Open-Top Bus Tour Operators
The main open-top bus tour organizer in Washington is Gray Line Tours, which runs its double-decker tour buses almost every day of the year.
Gray Line Tours
(800) 862-1400
grayline.com
Main Stops
The Gray Line bus tour starts and ends at Washington's Union Station at 500 Massachusetts Ave. in the middle of downtown D.C. The tour makes 25 stops in all, including the U.S. Capitol, the National Portrait Gallery, the White House, Dupont Circle, Georgetown, Arlington National Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and the Smithsonian Institute.
Hop-On, Hop-Off
The entire bus tour runs 2.5 hours, but with a hop-on, hop-off feature, tourists can get off at any of the 25 stops and rejoin the tour bus later in the day. Buses stop at each location approximately every 30 minutes, so riders can spend as little as 30 minutes or as long as they want at each stop, or they can simply stay on the bus and move on to the next stop.
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased on the bus or online at several different websites. As of 2009, full-price tickets purchased through Gray Line cost $35 for adults and $18 for children 4 to 12 years old. Children under 4 are free.
