The three companies, Yellow bus, Cityrama and City Sightseeing are organizing hop-on hop-of tours in Lisbon. Here we list the important things to note when choosing your hop-on hop-off ticket:
1. Yellow bus Carristour
- A local tour organizer who is specialized in hop-on hop-off
- Offers 6 different routes around the city (3 bus lines, 2 tram lines and one boat line)
- Offers shuttle airport transfer as well
- The all-in-one tour offers 72 hours to use all the lines for 45€ per person (book here)
- The 4-in-one tour offers 48 hours to use all the lines except the boat tour for 35€ per person (book here)
- Their TripAdvisor rating is 3.5/5
2. Cityrama Portugal
- Part of the worldwide franchise "Gray Line"
- The system includes 2 bus lines and one boat line
- The all-in-one tour offers 48 hours to use all the lines for 32€ per person (book here)
- The all-in-one tour offers 48 hours to use the 2 bus lines for 20€ per person (book here)
- Their TripAdvisor rating is 2.67/5
3. City Sightseeing Portugal
- Part of the worldwide franchise "City Sightseeing" that offers Hop-On Hop-Off tours in more then 100 cities
- The system includes 2 bus lines
- The all-in-one tour offers 24 hours to use all the lines for 22€ per person (book here)
- Their TripAdvisor rating is 2.4/5
Important notes:
Don't be discouraged about the lower TripAdvisor ratings as operating a hop-on hop-off is much harder than a classic tour. You never know how much people will be waiting on a station, so sometimes the bus will be full and there is not much the organizer can do. Sometimes the bus will be late due to traffic congestions. But that is just the way it is with Hop-on Hop-Off tours. It is similar to public transportation, and that is the level of service that you can expect. So a lot of people get angry and write bad reviews because they had to wait for lets say 30 minutes on the bus stop - which does happen regardless if you are using Yellow bus, Cityrama, City Sightseeing or public transportation.
If you want a more reliable service we recommend choosing a live guided tour of the city, such as Lisbon city tours with transportation, Lisbon walking tours or Lisbon bike tours.
About Lisbon hop-on hop-off in general
Lisbon has three very well organized hop-on hop-off bus and tram tours for tourist. It is much more convenient than regular public transport as it stops at every known attraction in the city. The busses are also equipped with audio guides so you will know your stops in advance and hear a bit about the next destination before you arrive there. All the tickets also include some free entrances or discounted tickets to the attractions you are visiting. There are a lot of options but we suggest taking the all-in-one tickets for 48 or 72 hours since there is not a big price difference and you will have a free of mind. For all tours, you will get a free map of the city when you enter the bus, with all the bus stops so that you can plan accordingly.