Bigbustours/sydney Reviews 323

I have used the Big Bus Tours in several cities around the world and found the Sydney group to be sub-par. The drivers were not friendly and it's clear they are trying to run as few buses as possible. Every bus I was on was overcrowded and the running times were long between buses. I wouldn't recommend them in Sydney. Take a cab to the Opera House and enjoy the sights there.

My husband and I used Bigbus in Australia and were extremely unhappy with our experience. Our driver wasn’t able to scan in our ticket and instead of taking a moment to figure it out, he insisted we wait at the front by him while he kept driving and he would try to scan the tickets at red lights while he was cursing at the machine for not being able to read the ticket. My husband and I uncomfortably stood at the front (there were many seats available but he told us we can’t sit until he scans the tickets) and we were holding on to whatever we cold while he drove around the city. After about 10 minutes he was able to scan in the ticket and told us we could finally go and sit. He wasn’t a very nice person and I understand we all have had days and maybe that was it for him, never the less, he handled the situation very poorly and left us with a bad experience, bad enough for me to have to write about it. In case this matters at all, his number is GO 7668.
Thank you.

Good way to get about Sydney and see the sights. Traffic can be a problem. The only complaint is that the stops are not clearly marked at all and we walked from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour looking for a pick up point and definitely none were marked at all.We were very frustrated by this. We also found one of the stops at Bondi very difficult to find .

I found the tour on the Big Bus to be excellent. I would buy their two-day pass bundled with the Captain Cook Ferry Cruise and the visit to Sydney Tower. It is well worth it.

On holiday from uk. First bus stop had no indication that the tour bus stopped there so had to txt my son to check for me. The bus went so quick I missed the stop I wanted to get if rang the bell but the driver didn’t stop, there were only 3 passengers on the bus. As I didn’t know the area was slightly confused as to where I was at times, all in all wasn’t very impressed with the first half of the tour.

it’s always best way either to get the first impression of the city you’re visiting or to see most attractive places in very short time if you have only a day or two in the city.
what can be improved in Sydney tour is either to have led screen on the bus which would show which stop you’re at, or to have clear ar big markings in the places where bus stops.

Usually on open top bus tours its the driver that gives the information about the sites with a bit of humour and interaction with the group. Not on this tour it was just a boring narration and it didn't always say that you are at your next stop, so we missed getting off thinking we had just stopped at traffic lights.

It was awesome experience moving around Sydney cbd and nearby area. The drivers are exceptionally cooperative.

Great tour. Saw the whole of sydney. Initially thought it was a little expensive-but having done it-IT WAS WELL WHORTH IT.

Sydney Australia Big Bus. I gave this 3 stars because in general I like the choice of attractions and the open air bus. It's a good way to get an overview of a city. I didn't give it 4 or 5 stars for a number of reasons. First, as others have said, the earphones are so bad it is VERY hard to hear on them. I missed at least 50 percent of the commentary. In a city like Sydney, which is beautiful, but lacking in world-renowned self explanatory "tourist sites", the commentary is particularly important. Also, as others have also said, the fill-in music was loud and very annoying. I would go with silence or some VERY mellow and soft elevator music. I jammed them in my ears so much that they hurt and went for maximum volume and they were still terrible. I tried three different pairs too. Second, the ticket situation is very confusing. It is like a McDonald's receipt, thin and insubstantial, easy to lose. That is fine for fast food, but not for something you potentially need to save for 2 days and show multiple times. I bought my ticket electronically, read on the website that I could show that, but it turned out that I had to show it just to get the flimsy ticket, and I had to stand and wait for the person with the portable credit card charger like those who hadn't already paid. Not a very 2018 process. Third, the bus drivers must be told they don't have to interact with customers because I have never yet met one who had any degree of personality/acted like they cared or wanted to run tours. Seems they must be told all they have to do is drive. I am sure they get asked many many questions but they drive TOURISTS on TOURS and should expect and be trained for that. Fourth, I agree with someone else, that they need more stops. It is supposed to be convenient, and easy. Fifth, they need to stick to some kind of schedule and have backup plans for problems. I waited for 1.25 hours at the Bondi beach stop in Sydney (it was supposed to come every 20(or 30?) minutes so no matter what time I got there, I shouldn't have to wait more than 59 minutes if I just missed one). I actually asked the bus driver when I finally got on what the problem was and he said that the bus ahead had an accident and I should complain about THAT guy to Big Bus. I wish I remembered BOTH names now. I didn't like the whole "blame the other guy" thing. Also, it didn't account for the whole 75 minutes either. I think there should be a procedure for that, like a bus in reserve. It is a customer service company after all. Their problem should not be MY problem. Finally, the last bus ends too early in the day. A lot of people don't want a night tour, but, in Australia in SUMMER for example, don't want the first stops "closing" at 5:00.

