Vienna's two sightseeing companies look almost interchangeable from the pavement: red double-deckers on one side, yellow on the other, both circling the Ringstraße and both running a separate line out to Schönbrunn. What separates them sits in the timetables, the route map and the ticket tiers, and the gap is wide enough that the wrong choice costs you half a day. A 24-hour pass on either network runs about four times the price of the city's own 24-hour transport ticket, so the question is whether the bus saves you something the U-Bahn cannot.
The hop-on hop-off loops close down in the late afternoon: the last Red Route departure from the Opera is at 16:30, the last Blue Route bus leaves Albertinaplatz at 16:45, and the U-Bahn keeps running past midnight. The 18:00 Evening Tour and the 70-minute Panoramic Tour extend the day only if you want to sit still for the whole ride. And no tour bus may enter the pedestrian core of the first district, so the final stretch to St. Stephen's Cathedral or the Graben is always on foot.
Big Bus or Vienna Sightseeing: the short answer
Take Big Bus if:
- you want one ticket for both the city loop and Schönbrunn, with a live-tracking app and published 20-to-30-minute headways;
- budget decides: two adults and two children pay €96 for the 24-hour Discover family ticket, against €109 on Vienna Sightseeing's equivalent;
- you are visiting in winter, when the smaller network – 13 stops on the Red Route, 7 on the Blue – is easier to learn than a four-line system.
Take Vienna Sightseeing if:
- you want the widest coverage: up to four lines and more than 40 stops, including the Blue Line to the Hundertwasserhaus, the Prater and the Danube Tower;
- you want the summer-only Green Line up to Cobenzl, which no Big Bus ticket includes;
- you are travelling with children who need the German or English children's channel, or you want a 72-hour pass bundled with a boat trip, the Schönbrunn panorama train or one attraction entry.
On the money, the adult 24-hour fare is €37 with both operators, but it buys different amounts of riding. Big Bus spreads it across about 2 hours 55 minutes of loop time (Red 1 h 40 plus Blue 1 h 15), roughly €12.70 per hour of sightseeing. Vienna Sightseeing's four summer lines add up to about 5 hours 20 minutes, roughly €6.90 per hour; in winter, with the Green Line suspended, the rate rises to about €8.50.
Big Bus and Vienna Sightseeing: what each company actually runs
Big Bus Vienna: two routes, 20 to 30 minute headways
Big Bus Tours keeps its Vienna network small. One ticket covers both the Red city route and the Blue Schönbrunn route, and the buses run every day of the year. The Red Route needs about 1 hour 40 minutes end to end, calls at 13 stops, and leaves its first stop, Opera/Walfischgasse 2 (opposite the Zara Home corner), from 09:30 to 16:30. The Blue Route has 7 stops, starts at Albertinaplatz 1 beside the Albertina and runs 09:45 to 16:45. Buses arrive every 20 to 30 minutes, and recorded commentary runs in nine languages.
Big Bus has been replacing its double-deckers with battery-electric vehicles: ten were already in daily service with a stated target of 16, part-funded through Austria's eMove programme. Vienna Sightseeing already runs an electric fleet, and Wien Tourismus lists both companies among the city's bus tours. On either fleet only the rear of the upper deck is genuinely open; the covered front rows are pleasant in rain and stuffy in a July heatwave. Our comparison of the major hop-on hop-off companies puts Vienna's two in context.
Vienna Sightseeing Tours: four lines, 19 audio languages
Vienna Sightseeing Tours runs up to four lines and changes the network with the season. The Red Line covers the Ringstraße in about an hour. The Yellow Line links the centre with Schönbrunn, the Naschmarkt, the Museum of Military History and Belvedere Palace. The Blue Line heads northeast to the Hundertwasserhaus, the Prater and the Danube Tower, and takes around two hours. The Green Line climbs to Cobenzl for the panorama over the Vienna Woods, runs only in the summer months and starts at the Votivkirche. Across the four lines the company advertises more than 40 stops.
