Overall it was a great experience. Batobus was a great way of getting about and avoiding being stuck in traffic jams. Buses were every 20 minutes and stopped at very convenient locations. Only one downside- our first point of getting on was at the Eiffel Tower stop, and the phone signal was very poor at this point, that we weren’t able to download tickets for scanning. Staff were able to allow us on and take us to a stop where we did get signal, which was fortunate, but thought for a while we were going to have to buy another set of tickets at the ticket office .

As other reviewers and the description explains, this is not a guided tour. It’s an easy way to get around Paris by water. Fewer steps than getting to and from the metro. For those who say it’s hard to find the stops, they are shown on google maps and you can also print a list or map of the stops on the batobus website. There are clearly marked kiosks at each stop. Overall it’s a good transportation alternative. However, it was not clear until our second day that the boat doesn’t actually stop right at seven. It makes one more loop starting at seven, according to one of the announcements we heard on day 2. The plastic top does make the heat intense if it’s warm out. If it’s raining the cover is nice but it’s not completely covered so watch where you sit! Also it looked to us from the Get Your Guide page that we had to start at the Eiffel Tower but you can start at any stop, but you do have to bring your ticket with you every time to scan when you get on. Like a metro ticket.

We got on our first batobus at notre dame. Whilst sitting on a wall by the still some steps up to the road waiting for a boat, a woman walked up and said can I see your tickets? I had no idea who she was and when I asked who are you? she said I work for batobus. I said how do I know that? and she just stared at me then said I’m in my uniform. I was like there’s no mention of a company on your uniform no lanyard with ID. We had not approached the ticket office as we had pre booked tickets and she wasn’t very nice. No smile or greeting. It was a little weird. Anyway we got on the boat and when we stopped at the next place we saw that the staff had lanyards it was clear who they worked for and they were very smiley. So this woman kind of left a bad memory tbh. It was also super hot and there was hardly any shade. We only used it for one trip because we preferred the underground. The Uber bus in London is way better - air conditioned and much more luxurious and the same price