Excellent Tours
Excellent Tours
4.5
6:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Monday
6:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Tuesday
6:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Wednesday
6:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Thursday
6:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Friday
6:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Saturday
6:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Sunday
6:00 AM - 11:00 PM
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About
For more than 25 years, we’ve been offering the best ride services in the nation’s capital, delivering impeccable service to tourists, school groups, and other organizations. Count on us for sightseeing and private tours in the region – providing the community with innovative and environmentally friendly shuttle solutions.
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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.
4.5
39 reviews
Excellent
33
Very good
3
Average
1
Poor
0
Terrible
2
jiaying52
Baltimore, MD1 contribution
Sep 2014 • Business
I have worked Annie and Azeb for a while. They are two smart girls who understand the business needs well.
So far, all my clients are happy with the drivers . One gave good word to Mr. Leory.
It seems that the management team there cares about the client, which is great!
Keeping excellent going!
So far, all my clients are happy with the drivers . One gave good word to Mr. Leory.
It seems that the management team there cares about the client, which is great!
Keeping excellent going!
Written October 1, 2014
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.
julia7178
Washington DC, DC52 contributions
Sep 2013 • Couples
Having lived in the DC area for only a few months, we wanted to take an official, organized tour to learn more about the sights. We tried an Excellent Tour after coming across a 50% off discount on Groupon. It was the right decision for us! Hank gave a great tour (as a lifelong Washingtonian he is an amazing source of knowledge about the area). Being such a small group (8 people total), he was able to make sure everyone had enough time to get all the pictures and ask all the questions they wanted to. It was a much more personal experience and we didn't feel like we were being herded like livestock through all the sights. Hank kept the conversation going and the morning just flew by.
Our only piece of advice is to make sure to use the restroom beforehand, as there is no restroom on the bus and the first restroom stop was about 1.5 hours into the tour.
Also, we were a little unsure of exactly where to meet the tour bus- it just told us 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, in front of the Archives building when we booked. There is a bus shelter right on the corner of 7th and Pennsylvania Ave, but that's not quite the right spot! We found the bus a little bit further down Pennsylvania Ave towards 8th Street, near where the Old Town Trolley sign is. Excellent Tours has no signed stop of its own, just look for the little white bus! There was another couple on our tour who nearly missed the bus, since they were waiting at that bus shelter and didn't see the bus further down.
We just wish that Excellent Tours covered more areas of the city- it would be fantastic to do a tour of Georgetown or Penn Quarter with them!
Our only piece of advice is to make sure to use the restroom beforehand, as there is no restroom on the bus and the first restroom stop was about 1.5 hours into the tour.
Also, we were a little unsure of exactly where to meet the tour bus- it just told us 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, in front of the Archives building when we booked. There is a bus shelter right on the corner of 7th and Pennsylvania Ave, but that's not quite the right spot! We found the bus a little bit further down Pennsylvania Ave towards 8th Street, near where the Old Town Trolley sign is. Excellent Tours has no signed stop of its own, just look for the little white bus! There was another couple on our tour who nearly missed the bus, since they were waiting at that bus shelter and didn't see the bus further down.
We just wish that Excellent Tours covered more areas of the city- it would be fantastic to do a tour of Georgetown or Penn Quarter with them!
Written September 22, 2013
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.
audigala6
New Jersey9 contributions
Jul 2012 • Family
Driver was informative and funny. Very considerate of seniors' ability to get on and off the bus. Clean bus!
Written July 31, 2012
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.
onthegoagain5
Maryland4 contributions
Jul 2014 • Family
I contracted with Excellent Tours for a custom African American history tour to occur on Sat, July 26th. The contract was for 2 buses (1 55-passenger bus and 1 34-passenger bus). The tour was part of a number of activities planned for my family's reunion which my sister and I were coordinating. Needless to say, this tour was a disaster as I will outline below. Firstly, the buses were supposed to arrive at 5:45 pm for pre-boarding for a 6:00 pm departure. Both buses were late. One arrived at 6:00 pm or shortly thereafter and the other bus didn't arrive until 6:15 pm. Leroy, the driver of the 55-passenger bus, asked me if this was a 3-hour or 4-hour tour. He seemed to have no clue as to what the plans were. He also indicated that he was asked to stand in at the last minute for a bus driver that wasn't able to make it, which explains why they were late. Clearly, the bus driver and tour guides should have been informed of the details of the tour by Excellent.
Although Hank (tour guide) arrived on the 34-passenger bus which was the first to arrive, he wanted to switch buses after everyone was all loaded and ready to go. Apparently, he had told my sister that Richard (tour guide on 55-passenger bus) and Leroy were not getting along. However, I was unaware of this issue and asked Hank to stay on the 34-passenger bus as my purse was on that bus and I needed to be on the bus with him as he was the only tour guide I had previously talked with and had expressed how I wanted everything to go. Hank never mentioned to me that Richard and Leroy were having difficulty getting along. My sister later mentioned it to me when everything went crazy. Boy do I wish I had known about the conflict between Richard and Leroy. This was such an unprofessional mess!
