We live in Philly and have now taken visitors on the hop-on, hop-off bus 3 times. It is a great option for seeing the main sites and learning a lot about the city. Easy to get off and get back on (though you may have a 15 - 20 min wait for a bus at one of the stops) as you travel throughout the city. To take full advantage of the bus, you need to plan for a full day. What we have found is that each tour guide is of course different. Some are pretty bland - they have a lot of information about the city to share, but don’t add much humor or make too much effort to make the information interesting and entertaining. Others could easily be stand up comedians - they have the history down, but add all sorts of interesting and entertaining information. Most recently, the first bus we were on, the tour guide spoke quickly, had a DJ-like intonation (not helpful), and the volume of the bus’s sound system was low. Several people complained that they couldn’t hear or understand the guide, but he didn’t seem that concerned. Later in the day we got on a different but, and the guide on that bus (I believe Joann was here name) was GREAT. Very informative and entertaining- and was helped by a much better sound system on the bus. We’ve never regretted taking the bus, so we recommend it. Our tip would be, if you are unhappy with the guide or the sound system on a bus, get off and see some sights, then get on the next bus that comes along, and hope for a better guide and/or sound system.