Dublin hop-on hop-off bus compared: City Sightseeing from €34, DoDublin from €28.90, Big Bus from €31.50, and the Viking Splash tour at €37

💡 The Short Version: Dublin has three hop-on hop-off bus companies, and each sells 24-, 48- and 72-hour tickets. City Sightseeing is €34 for its Essential ticket on 30 stops, with buses every 15 to 20 minutes; DoDublin is from €34 on its own site and from €28.90 on GetYourGuidead, with live commentary and entry to the Little Museum of Dublin; Big Bus is from €31.50ad on 25 stops, and its 48- and 72-hour tickets add a walking tour and a night tour. The routes reach the Guinness Storehouse, IMMA and Phoenix Park, away from the centre, and the DoDublin and Big Bus routes list Kilmainham Gaol. The Leap Visitor Card is not valid on these buses. Viking Splash, the amphibious DUKW tour, is €37 for an adult and runs about 1 hour 15 (GetYourGuide).

The three buses compared

Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices for one adult unless the row says the operator’s site, and they move with the date. The Leap Visitor Card is not valid on hop-on hop-off tours; for the Dublin Bus and Luas fares, see Leap card and Dublin public transport.

What each ticket includes

City Sightseeing

Essential €34 · Premium €45 · Supreme €55

City Sightseeing runs one open-top route with 30 stops, buses every 15 to 20 minutes and audio guides in several languages, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before. The Premium ticket at €45 adds entry to the Irish Whiskey Museum or World of Illusion, and the Supreme ticket at €55 adds a Sightseeing bike experience. The first bus leaves Stop 1 at 9:15am and the last at 5:00pm (hoponhopoffdublin.ie). Its listed stops include Christ Church and St Patrick’s Cathedrals, the Guinness Storehouse, Pearse Lyons Distillery, IMMA, Heuston Station, Phoenix Park, Temple Bar, the GPO Museum and EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum. One child aged 3 to 12 travels free for every two paying adults.

DoDublin

From €34 · live commentary · Little Museum of Dublin included

Dublin Sightseeing, which trades as DoDublin, says it has shown visitors around Dublin for over 35 years. The City Tour leaves from O’Connell Street every 20 to 30 minutes and costs from €34 on dublinsightseeing.ie. On GetYourGuide the ticket is from €28.90 and lists live English commentary, audio guides in several languages, free entry to the Little Museum of Dublin, and 2-for-1 meal deals at local pubs. The route passes Trinity College, the Book of Kells, the Guinness Storehouse, Kilmainham Gaol, Phoenix Park and the Jameson Distillery on Bow Street. DoDublin also sells a Freedom Card and an airport transfer with a bus ticket: see Dublin Airport to the city.

A DoDublin open-top bus in Dublin at night. Photo: Cityswift, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Big Bus

From €31.50 · 25 stops · 48- and 72-hour tickets add a walk and a night tour

Big Bus lists 25 stops, a full loop of about 1 hour 50 minutes and buses every 15 to 25 minutes, with live driver-guides. The 48- and 72-hour tickets include the Yellow Umbrella walking tour, about 2 hours from the Spire on O’Connell Street at 11:00 daily, and a 1-hour panoramic night tour that leaves Stop 1 at 19:00 daily, with a second departure at 20:30 from late March to early October. The 72-hour ticket adds a full-day excursion to County Wicklow and Glendalough, with a complimentary Guinness available from 1 June. One free child ticket, for ages 15 and under, comes with each adult ticket, and infants aged 4 and under travel free. Activate the ticket in the Big Bus app or show the voucher to a team member at any stop.

A Big Bus open-top bus in Dublin. Photo: CAPTAIN RAJU, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Viking Splash

Adult €37 · child (3 to 14) €31 · about 1 hour 15 · St Stephen’s Green North

Viking Splash takes you around Dublin in a World War II amphibious DUKW, past the cathedrals and Georgian Dublin, and then into the Grand Canal basin for 15 to 20 minutes on the water. Each vehicle has 28 seats, seats are not allocated, and the tour leaves from St Stephen’s Green North, opposite the Shelbourne Hotel, about every half hour in high season, June to August. It does not run every day midweek in the off-season, so check the dates when you book. Bookings are online only. Children under 3 are not permitted.

A Viking Splash amphibious vehicle on St Stephen’s Green. Photo: Cityswift, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

A customer who arrives late pays the full price with no refund, so be at the departure point 15 minutes before. Changes and cancellations need 48 hours’ notice, with a maximum refund of 90 per cent. Tours run in the rain; ponchos are €2 at the departure point, and life jackets are supplied. There are no toilets at the departure point or on the vehicle. Tours are in English only, and the DUKW is not wheelchair accessible; collapsible buggies are carried, two to a tour (vikingsplashdublin.ie).

Which to choose

• A guide in the driver’s seat and a pub meal deal: DoDublin, from €28.90 on GetYourGuide.
• The most stops: City Sightseeing, with 30.
• A walking tour and a night tour in one ticket: Big Bus, on the 48- or 72-hour ticket.
• Getting around cheaply without the commentary: a Leap card or a Leap Visitor Card on Dublin Bus and the Luas.
• Something different on the water: Viking Splash.

The stops are also the sights with their own tickets: the Guinness Storehouse, Kilmainham Gaol and the Irish whiskey distilleries. For a guide on foot, see Dublin walking tours. What to book before you go to Dublin lists everything that sells out, 3 days in Dublin shows how a bus fits between them, and where to stay in Dublin compares the areas.