Top Illinois Bus Tours

Don’t spend time figuring out what to see in Chicago and how to get there—this hop-on hop-off tour provides a mapped-out itinerary of the city's top sights. With several strategically located stops, the tour allows you to explore the Windy City at your own pace. See the world-class Art Institute and landmark skyscrapers, while audio commentary onboard gives you insight into the city's colorful history.

Explore Chicago's iconic landmarks on this sightseeing tour led by an expert guide. Board a comfortable, large-windowed minibus and explore downtown and Northside neighborhoods. You have a chance to get out and visit several locations and hear about the historical and cultural factors that make Chicago unique. Upgrade your tour with a popular open-top boat tour on the Chicago River that focuses on the city's renowned architecture.

Explore Chicago's gangster past on this mafia tour in a coach vehicle. Drive around the Windy City to see where Al Capone, The Untouchables, Hymie Weiss, and John Dillinger, among other thugs hung out. A history-savvy guide introduces you to some of the most storied locations of Chicago’s criminal past, including Holy Name Cathedral, Biography Theatre, and the site of the bloody St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. You'll be able to get out and pose for pictures in front of a historic courthouse, among other infamous sites.

Discover the ‘dark side’ of the Windy City thanks to this 2.5-hour, bus-based, nighttime crime history tour of Chicago. Explore the lives of notorious mobsters like Al Capone, Frank Nitti, Bugs Moran, and more as you explore infamous crime scenes like the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, learn about ‘The Enforcer’s Safe,’ and stop by local watering holes.

Discover the architectural gems of the Windy City from an ideal vantage point on a cruise down the Chicago River. Offered several times throughout the day, it’s easy to fit the leisurely excursion into your itinerary. Covering more than 130 years of architectural history, the tour is the perfect opportunity to see a huge area of the city without the hassle of taxis and public transit.

Cruise down the Chicago River to see the city's famous architecture on this boat tour. With commentary from your onboard guide, watch the spectacular skyline glide by, including more than 40 notable buildings like Navy Pier, the Wrigley Building, and the John Hancock Building. Cover all three branches of the Chicago River, passing the East Bank Club, the old Post Office Building and the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower).

Experience a colorful side of Chicago history with this Gangsters and Ghosts Tour. With a historian as your guide, you’ll step back to the roaring 20’s, when the Chicago Loop was a hub for bootleggers, speakeasies, and gangsters like the infamous Al Capone. Visit onetime gangster hangouts and haunted sites like the Palmer House, Congress Hotel, and Death Alley.

Take in iconic views of the beautiful Chicago lakefront and its many landmarks during this 40-minute Lake Michigan sightseeing boat cruise. Climb aboard your vessel for a laid-back ride, enjoying panoramic views of the Windy City's skyline from a unique perspective. Along the way, you'll listen to informative commentary and take in views of the John Hancock Center and Willis Tower, along with many other landmarks. Plus feel free to bring your own lunch or grab a drink at the onboard bar, during your ride.

Step aboard a boat for a comprehensive cruise that details the history of Chicago's architecture. Enjoy views of the Chicago skyline accompanied by architecture-focused commentary that points out each of the landmark buildings. As you cruise through Lake Michigan, snap photos of you and your party against the stretch of Chicago's 26-mile shoreline.

When it's time to refuel in the Windy City, stop into Hard Rock Cafe Chicago for a tasty, filling, and enjoyable meal of classic American fare. Choose from a 2- or 3-course menu that's themed on musical styles all served with dessert and a drink. When ordering from this popular prix-fixe menu, entrees include salmon, steak, chicken, or a half-rack of hickory smoked ribs, and once you've enjoyed each succulent bite, stick around to explore the collection of music-themed memorabilia.

Windy City Ghosts walking Ghost Tour provides a look into the darkness that lurks below Chicago’s busy streets. Our Ghost Tour transports you back in time to an era of gangsters, bootleggers, bank robbers, and jazz babies. Windy City Ghosts nightly Ghost Tours take you through Lincoln Park, a beautiful North Side neighborhood with a twisted past. Learn about the forgotten burial ground that is the foundation of this bustling neighborhood. Check the bathroom mirrors in the Lion House of the Lincoln Park Zoo to make sure the ghost of a Victorian woman in white isn’t standing right behind you. Learn what spirit haunted Al Capone to the end of his days. On our Ghost Tour, you’ll hear the strange and disturbing tales associated with each of our carefully selected tour stops.

Get a front row perspective on the exquisite buildings that line the Chicago River during a 45-minute architecture cruise. Hear live commentary about the history and architectural heritage of Chicago on this family-friendly tour, which highlights landmarks such as the Chicago Riverwalk, Michigan Avenue Bridge, Wrigley Building, and Willis Tower. Sit on the open-air top deck or the sheltered bottom deck for the ultimate view of Chicago.

