Vancouver- Westcoast Sightseeing's Big Bus Hop-On, Hop-Off Classic Pass: 48 Hours I joined the Westcoast Sightseeing's Big Bus for the second day of the Vancouver leg of my D.C. to Banff train trip over the 4th of July holiday in the United States. Because I worked with Kevin Guadagnoli through Amtrak Vacations, I trusted that he would select from known tour operators for activities while I was in Vancouver. He thoughtfully included the admission fee for a two-day pass for the Vancouver Hop-On, Hop-Off tour bus. It picked up across the street from the Fairmont Waterfront where I was staying and provided a leisurely guided tour of the highlights of Vancouver. It was a rainy day and I wanted to make the most of the atmosphere, given how often Vancouver is rainy. There was no line - the bus had about 12 passengers when I boarded. The bus departs hourly and starts at Canada Place, and its 2-hour loop includes stops at Granville Island, Gastown, Chinatown and Entertainment District. The narration was easy to hear and understand, and the narrative information provided appropriate and helpful context and historical background of the locations we passed through. For my visit this time, I got off the bus for visiting the markets and shops on Granville Island. For the rest of the tour, I learned about the Steam Clock, the Marine Building, BC Place, the Seawall, and the Capilano Suspension Bridge. The tour was the best way to enjoy a rainy summer day in Vancouver! read more

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We took a trip with them to Whistler, 2 hour drive, could'nt hear driver talking we were in second roll of seats, temperature was 86 degrees. Told the driver about both things -seemed like he didn't cars, he already got our $400 --Beware DON'T USE THESE CLOWNS. They want your money but don't care about the comfort of people who paid them money to go somewhere. read more

this past weekend 5 of us took the all day tour that included Victoria, and Butchart Gardens. Bobby W. was our driver and he was a delight. he had lots of engaging stories to share throughout the day and was patient with the stragglers at a few stops. the Motor Coach was spacious and comfortable. Bobby shared his thoughts on spots to visit and different restauraunts to try at the different places we visited during our tour. his suggestion about the little log cabin at Butchart Gardens for pictures of the sunken garden was spot on. if we are in Vancouver again, we would happily take the tour, if Bobby would be our driver. read more

We had purchased our tickets and accidentally got on the wrong bus. Before we (myself, wife, and another couple) realized our mistake, Greg (driver) contacted Sandra (dispatcher) who simultaneously called us as we realized our (and that driver's) error. She took our location and guided us to Greg who was waiting for us and all aboard had a GREAT day. Beautiful tour and special thanks to Sandra and Greg read more

A driver of this bus company hit my car, left it inoperable. He didn't even have the decency to leave a note. It was only after several bystanders came forward as witnesses and a store surveillance did the operator admit the driver hit my car. I was left there for 4 hours in the hot weather with my 1 year old daughter trying to figure out a way home. No help at all from this company. Please reach out to me if you're a witness to this incident. read more

WESTCOAST Sightseeing - Bus Tours Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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We rode this bus with the same driver as mentioned in other reviews. It was such a disappointment. We could not understand him snd he mumbled. We got off at Granville island. Walked about and had a meal. We were picked by Sherry. She was so amazing. The trip back was so interesting. She was funny and full of knowledge. Since it's a 24 hour ticket we asked when she would be at a certain stop tomorrow. Unfortunately she had not had that assigned yet. We will go out looking her tomorrow. She is the reason for the 4. If we had only had the first driver it would have been a 1! read more

The man who booked our Hop On Hop Off tour, Sam, was amazing. He provided great insight into the city and led us to great restaurants. His recommendations were perfect. He even changed the date of our tour when we had a change of plans. read more

We loved Veronica it was only her 3day of work and she did great. Especially when our commentary went out. She told us stuff that wasn't on the commentary because we did a second round. Good overview of Vancouver Recommend We also did the night tour. This tour you see more of the city. Like most of Stanley park. We got out and took photos it was great. Our driver was again Veronica and we went because of her recommendation. She's a great driver not jerky like other drivers. She is also very knowledgeable about a lot of Vancouver. You can tell she likes her job. Our tour guide Nigel, was great. He had great stories, antidotes and insights. We also got to see the sunset at Queen Elizabeth Park. It was so cool. The guide and bus driver knew exactly where to go and even accompanied us and took pictures for us too. They did a great job. You should go on this night your. read more

Warning the bus that I was on had no air conditioning. Very warm up stairs. Sit in lower level.

