This September saw my Mom and I visit Montreal for the very first time in our lives. It’s the furthest north we’ve ever been! Coming from South Africa, it was quite the adventure and one we were looking forward to on our journey.
With my brother having been a permanent member of Johnny Clegg’s band for around 7 years, he had the pleasure of visiting many French territories and locations. This was the main influence for us visiting Montreal on our holiday.
Not knowing much about the small city, we relied on the good old “Hop-On Hop-Off” bus tour – a pretty standard experience for visitors to a new location – and one we do recommend doing in Cape Town. But, the day didn’t turn out to be as great as we’d hoped and we wanted to share our experience so that others don’t make the same mistakes.
Here’s what we got wrong on our first experience of the Hop-On Hop Off Tour in Montreal.
Mistake Number 1 – Hop Off, But No Hop On
Since the bus tour in Cape Town allows you to join at various points, we assumed we would also be able to hop on at any of their 9 listed locations:
Staying in Old Town, we walked to nearest bus stop which was the Notre Dame Basilica. Upon arrival, we saw no busses but weren’t too worried as we understood they would stop every 15 minutes or so, as advertised. We sat down and took in the vibrant surroundings, until significant time to have passed for a lack of buses to be suspicious.
I checked the Essential Information information on the website, which only stated the validity time for our tickets.
Allowing another 10 – 15 minutes to pass, I decided to check the tickets in case I’d missed some small print – nothing. Out of concern I checked the ticket e-mail, scrolled right to the bottom and found a little note with a departure address – which happened to be nowhere where we were. I’m including the whole ticket so you can see exactly where it is.
So our adventure began on how to get to 1001 Dorchester Square. Luckily, Uber operates in Montreal so we called a car, incurring an extra cost but time had been lost so we needed to make a definite plan.
Mistake Number 2 – Which Bus?
Upon arriving at 1001 Dorchester road there were a number of busses and it was unclear which bus was for us. Montreal has a “no bus sign” regulation, which means there aren’t any bus signs with information – anywhere.
Luckily a guide was standing on the pavement and she tell us which bus we could get on – but not before we had to collect our armbands. Our armbands? Another surprise we hadn’t known about!
At the starting point is an office which you are required to visit, show your tickets, claim your armbands and only then are you able to get onto a bus. But not any bus, only certain buses. Which ones are which – I couldn’t tell you as they were all double decker and all included a “Grayline” sign. Hopefully there will also be a guide on the pavement to help you on the day.
Mistake Number 3 – Not Speaking Up
During our visit we shared the cabin with 3 North Americans who were speaking very loudly about their personal agenda throughout the trip. It was uncomfortable as they would speak over the live tour guide, resulting in a lot of information being missed.
At the end of the tour, the guide came downstairs to tell us where to tip, when one of the other guests brought this up with him. His response was unhelpful (why are you telling me now about it at the end of the trip, you should have done something about it) – so the patron did. This resulted in a squabble between the two groups.
Personally, if I had been in South Africa, I usually would have spoken up. But being a guest in a foreign land, I didn’t feel it was place to say something as maybe it was culturally insensitive. In hindsight, I should have just been honest with them as I can’t tell you a single thing about Montreal after that tour. Perhaps I would have gained my money’s worth if I had said something?
Tips for the Montreal Hop On Hop Off
- There are no bathroom fasciliates on site at the office or on the bus.
- Bring a cap to block the sun, there is no roof on the top of the bus.
- Bring a jacket for windy days (this day was windy, hence sitting inside).
- Buses get full and you’re often forced to wait, arrive early for the best chance of an early start.
Closing Thoughts
Coming all the way from South Africa, it was unfortunate that we missed so much of the tour due to the loud guests. It was also uncomfortable that the guide did not check on us at any point of the tour and then asked for tips at the end of the ride. Personally, I enjoyed the walk we took afterwards as I was able to learn and see more just by reading plaques along the way.
The ride cost $39 (R600pp) which wasn’t particularly well spent because two of the look out points were also closed for the week due to a fun run taking place.
Sitting inside also blocked the view, but I support this choice as it was a very windy day and there was so sun coverage. If you would prefer to sit outside though – bring a cap and a jacket to keep warm and block the light.
Have you been on the bus tour? What were your thoughts?