Need advise on a tour in Berlin

Here's the thing: Berlin is really large, and there are top sights scattered all over. It seems to me that a day-long tour (if that's what you're looking for) is going to mean a lot of time sitting on a bus, some of it headed to places that might not be near the top of your priority list. On the other side of the situation, any stops are likely to allow too little time inside places you especially want to see.

How much time do you actually have? Perhaps take a 2-hour walking tour of an area thst sounds interesting, or a 2- or 3-hour bus tour with commentary and no or limited stops. Then fill your remaining time with the top sight(s) from your priority list. You can stretch your time by taking advantage of sights with evening hours. As of 2015 those included the DDR Museum and the House at Checkpoint Charlie, and I think the outdoor part of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is open all the time.

Thanks for the questions. I should have been more specific. We are just looking for a hop on and hop off off bus, not a tour group. We don't really want a guided tour as we are are pretty knowledgeable re sites, and have been here before. Red Bus tours are recommended and wondered about people's experience.

Hi. Rick's book mentions the public bus ( maybe #100 but I am not sure) that goes past most of the tourist sights. Dad and I love the Hop ON Hop off buses, but in Berlin used this bus instead. It was terrific. We also did a walking tour which I can look up that was excellent.

We felt the time we spent waiting and waiting on that bus #100 was a complete waste of time. So many people waiting to get on it, that you had to keep waiting for the next one and the next one, and once you do manage to get on one, you are just looking out of a side window. Have no idea why people keep recommending to do this!

Try a good walking tour, you will get to see many of the highlights and have a good orientation to the city. I went on my first Insider tour in 2007 and I still know how to get around and where the main sites are.

Thanks. Commercial hop on and off is what we want. Recommendations?

Read reviews on Trip Advisor, there is little difference between the various hoho companies.

Doug, the OP was specific about wanting to ride and not walk through the city.
The walk that Rick has for Frankfurt makes me cringe and is certainly not one I would recommend. His audio guides may be fine in other cities, but for Frankfurt, they aren't. The guide misses taking you to 3 inner-city medieval churches (1200-1300), ignores some great markets and historical sites and makes you walk through the RLD! Talking to several different guides in Berlin, they snicker about some of the stuff he tells people in their city too.

As a suggestion Doug, have you gone on a good walking tour after listening to an audio guide so that you can compare them? Am sure they are fine, but there is no comparison to having a live guide show you the city or a podcast that was recorded years ago. Cities like Berlin are changing so rapidly, you would have to update an audio guide every 6 months or so to keep it current.

The hoho bus tours have no big differences in Berlin since they are looking at and copying from each other. Some have special routes, e.g. also to Charlottenburg Palace or into Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer Berg. More a question of what you like / look for.

Important: Big bike demo today (Sept. 1) from 1 pm on. Impact on street traffic expected.

Taking public bus 100 is only meaningful if you know Berlin a little bit because you will not get any comments where you are or what you see left / right. Route of bus 200 has changed since August. New and also a little sightseeing is e-bus route 300.

Today I woud choose a tour which includes a river Spree boat tour. Fantastic weather.