Hoho tour is a Terrible bus, it's a repurposed , very old school bus with the same seating designed for grade school children. I am 6'5" and because one knee is out in the very narrow aisle, several people's knees collided with mine coming down the aisle. Being that it was a warm Friday, the buses were near capacity, at several stops people waiting could not board. The ticket instructs you on downloading an app for commentary, one driver played the same commentary through the speakers, the other driver gave mostly her own inane thoughts and opinions. Bad bad tour, stay away read more

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The point of a tourbus is the tour. One driver was very knowledgeable and that was great for 4 stops. The remaining drivers did not give a tour and the audio tour was not synced and/or not audible over the bus. For the steep price the tour should be great, it wasn't even coherent. The drivers were safe and courteous. The buses were clean but the seats are designed for school children, not adults. read more

I would give zero stars if possible. First, the buses run every 45 minutes which is an extremely long wait. The traffic in Vancouver during the week is horrendous and they know this. It took 45 minutes to go down one main street. After going to Stanley Park for a couple hours and getting in the congested traffic we knew we couldn't get off and sight see anywhere else because we were moving at a snails pace. There was no AC on the bus and it was awful. The driver admitted that the company knows about the traffic issues due to construction in the city but doesn't care to tell customers. We were on a cruise ship and had to get off the bus and walk the last couple miles so we didn't miss our ship. We use these types of buses all over the place and have never experienced a nightmare like this company. I should have trusted all the bad reviews. I wouldn't recommend this company and I demanded my money back. Worse experience and wasted our entire day in Vancouver sitting on their hot bus. read more

Don't. I know. Maybe you've experienced a "hop & go" bus elsewhere and it was great. That's the concensus of what I was told by fellow patrons. This isn't the same. This service should have a warning sticker in bright red of the potential loss of funds, time and patience. This is the worst way to spend money, worst possible way to see or learn anything about Vancouver. You could instead buy/rent a podcast guided tour and ride around in Vancouver municipal buses or taxi or rideshare. The city also has rental cars available by duration (time) needed or day. Very easy to drive around Vancouver and find suitable parking. Don't believe the hyped reviews on Viator or TripAdvisor. Read some of their recent reviews on Yelp, Viator or TripAdvisor. The low starred reviews give you an honest take. I had originally read those and thought I'd still give them a chance. Especially given this time period since the pandemic and businesses trying to recover. NOT ALL hop & go tours operate the same. Yo, check that humanity and think about the bottom line. Imagine if the bus doesn't come back to pick you up. What is your next option? This is important because it happened to us and another trio. We were left stranded for many hours on a cold afternoon and no one from the bus company could give us an honest response of why the bus was not making rounds. Ended up hopping on a public bus and having to use Uber. A day pass on a city bus would have been more fun and comfortable. These buses are old and janky AF. The tour portion is played on an outdated radio system. Awful. If you're hard of hearing, you haven't many options. Later, I contacted Viator because they were the third party host site that arranged the tickets. They assured me they would get some sort of response from this company. NOPE. That money is lost. This company is fraud. read more

We did the Victoria Butchart Gardens tour and it was one of the highlights of our trip thanks our tour guide Dave. Consider yourself lucky if you get Dave to lead your tour. read more

Bus doent stop at each location on a consistent time. We just missed a bus and waited at stop#4 for an hour. Tracked the other buses on the app and all were in the same part of town. Not worth the pain of this wait read more

We thought that this would be a good way to see the city neighborhoods and stop off for shopping. Well, it certainly isn't. When we got on, we found that the seats are so close together that leg room for anyone over 5'8" is terrible. We traveled through a few stops until we stopped at the cruise ship stop. There were so many people waiting that they overfilled the bus and they had to remove some standing passengers. Then, for the next several stops, no one got off the bus so the people waiting had to wait until a bus came with unfilled seats. We got dropped off at Granville Island and when we returned for our trip back to our original stop, there were 20-30 waiting ahead of us. And the live map showed the next bus was many stops away. We probably would've had to wait 45-60 minutes for a bus with seats. We ended up taking an Uber. Don't waste your money on this awful experience. read more

