Home > Hamburg > Essential Hamburg Combo: Hop-on Hop-off Tour, Cruise and Lake Alster
USD $45.00
Essential Hamburg Combo: Hop-on Hop-off Tour, Cruise and Lake Alster
Hamburg, Germany
See the best of Hamburg on an easy and convenient hop-on hop-off tour, including two cruises – a harbor cruise and a panoramic sightseeing cruise on Lake Alster! Set your own itinerary on this perfect do-it-yourself combination tour when in Hamburg. The hop-on hop-off tour allows you to see Hamburg’s top attractions at your own pace aboard a comfortable double-decker bus, while the one-hour harbor cruise and one-hour Lake Alster sightseeing cruise provide great views from the water. See all the major attractions, including St Michael Church, the newly built Hamburg Harbor City and the infamous Reeperbahn red-light district!
Set your own itinerary and explore Hamburg at your own pace. The hop-on hop-off bus tour allows you to simply hop off at the stop you want and return to any stop to continue your tour! Board one of the red double-decker buses at any of the available stops, and begin your sightseeing adventure, hopping off at Town Hall Square, the main train station or at any other stop on the route. Your hop-on hop-off ticket is valid for one day.
Then, get another perspective of Hamburg on your included one-hour harbor sightseeing cruise with English commentary April to October only). The boat leaves daily from the landing piers of the Hamburg port. Cruise along Hamburg's picturesque warehouse district to Hamburg's Harbor City, one of Europe's biggest urban development projects with the new concert hall, Elbphilharmonie, built on the roof of a storehouse. Sit back and relax while you enjoy these architectural highlights of Hamburg.
When you’re back on land, head out on another sightseeing cruise! Your included one-hour Lake Alster cruise leaves from the Jungfernstieg Passage in central Hamburg, only a short walk from Town Hall Square. The boat will take you along the shoreline of Hamburg's inner-city lake, lined with impressive villas and beautiful garden areas. Multi-lingual audio commentary is available on board (English, French, Spanish).
Enjoy a traditional cup of tea (included) at the teashop in the heritage-listed Krameramt district, an area of former merchants' homes built in the 17th century (hop-on hop-off stop is St Michael Church).
Your sightseeing tickets are valid for three consecutive days, but you can take each tour only once.
See the Itinerary section below for a full list of hop-on hop-off tour stops.
You need to make sure your bus has the earphone listening system,our 1st bus didnt and it was really hard to gather information, however the buses with earphones were so much better thoroughly enjoyed it then. Harbour cruise we did on the Louisiana paddle boat very nice boat, we stood on deck so therefore couldnt really hear the commentary but have to say I still enjoyed it, it goes right into the heart of the working docks and right besides the huge container ships. The lake Alster cruise, well what can I say ...... beautiful scenery, however, a massive let down that not a word of English was spoken!! Didnt even try to communicate with us this absolutely ruined it for us as we went on it to get information about the surroundings ....... so big disappointment! We felt very out of place especially when others are laughing and youre just sat there is not a pleasant experience.
Review by: Tian S, February 2018
Waited for hours in the cold, called numerous times and the bus never arrived. Eventually paid for tour bus from another tour company.
Review by: Ajith B, November 2017
Quick way to cover Hamburg.. Lake Alster is really beautiful
Review by: Jersey_T, September 2017
Lake Alster was really nice. Very peaceful and relaxing. Hamburg is really nice city. _br/_ I would recommend to go there if you are in Germany.
Review by: Stuart B, August 2017
One of the highlights of our holiday. A great city to visit and look around.
Review by: William B, August 2017
We were in Hamburg 4-6 Jul, prior to the G20 meeting was kicking off which was poor planning on our part. When we arrived at the bus to exchange our 2 day ticket we were informed that the bus would operate on a limited basis on 5 Jul with the last one leaving at 2-2:30pm. They would alter the route without notice during the day and the 2nd day 6 Jul was in complete question due to increased police presence and road closures. We did experience route changes on the 5th as the bus just did not show up at the designated spot. We also experience either a very late start or no operations on the 6th from the central station stop...our boarding point. The other Hop-On Hop-Off operators did not seem to run into the same operational problems and ran more of their published schedule. We would not do this tour again!
Review by: Mrs. .J.A. W, August 2017
What a great city Hamburg is? We were so happy we had purchased the Essential Hamburg Combo as each section was thoroughly enjoyable and we were able to see this on each section as they were completely different and gave us some idea of what a great place Hamburg is.
Review by: Alan B, August 2017
The city tour was very interesting and enjoyable. The bus route was well marked and very convenient to our hotel. When we arrived at the Alster boat ride we were informed the bus driver did not provide us with the additional tickets required to board the boat ride. We felt cheated since the tickets would have been cheaper without the cruise included.
Review by: GARY S, June 2017
The biggest problem we had was finding buses where they had ENGLISH SPEAKING AUDIO or INDIVIDUALS. Due to the rainy weather, we did not take any of the water Hop-On / Hop-Off tours.
