Big Bus Tours

Big Bus Tours

Big Bus Tours
3.5
Hop-On Hop-Off ToursNight ToursSightseeing ToursBus Tours
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
About
The hop-on hop-off sightseeing tour of Big Bus Budapest immerses you in one of Europe’s most entrancing cities. Hop on for panoramic views of spectacular Heroes’ Square, elegant Andrassy Avenue and the magnificent Parliament building. Hop off to explore Margaret Island, the old Castle District, and discover Budapest’s hidden gems. Our hop-on, hop-off Budapest bus tours include a pre-recorded commentary, available in several languages. Blending fact, fun and fascinating insights, you’ll get a true taste of Budapest and its magnificent landmarks. Our Night Tour allows you to see the city's famous landmarks illuminated with beautiful lights in the evening. The bus ticket includes a Cruise along the Danube, offering unique views of Budapest’s Parliament Building, Chain Bridge and Royal Palace. Our free Walking Tours are led by knowledgeable tour guides, who will take you on fascinating walk on both sides of the city.
Budapest, Hungary

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Tours and Tickets by Big Bus Tours

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.


3.5
3.5 of 5 bubbles2,786 reviews
Excellent
980
Very good
755
Average
404
Poor
298
Terrible
349

These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
This service may contain translations provided by Google. Google disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to translations, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from forgery.

RHtravels
Rocky Hill, CT858 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2019
We did the full package with the hop on/off bus during the day, a Danube cruise, Buda Castle, and a night bus tour. The daytime bus was good and we were able to see pretty much all of the sights. The Danube cruise was disappointing because the boat did not turn so everyone could get pictures of the Chain bridge and Parliament building, so we all had to run around if we wanted pictures. The night bus tour had the same recordings as the day tour and there was only a brief photo stop at Fisherman's bastion area. We would have been better off walking to get nighttime photos. Also, the castle bus that is part of Big Bus does not operate as many buses as the official castle tour bus, so we spent a lot of time waiting for a bus because the buses were always full.
Written February 7, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear RHtravels, We are sorry to hear that you were disappointed with the boat tour. Please bear in mind that there is an optional stop at the top of the river cruise called Batthyanyi Square. Those customers who alight at this stop are unable to see the view from their side of the boat. Those customers who stay on the boat will have the opportunity to see the landmarks on their side of the boat as it does turn around and loop back shortly after reaching Margaret Island. Big Bus is constantly reviewing its partner and affiliate tours and we will be sure to take your comments about the shuttle bus into consideration. We are happy you enjoyed our core product of the daytime tour, and we wish to see you in another Big Bus city very soon. Kind regards, The Big Bus Team
Written February 8, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

RedShoesNottingham
Nottingham, UK323 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019
I've tried many hop on hop off tours in many cities around the world. Some are not value for money, and some are even a waste of time, but this one in Budapest was OK. The Deluxe Ticket gets you three days, plus a walking tour, boat tour and night tour. The red route was best, but the castle route (using much smaller buses) was full meaning that you had to wait for several buses to pass before you could get on one. We even ended up walking part of the tour so that we didn't waste any time.
Written January 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi RedShoesNottingham, We are sorry you experienced crowding on the shuttle buses with our partners. It was indeed an extremely busy season in Budapest with record numbers of inbound travelers in the city for that period- much higher than could have been reasonably anticipated. We are glad you enjoyed the red route and other parts of our tour and certainly hope you will choose Big Bus once more on your next city break. Kind regards, The Big Bus Team
Written January 3, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

MaiTai
Montreal, Canada2,434 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020 • Family
This bus tour is well worth the money. Would have rated a five but experience with one of the employees is reflected in rating. but overall this bus tour is great. You get to see all the top attractions in a short period of time. I had one day to knock out all of the must sees in Budapest. And this tour allowed me to do so. Don’t think twice do it.
Written January 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Abuc202, we appreciate your feedback and are glad to hear you enjoyed the tour. However, we regret that the conduct of one of our employees detracted from your experience. We strive for excellence in our service and consistently refresh our staff training in every city. Please get in touch with our customer service team so we can understand what went wrong and work towards providing you with a much-improved experience on your next trip with Big Bus.- Kind regards, Mara from Big Bus Tours
Written February 4, 2025
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

motardGranada
Granada, Spain31 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
IT'S A SCAM, they sold me a guided tour in Spanish by boat and on foot and when we arrived at the meeting place the guide only did it in English, but my document makes it very clear.
The only thing that was spoken in Spanish was the bus with the audio guide. By the way, they made us change buses in the Plaza de Los Héroes to a dumpy bus with awnings on the roof and scratched vinyl on the sides to see, we saw it blurry and lacking in comfort...NOT RECOMMENDED.
Google
Written November 26, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

maria p
London, UK8 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Friends
We waited in the cold for over 45 minutes for the bus to come. We contacted them by phone and their response was to use the other buses on the local line. When after a long time the bus came and we asked for our money back from the collector he didn't admit anything and he didn't even listen to what we said.. He laughed and told us to just get on the bus. Waste of time and money!
Google
Written February 22, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

lizynl
Shanghai, China8 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019 • Friends
We didn’t plan much before our trip, so we just book a bus tour! It was better than what I expected. We bought a package of Budapest and Vienna. We were happy we did that.

