Experiences with Hop-On Hop-Off Bus around the world

[Andy_P]

I have attached the posted list of locations and it is very large.  We've done London, New York and San Fransisco and thought it was a great way to go.  Thinking about using it on or Asian "Spice-Route" cruises next year (Tokyo to Mumbai).

 

Thoughts?

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I always thought HOHO blues were over rated for the price they charge  😉😁

Edited March 6 by Ex-Airbalancer

[Jim_Iain]

I've done them in many cities around the world.    I think it is a really good way of getting a good overview of a city.    We usually don't get on and off and just remain on for the complete route.

 

My favorite experience was in Rome.    We were sitting on the upper deck right by the Vatican all the sudden the Pope came to his window and started some type of ceremony.     Wasn't part of the planned tour but a real unexpected delight to have a front row seat .... the driver decided to delay his departure so we could all enjoy. 

[jelayne]

We have done some that were very good and others that the narration was full of static, went in and out  or just had limited buses, so the wait between buses was over a hour. 

[gold1953]

bad experience in London . I asked if that colour bus went to a particular place and the guy lied. The sales people for each line hang out at the stops and fight for the customers. Our driver said the guy who brought us to the bus knew better  and he felt bad as we were a way into his route when we discovered it wasn't going where we wanted. We stick to 2 feet and a heart beat in most smaller places

[Liao]

31 minutes ago, gold1953 said:

bad experience in London . I asked if that colour bus went to a particular place and the guy lied. The sales people for each line hang out at the stops and fight for the customers. Our driver said the guy who brought us to the bus knew better  and he felt bad as we were a way into his route when we discovered it wasn't going where we wanted. We stick to 2 feet and a heart beat in most smaller places

we eliminate the middle man, we download the app, so much easier

[gold1953]

10 minutes ago, Liao said:

we eliminate the middle man, we download the app, so much easier

we had the app and this guy assured us the bus was going where we wanted.  We had the London Pass

[BytownMatt]

I took these in Dubai and Sydney recently on Celebrity cruises. In one case, the Celebrity excursion price was on sale and cheaper than what the operator was offering online (a bit surprising). Agree with others that they are a good way to get an overview of a new city, especially if they cover large areas. One caveat is that I found both of them to be slower routes than advertised. If I had actually hopped off and waited for another bus I might have missed getting back to the ship on time on turnaround day. Luckily I had more time to see the cities apart from the bus experience.

[Liao]

7 minutes ago, gold1953 said:

we had the app and this guy assured us the bus was going where we wanted.  We had the London Pass

YIKES!  Good to know, we are in London end of April and planning to use HOHO while there.  I'll be more aware, thanks!

[Andy_P]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

I've done them in many cities around the world.    I think it is a really good way of getting a good overview of a city.    We usually don't get on and off and just remain on for the complete route.

 

My favorite experience was in Rome.    We were sitting on the upper deck right by the Vatican all the sudden the Pope came to his window and started some type of ceremony.     Wasn't part of the planned tour but a real unexpected delight to have a front row seat .... the driver decided to delay his departure so we could all enjoy. 

Perhaps you were unknowingly excorcised.  😇

Edited March 7 by Andy_P

[ggo85]

I think they’re good for a city overview. See where things are, etc.  The narration isn’t great as compared to a “real” tour   At some stops you may wait for up to 30 minutes.  You probably can get off at one stop in a day and still finish the tour. 
 

My personal view is that HOHO is better if you are staying in one place for several days vs. the 8 hours on a cruise port stop.  Or, if you arrive in the departure port a day early and want to kill time until your hotel room is ready.  We rode HOHO for several hours in Rome (where we’d been several times).  Pleasant just to ride around - better than sitting in the hotel lobby.  
 

 

[mtnlvr53]

We have used them in Stockholm, Helsinki, and Copenhagen. We bought the tickets online directly from the bus Co so we didn't need cash on the street and saved a ton from the cruise ship price (which I think is completely ridiculous unless you are a long way from the first stop). They worked well and we were able to get off and on at several stops and still got back to the ship in plenty of time

[markeb]

I've had less than great success with them over the years. The worst was Manhattan, but that was probably my first HOHO and I mistakenly was trying to use it for transportation versus staying on for an overview. Back to a previous poster, that's the most common complaint in London. Ride the loop, get a feel, take the Tube for transportation.

