For many players exploring Los Santos, the Vinewood Star Tours bus is a familiar sight. It's not a high-performance supercar you'll use for races, but it has its own niche in the game's world. Based on common questions from the community, here’s a practical breakdown of what this vehicle is and how it fits into gameplay.

What is the Tour Bus in GTA 5?

The Tour Bus is a unique vehicle that appears in both Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online. In the HD universe of these games, its design is a significant departure from older titles. It's essentially built on a stretched van chassis, similar to the Burrito, with a large passenger compartment attached to the back. This compartment can seat eight NPC tourists and comes in two variants: one with an open top and one with large, enclosed windows. It always features a specific blue "Vinewood Star Tours" livery, advertising a tour of celebrity homes. You'll most commonly find it parked near the Oriental Theater on Vinewood Boulevard, especially during the daytime hours in Story Mode.

How does it perform and handle?

In general, the Tour Bus performs exactly as you would expect from a large, heavy vehicle. Its acceleration and top speed are quite poor. Handling is its biggest challenge; it has a very wide turning circle, tends to understeer (meaning it doesn't turn as sharply as you steer), and its soft suspension causes a lot of body roll when cornering. Its durability is average—it can shove civilian cars out of the way easily and take a fair bit of damage before the engine gives out. For these reasons, most players don't seek it out for practical transportation. Its engine sounds like a typical diesel, which fits its weight and role.

Where can I find it, and what can I do with it?

There are reliable spawn locations. In Story Mode (between 7:00 and 19:00), one is usually parked near the Oriental Theater with a tour guide outside. You can enter it to trigger a guided tour mission, which is a fun, passive way to see the sights. An unlocked, closed-top version is often parked on Vinewood Boulevard in the evening. In GTA Online, both variants frequently spawn parked and unlocked on Vinewood Boulevard, east of the theater next to a souvenir shop. While you can steal and store one in your garage, it is not moddable at Los Santos Customs. Its primary uses are for role-playing, casual cruising, or completing specific challenges that require a bus. A small subset of players looking to skip progression might try to buy GTA 5 Accounts that already own rare or specific vehicles, though the Tour Bus itself is not typically a driving factor for this.

Is it different from older GTA games?

Yes, significantly. In the classic 2D universe games like Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, the Tour Bus was essentially a shorter, open-top version of the iconic red Double Decker bus. Its performance and handling were similar to other large buses in those early titles—very slow and cumbersome. The modern HD universe version is a complete redesign, moving away from the double-decker style to a more contemporary tour van look inspired by real-life cutaway chassis buses common in Hollywood.

What are some interesting details about it?

A few pieces of trivia stand out. In the original PS3/Xbox 360 release of GTA V, the flags on the cab doors were accidentally textured upside-down, a detail that was corrected in the enhanced versions for newer consoles and PC. Also, the text on the side changed from "12 amazing ports of call!" to "20 amazing ports of call!" in these newer releases. If you manage to find one without the rear roof canopy, you'll see the underlying model uses a default white color for parts of the frame.

For most players, the Tour Bus is a background element—part of the living cityscape. It’s not a meta vehicle for making money or winning races, but it’s a cool, immersive detail that adds authenticity to the Vinewood experience. Whether you take the tour for fun or simply borrow one for a leisurely, chaotic drive through the hills, it serves its purpose as a distinctive slice of Los Santos life.