I had only one full day in Vancouver. Therefore, limited time mixed with the desire to hit all the must-see spots in and around the downtown area. Whie contemplating in my hotel room, I discovered two important facts. For one, Westcoast Sightseeing (Gray line tours), covered all the places I wished to visit, at least for now. Secondly, the hop on hop off tour route had a stop (1 out of 14) at my hotel's doorstep. So it became a no brainer. We bought the tickets online (nobody picks up the phone these days) and were on the tour route for about 7 hours. Hopped on and off numerous times, were on several different buses (with a variety of drivers), did the whole tour loop at least twice, so that we could spend time at our favorite places. There is also an app that you can download if you wish to have a walking tour narrative (bring headphones) at specific stops, or in a different language at the stop or on the bus. Each bus has a running narrative (in English only), as it travels through different neighborhoods, giving you a rich flavor of the city and its many sights. Do not expect luxury coaches. These are all run down buses, but they have character, and very interesting drivers with eclectic personalities. This is what made the tour most enjoyable. Apart from the pre-taped narrative that is piped through the bus sound system, the drivers provide their own commentary too. This involves interesting and entertaining pieces of information regarding the neighborhoods, and also a historical perspective of areas that are unique to the city. For example, where did the city name Vancouver come from? In addition, they offer unsolicited (but welcome) personal suggestions of restaurants and areas that are worthy to visit, photograph and chill. Finally, price wise, and from what we got out of it, this was fully worth it and a very good deal ($65 Canadian dollars for a one-day pass). read more

We spent more time standing and waiting for a bus than we did sitting and riding. Buses too full, seats small and uncomfortable. Quote from a driver "I'm on break now, you'll all have to get off here." Customer: When's the next bus? Driver: I have no idea. read more

tl:dr - The bus didn't stop for me. I have one day in Vancouver. I was told how great the Hop On Hop Off tour was. This is today, Monday, February 26, in the morning. I booked through my hotel, the JW Marriott. I went to stop #8 at Library Square. I was there for 15 minutes, watching the bus on the map route. I saw the bus coming, I waved to it, with my brochure and my ticket in my hand. The bus didn't even slow down. It zoomed right by me. I then ran to stop #9, which is close by and hoping he'd stop there. He didn't even stop. Just zoomed by at full speed. I called the phone number and they unhelpfully told me that the bus was already at stop #10. Gee thanks. There is only ONE bus running, so I'd have to wait another hour to get it, with no guarantee that he'd stop that time. Plus, I have a bad taste in my mouth with this company. I Ubered back to the hotel (extra expense - thanks Bus), and asked to get my money back. We'll see if it goes through. read more

We booked our Westcoast Sightseeing tour to Victoria through TripAdvisor. At first, I was a bit concerned due to the negative Yelp reviews. However, we had an awesome experience so I had to write a review on here for fellow Yelpers. A few hours after booking the tour, I received an email from the company with information about what time the tour bus would be picking us up on the morning of our tour. It was nice to have this information ahead of time, instead of worrying about details. On the day of our tour, our bus driver got to our hotel lobby early so we were able to get a head start on our day. He was a friendly guy and we had some nice conversations with him on our short drive to a meeting spot in Vancouver. From there, we met a second bus and met a second driver named Mike. We said goodbye to the first guy and got on the second bus that would take us to Victoria. (I guess they have multiple buses that do pickups at various hotels). Mike was awesome. Great sense of humor and great communicator. It was a very long day (12 hours!) and the entire day, Mike was upbeat and engaging. He gave us tons of great information about the history of Canada as well as clear instructions for our travels. Our tour was a great price for all that we got: * Front door pickup and drop off from our hotel * Transportation to and from the BC Ferries which sailed to Victoria Island * Transportation to downtown Victoria where we got to explore the city for a few hours * Transportation to and from Butchart Gardens * Admission to Butchart Gardens It was a wonderful, relaxing tour and we appreciated Mike making it such a great day for all of us. Gave him a nice gratuity to thank him for all his hard work. Would highly recommend this company and especially this tour to all. read more

WESTCOAST Sightseeing - Our bus and awesome tour guide - Bus Tours Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Nice day, got to see lots of sights on the buses and at the various stops. I wish I had had more time to stop and visit. The only negative was a long wait between buses at the various stops. Otherwise it was a great tour that I look forward to doing again the next time I return to Vancouver. It is a great way to see the city even if you only have a short time in the city. read more

we were stuck at Granville island due to being told we couldn't board the bus of 6-8 seats available. the driver refused to fill the seats? there was another employee 2 actually one in college and the other shouted he's been doing this for 12 years? they were arguing with guest/tourist regarding explanation of why we were not aloud to board. everyone is time sensitive due to THEIR schedule/times and DELAY its going to delay others from getting to their destination. our driver we waited for another 25 min was excellent he actually narrated himself and we learned a lot from him. management please fix this. washington state visitor read more

