Big Bus Sydney and Bondi Hop-on Hop-off Tour

Check the bus hours

The bus stopping at 3:30 is a joke. A 24 hour pass when the bus stops running at 3:30 is very misleading. To make it worse the Harbour tour we planned to take the next morning was not running. We were stranded in Bondi beach at 4pm and had to Uber back to Circle Quay where we were staying, and never got the harbor tour we paid for the next morning.

Great value

The hop on hop off bus was a great way to get a feel for the layout of Sydney on our first day. Since the ticket was good for 24 hours, it gave us plenty of time to get an overview while taking a bit of time to explore a few of the stops including Bondi Beach

Good experience, need to stay open later

We enjoyed the narrators stories and facts of the area and buildings. I wish the busses would run a little later into the evening. Ending at 330- 4pm is very early. At least until 5pm.

We had a GREAT day!

We appreciated the patience and directions of our tour guide, Rin, as we were lost and late trying to get to the pick up site on time. We had a small group which was terrific. Rin was very informative, accommodating and enjoyable!

Horrible. Please read.

If I could give negative reviews, I would! I’m in bed suffering from a severe cold due to the lack of concern on this bus. First off, the bus is filthy , not dirty, but downright “back alley” filthy. The above AC vents were jammed and cold air was blowing on me as it rained outside. The recording is extremely outdated and difficult to hear. My shoes and socks were soaked due to incompetent workers who couldn’t let me know that the seat I was sitting in gets regular “cascades of rain water” dumped on their head from the level above. Not sprinkles- but waterfalls!! I’m sure spending an entire day with wet shoes and socks is what got me so sick. I’m missing precious vacay days shivering in bed! Please save yourself this experience and take the tram or train.

Good tour but Long waits

The tour was great but only 2 blue line and 4 red lines buses running there were long waits for pickup at stops.

Never use again

Absolutely the biggest rip off , I started writing our experience with this company and oh god I think I was turning into a novel . I wouldn’t recommend this company to anyone , all we wanted to do was make sure we seen Bondi beach and Taronga Zoo . We got to see Bondi Beach at the blink of an eye as we are sure the bus driver was in such a hurry to finish his shift for the day . We were t told when we changed buses from red to blue that it was the last blue run so if we got off at Bondi there was no bus back . Just a waste . Your choice !

Very disappointing

Route 2 was very disappointing. Bus left Bondi beach early, so I had to wait 45 minutes for the next one in the rain. Fast driving, so difficult to see sights. Commentary didn’t synchronise with sights. Sexist comments on commentary about surfing Sheila and red light district. Do not recommend. Also (and not their fault) Bondi Beach was small and very built up around it - not sure why it is so popular.

Didn’t use

We didn’t use this service. We used the ferry, which was very convenient to where we were staying and where we were going.

Poor

The Old Girl got me into City Bus Tours and Big Bus Tours some years ago. They WERE brill. Nowadays the price has risen too hugh and the service poor. Sadly, against my better judgement we bought a ticket. Eratic service. Second day we walked the city...far easier.!

Worth the money

Good routes (2). Saw everything there was to see. I always enjoy these types of tours. You learn so much. Although it was raining I still enjoyed it

Must-do when new to Sydney

Perfect way to get your bearings and see the sites around Sydney! If you’ve never been before, definitely recommend doing this on one of your first days.

Very convenient

Great experience for a limited amount of time in Sydney. Harbour Hopper ferry was a very nice experience too !! Highly recommend.

A good start to my stay

A good orientation of the city so I can make my own way around the rest of my stay. All staff & drivers were friendly and helpful

Was ok

Waited too long for bus to come.. we wasted a lot of time waiting waiting. The narrator was informative, we did learn a lot

Best way to get to know Sydney in a snapshot

The trip was very informative and the driver Sid was extremely friendly, and his driving was smooth, making my experience with Big Bus memorable. The Hop on Hop off tour is a must if you want to learn a lot about Sydney in a few hours.

