Melbourne Visitor Shuttle Bus

We are really glad we bought the shuttle tickets — $ 10 for 2 days. The shuttle was never busy, was always comfortable, clear sound. Really entertaining guides — we made most of the loop two times! Really helps you get around the sites.
The only thing is, its hard to predict exactly when the shuttle will stop by — especially for the later stops. Sometimes we saw 2 shuttles be really close to each other, vs other times it’s spread out. So you have to be a bit flexible.
Still — was a great service and saved us a lot of time.

Fantastic bus where you can hop on and off all day for $ 5 with commentary and be shown all the tourist spots.
It practically covers all the same route as the official city sightseeing bus but at a fraction of the price.
Well worth using whilst in melbourne and all the bus stops are clearly signposted plus you get a little tour map when you board!

Not to be confused with the official «hop on hop off bus», this city run bus does a pretty good job of showing you Melbourne for a reasonable price.
For just $ 5 for a one day pass, the visitor bus will allow you to do some of the things the pricier «red bus» company does (that option is $ 31 US)
The similarities? You get a 90 minute bus ride around town stopping at 14 different stops that allow you to hop on and off off at your leisure.
The differences? The visitor bus has both taped comments that play at the appropriate times as well as the driver has some additional commentary that is also helpful. Having been in the other bus tours in other countries, I think if getting more detail on what you are seeing, you may want to go with the more expensive option. Also picture taking is not as easy on this bus as there is no open area so all pics are taken through the windows or when the bus stops at the various stops you can hop off to grab your photo. The red bus also has two different routes that will get you further out of the city.
But if a general overview of Melbourne is what you want, the visitor bus is a good option.
To buy your ticket, use the machines provided at each of the 14 stops. They only take coin or cards but it’s pretty easy to get your ticket. Just be patient as the connection/​processing time is slow. The buses come by every 30 minutes or so.
The drivers are helpful, there are plenty of seats (the ones right behind the mid point door have the most leg room) and they are clean.
Stop by any visitor center to pick up a map to see where to pick up this bus. A good way to orient you to Melbourne and allow you to explore more on your own.