Upon arriving at the Capital, Richard told people to get off the bus if they liked. Family got off the bus and were scattering in different directions. I presumed that Richard had given them some instructions but apparently he hadn't. Richard should have told family to stay with him, how long they would be there, where to meet the bus, etc., but he didn't communicate much with them. He didn't communicate with Leroy either because Leroy was angrily telling my family that stayed on the bus that he didn't want to get a $1000 fine for sitting too long in the wrong place. My family didn't know anything about the fines or where a bus could park. This shouldn't have even been a concern for them. Leroy threatened to leave folks to avoid getting the ticket and Richard didn't provide any direction. Needless to say, many of my family members were very upset. Several of my family members were afraid that those off the bus would be left, so they were calling those off the bus on cell phones saying "we have to get back on the bus or be left". Two other family members got off the bus screaming about the situation. Finally, Hank went over to Leroy and told him where to meet the family.
When we got off the bus at the White House, family was still steaming and indicated that Richard was talking down to them saying that they needed to hurry up and get off the bus and that they didn't have time to get strollers for the babies etc. Many family members stated that Richard was knowledgeable but rude, abrasive and had difficulty connecting with people. Later in the tour, when arriving at the Lincoln Memorial, Richard told everyone to get off the bus. However, after he got off the bus, Leroy told everyone to sit down and that he was moving the bus. There were old people on the bus who almost fell because of this sudden change in plans. All family members stated that the conflict between Richard and Leroy seemed to be the source of the problem and my family was caught in the middle of their unprofessional feuding. Hank tried to intercede to make everyone play on the same sheet of music but it was hopeless. My family was upset and I was upset and totally embarrassed.
I had also made a request in writing that our 1st stop be the MLK memorial as my family wanted to take pictures there. Irrespective to my request, we didn't go there first, so our pictures have a dusky look. we also didn't get to take pictures of the different sub-families as we have always done in the past. We only have reunions every two years, so this was a major loss. Nothing went as planned and I am so sorry that I used Excellent Tours. Upon telling Mamo the manager of Excellent Tours of the issues he was sympathetic but ultimately didn't take responsibility. He thought it was everyone else's fault: he thought it was Hank's fault because he recommended Richard, it was Richard's fault for not taking leadership, it was Hank's fault for not explaining the plans to Richard, etc. Mamo's failure to take responsibility for his team of people is based on his unwillingness to provide any financial compensation for the losses that our family suffered. My family is mostly from out of state and will probably never come back to DC to do a tour. The opportunity has been lost.
Although Hank (tour guide) arrived on the 34-passenger bus which was the first to arrive, he wanted to switch buses after everyone was all loaded and ready to go. Apparently, he had told my sister that Richard (tour guide on 55-passenger bus) and Leroy were not getting along. However, I was unaware of this issue and asked Hank to stay on the 34-passenger bus as my purse was on that bus and I needed to be on the bus with him as he was the only tour guide I had previously talked with and had expressed how I wanted everything to go. Hank never mentioned to me that Richard and Leroy were having difficulty getting along. My sister later mentioned it to me when everything went crazy. Boy do I wish I had known about the conflict between Richard and Leroy. This was such an unprofessional mess!
Upon arriving at the Capital, Richard told people to get off the bus if they liked. Family got off the bus and were scattering in different directions. I presumed that Richard had given them some instructions but apparently he hadn't. Richard should have told family to stay with him, how long they would be there, where to meet the bus, etc., but he didn't communicate much with them. He didn't communicate with Leroy either because Leroy was angrily telling my family that stayed on the bus that he didn't want to get a $1000 fine for sitting too long in the wrong place. My family didn't know anything about the fines or where a bus could park. This shouldn't have even been a concern for them. Leroy threatened to leave folks to avoid getting the ticket and Richard didn't provide any direction. Needless to say, many of my family members were very upset. Several of my family members were afraid that those off the bus would be left, so they were calling those off the bus on cell phones saying "we have to get back on the bus or be left". Two other family members got off the bus screaming about the situation. Finally, Hank went over to Leroy and told him where to meet the family.
When we got off the bus at the White House, family was still steaming and indicated that Richard was talking down to them saying that they needed to hurry up and get off the bus and that they didn't have time to get strollers for the babies etc. Many family members stated that Richard was knowledgeable but rude, abrasive and had difficulty connecting with people. Later in the tour, when arriving at the Lincoln Memorial, Richard told everyone to get off the bus. However, after he got off the bus, Leroy told everyone to sit down and that he was moving the bus. There were old people on the bus who almost fell because of this sudden change in plans. All family members stated that the conflict between Richard and Leroy seemed to be the source of the problem and my family was caught in the middle of their unprofessional feuding. Hank tried to intercede to make everyone play on the same sheet of music but it was hopeless. My family was upset and I was upset and totally embarrassed.