Great way to see Sydney

The two routes, red and blue, was a great way to see many awesome sites in Sydney. Really enjoyed Bondi beach and Opera house.

Really nice way to see Sydney

Didn’t get time to do it all had to catch plane but it was a good tour not too long a wait between pick ups. Got to see parts I wouldn’t have seen otherwise

Not such a great experience.

Driver was rude and not helpful. It was very difficult to change from red bus to blue. Took forever for the red bus to arrive and we gave up on the blue bus so we never made it to Bondi Beach. Total waste of money and waiting time under the rain.

Sydney City in a Nutshell

A good way to see the city on a rainy day. Convenient drop off locations throughout the city. Stayed true to pickup times.

A fantastic way to see Sydney!

You cannot go wrong with a hop on hop off bus tour! This was an absolute winner and we saw parts of Sydney that we would have totally missed. Comfortable, value for money and great commentary. Perfect.

See the city and hear the history

My wife and I found this to be a very informative tour of the city and a great way to get acclimated after a long flight. It was very enjoyable. We changed lines midway then jumped back on the original when we got back. We did jump off at Bondi beach to grab a bite to eat.

Inhospital and Unaccommodating Service!

We booked the Big Bus Tour for April 30th and encounter some bad weather. Upon boarding we were rudely greeted by Scott on bus 445 who sternly shouted that standing on the bus was not allowed and instructed us to sit atop the open deck in the rain. Our personal belongings, including technology, and health were jeopardized as we sat in the pouring rain for 45 minutes. Scott made quick stops not allowing us to depart or relocate as spots opened below before the bus was moving again. We then switched buses to notice that the other driver was denying entry once the bottom level of his bus was at capacity. Something Scott couldn't be bothered to offer as an option. I would of happily spent more money for my own Uber had I been given the option rather than being pelted with rain and sitting on a flooded bus. The tour bus idea is a great and I have previously had good experiences. However, Sydney should invest in better staff and more hands on attention. I certainly feel my money was wasted and I essentially paid to get wet, sick, and barked at.

Convenient and Informative

A convenient way to explore Sydney. We purchased the two day ticket, which also gave us access to the ferry around Sydney Harbour and over to Manly and two other stops. The pre-recorded narrative told us all about Sydney and its history.

No Refund Available when they couldn't provide the service!

A great disappointment as we could not get on a bus, any bus. Admittedly it was Good Friday and two cruise ships were in port but this meant with the larger number of tourists about all the buses were full with little chance of boarding any in the limited time we had available to us. We requested a refund through the kiosk (that was not longer selling tickets due to the busy day) and were reassured that a refund would be given to us but we had to apply to head office. And since then we have been completely ignored. Two emails and a phone message have gone unanswered. This is very poor customer service.

Great way to see the city.

While in Sydney, I took the Big Bus city tour, and it was a fantastic way to explore the city and Bondi Beach. I learned a lot about the history and different areas of the city, and of course, visiting beautiful Bondi Beach was a highlight of the day.

Sydney and the Beach

Great way to see all the highlights and stop being n your own schedule. Would have liked the recorded commentary to include each stop number so you know exactly where you were on the map. Staff very helpful when we wanted to walk from one stop to another

Hop on the magic bus.

Excellent way to get around Sydney. We were able to redeem tickets on the bus. Stops were well marked.

Always Fun to Hop-on, Hop-off - Syndey

We love the hop-on-hop-off tours! Convenient way to get around with great vistas and audio tour. We loved stopping at Bondi beach the most! Great value and the number of stops was perfect!

Nice

I must do thing in Sydney to get feeling of the city I highly recomend for every visitor of Sydney 👍👍👍👍👍👍

Okay service, no other option

The bus schedule seemed to be very erratic, but a bus finally came by and we were able to find seats. The drivers were minimally friendly and did not have much interaction with guests. We did not go to Bondi Beach - did the city route only. Headsets worked well, even though the narration did not exactly match location at all times. This is the only Hop-On Hop-Off service in Sydney, so there isn't an alternative solution.

