Big Bus Chicago Hop-On Hop-Off Tour

Overview

The lakeside metropolis of Chicago is famous for its striking skyscrapers, world-class museums and colorful history. Explore the “Windy City” at your own pace, with the choice of a Classic(24 Hour) and Premium (48 Hour) ticket, all which include a hop-on, hop-off sightseeing bus tour with stops strategically located near the city’s top attractions. Hop on to experience sites like the Adler Planetarium and Navy Pier or hop off along the Magnificent Mile to shop, see the great city at heart-stopping heights from Willis Tower’s Skydeck.

City: Chicago

Wed 23 Oct

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $44.99

Make a reservation

Wed 23 Oct

Starting at $44.99

Make a reservation

New York City Tours

Unique Activities (21) Transfers & Transportation (103) Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises (113) Entry Tickets (47) Sporting Events (1) Good for Small Groups (6) Seasonal & Holiday Tours (41) Walking Tours (697) Outdoor Activities (20) Limitied Availability Tours (6) LGBT Friendly Tours (4) Family-friendly Activities (7) Solo Travelers' Tours (147) Food & Drinks (27) Travelers recommend (73) Good for Groups (8) Top Activities (18) Guided Audio Tours (3) Art, Culture & History (135) Attractions to explore (38)

What's Included

Live Bus Tracking (Download Free Big Bus App)

Hop-on, Hop-off, Open-top, Sightseeing Bus Tour

Audio Guide

Additional Info

Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Classic 1-day tickets will be valid for same day use. Tickets claimed after 2 pm will be valid for the next calendar day.
Redeem vouchers at any Big Bus hop-on hop-off points
Please advise at time of booking if wheelchair assistance is required
Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
Gear/equipment sanitised between use
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitised
Guides required to regularly wash hands
Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons
Customers are advised to download the Big Bus app to find out more about our new health and safety measures and for real-time bus tracking information. Alternatively please visit the Big Bus website.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (1000)

Eddy C

Jan 2019

took tour Dec 30th extremely entertaining tour, knowledgeable and friendly guide, good option also to hop on and off diff locations (save on taxi/Uber costs) used with Chicago Travel pass, very good value for the $$

Response from Host

Jan 2019

Eddy C Thank you for your review. We are cheaper than taxis and Ubers + will the taxi driver tell you about the cow that started the Great Chicago Fire? Most likely not! We hope to see you again when you come back to Chicago. Best The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team

MomofSix94

Dec 2018

We were given tickets from friends to see the city by using Big Bus. We had a bit of a difficult time finding our first hop on stop by the Sky Deck. When we did find out stop we had an easy time. It is so easy to get on and off at any stop. Some we skipped (Navy Pier) because it was so busy and chaotic. Super way to see the city!!

Response from Host

Jan 2019

MomofSix94 Weeee! Thank you for your great review. We're glad to hear that your friends gave you the gift of exploration when you visited Chicago. Best The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team

mperugia

Dec 2018

We used the hop on hop off tour for three days of our 6 day vacation. The tour was good considering that the December weather wasn’t optimal. Jack and Brian were great. Jack was really nice to our 6 YO daughter and Brian extremely safe stopping multiple times when people on the higher level kept moving from seat to seat while the bus was in transit to its next stop. Ken was also great! He was very funny. Overall, I recommend taking this tour to anyone visiting Chicago. Areas for improvement: 1) Include more history content in the tours 2) Pick up more frequently, wait times were often longer than advertised from stop to stop. Maybe more buses are needed 3) We rose several different buses during our time and while all were equipped with heat systems on the top and bottom most seemed to not be working. 4) The tour times ending right at 5 (and depending on your location not picking anyone up past 3:30 or 4:00 leave folks stranded). Would be nice if the service was extended to 8 PM. 5) Tickets should be valid 24 hours after activation vs the day of use.

Response from Host

Jan 2019

mperugia Thank you for your review and suggestions. Below is a little bit of information on your suggestions. 1. Every guide is provided with the same historically/pop culturally/architecturally filled script (it's about 50 pages long, front and back). They can pick and choose to cover any topics inside of it as long as they all share the landmark information of significant and iconic places in Chicago. Some guides provide more history while others are more pop culture focused. We believe that every guide brings their own flair to their tour, and their tour should be something they're proud of. 2. We do advertise a 30 - 45 minute time in November - December and our records show that every day we ran within that range. The last week of December we even ran at every 25 minutes, sometimes 20 minutes. But it being a large city, there are many factors out of our control that may affect these time. Our team of drivers is skilled in navigating the city and its traffic in order to keep their times. 3. Heating is an issue that we're working on. Not many places in the world that run double decker tours get as cold as Chicago, so it's a bit tough for us to retain some of that heat. The covered tops on the buses do help, but the buses without covered tops lose a lot of heat through the stairwell. 4. Our tour ends at 6:00pm with the last loop starting at 4:00pm from our Stop 1. Every brochure has a timetable with the schedule for the last full loop of the day. Our team members should always bring up the timetable to guests; we'll make sure we address this within our team. We had a Night Tour service that started at 4:30 and extended a little bit to 8:00pm; it was a panoramic tour partnership with the Chicago Architecture Center, not a hop-on, hop-off. 5. Tickets being valid for '24 Hours' actually confused a lot of people in the past, especially when we run Night Tours, but their '24 Hour' ticket wasn't valid for the Night Tour. We changed over to '1 (or 2) Calendar Day(s)' as it was easier to understand what was and wasn't included. Again, thank you for your insight and input. We'll definitely share this with our higher ups as valuable information when it comes to planning for the future. Best The Big Bus Tours Chicago Team