WESTCOAST Sightseeing - much needed lavender oil (cascadia) due to disgruntled hop on/off driver arguing with tourist #Granville senior citizen paradise - Bus Tours Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

We did the tour to the Sea to Sky gondola and Whistler. It was beautiful! The drive was smooth and the bus picked us up when it said it would. Andrea was our driver and tour guide. She was so knowledgeable about British Columbia and the places we visited throughout the day. We have just a few days in town and it was so worth spending the day on the tour. Thank you Andrea and westcoast sightseeing for an unforgettable day! read more

Horrible experience. We prebooked days ahead. Despite this it took them 20 minutes to check us in. By the time we got to the stop the line was a mile long. We barely missed the cut off. When I asked how long until the next bus the girl smiled and said 25 minutes. When I said we booked days ago she just smiled and said 25 minutes. Unlike other hop on hop off buses we've been on they only run every half hour. Along the route, often too many people for the buses, which run every half hour. The drivers were pleasant. read more

Absolute horrible experience. They don't have enough buses. Do not use. We waited 45 minutes to not get on a bus, and waited an hour long to board a bus that was late. read more

WESTCOAST Sightseeing - Bus Tours Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Having a few days to kill in Vancouver before our Alaskan cruise last month, we decided to take a city tour. Much of which was a refresher of many landmarks we experienced while vacationing here with our children way back in 1996. Places like Stanley Park, Lions Gate Bridge, VanDusen Botanical Garden, Bloedel Conservatory & Aviary, etc. As well as numerous other neighborhoods we didn't visit back then. We toured through the historic Gastown District and were given several interesting stories of its past. Also through Chinatown, North America's third largest after San Francisco and New York. Vancouver also ranks third on the continent in film and tv production, after the cities of Los Angeles and New York. A good way to acquaint your self with Canada's third largest metropolitan area. These tours begin at Canada Place, and with numerous of their buses parked out front just make sure you ask to be directed to your particular tour's correct bus. read more

Sep 2023 I spent $130 (canadian) for my husband and I to get a sense of Vancouver in what appeared to be an easy-access (hop on and off) format. PLEASE save your money and schedule an Uber driver to take you where you need to go. First, it seemed that the buses are oversold for what they have in service. In general, the wait between buses on the day we used it (9/3/2023) was 25 minutes. But after 25 minutes, many of the buses were full so we had to wait another 20 or 25 for the next bus. You will end up wasting so much of your day, it is not worth the hassle. I wish I had spent the $130 on Ubers and a lunch instead. The drivers are great and they do a good job providing information about the area. I have no complaints with the drivers. The issue is in the operations. Be aware of the last bus at your location because they don't run late enough for you to have dinner out. Also, the buses are old school buses mostly with vinyl bench seats. The type of bus was a real mis-match in my mind with what I expected from a Gray Line tour. Save your money. Skip this one. read more

Last bus left us and had to take a taxi back to car, never came to stop 2 at end of day and was there well before it was supposed to be there & never came. Waste of money and had to pay for taxi on top of the crappy tour bus with bad drivers that kept complaining about Amazon, economy and murders. I've done this before the pandemic and it's gone downhill so much with a shorter routes and less reliable and terrible non informative commentary. Can't believe they go through china town still with the smell of urine and feces and all the crime and murders and tell you not to get off because it's not safe. Take that off the tour and add back other stops you used to. Way overpriced and terrible transit. Will tell everyone to stay away. Just Uber to where you actually want to go for cheaper and nicer. I used to always bring my guests but never again. read more

If you miss a bus you are screwed. They don't come with any regularity. And you spend most of your time waiting in line and waiting for folks to get off the bus. They are not accessible either so it is very difficult for some people to get on and off the bus. I wasted money on this. It's very expensive and there are better ways to get around. read more

Horrible and very over priced, first stop we tried to get on we had to wait for the third bus as the first two were full, slow times between buses no organization at busy stops it's a free for all trying to get on. read more

Did the one day Victoria island and Butchart garden tour. I was very happy we picked the tour bus for hotel pick up and drop off. It happened to rain on us but it didn't ruin our trip. We still made the best out of it. Everything is scheduled timely and crammed into a day. It worked fine for us. Had some bad reviews from others and you only get a bad taste, if you can't be on time. when they tell you to be back on time. Had a few people not considered of the time schedule. So it makes everyone else late too. Overall if your wanted to do a day trip to Victoria this is a affordable tour to do. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable of the places and knew his history. read more

One of the best hop on hop off tours we have taken. First of all, there is a in person guide for the trip, and ours was very knowledgeable and very entertaining. You see all of the major sites, and the stops are well organized. The bus is a bit worn but we learned a lot and had a great time. Would highly recommend. read more

Sherry is an amazing tour guide! She is informative, very knowledgeable of the area and has a great sense of humor !