Great tour if you have the right expectations

My husband and I had a great experience with this hop on/ hop off bus and recommend this excursion if you’re only in Sydney for a few days. It’s a nice way to learn about the city’s history and gain high level sightseeing. We went on a Monday and had no issues getting a seat at the top deck (we hopped off twice to try both red and blue routes). This bus is NOT intended to shuttle you to another reservation / booking. I see that some people are upset that the shuttle isn’t punctual — Note that this is not an Uber situation. Bus shuttles are large vehicles to drive. The driver needs to check people boarding the bus, monitor cameras to ensure everyone is seated throughout, and navigate city traffic. If you go in with expectations that this is high level tour of the city, you will have a great time. The audio matched the driving landmarks.

Terrible experience Sydney Big Bus Hop On Hop Off

My wife and I purchased the 2-day pass. Day 1, we reached Stop 20 King Street Wharf at 9 AM. More than hour later, a bus arrived, stopped with both doors shut. A few seconds later, the bus driver drove off without offering any explanation or instructions. The bus was full but there was no excuse for the driver no to greet us and give any instruction. We boarded the next bus at about 10:45 AM. Day 2, we waited at Stop 14 Sydney Fish Market at approximately 1:45 PM. We had to walk to Darling Harbour to catch the harbour cruise. We had no opportunity to ride the Big Bus on Day 2, which suggested that we could have saved money to purchase a one-day Big Bus tour and would have seen more of Sydney by riding the Sydney public transport. The app, though helpful and useful, can be misleading. Buses disappeared from the map of City Explorer. While on vacation, time is always precious. Big Bus Hop On Hop Off is not an effective way to explore Sydney. In a negative way, it wasted our time due to cumbersome routes, directions and locations of stops.

Good option, but not the best option for seeing Sydney. Buy an Opal Card and use public transportation.

The staff is very friendly and helpful. But... The buses end early. Our "tour" started at 10:30AM at the Museum stop near the CBD. We traveled to the Sydney Opera House. Following our tour of the SOH, we got a quick lunch and back on the bus. There was no time to see much else because when we reached the Rocks we were told that service was over for the day. We then had to make our own way back to our hotel. If you want to see Sydney and not get off the bus, then do it. But... if you want to get off and see anything, you will quickly run out of time. The HOHO bus is $40. Local buses, trams etc., are $2.50 or less per ride. Do the math. Personally, I would not do it again.

Hop on if you have time

I’ve taken a hop on bus in dozens of cities. This was not the best, and it was not the worst. The bathroom was limited and often seemed poorly timed to the stops (describing things after we saw them), and I don’t understand why this stops running so early in the day, but it does got the major sites and is nice you can switch to the blue line to get out to Bondi.

A warts of money

We waited 45' for the apparently one blue bus they had running and decided to take the train/ city bus instead. It was a waste of money for us.

How to see a lot of Sydney on Time- budget.

The Big Bus was a wonderful way to see and familiarize myself with the city in a short period of time. The gentleman who checked me in at my first stop, Peter, was friendly and helpfully suggested several Hop-off stops that I might (and did!) find particularly interesting. The 24-hour validation of the ticket allowed me to "go around" again on my second day there! Don't miss the Sydney Fish Market for an amazing meal and cultural experience! The Sydney Harbour Cruise was a very enjoyable way to see the beautiful skyline with all the variously constructed buildings from picturesque small, old churches and the unmistakable Opera House to unbelievably beautiful, variously designed skyscrapers. It helps to have the blue sky, sunshine, 75 degree F weather we experienced. The 3-course meal was delicious and expertly prepared and presented. Our server, Pratima, was a delight! I wish I were here longer to do it all over again!