Every bus is electric, Wi-Fi is free on board, and the audio guide comes in 19 languages with a separate children's channel in German and English. Tickets are sold as vouchers valid for a year from purchase, and the clock starts when a member of staff in yellow scans your first boarding rather than at checkout.
| Feature | Big Bus Vienna | Vienna Sightseeing Tours |
|---|---|---|
| Routes | Two (Red city, Blue Schönbrunn) | Up to four (Red, Yellow, Blue, Green in summer) |
| Stops | 20 (13 Red, 7 Blue) | More than 40 across four lines |
| Loop times | Red 1 h 40, Blue 1 h 15 | Red ~1 h, Yellow ~1 h 20, Blue ~2 h, Green ~1 h |
| Departure rhythm | Every 20 to 30 minutes | Published seasonal timetable, comparable headways |
| Audio commentary | Recorded, nine languages | Recorded, 19 languages plus children's channel |
| Fleet | Electric double-deckers, expanding | Electric double-deckers |
| Live tracking | Big Bus mobile app | Web live-tracking page |
Ticket prices and what each tier actually includes
Both operators discount online purchases and print a higher full price for the same ticket bought at the stop or from a street seller. Big Bus layers three hop-on hop-off passes on top of the two routes, then sells bundles that add a boat, an attraction or both. The names mislead: Explore + River Cruise is a 48-hour pass, a day shorter than the 72-hour Explore pass it borrows its name from, so you swap a day of bus travel for the cruise.
| Big Bus ticket | Online from | Full price | Validity | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discover | €37.00 | €39.00 | 24 hours | Red and Blue routes |
| Essential | €42.30 | €49.00 | 48 hours | Both routes, Viennese hot dog voucher, Swarovski intro tour |
| Explore | €51.30 | €59.00 | 72 hours | Both routes, guided walking tour, hot dog voucher, Swarovski intro tour |
| Explore + River Cruise | €67.00 (child €47.00) | €92.00 (child €55.00) | 48 hours | Both routes, DDSG river cruise, guided walking tour |
| Best of Vienna 3-in-1 | €95.00 | €115.50 | 48 hours | Both routes, Upper Belvedere, Schönbrunn Grand Tour, guided walking tour |
| Best of Vienna 4-in-1 | €115.00 | €148.50 | 48 hours | Both routes, Upper Belvedere, Schönbrunn Grand Tour, DDSG cruise, guided walking tour |
| Best of Vienna 5-in-1 | €125.00 | €163.00 | 48 hours | Both routes, Upper Belvedere, Giant Ferris Wheel, Schönbrunn Grand Tour, DDSG cruise, guided walking tour |
| Evening Tour | €28.00 | €30.00 | 1.5 hours, one departure at 18:00 | Closed night loop, no hop-on hop-off |
| Panoramic Tour | €30.00 | – | 70 minutes, single ride | One loop, no hop-on hop-off |
The smaller print decides value more than the headline price. The Explore walking tour is a group departure with a qualified guide rather than a private tour, and the hot dog voucher buys a snack at a partner stand rather than a meal. Children aged 5 to 15 pay from €22 (€24 at the full price) for the Discover pass; under-fives travel free with a paying adult. Prices in the app and on the operator's Vienna ticket page sit at the lower figure; the Big Bus Vienna review breaks down which tier pays off on a two-day visit.
Seasonal departures are worth checking before booking. Big Bus runs a Christmas Lights Tour between 6 November and 3 January that pairs a one-hour panoramic night ride with entry to the Imperial Lights at Schönbrunn and a live English guide, from €44.10 online against €28 for the standard evening departure.
Vienna Sightseeing tickets and family pricing
Vienna Sightseeing prices by duration and sells a family ticket for two adults and two children. The 24-hour pass starts at €37 for adults, with children aged 6 to 16 at €23 and the family ticket at €109; the 48-hour family ticket is €119 and the 72-hour version €139. The 72-hour ticket is also the base for three combos that add a boat trip, the Schönbrunn panorama train or one free entry to an attraction of your choice, each from €55. Vienna Sightseeing's own ticket page carries the current figures and the cancellation terms, which allow a full refund up to 24 hours before travel.
Where the buses stop, and where they are not allowed to go
Between them the two networks run around 60 stops: Big Bus 13 on the Red Route and 7 on the Blue, Vienna Sightseeing more than 40 across its four lines. The Ringstraße loop is the backbone of both and genuinely useful for orientation: Big Bus sets down at Walfischgasse 2, the MuseumsQuartier on Babenbergerstraße, Burgring between the two museums, Rathausplatz, the Votivkirche and Schwedenplatz on the Danube Canal, before heading east. Vienna Sightseeing's Red Line starts across the street at Opernring and covers the same arc of buildings.
East of the canal the two part company. Big Bus carries the Red Route out to the Prater on Ausstellungsstraße, past UNO City and the DC Tower at the Kaisermühlen U1 stop, along the Danube Island at Reichsbrücke and down to the DDSG piers at Handelskai 265. The Hundertwasserhaus, which appears in a lot of Vienna itineraries, sits on Vienna Sightseeing's Blue Line instead, so it is worth matching the landmark to the right operator before you buy.