Review by: Melissa L, May 2017
I highly recommend this package. Hamburg is a beautiful city. I did the Hop-on Hop Off bus tour first, to get the lay of the land. First I did the full round trip and then the 2nd time around, I stopped and got off at the places I wanted to explore. I followed up with the harbor cruise after that, and the next day I did Lake Alster. I was fortunate because we had beautiful weather. It was a perfect weekend.
Review by: Rusitha M, January 2017
Wish the commentary was in English... Cruise was full on German language. Bus had a bit of English from the live commentary from the Guide.
Review by: Catherine A W, November 2016
The tour was a great way to see the city and get an overview of the history. There were a few problems though - there is no English speaking Harbour tour from November to March, the bus did not automatically stop at every stop so if you wanted to stop somewhere you had to tell the German guide so that he could tell the driver where to stop and the German guide's voice was so loud on the top deck that we could not hear the English audio properly even on full volume so had to sit downstairs. _br/_ The cruise on Lake Alster is a must do, the view of the city from the water was beautiful and we went into some secluded areas unable to be reached by car.
Review by: Ana Maria V, October 2016
They were so rude, and they gave tickets for the same trip for two days
Review by: 45debak, September 2016
Great option. The harbor cruise was interesting. The bus was good but the stops did not match the map given. we had to walk much further than expected to get back to our hotel. Still worth doing....
Review by: ROGER B, September 2016
Plus-Managed to squeeze in the hop on /off and the 2 cruises.
Review by: Karen S, August 2016
We enjoy Hop-ON Hop-OFF bus tours in about every city we have traveled to. These tours are excellent for providing an quick overview of the highlights of the city. This combination also included a Harbor cruise which was good. We didn't get to the Lake Alster cruise due to a wrong turn and walked around about half of the lake so we did get to see it - and then ran out of time.
Review by: Olympia G, August 2016
I loved the trip around the pier and the boat trip on Lake Alster. It is a great combination and one learns a lot about Hamburg.
Review by: Martin D, July 2016
Great tour but the hop on hop off bus was inadequate English tour was very sketchy and the guide was rude._br/_ Lake Alster cruise was poorly organised and the English tour was very sketchy._br/_ The crew smoked on board.
Review by: Susan D, July 2016
The hop-on-hop-off bus was in German. They provided a headset to plug into the English or other languages but from the aisle seat it kept becoming unplugged and was very intrusive on the person sitting in the window seat. I finally gave up. It was disappointing. The lake cruise and the river cruise were worth it and very enjoyable. If you speak German, this is a great tour for you. Other languages, you should look elsewhere.
Review by: Susan D, July 2016
The hop-on-hop-off bus was in German. They provided a headset to plug into the English or other languages but from the aisle seat it kept becoming unplugged and was very intrusive on the person sitting in the window seat. I finally gave up. It was disappointing. The lake cruise and the river cruise were worth it and very enjoyable. If you speak German, this is a great tour for you. Other languages, you should look elsewhere.
Review by: Jim D, June 2016
Really good value for money.
Review by: Glenda P, June 2016
A little worry as the bus did not stop at all the stops. Are you supposed to ring the bell? Also the commentary was in German ONLY and there was no Headsets provision for other languages._br/_ The guide made jokes that we could not understand. All this was very poor.
Review by: Ronald B, November 2015
We found the 2 boat trips were translated in German not English so this was annoying and the buses again were mainly translated in german
Review by: Michael K, October 2015
We were disappointed with this tour. I think we were the only English speaking people on the bus and thus very little dialog was given for us. In another language we heard Princess Kate and Prince William as part of the dialong on the bus, not Lake Alster and never heard the story in English. So we were knew we were missing stories. The Cruise and Lake Alster parts were fine.
Review by: yvonne, September 2015
This tour was poor. We almost missed the only English cruise because of the bad directions. As for the bus, there was no English commentary.
Review by: Maximiano F, June 2015
I booked online and did have any printed voucher. The lady inform us we need a paper voucher I requested to speak with her supervisor and they help us to get with our tour hassle free. Excellent customer service.
Review by: silvia q, May 2015
Bus tour was great.
Review by: Robin B, May 2015
Overall good. Hop on hop of buss would be better if they used multi language head sets like lake Alster cruise used. The harbour cruise was magnificent,
Review by: busboy, December 2014
It was a great combination. We started with the hop-on hop-off tour, so we saw very much of the city on the first day. Next day we enjoyed the harbour cruise and the Lake Alster tour. As it was a bit colder we went below deck and you could warm up with drinks._br/_
Each time its a joyful experience to be in possession of this combo card.
Review by: Diane L, October 2014
Only fault was the Lake Alster tour which was only in German and we didn't know what or where were were looking at!