In summary, the biggest issue of all is the headphones, IMO. I have done the Big Bus in other cities and this past experience was by far the worst, but the headphones problem and the ticket issue is something I've seen on all of them. I think this will be my last Big Bus, unless I see some changes.

I agree with a number of reviews posted recently. Drivers are inconsistent in driving and can be surly or downright rude (the opposite is needed consistently). It is NOT clear that the ticket is only valid for 2 consecutive days. Ear pieces are uncomfortable, inconsistent in quality and need improvement. I think more stops should be included, as you would get more customers (and avoid walking BIG distances to start the tour)! Where buses are interchangeable at stops, more planning on timing is needed. On top deck, some covering is required - it is a hot climate in summer. Whilst very helpful to see Sydney, it is over priced. And the advertising for add-ons is misleading, as the Captain Cook tour is ONLY a 1 hour trip around harbour and not the hop on/off tour that is suggested. A BIG improvement is needed!

Unfortunately I didn't know the the 2 days package was ONLY for consecutive days, I was in the CBD for two days Wednesday and Sunday in the same week. I didn't have much time the Wednesday as we landed in the afternoon. My partner and myself we did a quick ride from Museum to Central Station. I actually what I needed to use for my second day and the lady said just keep your receipt and show it to the driver. Was a small piece of thin paper so I put it straight away in a safe spot inside my wallet. On the Sunday when I finally I was able to use my BigBus tickets the driver post it out the they were expired, because they last 48 hours. I try to explain to him that no one told me and I couldn't find this information anywhere else other than the small receipt that i didn't look at as was so afraid of ripping or loosing it. He explain the only was for me to stay on the bus was to pay again. He offered s discounted fee of 90 dollars when I have already spend 130 dollars for nothing. I was already disappoint of the fact that the prices on the website are on American dollars and instead of 100 I actually spend 130 dollars. It was suppose to be the biggest thing during my Sydney stay but it ended up being a big rip-off.

Had a great time on the bus tour. Ear phones were cheap so was extremely hard to hear the running commentary. Half way through the tour the ear plugs stopped working all together. Music in between segments was extremely loud !. Ticket guy was extremely friendly and helpful. Be careful when sitting on the top deck for low lying tree branches. Had to change buses at one stage as it was at a stop for 20 mins (not that anyone was told) and definitely wear a hat.

The driver on our first bus was so rude and unkind to us that we left the bus at the second stop in Bondi. We had a three year old child in a stroller with us and from the minute we got on the driver was unpleasant. He seemed not to like having a child on the bus. He refused to let us tether the stroller the same way one would a wheel chair despite the fact there was lots of room to do so. I tried to explain that the child was on the autism spectrum and needed to remain in the stroller as it made him feel more secure. The driver told me that there would be no compromise and the child had to come out. Even when we complied and took the child out he continued to raise his voice when addressing us and be generally unpleasant. He refused to give me his name or employee number when I told him I was going to report his behavior We finally left the bus and I took a photo of him and the front of the bus so I could file a complaint. The experience was so awful that we could not continue on the Big Bus tour and are requesting a refund.

Great personnel, just REALLY LIGHT on content. There were large gaps in the drive, not just because of traffic and construction, and plenty of interesting looking places that SOMETHING could have been said about. I was really surprised that there was more information on the beach tour than on the city tour. Surely there are more historical and current facts that could be added to beef it up.

I greatly appreciate the drivers communicating with each other so we could get over to the beach at the end of our first day -- just too bad that it rained and we got drenched. All part of the fun of the day -- until walking home :/

The earphones are really uncomfortable and we had to keep changing seats to find sound that we could actually hear. Then the music comes on and its super loud compared to the talking portion. Suggest taking out music. Its repetitive anyways and sounds terrible. We could barely understand the tour info for most of the trip. The staff at pick up points not very friendly. It would be helpful to have an hourly schedule at each pickup so you know when the next bus arrives. We were told by staff that we had 15 mins so we went to get a coffee and came back 5 mins later and had missed the bus. I have done big bus tours in other cities and this was by far the worst experience. Also a warning on the earphones that ypu can barely hear is really insufficient warning that you can be seriously injured by a low branch. I almost was hit in the face. Finally one driver couldn't get the equipment to work to scan my phone code but he did go out of his way to make sure we were sorted before his shift ended. That was nice to see.

The interaction with the bus driver was short and curt. The audio was very poor. Sound quality was scratchy and cut out intermittently and the highest volume was way too low to hear over the city noise.

Good routes, regular service and vehicles in good condition however the stops often take too long to load and off load passengers and the drivers need a course in client satisfaction as they were generally surly and unhelpful.

I an a local Sydney sider and wanted to do this for ages. thought it was great and thoroughly enjoyed the day. One of the bus drivers was abit grumpy but we all have our bad days.