What neither operator can do is drive into the first district. Commercial coaches are kept out of the pedestrian zone, so buses drop along the Ring or at Schwedenplatz and you walk the last 800 metres or so down Kärntner Straße or Rotenturmstraße to St. Stephen's Cathedral, roughly eight to ten minutes on foot. Anyone selling a "cathedral stop" is describing a stop near the cathedral.
Which stop serves which sight
The table below gives the nearest drop-off for the sights people actually ride the bus to, and how much walking is left after it.
| Sight | Nearest Big Bus stop | Nearest Vienna Sightseeing stop | Walk from the drop-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Stephen's Cathedral | Schwedenplatz, Taborstraße 1-3 (Red Route) | Schwedenplatz or Opernring | About 800 m, 8-10 minutes down Rotenturmstraße or Kärntner Straße; no bus enters the pedestrian zone |
| Hofburg and Michaelerplatz | Museums/Hofburg, Burgring 7 (Red Route) | Opernring 2 (Red and Yellow lines) | The stop sits between the Kunsthistorisches and Naturhistorisches museums; cross Heldenplatz to reach the palace |
| Schönbrunn Palace | Schönbrunner Schloss Straße 52, next to the arrival centre (Blue Route) | Schönbrunn (Yellow Line) | A few steps from the gates; the U4 station is about 400 m up Schönbrunner Schloßstraße |
| Upper Belvedere | Prinz Eugen-Straße 27, in front of the palace (Blue Route) | Belvedere (Yellow Line) | Directly at the palace entrance |
| Lower Belvedere | Palais Schwarzenberg forecourt, opposite Schwarzenbergplatz 8 (Blue Route) | Belvedere (Yellow Line) | A few minutes through the palace garden |
| Prater and the Giant Ferris Wheel | Ausstellungsstraße 4, next to the petrol station (Red Route) | Prater (Blue Line) | A few minutes to the Riesenrad |
| Hundertwasserhaus | Not served | Blue Line | The stop is at the house |
| Naschmarkt | Not served | Yellow Line | The stop is at the market |
| Danube Tower | Not served | Blue Line | The stop is at the tower |
Schönbrunn: the bus drop-off versus the U4 station
Big Bus's Blue Route sets down at Schönbrunner Schloss Straße 52, next to the palace arrival centre and a few steps from the gates. Arriving by underground means U4 to Schönbrunn station and a walk of about 400 metres up Schönbrunner Schloßstraße. For travellers with limited mobility the bus drop-off is the shorter walk; for everyone else the difference is a few minutes.
Palace loops: Schönbrunn and Belvedere
Palace days are where the two networks behave most differently. Big Bus's Blue Route is built around them: Schönbrunn Palace & Zoo on Schönbrunner Schloss Straße 52, the Hauptbahnhof, then Upper Belvedere on Prinz Eugen-Straße 27 and Lower Belvedere at the Palais Schwarzenberg forecourt. Vienna Sightseeing's Yellow Line reaches the same palaces and adds the Naschmarkt and the Museum of Military History on the way. The panel below compares the two loops stop by stop.
| Route feature | Big Bus Blue Route | Vienna Sightseeing Yellow Line |
|---|---|---|
| Full loop | 1 hour 15 minutes | About 1 hour 20 minutes |
| First stop | Albertinaplatz 1 (Opera/Albertina) | Opernring 2 (State Opera) |
| Palace stops | Schönbrunn Palace and Zoo, Upper Belvedere, Lower Belvedere | Schönbrunn, Belvedere, Naschmarkt, Museum of Military History |
| Headway | Every 20 to 30 minutes | Published seasonal timetable |
Late afternoons decide how a palace visit has to be planned. The last Big Bus Blue bus leaves the Opera at 16:45, but the timetable runs later further along the route: the final departure from Schönbrunn Palace is at 17:15 and from the Upper Belvedere at 17:46. On the Red Route the equivalent figures are 16:30 at the Opera and after 18:00 at Stadtpark. A Schönbrunn Grand Tour booked for 16:00 leaves you watching the clock through the state rooms instead of the gardens.
Last-bus times are published per stop. Read the time for the stop where you plan to reboard, and check the operator's service page on the day.