Review by: Damian I, October 2014
The tour is pretty comprehensive and does what it says on the tin. The downside to this tour is that on the bus if you're lucky about 30% of the guided talk will be in English (as overheard by the guide themselves) and proved to be true. On the Lake Alster cruise there was no English guide. We also found the information from viator limited to locate the bus initially and once tickets obtained still insufficient information to readily identify either of the boats. A call to the 'emergency contact' number helped at the harbour and just choosing the right line of people worked for the lake. Worth doing but you may prefer to find a tour that has predominantly English guides for a more informative tour.
Review by: Brenda C, October 2014
We enjoyed the harbour cruise. It was a very good look at the shipping industry up close. We used the head set on the Lake Alster cruise but could still hear (loud and clear) the captain/guide doing the tour in German.. Maybe everyone should use the ear phones._br/_
Otherwise, it was also pleasurable._br/_
The hop on/hop off is always a great way to see any city, Hamburg included. I found the excessive graffiti a little off-putting, but, for a quick look at Hamburg, it did the trick. _br/_
My friend found it funny that people from Hamburg are indeed called Hamburgers!
Review by: Kimberely Ann S, September 2014
We read that there would be a guide that spoke English but the guide spoke very little and spoke in a monotone that it was hard to hear when she was speaking German or English. We were disappointed in the tour.
Review by: Bryan V, September 2014
We really enjoyed our tour of Hamburg with this package and the Hop on/Hop off bus tour guides were exceptional. However, were VERY disappointed with the supposedly "English" tour of the River Elbe. We checked even before we boarded the boat that this was, an English tour as advertised. The guide led the tour mostly in German, with a few English sentences thrown in here and there. A wonderful German couple, who were also surprised also at how very little English was spoken for the advertised tour, saw our confusion and provided translation for us which made the tour enjoyable.
Review by: SWEE LIN L, August 2014
Good for seeing hamburg and getting a lovely overview of the beautiful city.
Review by: Dianne G, August 2014
The English component of the on board commentary was limited, therefore we felt we missed a lot of ten detail being communicated to the customers who understood German. Whilst we appreciated all we could see, it was disappointing to not understand much of what we were seeing.
Review by: Rebecca L, August 2014
Great tour! Especially enjoyed the boat trips although the lake trip is only in German. It was nice to relax on the boat as our feet were tired. The river trip has one in English. That was very interesting as Hamburg is a busy port with a lot going on. We saw one container ship that was enormous. Actually don't know how it stayed afloat! St Michael's Church is not to be missed. It doesn't look like much from the outside but is truly a feast for the eyes inside. You can also go up the tower for a fee and have a 360 degree view of the city.
Review by: JUAN P, July 2014
It was difficult to communicate in English and at lake alst
Review by: William C, July 2014
You should tell us where to board the bus and which "Hop On / Hop Off line the ticket is good for.
Review by: namlaest, June 2014
very nice we enjoyed it we do it again
Review by: nagam h, June 2014
Bad bad bad
Review by: Vasiliki K, June 2014
Great experience! I visited Hamburg by hop on hop off bus and by boat, port-lake cruises, in one day. Very good value for money. I am glad I saw so many things in such a short period of time!
Review by: Richard M, June 2014
Promised English was very limited. No English on lake tour at all. Instructions on where to start tour were not clear. Bus tours took several hours but harbour cruise only once a day @ noon. Tour guide said I would make it to the harbour in time but not even close!
Review by: Denise B, October 2013
The bus tour was rather crowded with a woman behind me digging her knees into the back of my seat. Most of the commentary was in German, with the little English commentary there was coming after we had passed the place referred to. The lake cruise had no English commentary at all, although I could tell that the captain/guide was amusing, shame we missed the jokes. There didn't seem much point to the cruise as there seemed little to look at, I enjoyed the bracing air and the chance to rest for an hour. The tour description said there would be tea included in the price, but we were not offered any or directed to anywhere to get some. We didn't bother to go for the harbour cruise.
Review by: Polly V, July 2013
Minimal narration in English though tour guide asked at start of tour how many passengers are English speaking. As a result, did not benefit from an understanding of the sights. Will be helpful if tour guide mentioned each stop on the map as the bus approached by number so passengers will know where we are. We had to guess where we were.
Review by: Jeffrey R, April 2013
The Hop On - Hop Off tour bus was great and worthwhile. Te free river cruise that came with it is not to be missed. The lake tour was good but not offered in English like the 12 noon river tour was. All in all, worthwhile.
Review by: JOHN H, April 2013
The bus tour was ok bit it would have better to have had headphones like they do on some other buses. The boat tour of the harbour was very good but the tour of lake alter was a bit boring would have better having a canal tour instead
Review by: Marilyn N, December 2012
Horrible experience! There are three bus companies and none are called "Hop-on/Hop-off". It took over 2 hours to finally get on one if the busses where they would accept the Viator voucher. The harbor and lake tours were only in German, so both were a complete waste of money. Don't waste time/money!
Review by: Gunter v, October 2012
The tour encompassed the harbor tour an Alster tour and a city bus tour. Unfortunately during the harbor an city bustour it was raining so much of the enjoyment was washed away.
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