Philadelphia Sightseeing Tours — Local services in Philadelphia

I have been on several of the hop on hop of sightseeing tours in other cities and loved the convenience of being able to take our time at each stop knowing we had a ride to the next stop. On this trip I was traveling with my 70 year old mother who has some trouble walking and was excited to give her this experience. However when we got in the bus and seated, we noticed the windows are covered with a Film like screen that makes it difficult to see out the windows or take pictures of the sights. See photos. Secondly the tour guide was upstairs as this was a double decker bus, as she was speaking she catered to the crowd upstairs, which was fine , however when showing the sights she would say look over there at the Rocky statue , which left us downstairs frantically searching for the statue. Please tell her to give a side of the bus to look out so we too can try and see what the tour guide was talking about. While the tour guide was trying to make up stuff then laugh and say that’s not true, the guest are left wondering what the true significance of the sight was about. Thirdly you definitely need to know what stops you wanted to get off as you were given no warning what site was coming next. In other cities , the tour guide would start speaking about the next sight so you could decide if you wanted to get off at that stop, while at the previous stop. On this tour it was drive by the sight maybe a sentence or two about the sight then oh no one wants off and we keep driving by. After about the 8 stops I realized I needed to to start letting them know I wanted off at the Penitentiary so as we were getting close and the tour guide asked if anyone wanted off at the next stop I stated yes very loudly. Tour guide said oh okay. Then a few minutes later asked again. I shouted yes, a few minutes later the tour guide was like no one wants off and myself and a few downstairs fellow passengers all yelled yes we want off. Finally the bus driver acknowledged and stopped the bus. I will say the bus driver was very courteous and helpful with my mom in getting on and off the bus, and the bus was pretty much on time that is why I gave 1 stars. Very disappointed not worth the money we spent as several stops were driven past with no...

The City Sightseeing Philadelphia Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour is an excellent way to experience the best of the city, especially if you're limited on time or looking for a great first-day activity. The tour provides a fantastic overview of Philadelphia’s major historical landmarks and neighborhoods, offering convenience and flexibility.

I loved how the bus route covered all the must-see sights, including the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art with its famous Rocky Steps. There were stops near other iconic locations too, like Penn’s Landing, Reading Terminal Market, and Elfreth’s Alley, which made it easy to hop off and explore more deeply at your own pace.

The tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable, sharing engaging stories about the city’s rich history and pointing out lesser-known facts about each landmark we passed. Their enthusiasm and insight made the tour not only informative but also enjoyable, keeping us entertained throughout the ride.

If it’s your first day in Philly or you only have one day to explore, this tour is ideal. It gives you a solid introduction to the city, and by the end, you’ll have a good sense of where you want to spend more time. The ability to hop on and off at your leisure makes it convenient to customize the tour to your interests. Highly recommended for any...

We had an enjoyable tour of Philadelphia with this company. We were fine toward the front of the bus up top, but there were others who could not hear the tour guide over the speakers in the back. There are headphones for non English speaking people, but the devices on the back of the seats that the headphones connect to were not functioning. It would be a nice service if it worked. William, Billy, was our guide, and he did a very good job getting in all the info along the way—and there was a LOT to cover. He added lots of humor along the way, which was entertaining. We rode the whole tour first, then covered the Freedom Mall, and got back on to go to The Reading Market, which is a must see. We didn’t have to wait long at all for the next bus to pick us up. We got back off at the Franklin Institute, toured it (it was good but several exhibits were closed for renovation). It’s really a hands on museum for kids. The planetarium show was very good. We didn’t have to wait long for the next bus, and we rode that to end our day. Our wait times for a bus averaged 10 minutes. We rode three different buses, and the second and third buses did not have working A/C on the main floor. That was disappointing as it was later in the day and we were hot. Overall, we recommend this tour for seeing the city and learning...