Horrible day on bus

Not a good day experience. Decide to buy Experience ticket or a Sydney bus to do Bondi beach, city tour and harbour tour. First bus was ok and then disaster for rest of the day. Waited 1 hour 10 min for pick up at Bondi beach only with standing space and some people left behind. Got off where blue and red meet and after 20min gave up. Tried bus later with again only standing space. Horrible first date in Sydney

Best in good weather

Tough to synchronize sites w audio. Bus stops aren’t always at most advantages spots. After our tour of the Opera House we had to walk uphill in the pouring rain. (I slipped twice consequently preventing us from using our tickets for that nite’s performance. P

It was....ok

Somewhat memorable was the traffic and backtracking on the route. Most memorable with a long lines of frustrated people trying to get on a full bus. We didn't get off because of that. The big bus needed to add at least one more big bus to the route

Awful experience: without doubt the worse Hop On Hop Off we’ve ever used

Without doubt the worse HOHO we’ve ever done…. The busses were so few and so overcrowded that people had to wait for around 2 hours at stops to get on a bus and busses weren’t stopping for fear of people trying to get on any opened doors. Our driver said that they hadn’t expected such a busy day (a cruise ship had arrived in port and had been selling the HOHO tickets for months as an excursion, in addition to those sold direct by the Big Bus company themselves so no idea how the company had no appreciation of the demand). In desperation towards the end of the day the drivers let people wedge themselves standing in the aisles to stop them being left behind which was both dangerous, uncomfortable and meant you couldn’t see or hear much. The blue route had busses taken off it to service the red route which meant just one bus an hour and drivers were advising passengers not to get off as you couldn’t guarantee being able to get back on again. It was just a disaster with little organisation, little safety consideration, no staff supporting the drivers and giving information and sadly ruined any opportunity to appreciate the sights in this beautiful city. We’ve requested a refund (didn’t come close to getting the time or opportunity to use our harbour cruise ticket due to the delays) but getting our money back (if we do) won’t compensate for the missed experience of the one day we had exploring Sydney 😞

Skip this tour

It was difficult to hear the commentary..I wear hearing aids, and I had to take my hearing aids out to hear the speaker. The busses were very crowded, and there often weren't enough seats for everyone. They should have had more busses running. We also did the cruise around the harbor. We got no info about the cruise from our hotel. Luckily, the guy at stop one helped us. The audio on the boat was terrible. I think I heard only 25 percent of what was said. And I was wearing my hearing aids. The audio is just broadcast over a speaker. It would have been nice if they had closed captioned it over the TVs on the first floor. I would not do either tour again.

Tour is ok but long wait is unacceptable.

We waited more than an hour for the bus to come to stop number 1 and it came full. Then we had to wait for another one that they requested to come empty and it took another 18 minutes. The tour itself is ok but we couldn’t get off at any stop so that we don’t run into another long wait.

I loved this experience

I enjoyed this hop on hop off bus tour I was able to see bondi beach and Sydney opera house and hear a tour about facts of the city while we drove. I loved being on the top level of the bus.

The on site supervisor...

The on site supervisor must be resourceful to any questions customers will have not simply saying “I am not the driver” rather saying “I will surely let him know”. He represents the whole company and not only focused to his “job”.

Spectacular Sydney

A great way to see Sydney and good value with both routes included so we were able to visit many different sights and venues.

Great way to see the city

The bus worked out really well for us. We initially took it over to Bondi Beach to spend a couple of hours there and then hopped back on to ride the whole loop. We had great weather so rode on top and it was a nice way to see a lot of Sydney in a shorter amount of time.

Great overview of Sydney

Great way to see Sydney for the first time & to get to locations. We did both the red and blue Sudbury lines.

Informative

You know what your getting & always delivers. Was great on a rainy day. Nice to have a worker at most stops for questions.

A great way to see the city

A great way to see a great city, we did both routes back to back getting off at a couple of places we hadn’t already explored. Good commentary along the way too. We did it on a Sunday when traffic was light, can’t say what it would be like in the week. Highly recommend if your time in Sydney is limited.