Traveling in winter could make you sick if you stayed outdoor for too long. Staying on Big Tour buses can let you stay in a warm place while seeing different places! The narratives are great too, we learned a lot from listening to them.
Written January 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi lizynl, Awesome that you got the most out of our Twin City package! Luckily our heated buses can keep you warm even on the coldest of Budapest days. See you again soon! The Big Bus Team
Written January 7, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Shelleyash
San Diego, CA1,920 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2019 • Family
I read a lot of reviews from all the bus companies before deciding which bus company to use. They all had a lot of complaints so I chose Big Bus because overall it had better reviews than City Sightseeing and Giraffe. I will share what I learned through our experience during our trip.

Pros:
1. The recorded audio English voice is easy to understand.
2. The audio worked when we plugged in our headsets. (There were three of us.)
3. There were two night buses, so everyone got on.
4. We learned new things about Budapest during the tour.
5. They have representatives at the stops to answer questions, you don't have to purchase in advance, you can buy your ticket at the bus stop. If you buy online you will save some money compared to buying it at the stop.
6. Free Wifi, although its not working on all the buses
7. Download the app and it will tell you where the nearest bus is, which stop you are closest to and how to get there.
8. On the upper deck there are no windows and 3/4 of the bus is covered so you can sit on the upper level without sitting in the sun. If you want to sit in the sun you can sit on the back 1/4 of the upper level.
9. The river cruise runs every two hours during the day starting at 11:00 am. You can get off at Margaret Island or Batthyany Square. Then at night they cruise every half hour without stops from 7 until 11 pm.
10. If you buy the 3 day deluxe ticket you can take a shuttle ride up to the castle. The representatives will direct you where to go once you get off the bus.
11. First buses start between 9 and 9:35 am, last buses end between 6 and 7:30 pm depending on the stop.
12. If you buy online a representative will exchange your voucher for a paper ticket.
13. Drivers were not rude as some have complained about the competitor bus companies.
14. Free earbuds and ponchos if raining
15. Most of the time we had a short wait to hop on a bus.

Cons:
1.The bus route goes one direction so if you want to see a sight in the opposite direction your options are to hop on and ride it for over an hour until it comes back to that stop, walk there, use a taxi/uber or take the public transportation.
2. We waited 25 minutes at the citadel and after talking to another rider, she said they had waited 40 minutes to hop on at one stop.
3. The night bus tour starts at 8 pm from stop 13, but the brochure states that stop #19 is the pickup place. Tip-Look at the bottom of your night bus tour ticket to see the time and bus stop. The night bus tour starts at 8 pm but the city lights don't turn on until 8:50 pm and the tour ended shortly after 9 pm.
4. The night bus tour was 95% the same route and prerecorded audio from the day tour. There was very little change, there were only two new roads we traveled on for the night tour. We started lining up an hour early to make sure we got on the bus and then we were disappointed that the route and audio was almost exactly the same as the day tour. If you take the yellow Castle Shuttle and Red route you will cover all but two of the streets that the night bus goes on. If we had known, we would have skipped the night tour and gone on a night river cruise. This information is all in the brochure.
5. The music being played in between stops was louder than the narrator so I had to turn the audio up for the narrator and down when the music came back on.
6. City Sightseeing buses stopped more frequently at the stops than Big Buses. We noticed three City Sightseeing buses stop at the Citadel while we waited for the Big Bus.

On the river cruise we had planned to get off on Margaret Island but that stop was cancelled the day we went and there was no announcement to let us know.

We bought the three day ticket and did everything in a day and a half. I checked the prices online with other companies and it was a better value than buying a separate castle shuttle and night tour.

