 2 times, so we ended up walking most of the day. While seeing several busses for other companies. Also...drivers were rude. Some didnt stop at the actual stop and let you out early. So when we tried to get on a bus that was stopped we were flagged away. We didnt know where the stop was because like most....it wasn't marked at all. I would not waste money on this. Highly recommend Old Town Trolly or Big B Bus tours. While sitting for 30 minutes you will see 3-4 of those busses. It made the 2 day trip through DC miserable. What I find funny is the same response from management is provided under every low rating. Why would I reconsider or recommend you when there is no effort to make improvements. Oh well...probably the only time I will visit DC...thank you DC tours for ruining my experience read more

This was the worst tour company I've ever used in all my travels. We tried to use our tickets on 7/2/17 and we're only met with frustration. First off they have no signs anywhere to indicate where their stops are. There is a map and stops on the app, But the are different. Our day started waiting for their bus in front of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum around 10:30 am. We waited 40 minutes for that bus and when it finally arrived it was packed and barely had AC. We rode it for a bit and got off by the White House. After visiting that area we waited another 45 minutes to an hour for their bus only to be told it was too crowded and we had to wait for the next bus. Some other people at the same stop said they had been waiting 2 hours and we're also turned away. We just decided to walk to see the various monuments since you waste so much time waiting and then are not allowed to board. At the end of the day we tried to board near the Lincoln Memorial to take the bus back near our hotel and got the same response that the bus was too full even though I could see a few empty seats up top. We ended up taking a cab back to our hotel. This was a total waste of money. It would have been easier and cheaper to use DC Metro or take the Big Red Bus tour instead. We saw their buses come by at rate of 8 to 1 and their stops are clearly marked. DC Trails is absolutely terrible. Don't waste your time or money on them! read more

This tour was great. We chose it because it would give my husband and I a chance to see the whole city without walking it. We road with your guides Deon (sp) and Bella (not real name of guide). They were extremely knowledgeable about the DC area. Deon was especially knowledgeable, funny, and engaging. We liked the ability to hop off and on at any time. The website recommended that we download the app and we thought it was great that there was a map. The map appeared to show the different bus locations. This tour would have received 5 stars, but the times the buses picked up conflicted with the app maps. For example: we would look at the map and it would show no buses near the pickup, but when we would look again, a bus would have just left our station....the problem there was no bus to be found coming or going. This made waiting difficult. So, with the heat, it added to the frustration of navigating the city. Also, communication with the front of the bus seemed lacking. At one time, we were wanting to hop off at a prominent location, the driver took a while to open the doors until the guide yelled to him to open the back doors. The doors opened, but closed immediately closing my husband's thigh in the door, then it re-opened then closed his ankle in the door. We got off eventually, but he had dirt on his pants and he felt as if he had a small bruise on his ankle. Other than that, the tour was good. I would use them again with changes/upgrades to the map and better communication with the guides and drivers. read more

The absolute WORSE. Do not book this tour. First off it took 20mins to leave the station because another bus pulled too close and damaged the mirror so we had to change buses. Waited 2 HOURS for a bus that is supposedly running every 30mins. Customer service is a joke and very useless. Every time I called to check the status I was told "one would be here shortly". Shortly never came. If I could give a negative star rating I would because 1 star is too good for this worthless company. And to make matters worse because the bua was so late we couldnt get off because it was the last bus. We traveled from SC and our trip was ruined. I will definitely be contacting rhe BBB. read more

This was the worst service ever! The busses took so long to show up at the stops that we finally gave up and took the metro or walked. Don't waste your money on this company. Book your tour through a different one. You'll be glad if you take this advice. Very unprofessional and non-existent service! read more

WORSE TOUR COMPANY I have ever used. Paid for 2 day tour in Washington so we could get the twilight monument tour. Weather was horrible 45F and raining and they send out open air buses - even though they had closed buses. Called to ask the company to send vehicle to match the weather conditions as you could not enjoy the tour in the open and were hung up on by staff. The one day we did do the tour the guide spent more time pointing out restaurants and telling us about coupons they gave him than pointing out the sites - would give them a zero but need one star to make post - there are way better tours out there read more

I don't know why all the negative reviews here but I joined the DC Trails tour yesterday and found they were awesome. We got a really good tour guide named Willis and the bus driver was Ike. They were friendly and Willis knew a lot of the backstory behind all the landmarks so it made for an enjoyable tour. Some people complained about having to wait long for the buses but we never had that problem at all. Buses were frequent considering its hop on hop off. We enjoyed it so much we gave a good tip and we are not usually big tippers. If you want a good priced enjoyable tour, you should try DC Trails. read more

Our bus driver, Thomas(The Sarg) has made our trip to DC so much fun. The bus is clean and comfortable. Sarg makes the time in the bus truly enjoyable. He's very knowledgeable and always going out of his way to teach us something. Request The Sarg!! read more

Thomas (Sarg) is the best driver! Fun, fun, fun!! And he knows DC so well! Thanks for making our trip so fantastic!

For a class trip to D.C, my classmates learned, laughed and had a blast with one of the greatest guides in the business. While traveling to each of the monuments, and learning about the rich history that each building has to show, Hobbs made sure it wasn't another boring school lecture. I defiantly recommend Hobbs and the rest of the DC Trails Sightseeing Tour to friends, family, and any others that are looking for a fun way to tour the city. read more

My group hired this company for a trip to Disney world. We had a tight schedule with a few private events. Our bus drivers were consistently late every time we needed to leave. We had a private dinner event which we missed due to the driver coming over an hour late. For the rest of the trip the drivers were at least 30 min late for every event. Our driver also vaped on our bus while children were present. We were also told to remove all of our things from the bus so the "cleaning company" could clean it. We were told that the "cleaning company" has a tendency to steal things. I thought the bus would be secure to leave some bags on while we were out so we could easily transition. The planning and schedule of our trip was quite structured and our bus drivers caused us to miss many events. Our trip was spent waiting in parking lots. Do not hire this company!! read more

NEVER AGAIN! Profits over service! Awful service, NOT worth the frustration. We booked a tour yesterday and spent hours waiting for buses instead of enjoying the city. The other bus companies run their buses on a reasonable schedule while DC trails runs a handful of buses and they were always over stuffed. People were pushing and elbowing each other to get on the bus. The staff was unprofessional and The holiday weekend had nothing to do with the lines as SEVERAL other companies ran buses every ~10 mins. Following hours of waiting for buses all day, the day ended on the worst note as we were LEFT stranded even after calling the main office to confirm pick up. We were traveling with 2 elderly relatives and could not believe how insensitive they were when I called and told them that the bus never made it to our stop. We ended up paying out-of-pocket for a cab ride to the Le'Enfant Plaza parking garage to pick up our car. Save your money and book Big Bus Tours or the Trolley - you will be sorry if you make the same mistake we did. Hope you have a great visit. read more