Bus Tours
2 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this reservation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
from
$50
per adult
BigBus Chicago
BigBus Chicago
4.5
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Full view
About
Hop-On and Discover! Hop-Off and Explore! Your visit to Chicago isn't complete without an open-top hop on hop off sightseeing bus tour; let us take you on an adventure with Big Bus Tours Chicago! Our hop on and off service includes the two-hour 'Big Loop' showcasing Chicago by day, with 12 stops conveniently located close to key landmarks and attractions. Tweet, snap, and live stream your Chicago tour experiences! Our double decker buses are ADA compliant and temperature controlled lower sections. Explore Navy Pier, shop on The Magnificent Mile®, stand on air at the Willis Tower, and take fun selfies at Millennium Park all while learning about the history of Chicago. As our Chicago Bus Tour rolls down The Magnificent Mile and crosses the Chicago River, you can admire the ever-changing architectural styles on a historic avenue!
Tours and Tickets by BigBus Chicago
Bus Tours
1–2 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this reservation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
from
$50
per adult
Audio Guides
2 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this reservation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
from
$95
per adult
Travelers talk about
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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.
Popular mentions
4.5
2,906 reviews
Excellent
1,824
Very good
550
Average
210
Poor
127
Terrible
196
AmyC201529
New Albany, IN480 contributions
Feb 2020 • Family
This was a great way to see the highlights of Chicago and get a feel for what we wanted to see more of! Our tour guide Rich and driver Tyrone were great! Rich provided lots of interesting facts and even allowed us time to get a photo op of the Chicago skyline! This is a safe cheap way to get around the city. In the winter the only downside is they only come back to stops once an hour. I learned some new and interesting things even though I have been to Chicago several times before. This was my kids first visit to Chicago and provided a great overview of the city! We will definitely do this again!
Written February 2, 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.
Thank you for choosing Big Bus during your stay in Chicago! We are thrilled you had a wonderful time, and look forward to your return and would be happy to show y'all the sights again.
Written February 5, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Josephine S.
Portland, OR47 contributions
Sep 2022 • Solo
I love the hop on hop off double decker bus tour in any city! If you’re lucky, the driver will enjoy being a newsy tour guide. Chicago ought to re-record their ridiculous and stupid recording on this bus. It really insults the audience w lack of sophistication.
Written September 21, 2022
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.
Hello Alwayswelltraveled, we appreciate you taking the time to leave us this feedback.
Written September 30, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Gary
1 contribution
Dec 2022 • Couples
Our Hop on Hop off experience was a great because of our driver Candice. She went over and above to personalize the tour and highlight Chicago. When we switch buses other drivers were disappointing with no dialogue and faulty audio. Hope everyone gets to be on Candice's bus, she was exceptional.
Written December 5, 2022
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.
Hello Gmolz23, we appreciate you taking the time to leave us this feedback. Thank you, and have a fantastic day!
Written December 9, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Robert M
Harrisburg, PA8 contributions
Nov 2023 • Couples
This tour was completely uninfomative. The canned narrative was both childish and contrived. Between the few sections of the narration there was more music via records than one would expect from a DJ. The narrators were spouting dialog that was just cutesy. We have enjoyed this type of tour in many other cities where we learned about the city. On this one we were "treated" to multiple views of hotels which were featured in the brochure. By far this was the worst tour we have taken and in no way worth the price charged.
Written November 5, 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.
Robertmw1622nc, thank you for leaving us feedback. We are disappointed to hear that your experience was not a positive one. Thanks for bringing this matter to our attention. We would like to get more details about this; please reach out to us at your earliest convenience.
Written November 7, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Stephanie M
2 contributions
Apr 2023 • Family
We have been on Big Bus in several cities and have loved them all. We rode again today while in Chicago. This was our first time taking our son who is 3. He had such a fun time and our driver Candice was fantastic! She was so fun to listen to and was awesome with our son. Riding a double decker bus (like Peppa Pig) was the highlight of his trip and Candice made it even better. She took a picture of us on top of the bus from the sidewalk and we were so appreciative!
Written April 24, 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.
Hi A9562vqstephaniem, thank you for taking the time to leave a review for us at Big Bus Tours Chicago. We're happy we could meet your expectations! We're glad to hear we delivered such a great experience. If there's anything further we can do for you, we are happy to help!
Written April 28, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
BasingstokeDaddy
Basingstoke, UK212 contributions
Feb 2020
Without any shadow of doubt the best hop on hop off tour we have ever been on! The guides were engaging, fun facts and anecdotes and the drivers navigated the streets like pros! Would advise taking a trip on your 1st couple of days.
Cannot recommend this enough, rather than wander around looking at this lovely city get your bearings and learn about Chicago's interesting history.
Travelled with my youngest son (13) who really enjoyed the delivery of the tour guide "He's really funny!"
The Hop on Hop off works well allowing you time to wander a few blocks, grab a coffee or lunch to then jump back on at your convenience.
The RED route tour takes approx 2 hours from start to finish, if you get off the bus will be back around again an hour later.
You'll find out about the best hotdogs, how the fire 'may or may not' have started, how the Chicago got it's name and why it is really called the windy city and so much more.
Cannot recommend this enough, rather than wander around looking at this lovely city get your bearings and learn about Chicago's interesting history.
Travelled with my youngest son (13) who really enjoyed the delivery of the tour guide "He's really funny!"
The Hop on Hop off works well allowing you time to wander a few blocks, grab a coffee or lunch to then jump back on at your convenience.