Enjoy Chicago’s only bus guided neighborhood pizza tour.  Eat like a local as you travel off the beaten path into Chicago neighborhoods to savor the best pizza.  Your local guide will teach you the science behind ingredient selection and baking as you sample slices from historic pizzerias.  In just a few hours, you’ll leave stuffed, and with an understanding of why pizza is such an important part of Chicago’s culture.

The easiest and most affordable way to explore some of Chicago's top attractions at your own pace, the Chicago Explorer Pass by Go City saves you up to 40 percent off compared to buying individual attraction tickets. Create your own sightseeing itinerary by choosing 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 attractions, tours, and activities from among more than 25 top sites, including SkyDeck, 360 Chicago, the Field Museum, a shoreline sightseeing cruise, a hop-on hop-off Big Bus tour, Lincoln Park Zoo, Navy Pier, and LEGOLAND® Discovery Center. Please note: Enjoy the extra flexibility in case your travel plans need to change: All passes are valid for two years from purchase date and only become activated with your first attraction visit. After activation your pass will be valid for 60 days and/or the remaining number of attraction choices purchased.

Have only a short stay planned in Chicago? Make the most of your time in the Windy City, and see more of the city in less time, when you book a private driving tour of Chicago. Pick between several convenient tour times, and meet your guide and driver directly at your hotel. Over the course of your excursion, you’ll make stops at highlight attractions like the Lincoln Park Conservatory, Millennium Park, and Museum Campus. You’ll also learn about Chicago’s history and can spy other remarkable sights as you go.

Calling all fans of the paranormal, this 2.5 to 3-hour ghost bus tour of Chicago takes you into the city’s darkest recesses to reveal its dark past. Travel with ease between locations of reputed haunting and listen to spine-chilling tales delivered by a historian guide. The City Cemetery, the Levee Vice district, and Prairie Avenue all feature on the itinerary, in addition to the site of the notorious St. Valentine’s Day massacre.

See Chicago's dazzling skyscrapers lit up for the night during this 75-minute Big Bus tour. The entire loop takes passengers from Navy Pier, down the Magnificent Mile to Michigan Avenue, through the Museum Campus and around the architectural gems on the Loop skyline. Live and audio commentary available in English.

Get to know the Windy City the easy and comfortable way on a small-group minibus tour. Instead of long walks and navigating public transit, see major landmarks like Museum Campus, Buckingham Fountain, the Magnificent Mile, and Millennium Park from an uncrowded minibus with large picture windows. Your driver and guide knows where to find all the best views, and there are plenty of photo stops along the way.

Learn about Chicago’s brewpub scene and taste different types of craft beer on this guided brewery tour. Visit unique breweries for craft beer samples plus an additional brewing production facility for an in-depth tour. Discover the science behind the brewing process, complete with step-by-step procedures, and enjoy plenty of beer samples throughout the tour. Round-trip transportation in a Prohibition-era-styled barrel bus is included.

We are your only guided history tour in Starved Rock Country, Ottawa, Illinois. In 1922 Radium Dial Corp chose Ottawa, Illinois as the location of it’s newest plant. Their decision set in motion decades of illness, death and destruction. This tour takes you to the sites of the past and the present while bringing you the feeling of being in Ottawa during these tragic years. Our Shining Lives is a drive/walk tour, we also offer “hop on” tour guides for your tour bus trip. Contact us for tour details.

This Tour is the quickest, best way to explore a place that you are visiting for the first time, we take you to all the hot spots in the city in less than a day. We take care of everything for you, from picking you up at your hotel, to making reservations, parking, helping you with photos, all the way to dropping you off back where you started. zero worries and 100 percent enjoyment.

Get an insider’s look at the Windy City’s most iconic monuments during this 3-hour private tour. Travel through Chicago aboard a private vehicle as you discover some of the city’s top neighborhoods, including the Loop, River North, the Magnificent Mile (along Michigan Avenue), Streeterville, the Gold Coast and much more. Your private driver-guide and vehicle, bottled water and round-trip hotel transport are all included.

Explore Chicago like a local—and visit the city’s distinctive, characterful neighborhoods, in addition to its major landmarks—on this full-day tour. Set off from downtown with just a small group for company, and leave the driving to your guide—you’ll explore dozens of Windy City neighborhoods, from Hyde Park and Bronzeville to Lincoln Park and the Gold Coast. Learn all about Chicago culture and history as you go.

Foodies will enjoy this tour of Chicago that focuses on one of the city’s most popular dishes: pizza. Although your guide can’t tell you once and for all whether Chicago or New York has the best pizza in the USA, they will teach you about Chicago’s ten different types of pizza, let you sample four, and give you exclusive access to pizza kitchens. A fun tour for all pizza lovers.