Big Bus pleasures: wonderful worldwide way to hit a city's high spots

 

Photographer and Big Bus fans, Bruce Keller and Christene Meyers enjoy a return to Sydney, Australia. They used Big Bus Tours to reacquaint themselves with the city's top stops and architectural wonders.

BIG BUS TOURS FILL THE BILL WHEN YOU WANT TO SEE A FAMILIAR OR NEW CITY  

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS 

Tokyo's splendid cherry blossoms, on a hop on-hop off
Big Bus Tours expedition. Easy to hop off for photos.

PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER 

BIG BUS means large fun, wherever in the world you step aboard.

We enjoy this inventive tour option in many cities around the globe and heartily recommend it. It's great for both newcomers to a place and those returning to a familiar town and simply wanting a refresher course on its high points. Either way, it's enjoyable and you're sure to learn something new.

THE MEETING places to board are always near familiar landmarks-- hotels, parks and gardens, markets, museums, government

Barcelona is a beautiful city served by Big Bus. 

buildings, cruise terminals, stadiums, castles, cathedrals, concert halls. These are determined by careful research of the places tourists frequent.

The tours can help you tick off your bucket list -- whether it's Barcelona's Sagrada Familia cathedral you want to see, Big Ben in London or the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Tall buildings, centuries old castles and monuments, modern shopping centers, famed concert halls, museums -- Big Bus hits them all. 

ONE HOPS on to the bus -- always in a central location in many major cities worldwide. Keep the ticket for future boardings. There are several pass options; the two-day ticket is our favorite. We've walked a couple short blocks from our hotels to board 
Big Bus in Sydney, Singapore, New York, Paris,

Radio City from the second story of Big Bus.

Barcelona and London-- favorite familiar cities. Big Bus covers the world-- from Darwin, Dubai and Dublin to Las Vegas, Prague and San Francisco.

If you love a city and are returning, it's a great
option.  If you're new to a city, Big Bus is even more important in giving you grounding. It is a wonderful tool to help orient you so you can decide where you want to spend time or return. If you have only a couple days, Big Bus helps you hit the high spots.

DRIVERS ARE courteous and helpful, the buses are kept clean, WiFi is free, and a lively narrative unfolds in many languages. Just plug in your complimentary headphones or bring your own, select the language channel and you're in business.

The buses wind through a city, stopping at a variety of well known places. A map allows passengers to hop on and off, see the nearby attractions, grab a bite or a beverage to recharge and reboard from the same stop at specific intervals. Usually, we've waited less than 15 minutes.

Keller and his nephew, James Ganner, hop off
to enjoy San Francisco's Vaillancourt Fountain,
and a stroll around the Embarcadero. 

IN SINGAPORE, we hop off at the magnificent Botanic  Gardens. In Sydney, we hop off at Bondi Beach and the Opera House, or in San Francisco, Fisherman's Wharf and the Embarcadero. However, you don't have to hop off at all. Many people simply stay on the bus and enjoy the loop -- usually a couple fun  hours. Often there are two loops -- distinguished by different colors.  Well designed maps help you make choices for your hopping off.

It's a great way to people watch, and enjoy the city's neighborhoods, landscape, shops.  You'll cross major bridges, glide past government buildings, explore ethnic neighborhoods and learn colorful detail.

Big Bus Tours officially goes back more than 13 years to 2011. But its history in tourism dates back further than its founding. The merger of two popular companies resulted in worldwide expansion as Big Bus Company of London and Les Cars Rouges of Paris blended. Both are proud of their longer histories: Les Cars Rouges dates to the late 20th Century and Big Bus has decades of history in the bus and sightseeing tour business.

BESIDES THE CITIES mentioned here, many more cities are served by Big Bus Tours, including such diverse tourist destinations as Abu Dhabi, Chicago and Vienna. 

Tourists hop off Big Bus to see Marina Bay Sands,
 a Singapore landmark-- casino, parkway and more.

In the United States, besides hitting the famous spots of the Big Apple, Big Bus Tours operates in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and many other cities. Big Bus is our preferred bus tour. It's user friendly, comprehensive, reliable, and you're sure to meet like minded fellow travelers. We've met folks on Big Bus who've become longtime friends, and fellow travelers. 

 www.bigbustours.com/

To book a tour or for more, click here:

Photographer Bruce Keller smiles as a young kid
munches on the flowers of his shirt. Hard to resist.

 UP NEXT: Goats galore in Maui. We explore a unique and fascinating enterprise, the Surfing Goat Dairy. Meet the charming kids, the elderly lady goats, the big daddy who has dozens of girlfriends. Learn how a Canadian man's desire to do something different developed into a flourishing enterprise. And check out the fabulous goat cheese and truffles created by the milk of these healthy, adorable and affectionate creatures. In the coming weeks, we'll explore a delectable food tour in Brisbane, and mingle with koalas and kangaroos in more rural parts of Australia.  Meanwhile, remember to explore, learn and live and catch us weekly for a fresh spin on travel, performance, nature, family and more at www.whereiscookie.com

For a taste of the goat story, here's a link:

Preview of Maui's goat dairy, click here