The surface corridor out to Schönbrunn, along the Wienzeile and Schönbrunner Schloßstraße, is the slowest stretch of either network. On a hot weekday afternoon I stayed on the Blue Route from Albertinaplatz instead of changing to the U4 at Karlsplatz: the bus spent the whole stretch in stop-start traffic, the covered front rows of the upper deck held the heat like a greenhouse, and I reached the palace gates with barely an hour before the last departure. The U4 covers Karlsplatz to Schönbrunn in six stops and runs every two to five minutes, and the 400 m walk from the station to the gates costs almost nothing in time. I have taken the underground instead on every visit since.
Kahlenberg, Cobenzl and the summer-only Green Line
Hillside views are the one thing the buses cannot offer all year. Vienna Sightseeing's Green Line is the only tour route that climbs into the Vienna Woods, and it runs in the summer months alone, so a visit between autumn and spring rules it out. It ends at Cobenzl; the Kahlenberg summit is a different stop, worth knowing apart before you buy a ticket for the view.
The year-round alternative uses ordinary city transport. Take the U4 to Heiligenstadt, then Bus 38A, which climbs through Grinzing's vineyards to Kahlenberg and on to Leopoldsberg on a standard Wiener Linien ticket. Tram D from the Ring reaches Nussdorf and the Grinzing wine villages for a Heuriger afternoon, and it runs all year. One damp autumn morning I rode the 38A from Heiligenstadt up through the vineyards, got off at Kahlenberg and looked down on the same view the tour sells while the Green Line buses were parked for the season; one €3.00 WienMobil single covered the whole climb.
Passes that include a sightseeing bus, and passes that do not
Vienna PASS
The Vienna PASS is the only city card that bundles the buses without a surcharge: it includes unlimited rides on Vienna Sightseeing's buses for the whole validity period, alongside one-time entry to up to 90 attractions and fast-track lanes at several of them. It comes in 1, 2, 3 and 6 consecutive calendar day versions, listed at €99 for one day and €189 for six, with a junior version for ages 6 to 18 at roughly half price. It does not include public transport, so a Wiener Linien ticket goes on top, and it activates at the first scan rather than on the date you pick when ordering.
Vienna City Card and its bus add-on
The Vienna City Card works the other way round. The card itself covers Wiener Linien transport and discounts at more than 200 partners, in 24-hour (€19), 48-hour (€31), 72-hour (€37) and 7-day (€39) versions, and one child up to 15 travels free with each card. On its own it gives you no access to a sightseeing bus. The hop-on hop-off add-on costs €34 and now runs for the same period as the card instead of a fixed 24 hours, and it can be attached to either Big Bus or Vienna Sightseeing, although the choice is locked once you validate it.
A 24-hour Vienna City Card with the bus add-on lands at €53 and covers both the U-Bahn and a day on the hop-on hop-off network.
When the U-Bahn and the Ring trams beat the tour bus
Wiener Linien fares
Vienna's own network costs a fraction of a tour ticket and runs far more often. A single ticket costs €3.20 from a machine or €3.00 in the WienMobil app, is valid for 80 minutes in one direction with unlimited changes, and costs €1.60 for children aged 6 to 14. The 48-hour and 72-hour paper passes were withdrawn in the 2026 fare reform, so multi-day visitors either stack 24-hour tickets or buy the 7-day Vienna Ticket. Riding without a valid ticket carries a €135 penalty fare on the spot, or €145 if it goes to an invoice. The official ticket overview lists every fare.
| Wiener Linien ticket | Digital (WienMobil app) | Paper (machine) | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single journey | €3.00 | €3.20 | 80 minutes, one direction |
| 24-hour Vienna | €9.70 | €10.20 | 24 rolling hours, whole network |
| 7-day Vienna Ticket | €25.20 (non-transferable) | €28.90 (transferable) | Seven consecutive calendar days |
The Ring in two tram rides
Tram 1 and Tram 2 both follow the Ring, but neither completes the circle alone, so a self-guided loop means switching once. Tram 1 from Oper/Karlsplatz runs clockwise past the Hofburg, the Parliament and the Rathaus to Schottentor; Tram 2 picks up the eastern and southern stretches past the MAK, Stadtpark and the Imperial Hotel back towards the Opera. Trams come every few minutes, one 24-hour Wiener Linien ticket covers the whole circuit, and you can step off wherever a façade deserves a closer look. How the tour buses compare with public transport on cost and speed goes into the numbers.
Families and late evenings
Children under 6 travel free on Wiener Linien at all times, and under-15s travel free on Sundays, public holidays, during Vienna school holidays and on 2 and 15 November, with adults still needing a valid ticket. A family of four out on a Sunday therefore pays for the adults only, while the sightseeing buses charge for every child aged 5 or 6 and up. The U-Bahn also keeps running on weekend nights, long after the last tour coach has returned to the depot.