[markeb]

4 hours ago, Liao said:

YIKES!  Good to know, we are in London end of April and planning to use HOHO while there.  I'll be more aware, thanks!

 

Ride the HOHO for an orientation and to see a lot of exteriors. Walk or take the tube to actually visit sites. If the HOHO includes a river cruise, do that; they're actually pretty nice. Do not use the HOHO for point to point transportation! Other than Buckingham Palace where you have to get off to see the palace, I probably wouldn't even get off the HOHO.

 

And check out the British Isles board here on CC for information...

[NMTraveller]

I think of it as an overview...

It does not compare to a tour with a tour guide.

[realnice46]

We thought Barcelona and Malta had good Hop Off buses.

[Steve H]

I agree with Malta . Malaga was also a good one.

[holidaysaregood]

3 hours ago, markeb said:

I've had less than great success with them over the years. The worst was Manhattan, but that was probably my first HOHO and I mistakenly was trying to use it for transportation versus staying on for an overview. Back to a previous poster, that's the most common complaint in London. Ride the loop, get a feel, take the Tube for transportation.

I am from London.  Have taken American friends into London and only used bus for sightseeing.   Never for transportation!  Tube is better and faster because of London traffic. 

Have used the bus in many cities,  some better value than others. 

[chemmo]

We are HO HO fans! Often as we get to a city we will do the full circuit on the first day when we have frequently been jet lagged and too tired to enjoy ‘real’ sightseeing but not wanting to waste a day resting. Often when using HO HO as a first day activity we will have researched the route and found a stop about half way round to get off for a leisurely lunch. 
 

As some others have said some cities have linked transport offers with underground and ferry transport options. Always worth doing your research before you go.

 

The main problem we have found with HO HO in some cities is often you go part way around a city, get off for a bit then struggle to get back on mid to late afternoon as buses are going past full. Definitely something to consider when you are cruising and there is a deadline time to return to port. This scenario happened to friends of ours in Athens…Quite simply, after two buses went past full they (and several other cruise folk) headed for the taxi rank opposite….

 

Our favourite ever HO HO was on our first visit to New York “Just like a scene from all those movies…”. Quite magical!

[KKB]

Overall a fan.

Belfast & London--both terrific; audio for both was entertaining & informative.

Gothenburg--good, audio very informative (tho not as entertaining as Belfast & London!)

Oslo--ok; one bus had poor quality audio & another half the audio ports weren't working; good way to see the city then decide where you might want to get off to see or do more.

[dazey]

We have used the Hop On Hop Off bus in Europe and in the United States especially when we are new to the location and want to get an overview and then we go around again and get off at places we wanted to see.

 

We did have a bad experience of pushy ticket "guys" in Paris and had to request a refund because the bus never showed up at the designated stop. We did get the refund(thankfully as it was for 7 people) and then we booked online the next day and it was on time and we got to see a lot. It worked as we were there for a week. I would not say it is very informative like a booked tour but it certainly is a good way to get introduced to a place.

 

I would say try it.  And, yes, it would not be a good idea if you have limited hours.  Would end up worrying about the clock.

 

We also have found(Charleston and Key West) that their local service is pretty good and a lot of times offered for free.  

[TMLAalum]

Using a HoHo bus is the perfect cure for jet lag! In Reykjavik, we took one loop around the city with our eyes wide shut and were refreshed enough the next time around to actually hop off and on!

 

[Liao]

Good intel for HoHo in London, much appreciated.  This is a land vacation so we will plan to use HoHo early just to get a lay of the land early in the week.  Then off to Scotland.

[Backaxle]

Belfast HOHO has been the best I have experienced. Live guides are awesome.

[Joanne G.]

4 hours ago, Backaxle said:

Belfast HOHO has been the best I have experienced. Live guides are awesome.

Agreed!  I had a Belfast guide who brought his guitar and sang a couple traditional songs. And he was good!  He also covered the current political issues in an instructional, matter-of-fact manner. Those issues are part of historical and modern Belfast, and I found the information interesting.