Overall I am happy with Big Bus, I would recommend using them. It's a great way to get acclimated to a city before you venture off and your own to explore. Stop by the Great Market to get souvenirs and taste Hungarian food on the upper floor.
Written June 4, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Shelleyash, Thank you for your kind review, we are happy to hear that you were satisfied with our service. We hope to see you on board again soon! Kind regards, The Big Bus Team
Written June 24, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

kfc
30 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2018 • Couples
I have to say it again. Don't waste your time and money. My wife and I saw the bus after 20 min's wait; but the bus did not stop. Anyway, we got on one in the morning. Another unpleasant experience in the evening. We had waited for 38 minutes and had to give up because it was just hot outside. It costs €22 a day. We should have taken a taxi by paying that much.
Written August 9, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear kfc c, Thank you for taking time to share your feedback. Our buses run in every 25-30 minutes. Unfortunately delays are possible due to heavy traffic or city closures. If you could share with us more details to investigate further, it would be much appreciated. Exact date and time of your travel with a copy of your ticket would be a great help. Names or descriptions of the staff member would be also useful. You can contact us via infobudapest@bigbustours.com. We apologise for the inconvenience. Kind regards, Big Bus Team
Written August 10, 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

IanRK
Scarborough, UK79 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2018 • Couples
Bought four three day deluxe passes for the Big Bus hop on hop off tours from our Hotel concierge. Downloaded the app to my smart phone, and off we went. First off, the app says buses every 25 to 30 minutes whilst the web site says every 15 - 20 minutes for the red route. Well I can testify right now that the phone app (when it works!) is closer to the mark. There are just two buses that run the red route and if your lucky two on the blue route (the phone app showed just one blue route bus running on one of the three days!). We generally waited at least 30 minutes for a bus to arrive, but on one occasion (the afternoon of Wednesday 8th August) we waited at the Market hall (stop 12) at least 40 minutes and this coincided with the phone app not working, and showing you where the buses were on the route. Asked a big bus tours ticket seller where the bus was, he promptly explained it's on the app, showed me his mobile phone to demonstrate and lo and behold his big bus app was not working correctly either, he disappeared, saying he would find out what is happening and we did not see him again! We were going to try the blue route, but the blue route bus was always in front of the red route bus by a couple of minutes every time we wanted to use it, and they do not wait at the bus stop for people coming off of the red route bus, so rather than stand around for half an hour in the heat (mid 30's every day we were there), we gave up and didn't bother. We did do the boat trip, which gave us good views of the Parliament building etc, however when boarding a guy called Tomi tore the boat tour ticket off of our tickets, and got quite sharp when I queried this, as that ticket allows you unlimited (it says on their route maps) trips on the boat, I asked how can we get on again if we want to, without our tickets, he just shrugged and said it would be okay! We bought a bottle of water on the boat for an eye watering (no pun intended) 600 forint the same bottle cost just 40 forint in Spar supermarkets! Ice creams were also 600 forint each on that boat. On our last night we did the night bus tour, and the contrast between the Buda and Pest sides of the Danube was quite striking we thought. The Pest side is all hustle and bustle and in places very big city and grubby, the Buda side looked far nicer and cleaner. All in all our experience with Big Bus Tours was generally average, with the odd good bit (night bus tour thrown in). We noted that all the other bus tour companies had their detractors as well, in fact no less than three different red bus tours had official on their buses logo's, and these were all different companies, and caused some confusion amongst those who were using those tours, as their tickets are only valid for their particular red bus company. So I would say, that no matter who you use you will have some sort of gripe during your stay, it's all a matter of pot luck as none of them are a stand out from the rest company, maybe it's just Budapest, because we never had a problem in other European cities we have visited.
Written August 11, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear IanRK, Thank you for taking time to share your feedback. Currently the buses run in every 25-30 minutes. Sorry about the confusion regarding the timetable. Regarding the river cruise - once the cruise part of the official ticket is collected at the dock, later it is possible to take the cruise as many times as you wish during the ticket validity period. Customers need to keep and present the rest of the bus ticket. The experienced issue with the team member will be investigated, allow me to apologise for the inconvenience. Kind regards, Big Bus Team
Written August 13, 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

funkimunki67
Saltburn-by-the-Sea, UK177 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2018 • Couples
There are 3 companies offering hop-on hop-off sightseeing tour buses. We went for the Big Bus as it was recommended by a member of reception at our hotel. The app is great- you buy your ticket on line and then have the facility to live track where the buses are. It also gives you detailed info about points of interest all around the route. You are given ear bud headphones for audio commentary and select your language at your seat. Our ticket was for 2 days (£21 each) and included the river boat tour (we went at night, highly recommend) and walking tour. You’ll find reps & info leaflets with maps at most of the bus stops. Staff we met were friendly and very helpful. Highly recommended!
Written February 2, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear funkimunki67, Thank you for your comment and choosing Big Bus to discover the city. Great to hear that you were satisfied with our service and enjoyed the sightseeing tour with the river cruise. Your feedback is much appreciated. Our team members do their best to provide excellent customer service. See you back next time. Kind regards, Big Bus Team
Written February 5, 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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