I had also made a request in writing that our 1st stop be the MLK memorial as my family wanted to take pictures there. Irrespective to my request, we didn't go there first, so our pictures have a dusky look. we also didn't get to take pictures of the different sub-families as we have always done in the past. We only have reunions every two years, so this was a major loss. Nothing went as planned and I am so sorry that I used Excellent Tours. Upon telling Mamo the manager of Excellent Tours of the issues he was sympathetic but ultimately didn't take responsibility. He thought it was everyone else's fault: he thought it was Hank's fault because he recommended Richard, it was Richard's fault for not taking leadership, it was Hank's fault for not explaining the plans to Richard, etc. Mamo's failure to take responsibility for his team of people is based on his unwillingness to provide any financial compensation for the losses that our family suffered. My family is mostly from out of state and will probably never come back to DC to do a tour. The opportunity has been lost.
Written July 31, 2014
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.
Sidavouq
Washington DC45 contributions
Dec 2013 • Family
We had an awful experience with this tourbus provider. You get what you pay for; save yourself the headaches, it's not worth it.
Written August 21, 2014
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.
msdowl
TX14 contributions
Mar 2018 • Family
Our family took this tour during spring break. We were on a comfortable, chartered bus that left on time. The guide was somewhat casual in his delivery and did not provide comprehensive historical information as I anticipated. (He didn't even mention Benjamin Banneker.) The guide related stories about laws that were in place but gave very little information about DC historical figures except the ones whose houses we visited. At the stop at Frederick Douglass' house, you get to visit the grounds, but the tour does not included tickets to see the beautiful mansion. How disappointing. You're like the poor child wishing you could get in, while others tour the inside. But it's still a good stop. The worse part was the entire time the guide gave the bus driver directions OVER THE MIC while he also narrated the tour. Talk about maddening. He told him which lane to get in, when to make a right, when to turn, etc. all while trying to give the tour. You get ample time to get off the bus and see the sights. One of the longest stops is at the capitol and I didn't understand the specific AA history connection. In the end, our bus broke down and we had to catch an Uber to the last stop - the African American history museum. The guide never offered any compensation or apology. He just said we were in a fix so we needed to all walk. Many did but my family and I caught an Uber. Overall, this could have been done so much better by a history buff who delivered the narration with professionalism. Instead I felt like a nice guy from DC gave you his "front porch" description. Professionalism was lacking. I hope they step up their game because this could actually be an excellent tour with some tweaks.
Written March 23, 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.
theBfamily2014
Washington DC, DC40 contributions
Dec 2017 • Business
I used 2 coach buses to bring a group of students to the French Embassy in DC. Jared Laws was extremely responsive to every email and request and really worked with me through all the paperwork and finite details! Then my driver, Steven, was punctual, polite and attentive to our needs. We hit traffic which became a closure so it looked like we will make it to the Embassy at the end of the event we were to attend. He communicated with the other driver, Leroy, and they were able to find another route to bring us to the event with just 10 minutes delay. Thank you all, gentlemen!
Written January 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.
Dbrooks4
Memphis, TN1 contribution
Feb 2016 • Business
I organized a tour of D.C. with Excellent Tours and it was the smoothest, most efficient high volume reservation I've ever made. From the beginning of the process, caring and knowledgeable staff took care of our every need. We were able to customize our tour and add stops for breaks as needed. Service and confirmation was quick and helped me (as coordinator) worry about more pressing details of our trip. With most of our group of 22 being in DC for the first time, we could not have asked for a better guide. Mr. Hank Watson is the man! His comprehensive knowledge of DC, patience with our group, and overall expertise truly solidified a great experience for us. Thanks!
Written February 8, 2016
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.
mdoyle17
Orland Park, IL1 contribution
Oct 2015 • Business
This was a great company to work with. I was a teacher chaperone on a 8th grade field trip to Washington DC. My bus was able to have Leroy and I can say that he was fabulous! He knew the area very well and got us to our destinations on time and safe. Still to this day, the 8th graders talk about Leroy and say they miss him! Hopefully if I go on another school field trip I will be able to have Leroy as our bus driver!
Written October 23, 2015
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.
marumel
West Palm Beach, FL1 contribution
Jan 2015 • Business
Our tour guide and driver Leroy Swailes was fabulous! He took us everywhere we wanted to go and got us there ex on time and safely. We will use Excellent Tours again. Thank you!!!!
Written January 24, 2015
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.
Do you have a tour that leaves from Washington DC that includes New York? We have 4 nights in Washington and would like to see New York too
Written March 2, 2016
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.