Top USA City Tours - page 2

We enjoyed our Hop On Hop Off experience. There were several friendly tour guides we'd like to give a shout out to...Ellen & Trudy; Steve & Ellroy; and even though Nicoll wasn't a tour guide she kept us entertained while waiting on the bus. The tour itself was very informative and interesting. We had 3 day passes so we were able to use the bus as a means to jump off and go out to eat then jump back on to return to our hotel. Saved us a lot of UBER fares and well worth the money plus you got to learn all about the New Orleans area too!

The tour started and ended on time. The meeting locations was accessible near pubic transportation stops. The only confusion was that pickup was ON THE CURB outside where the hotel's street number was posted on their building beside a lovely entrance that happened to be only an exit. The door was locked to enter from the street, so don't go out!! You'll have to walk around the block to another entrance! We assumed that pickup would be in the lobby inside. DON'T WAIT INSIDE FOR VIATOR TO TELL YOU THAT THEIR MULTIPLE VEHICLES ARE ARRIVING. But when we noticed the reproduction Model A electric carts arriving, we went outside. Each driver had the names of the passengers assigned to them, so loading was organized. Our guide was Lawrence, a DC native who spoke of each offering as "we did this" and "we improved that." He is invested in and enthusiastic about his hometown, which made it better and more fun for us. We rode around the greater National Mall area, and he pointed out all of the sites and buildings, with interesting trivia as well as the expected facts and figures. We were there on a miserably cold and wet "peak" weekend for cherry blossoms, so this ride (mostly) kept us out of the weather. I was in the back seat, so rain was blowing onto me, and not so much on the front and middle seat passengers. At our halfway stop, I asked him to roll down the back plastic shade near me to block me from wind and rain, and he did. (The college boy in front of me held the corner near him down (without being asked) the rest of the tour, and I thanked him for his thoughtfulness and kindness, too.) About halfway through the two hours, we stopped and debarked at the the MLK Monument, which included a welcome restroom stop at the very clean portable restrooms behind the gift/bookstore. Our second stop was at the Lincoln Monument. Lawrence gave us freedom for a few minutes to wander on our own, and then found us all and asked us to gather near the back pillar nearest Lincoln's left hand. (He was very good at recognizing all five tourists and keeping track of us!) There in the back right corner of the monument he showed us three "Easter Eggs", slang for hidden, usually unknown, and mostly secret bonus features. One was an ALMOST-invisible corrected error in the carving of a letter in the speech; another was the tiny signature of the artist MOSTLY hidden in the carved design below the speech. I've forgotten #3 in all the the new information that I learned during the tour! Lawrence also drove us down Heins Point, which he said is almost unknown. It too has cherry trees planted along each side, and they were even more beautiful than those at the Tidal Basin, in my opinion. The may have been my favorite part of this tour. After a full two-hour tour, Lawrence dropped us off promptly at our pick-up spot, and we felt we had a wonderful, overview of Washington, DC.

We booked the The Underground Pedway & Secrets of the Loop tour on a whim and couldn't have been more impressed! Heath was a knowledgeable, energetic and enthusiastic guide! His passion for the city is beyond evident. We both learned and saw places we had no idea even existed, even having lived in the city for over a decade! Don't miss this tour to learn about the city under the city! Who knew!?!?