VANCOUVER'S BIG BUS HAS LARGE PERSONALITY, FUN TOUR OPTIONS

Lovely Vancouver is best seen by Big Bus if you're there only briefly. It's a great option for an entertaining overview and if you have a bit more leisure time, it's a great way to get a taste and overview of a city.

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STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS

PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

"The Carpe Diem Kids"

WE'RE BUS junkies. We've toured dozens of the world's great cities by bus and for our time and money, there's no better tour operation. It's a reliable, pleasant, economical choice.

The worldwide company Big Bus Tours offers sightseeing tours in many cities around the globe. We've hopped on and off Big Bus in Sydney, Singapore, London, Paris, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles and recently in Vancouver. We had the pleasure of a personalized commentary from Sherry, whose insights added immense depth and detail to our time. Although Big Bus usually offers audio guided tours, we were lucky this recent day as Big Bus is revamping and improving its already popular operation.

Vancouver's water and city skyline are observed from Big Bus, and you're free to hop off to explore.

THE TOURS are typically hop-on, hop-off style, allowing passengers to board and disembark at designated stops along the route. In Vancouver, for example, we explored Stanley Park, Granville Island and Gastown, each unique to Vancouver. The places Big Bus selects to hop off are carefully chosen for history, architecture, famous landmarks such as churches, concert halls and theaters, parks, gardens, monuments, government buildings, shops, restaurants. In Vancouver, we viewed lovely landscaping and architecture, and an interesting ethnic mix of people, which make it such a pretty and diverse city. We also photographed young people in costume, for Vancouver's version of Comic-Con.

Drivers are eager to show off their city, and we've always had good response to our questions, with pointers for restaurants, parks, museums with particular emphasis on special interests of ours: theater, music and contemporary art.

Vancouver's version of Comic-Con was in swing during our recent visit, adding to the fun.

WE WALKED from our hotel, to a centrally located landmark of the city. The Gastown Steam Clock is one of Vancouver’s most iconic timepieces and a must for anyone interested in the quirky and unique. It was built in 1977 by horologist Raymond Saunders, designed to harness steam from the city’s underground heating system. We photographed it along with a group of Japanese students, who giggled and photographed this crowd pleasing attraction. Not only does it tell time, but it does so stylishly, emitting puffs of steam and a happy whistle every 15 minutes.

Vancouver's Steam Clock is a popular tourist attraction, and an easy walk from a Big Bus stop.

DRIVER SHERRY was lively, informative, helpful and eager to show off her city. We've found that to be true worldwide, whether we get personalized comments or one of the excellent taped commentaries. Those are offered in multiple languages and the earphones are comfy, although one can bring one's own.

A Big Bus tour is a great addition to any tour.

Bruce Keller and Christene "Cookie" Meyers enjoy a Big Bus tour in Vancouver.

Many visitors choose to do a whole loop first (most of the Big Bus cities have multiple routes) then decide where to hop off next round. A full loop is usually no longer than two hours.  For a newcomer to a new place to give important grounding, or as a comfortable way to reacquaint and remind of a city's pleasures, Big Bus is a good investment and a pleasant outing for singles, couples or families. We've made many international friends on Big Bus, another plus. 

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