I am a DC resident and will make a point to take all of my guests on the Hop On/Hop Off bus tour. The tour is terrific and takes you to all of the hot spots. The biggest issue was picking up the tickets. There are several Hop On bus tours that operate out of Union Station. The ticket booth manager was very confused and had not heard of the Goldstar deal for this tour.

We purchased our tickets 2 days early. On Wednesday we awoke to bucketfuls of rain. Despite that, we rode the Metro to Union Station, went to the tour operator's kiosk, and were told that our tickets would be good "anytime." Of course, the day we tried to board the bus we were refused entry as our "tickets were out of date." DO NOT BOOK IN ADVANCE!

To echo other reviewers here - this tour is well worth the money! The buses are clean and comfortable, the recorded narration is informative and interesting, and certain drivers will augment the programming with other points of interest.

A few caveats: Make sure you print out your confirmation email from Goldstar! As others have said before, there are multiple "Hop On Hop Off" double-decker bus services at Union Station. The Goldstar instructions are misleading - the ticket booth was not anywhere near the parking deck, and your tickets are not on "Will Call." We found the desk/kiosk near the front entrance and the East Wing, and although the staff knew about Goldstar, they would not accept my confirmation number, or even me showing them my confirmation email via Blackberry. I was forced to go print the confirmation email from a nearby cell phone shop (Wireless Experts, Inc) that offered wi-fi access ($1 per page plus internet usage, and a $10 minimum for credit cards), and this was used as a voucher to basically purchase free tickets.

Also, while on the upper deck, stay in your seat and duck! We watched another tourist ignore these rules and attempt to change seats multiple times while in-motion. A telephone cable knocked his hat off, and we found him again the next day with a band-aid on his forehead after he apparently caught a tree branch.

Be careful when getting off the bus! The upper level is equipped with a camera that allows the driver to see when passengers are getting up to leave. However, some drivers tend to breeze through the lesser-used stops, and one didn't notice that we were leaving. I moved quickly, but the bus started moving again abruptly and my wife slipped and fell down a couple of stairs. The driver apologized, of course, but you may run into this as well.

Please don't let these minor snags dissuade you - the tour is awesome, these are the nicest double-deckers in the city, and they're a great way to get around town!

We loved this tour! Weather was fantastic and we didn't have to wait more than 15 minutes for the next bus.
It might help to know that the Gray Line Booth to pick up tickets is in the Main Hall, first floor, between Eastern restaurant, and the restaurant in the center. Not difficult to find. Personnel very friendly.

I am local and my daughter was visiting me. We enjoyed the double decker bus very much. The frequency of the buses was impressive and the quality of the recorded bus tour information was excellent. I am disabled and it was very nice how the staff on the bus was very friendly and helpful to me. The lack of the 4th star is because over a third of the scheduled stop were hotels, which I did not find particularly interesting as a tourist wanting to see the sites. But the ticket cost was worth the experience. One note: There are three red double decker bus tours in Union Station and it can be hard to find the right one. Once we found the right company, the staff were not well briefed about Gold Star and had to make many calls to accept my printed voucher. Stay calm, but know this is a possibility.