The ultimate double-decker hop-on, hop-off tour is scheduled to be launched later this year when CitySights, NY will offer eight different languages on its daily bus tours in addition to the native English: French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Mandarin and Korean. Audio headsets plugged into players at each seat will allow families from around the world to dial in the language of their choice.

The narration will be activated by the driver as the vehicle approaches each stop along one of New York City's many looping routes. In our travels, live narration is always preferred over canned recordings. But it's not always possible.

Double-decker hop-on, hop-off bus tours can be found all around the world, but have a longer history in Europe than in the US. Europeans and even some Asian tourists embraced the idea of seeing a city by bus for the first time, without having to worry about traffic and parking. They are especially popular and visible in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The most famous double-decker buses, of course, are the ones first used for local public transportation in London.

The Hop-On, Hop-Off Concept of Sightseeing Spreads

One of the first of its kind was introduced in 1951 in England. That first bus clocked up an amazing half million miles of service but in 1970 was sold to a group of five young people planning a worldwide bus journey. After bussing their way through New Zealand, the group changed their minds. The bus spent a decade as an information exchange center, another 10 years as an encyclopedia center and even served for a while as a mobile diner. More than 10 years ago, the bus was returned to service as -- what else -- a tour bus. It's with Taupo Tours (0800/485 287) now touring New Zealand now.

Hong Kong started their own tour bus system back in 1949, while Singapore Bus Service launched their first double-decker in 1977. But American cities have also been adding the buses in recent years, with San Francisco among the more recent entrants. Las Vegas started their tour service in 2005.

"I've seen this in Dubai, Hong Kong, Sydney, Johannesburg -- almost everywhere. It was so blatantly obvious to bring this idea to Las Vegas," said Raymond Capel, whose company introduced London-style, red-colored, double-decker buses to the gambling capital.

He pointed to another advantage of the buses: Tourist photos from the top of the bus come with an unobstructed view. It's no surprise that the guided bus tours have turned out to be immensely popular wherever they are introduced. What better way for families to get an overview of a city and decide which areas of special interest should be visited in greater detail at a later date?

Top Value & Environmentally Friendly Sightseeing

Some of the hop-on, hop-off buses can be booked in conjunction with day cruises or other types of transportation for discount savings. Passengers should also know that some services offer discounted tickets for booking online, too.

In addition to value, another advantage is that the buses don't halt during bad weather. You can still see all the sights from inside on rainy days, then choose to get off at whatever stop interests you. Still another advantage of this type of bus tour is that you generally don't need reservations, in contrast with a half-day city tour, for example, that must be arranged through your hotel in advance.

A good strategy for viewing urban highlights at your own pace (recommended for families) is to buy a hop-on, hop-off bus pass that usually lasts at least 24 hours, and perhaps 48 hours. You might want to consider staying on the bus for one complete cycle; many routes will take only two to three hours for a full city introduction. It's usually easy to figure out stops, and tour bus lines generally use different colors to help guide passengers to where they can board.

What should you expect in a hop-on, hop-off? A lot of stops (London has about 90), but also the most popular tourist stops. Prices should be all-inclusive, with no add-ons. Air-conditioning is nice but not always necessary. Tickets are generally good during the day and night, which should give visitors plenty of time to get the feel of a city.  Knowledgeable driver/guides are good to have, of course -- ones who not only provide interesting information but also have some sense of humor.

The Future of Urban Sightseeing

Passengers should also be aware that in addition to hop-on, hop-off buses, most companies usually offer other tours that may be of interest even if you can't get off anytime you want. Some of these are very specialized and appeal to various interests such as CitySights, NY's (212/812 2700) "Night Tour," which in a whirlwind two-and-a-half hours covers a comprehensive view of the sprawling city, with sights that include Broadway and the Brooklyn Bridge. The only drawback with this tour on a recent visit was that the guide was so far wrong in so many of his facts that passengers muttered their objections. It was also a cold night, but most double-decker buses have heating inside the lower covered area.

In some ways, it seems appropriate that New York would boast the ultimate development in double-decker tour buses. The city has been a pioneer in the development of the practice among American cities, though it was not always a smooth ride. There were some tough times in the late 1990s when the first double-deckers entered service with 80 British-made tour buses. New York's four original service providers found themselves in a highly competitive market.

"To many visitors, they (the buses) have come to symbolize a city that now seems more accessible and fun," wrote The New York Times. Everyone agreed the buses were fun, but not everyone liked them. Out-of-towners found themselves encircled by two or three sidewalk hawkers from rival companies. The bruising competition for tourist dollars was such that Marc Wurzel, a Consumer Affairs spokesman for the city at the time, compared it to a "rugby scrum on the streets of Manhattan." The city threatened a moratorium on any new bus tour operators. Public criticism involved where the buses should stop, how long they could remain idle, and how much air pollution they caused.

Today, that short sad history seems to be behind us and CitySights NY is gloating in its latest innovation.  The company says in a press release it is the first hop-on, hop-off double-decker company to operate a fleet of top-seating-only buses; the first to install see-through canopies for weather protection; the first to produce a complimentary, companion hop-on-hop-off guide book to enhance sightseeing; and now the first to offer international visitors a more complete tour in a language of their choice.

Where else but in New York City?

David Wilkening, a Florida-based journalist, has contributed to Florida Trend, New York Times, Newsweek, Orlando Sentinel, Detroit Free Press, Palm Beach Post-Times, Toronto Sun, AAA magazines and the Wall St. Journal, and to travel trade publications such as Birnbaum's, Travel Agent, Travel Weekly, and Zagat's.