DC Monuments by Night: 10+ Landmarks & Open-Top Luxury Bus

Our tour guide and driver were fine. The issue is that we spent most of the time riding around on the bus. We did not visit the Jefferson Memorial. We did not visit the Vietnam Memorial. Both are listed on the itinerary. We started late and ended on time. Nothing was communicated as to why we did not visit the memorials just that we had to go back to starting place. If there were known road access issues then we would have rescheduled. Time was not managed well and you don’t really have 3 hours. We’ve taken other DC tours. No one of us really enjoyed this one because we felt that we didn’t see as much.

The tour was advertised as an exclusive glass covered mini bus tour with AC and minimal walking. I paid over $200 for two tickets to ride a beat up mini bus, no glass top, no AC and walking at every stop. I could barely walk my feet were so swollen. This was supposed to be the highlight of our trip on our last day in DC. 💔 We were excited about going to see the monuments we couldn't see because of my terribly swollen feet. The driver was kind, not his fault but there was no one that could assist me with a refund or even a change of bus. I lost that money and the memories we could have made on our very first trip to DC. Never again. We ended up getting dropped off back where we started after the first stop at the capitol. I would NOT recommend this tour agency at all. I don't know how they have such good reviews. I never leave bad reviews but this was so bad I had to. We were decived. Maybe this review will help the next person not experience what we did.

Most important is that our guide, Rafael, put his all into this tour and our driver did a good job constantly re-routing around blocked roads. We took the tour on July 3 in 100 degree heat. Although the service offers both open-top and closed tour vehicles, we were not expecting the open kind in that heat. They did supply lots of water to keep us hydrated. We got a late start and ended up doing more walking than expected due all the road blocks. Still, we managed to see everything and we give a ton of credit to Rafael for doing this tour multiple times in that heat and also for his knowledge of the city that helped us re-route and see everything, including some sites that we were not even aware of previously. Rafael and the driver were the good, the re-routing due to roadblocks was the bad and the heat was the ugly, but we definitely got our money’s worth!

I understand not having all the answers for a big event night like the night before the 4th of July. However with extreme heat and no plan to keep us in AC more than not and your usual routes shut down, you probably should have canceled. Also from the minute we were assigned to our bus which was not open air like the ad offers in the title we were met with a bus that simply could cool off in the heat wave. We then were kept put in the heat at stops for longer periods of time because the bus could not park and had to circle to be able to pick us up which lead to extend time in the over 100° heat. We also truly struggled to see about 4 of the monuments after dark had fallen due to bad lighting in those areas. We were trailed through a park that did not seem the safest and again at this point very dark, there was very uneven pavement and that was not noted. Overall it was very disappointing and I had even reached out earlier as I was concerned with the closures and the severe heat and they said it should not be impacted.

I reached out to the tour company that afternoon to ask if the tour was still departing as we were in DC and they were closing streets and it was over 100+ degrees. I was told absolutely yes. As suspected the roads were closed , The monuments were closed the bathrooms were closed. We were supposed to have been on a 35 person tour, it was 54. The AC barely worked and all we did was drive on a hot bus for 3 hours in grid lock to see nothing as all roads were shutting down so we kept having to pivot. Our guide and driver were amazing trying to make the most of it but there was no night tour. The tour company should not have been so greedy with their tour money and should not have booked any tours that night.

Bad experience. We signed up for 10 monument stops and went to 3 (not all on our list) they said it was due to the 4th festivities and road closures. Why didn’t the company tell customers this- or pre planned better. Very disappointed. $69 each a ticket and I could have seen the same exhibits stopping roadside in a car.

The tour company overbooked, never let us know anything concerning road closures in Was Dc that took our 10 monument tour down to 4 monument’s. , They had to know these closures were taking place but we got ZERO notification. Terrible experience. Demand a refund. Headed to the better business bureau with this o e. No refund was ever offered. A waste of $192

The title of the booking said an open top luxury bus, but we were directed to a 50 person closed top bus. The A/C in the bus didn’t work well and I sat the whole trip drenched in sweat on a 100 degree evening. The booking also says 10+ monuments in three hours, but because of the road closures for Freedom 250 events, we only got to stop at 5 places. And due to road closures our trip ended after about 2 hours. Our bus driver and tour guide were great, and tried to be flexible to get us to see more sights. They were friendly and kind, but the overall experience was frustrating.

Our guide Dion was excellent. He was full Of knowledge and was very funny. It was very hot and they provided unlimited water which was needed. However the pace felt very rushed and we didn’t get to see the WWII memorial. Also, I thought I purchased the open air bus and it was a small, closed bus.

The tour was not delivered as advertised. When you book a tour that describes the vehicle as “open top” and “luxury” and it’s neither open top or luxury, I would call that false advertisement The tour they put us on was enjoyable, buzz and Curtis were excellent (I’d give them both 5 stars). I submitted my experience to Viator as well as a request for a partial refund (as weren’t given what we paid for, based on the description of the tour before booking). Do not book this tour is your think you’re paying for an “open top” or a “luxury bus”. It is neither.