The RED route tour takes approx 2 hours from start to finish, if you get off the bus will be back around again an hour later.
You'll find out about the best hotdogs, how the fire 'may or may not' have started, how the Chicago got it's name and why it is really called the windy city and so much more.
Written February 24, 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.
We greatly appreciate your lovely words and are so happy you and your son enjoyed riding the Big Bus Tour of downtown Chicago. We really do look forward to y'all's return and hope you'll consider us again!
Written February 26, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
stuartsutton
Saskatoon, Canada7 contributions
Jun 2015 • Couples
My wife and I had Go Chicago cards and having enjoyed the hop on hop off double-decker tour in New York we thought this would be a good way to see Chicago but boy were we wrong. We got our Big Bus tickets at the Palmer House Hilton 10:30 and by 11:30 a bus still had not come by despite the fact that they are supposed to run every 15 mins. In that same time period we saw 4 buses go by from the other company (Chicago Bus and Trolley). We ended up walking to the Willis Tower and did the Skydeck tour. Afterwards we did manage to catch bus and got Josh as our guide. He was definitely energetic but seemed more interested in shouting at people on the sidewalk than in describing the sights. He for some reason thinks it is entertaining to shout "idiots!" At people riding segways. We would have gotten off if we had been confident in being able to catch another bus. We stayed on for 2 hours but didn't use the system again in the 48 hour window we had. Definitely avoid Big Bus tours!
Written June 10, 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.
We are so sorry to hear about you experience. Our mission statement is to give informative tours with low wait times. We are constantly adding vehicles and training our tour guides so we can offer the best tours available. Please know that your experience is not indicative of our brand, and we will do our absolute best to insure that this won't happen again. While we don't enjoy hearing about a bad experience, it is something that we need to hear. It is the only way to grow and learn from an honest guest experience. Thank you for sharing, and we are taking every measure to erase this type of experience from future customers of Big Bus.
Written July 3, 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
IMZMZMZMZ
Lakeland, FL17 contributions
Apr 2019 • Solo
BUT where is the list of those stops we could catch this Big Bus?????
Should we hire CIA to fnd out?
Should we hire CIA to fnd out?
Written April 26, 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.
Danell L
Springdale, AR1 contribution
Jul 2018 • Family
We purchased tickets at about 5pm on July 4th at the Navy Pier Kiosk. We were told we could buy tickets now and because they would end at 7pm we would be able to be dropped back off at Navy Pier, but have no time to get off. We were ok with that. We got on the bus and after 4 stops we were told that they were were stopping all tours and we would have to get off. We only rode the bus for 30 minutes and they charged us 110.00. We were dropped off 10 blocks from the Metro and I called the next day to request a refund. I was told I had to fill out a request online. It's been five days and I still haven't heard back. Beware of crooked salespeople who are just trying to make a sale.
Written July 10, 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.
Danell L
We are so sorry for the confusion and miscommunication on our behalf. Our last full tour departs from Stop 1 at 5:00pm, all ticket agents know this and should mention that there is no guaranteed drop offs after 5:00pm if you're not on the Last Bus of the day. We see that there is some more training that needs to happen in order for us to provide the best service.
If you have any more questions, please email us at 'infoCH@BigBusTours.com'.
Best
The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team
Written July 20, 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Shannon
Dunedin, United States213 contributions
Jul 2021
I only had one day in Chicago and thought this would be a great way to see all the things! It did not disappoint!
The number 1 pick-up point was just a block, away from my hotel, which made it very convenient for me. While they did have an audio narration going on of what we were seeing, our driver was funny and would add to the stories.
I took the bus around the whole city and then used it as a 'taxi' to get to the navy pier for dinner and evening activities.
The number 1 pick-up point was just a block, away from my hotel, which made it very convenient for me. While they did have an audio narration going on of what we were seeing, our driver was funny and would add to the stories.
I took the bus around the whole city and then used it as a 'taxi' to get to the navy pier for dinner and evening activities.
Written August 5, 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, their route has many stops all over the city, so I suggest you go on the website, down load their route map,and figure out where is most convenient for you. The city seems to have ample parking in general. Also, because they stop running early(I think last run was 4pm?)consider where you want to spend the rest of the evening and maybe make that your start and end point. Have fun!
Written September 13, 2022
Does the bus run in winter months? December 5-8?
Written December 5, 2019
CindyrBB
Chicago, Illinois
Hello.
Yes we run during the winter, with the exception of extreme weather. We will always have an announcement on our website if we do close for weather conditions. Otherwise, we are running.
Thank you
Written December 5, 2019
Sears tower is right around the corner from union station.
Written September 19, 2019
Is the ticket valid for 24 hours or a day? I mean can I get on at 4pm from one day and it will last to 4pm from the next day?
Written September 1, 2019
No. It just goes from when you buy it to the night shift. The night shift I think you pay separate. Enjoy Chicago!! :)
Written September 2, 2019
Does the bus only travel in one direction? i.e. in consecutive ascending order of the stop numbers? Or is there a bus that does the reverse?
Written August 29, 2019
Hello,
The bus only travels in one direction following the order of the stops 1-13, then returning to the initial stop.
Written August 29, 2019
Hi,
You can purchase tickets from our online website, or any one of our stops in downtown Chicago. We have ticket agents available at the stops standing at our sales kiosk, they accept payments via cash, credit/debit.
Written August 14, 2019
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