Where the tours fall short
Both companies carry a mixed review record. On Trustpilot, Big Bus Vienna averages 3.0 against 3.9 for Vienna Sightseeing Tours, and the pattern in the complaints holds across years.
Waiting is the most common theme on the Big Bus profile. The published 20-to-30-minute headway is a target that traffic and full buses erode. On 31 August 2025 a Red Route passenger reported that his bus skipped stops 9 to 12 entirely and that a driver gave him the wrong connection time at the Opera, which cost him more than two hours on each of two days. A Vienna Sightseeing passenger described being asked to leave a bus five minutes after boarding in the rain and wait for the next one.
The free earbuds are the weak link in the audio. On an August 2024 Big Bus evening tour a passenger found the app sending him to the wrong stop, then heard the upstairs commentary cut out for about ten minutes while staff reset it; passengers seated downstairs heard nothing at all. A Vienna Sightseeing passenger in August 2025 described commentary badly out of sync with the buildings and sound quality like a call-centre recording.
Comfort splits by season. In high summer the upper deck has no air conditioning and the covered front rows trap heat, which a July 2024 Big Bus reviewer called borderline torture. In winter the glazed deck fogs up; a December 2025 Christmas Lights tour was spoiled by condensation and dirty windows.
Billing around the boat turns up again and again. The river-cruise add-on is a DDSG City Cruise, a 75-minute loop on the Danube Canal leaving from Schwedenplatz at Franz Josefs Kai 2 at 11:00, 13:00, 14:30 and 16:00, with an extra 17:30 sailing from late April to early October. In August 2025 a Vienna Sightseeing passenger reached the pier believing the cruise was included in his 72-hour pass, was refused boarding and paid €30 again; the same reviewer described a tour of graffiti walls, a 20-minute wait for the lock and another 45 minutes inside it.
Three things worth skipping
- The river-cruise add-on, unless a canal loop is the point of your day. It never reaches the main Danube, and the boarding rules catch out people who assume their bus pass covers it.
- The evening and panoramic tours in rain or fog. Both are closed loops with recorded commentary, so wet glass or condensation leaves you paying for a view you cannot see.
- A tour bus on a Sunday with children. Under-15s ride Wiener Linien free on Sundays and public holidays, while the sightseeing buses charge full child fares.
Booking, activation and what to do when a bus does not turn up
Buy in the operator's app rather than from a street seller: the online discount applies to every tier, the countdown starts when you activate the ticket rather than when you hand over cash, and a digital ticket cannot be lost the way a paper one can. Vienna Sightseeing vouchers stay valid for a year, so a ticket bought for a trip you postpone is not wasted.
Boarding works differently on each network. Big Bus asks you to activate the ticket in the app and show it to the driver; Vienna Sightseeing scans you on board, and if you board at an unstaffed stop you ride to the next staffed one and show the ticket there. For the river cruise, redeem the DDSG voucher with a Big Bus staff member before walking to the pier, since the boat crew does not scan bus bookings.
When a bus does not appear, the two service points are the Big Bus office at Walfischgasse 2 and the Vienna Sightseeing service centre at Opernring 3-5, where the Vienna PASS and Vienna City Card are also sold. Traffic delay is the one thing neither operator compensates, so a timed palace entry is better served by the U-Bahn.
Common questions
Is hop-on hop-off worth it against the U-Bahn?
For orientation on arrival, yes: one loop of the Ring gives you the geography, and the recorded commentary replaces a guidebook. For point-to-point travel it rarely wins. A 24-hour bus pass costs €37 and covers two to four routes, while a Wiener Linien 24-hour ticket costs €10.20 (€9.70 in the app) and reaches everywhere the buses go and more. How 24, 48 and 72-hour passes are priced explains where the money goes.
What happens if a bus does not turn up?
Report it before you leave the stop. Big Bus runs an office at Walfischgasse 2, Vienna Sightseeing one at Opernring 3-5, and both keep live-tracking pages that show where the vehicles actually are. Neither company compensates for traffic delay, so keep a Wiener Linien single in reserve if you are heading to a timed entry.
Does the ticket carry over to the next day?
Both count hours, not calendar days. A Big Bus 24-hour ticket runs from the moment you press Activate in the app; a Vienna Sightseeing ticket runs from the first scan by staff in yellow, and the unactivated voucher stays valid for a year. Activating at 15:00 therefore gives you until 15:00 the next day. The difference between rolling and calendar-day passes matters most on a two-day trip.