Melissa Fida

Review of Hop on hop off/ Westcoast Sigh...

Would recommend - especially the Coal Harbour eBoa...

Would recommend - especially the Coal Harbour eBoat Tour. We booked the premium pass, which included 48hours (2 days) of the Hop-On/Hop-Off bus Tour, the Coal Harbour eBoat Tour, and the evening tour of Vancouver. All in all, this experience was on par with most of our Hop-On/Hop-Off bus experiences (in Canada, US, and Europe). A good way to get around town, see key highlights and even a few lesser-known spots, and learn a few things. The biggest Pro for us was the Coal Harbour eBoat tour. It is an electric boat so you move fairly slow, but that wasn't a bad thing. It was a relaxing, enjoyable, and long tour (long in a good way). Our operator was extremely knowledgable and shared so much historical and current information.

Just a couple small critiques (hence the 4 star rating, instead of 5).
-- The buses themselves are not always the most comfortable (not all buses are the same), but it's manageable.
-- The evening tour was "okay". While the planned route is a good one, both the gardens and prospect point are great spots to visit, it felt very rushed. Seeing as how the entire tour only has two stops, it would have been nice to have a bit more time in each - or at least in the gardens. It was not as enjoyable as we had originally hoped. I will say though, the driver tried his very best, and was as accommodating as he could be.
-- The "Park Route" and the "City Route" overlap a bit too much. While it is convenient for switching routes, it was too repetitive. You should consider redesigning your routes so that the park route, does less of the city portion, and perhaps includes other areas currently being excluded.
-- Lastly, both routes pass a portion of downtown Vancouver known for housing a large transient community (similar to skid row). While this may not be the ideal for visitors, nor should these people be treated as a display, it would be more appropriate (I think) if the situation were addressed (even if only briefly) to provide visitors with some context and understanding. Not speaking about it, only leaves a poorer impression; and worse still, on the "City Route" when passing that part of downtown, the recorded narrative very "conveniently" tells passengers (TWICE) to CLOSE THEIR EYES. The reason given is so passengers can "imagine" a Vancouver of the past, but as Canadians we felt this was a cheap ploy and a terrible way to handle the situation.