Sometimes, they may be a regular tour bus; other times, they are a hop-on-hop-off double-deck bus. Most lower levels are air-conditioned.
These buses offer a way to see the major sights of a city effortlessly in rain or shine. I used to feel sorry for the tourists who packed onto to these buses. Now, I have a different idea. After decades of sightseeing and traveling, I’ve learned a bit.
A friend, about a dozen years older than me, told me he always used these buses. Whenever he arrived in a city he did not know, he took these buses to get the lay of the land. It was the first time I had heard about this approach.
My friend traveled often to very exotic destinations. He had been to Argentina, Vietnam, Columbia, Hong Kong, and across Europe and the United States. If these buses helped him I assumed they would help me as well. Plus, he learned a lot about history during the tour.
Hop-on-Hop-off buses provide an authentic experience.
I’ve traveled to Berlin, where the bus took me to the Brandenberg Gate, Museum Island, and Checkpoint Charlie. In Paris, I saw Notre Dame, cruised the Left Bank, and passed the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. While taking a bus in Rome, I circled the Colosseum, found where I could see St. Peter’s in Chains, and stopped at St. Peter’s Cathedral. In London, these tour buses took me to the Tower of London, St. Paul’s, and Trafalgar Square.
These were safe ways to see the sites in Argentina after being warned about taking taxis. We glided past Recoleta Cemetery and around the city. We discovered the Teatro Colon, La Boca, and the Puerto Madero. In New Delhi, we experienced the sights, sounds, and scents of one of India’s most diverse cities on this super saver bus tour, all aboard an air-conditioned bus. In Hong Kong, we went to the Man Mo Temple, Tai Kwun, and bought a combination ticket to take the Peak Tram.
Some buses allowed me to get off at each site and catch a later bus. Other times, I used these “authentic” tours to get an overview of the cities and the lay of the land. I normally took these tours early in my visit.
Today, rather than use of tacky tourist transportation, I see these tours as a way to visit the cities quickly.
On a recent trip, I listened to the prerecorded English language audio guide on the bus. I was in Athens. We crawled up the hill to the Acropolis. Then we rolled past the Temple of Zeus and the timeless Agora.
The arrival of these buses is a rite of passage to the world of mass tourism. For some, these are the “MacDonald’s” of sightseeing. Other than that, these buses are a way to see the major sites quickly. For diehard travelers and infrequent tourists, these tour buses are a Godsend.
Diehards can get their bearings and discover what they can see later. The tour also allows the physically challenged to see the major sights — and they don’t have to get off.
The tour buses allow everyone to experience the faces, sounds, and smells of a destination.
You’ll see women hanging out clothes to dry. You observe locals shopping and haggling over prices at markets. You can watch old men feeding the birds. The buses are a way to discover the local flavor of a city, along with the sightseeing highlights.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has worked in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.