Double-decker bus tours are an ideal way to explore a city while remaining safe from the reaches of overzealous canvassers and pesky bands of paparazzi-physicists. Today’s Groupon allows you to see Vancouver without the intrusion of camera-wielding Bohr quoters: for $15, you get a one-day hop-on, hop-off bus tour of Vancouver from Big Bus (a $38 value). Groupon purchasers can pay Big Bus an extra $5 to upgrade to a two-day pass.

Big Bus boasts a fleet of vintage double-decker behemoths as well as convertible buses with open tops that allow for unroofed sightseeing. Weave through Vancouver with a one-day pass, with passengers free to disembark and re-board the tour at any of its more than 20 stops throughout the city. Sights to be seen on the tour include Gastown, Chinatown, Granville Island, the Granville Island entertainment district, and the English Bay. Hop off the vehicle in search of your back-to-school jumpsuit at one of the many shops on Robson Street, or retreat into the lush greenery of Stanley Park for a meditative meal of beef jerky and chocolate milk. The tour is narrated, with cultural and historical commentary available in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin.

Buses begin departing at 9 a.m., with subsequent departures leaving every 15–20 minutes during the summer. The tour lasts about 90 minutes should passengers choose to not dismount Big Bus’s street stallion at any of its stops. Seize this opportunity to see Vancouver at your own pace, all while drying out soaked capes and drenched tear ducts on the bus’s open-air deck.

Reviews

Past clients give positive testimonials about Big Bus:

Everybody Loves Big Bus! from Lethbridge Web Design on Vimeo.

Five TripAdvisors give Big Bus an average of three stars, and four Yelpers give four stars each: > * Good value for transportation while in Vancouver! Highly recommended. – J C., Yelp > * A great way to see Vancouver is by the hop on hop off big bus. It makes a circuit around the downtown area and even ventures across into North Vancouver. It’s a great way to get an idea of the city highlights. A prerecorded narrative tells you about various highlights along the way. – TheTourist2010, TripAdvisor