This review is for the Vancouver city + Capilano Suspension Bridge tour with Jack. We had a great time! First stop was in Stanley Park at the Totem Poles. Took some great photos of the city backdrop at the sea wall there too! Then Jack drove us through the rest of Stanley Park and made our way to Granville Island. We had an hour to explore, which didn't seem like enough time since it was a bit busy but it was a great first look of the public market for us. (Definitely gonna have to head back there!) After driving through a few more parts of the city, we finally made our way to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. There were tons of folks there tonight likely because of the Christmas lights and break before New Year. Because of the traffic and the amount of people there (line to get onto the bridge was 60-70 minutes), Jack gave us an hour and half. So nice! Doing this tour on our first full day in Vancouver was a great way to get familiar with the city. Jack was super knowledgeable about the city and full of great facts during the tour. It was an awesome experience - highly recommend! read more

This was a fantastic way to see the sights of Vancouver that included some narration that was pre-recorded. But sometimes you'll get a driver that has really good knowledge of the area and will share local information. We were fortunate to get such a driver, Greg Booth! He was funny and entertaining while sharing about interesting areas/ neighborhoods that weren't on the tour and excellent restaurant recommendations. Great job Greg! Westcoast sightseeing is lucky to have you! read more

COMPLETE GARBAGE. 1. Drivers are horrible. One told us to run two blocks to the next stop, and when we ran up to it, the driver took off. 2. The next driver, wearing a Harley backpack, yelled at elderly riders to "Hurry up!!" when they were trying to get off. He also turned the audio off so no one could hear anything about any stop. That made this like riding an ordinary crummy city bus. He was rude to everyone. 3. The bus we rode was old and beat up. Broiling hot inside. 4. The buses were often packed and no one could get one. Plan on waiting an hour in the hot sun for a bus with seats. 5. Some of the stops aren't marked. You don't know where to wait. 6. Read the reviews on this joint!!!! Not just this one!!! WORST TOURIST EXPERIENCE WEVE EVER HAD. AVOID. read more

WESTCOAST Sightseeing - If this guy is driving the bus that pulls up, take my advice. Wait for the next one or take a cab. Super rude. - Bus Tours Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Hände weg !! Die schrecklichste Hop on/ off Bus Tour, die wir je gemacht haben . 65,- $ für eine Fahrt in einem uralten Bus, der ansonsten im StraßenVerkehr wohl nicht mehr fahren dürfte- bei jedem Stop quietschen die Bremsen derartig, dass man Kopfschmerzen bekam. Eine Unverschämtheit!! Stadtführung vom Band ausschliesslich in Englisch obwohl weitere Sprachen beworben wurden . Keine Kopfhörer , daher wegen des Straßenlärms trotz maximaler Lautstärke auch in Englisch nicht zu verstehen ! Eine echte Abzocke!! read more

Really aggressive and physically and verbally threatening drivers. They need to have a look at there hiring policy. As you can see by the photos I was parked on the right side of the sign. The sign clearly shows no parking on the left side. The driver got out of his bus and threaten me to move or in his words he was gonna fuck me and my car up! He then proceeded to swear and continue to threaten me until I moved. Really really poor form for a tourist sightseeing company. read more

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This was the worst experience of our trip and definitely not worth it for the money. We thought it would be a good use of a rainy day in the city and that we would be able to see and hear about the history of the city but no....The buses were like old ratty school buses. Instead of glass the back has hard plastic on the roof and the windows which might work on a sunny day but on a rainy day windows were so rain streaked and smeared we could barely see out. Driver was surly and there was very little narration, a tiny bit when we started off and one more little bit at Gastown. Not sure if he turned it off or if there really was so little to tell about the city. Driver also did not announce a single stop and people were left to try and figure out where they were (difficult when you can't see through the windows). We got off at gastown as they were changing drivers and actually had a nice time in the shops and restaurants there. None of us wanted to wait or get back on the bus though, instead we walked to our hotel. Total waste of money - we did much better getting Ubers to specific places (and cheaper). read more

The worst. Wasted 2 hours to get on the first bus. Don't get this unless you want to waste more the. half of your day standing in line