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Big Bus New York Hop-On Hop-Off Open Top Tour

Overview
Hop on and hop off around New York City with an open-top Big Bus tour, and visit NYC attractions at your own pace. Travel with ease by double-decker bus past world-famous landmarks including the Empire State Building, Times Square, Rockefeller Center and Central Park. With your Classic ticket, ride the bus loops around Manhattan as you learn about the city's history from your engaging guide.
City: New York City
Tue 24 Dec
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You can choose the date already on the booking website
Starting at $53.99
Tue 24 Dec
Starting at $53.99
Make a reservation
What's Included
Hop-on hop-off, open-top, sightseeing bus tour
2 Routes - Uptown (red route) and Downtown (blue route)
Audio-guide in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and German
1-hr free bike rental with a purchase of 1-hr from Unlimited Biking
Live bus tracking through Big Bus app
Additional Info
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Infants are required to sit on an adultā€™s lap
  • Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • 24 Hour - Classic tickets will be valid for same day use. Tickets with multiple days must be used consecutively.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Traveler Photos
Reviews (1000)
stevebD4370GI
Sep 2019
We were looking forward to orientating ourselves to some of the main sights in the Big Apple. Things started poorly when we had to wait, lined up in the sun, for nearly an hour as 2 full buses came and went. The opposition bus rep came past the line and mocked us. ā€œYouā€™ll be waiting for agesā€ he smirked. He was right. Once we finally got on board, there was no room up top, so we were stuck down stairs WITH NO WORKING AIR CONDITIONING in the baking, humid oven that was the indoors of this bus. It was an unseasonal 32 Celsius outside. Use have been near 40 on the bus. (Why would the company allow a bus so obviously in need of repairs and inadequate for the task continue to be on the road?) Several stops later (over 1/2 an hour) we finally got our chance to move up top. At least it was a bit cooler when the bus was moving, but the heavy New York traffic meant that for too long we were stationary. The commentary was ordinary and at times hard to understand. There was a sense that our man was somewhat fed up dealing with confused tourists. But what were they doing to help? No helpful signs, a moved rendezvous point from their published map ( no longer do they stop at the Empire State Building, but instead a block down around the corner), cranky and unhelpful employees. I would recommend you try the opposition, Grays. ( the red buses). They seem to have more buses, more frequent opportunities to get on or off, and no-one sits below deck. On our Big Bus tour, if you got off, you would be stuck for ages before you could get back on another bus. So it just became a slow roasting crawl through the traffic. Give this lot a miss!!
Response from Host
Oct 2019
Good Afternoon stevebD4370GI While we do prepare for more hectic times by increasing our bus count in our fleet, we apologize for the unpleasant experience, as we were experiencing delays, route changes and cancellations due to city event that were out of our control. We can not speak for the competition as we only do so once mandated by the Dept. of Transportation. We post these changes on our website and app under ā€œService informationā€™ All of our guides and agents are aware of these changes and should be informing customers also, we have not changed our route. In regards to A/C, We do have A/C as well as check our buses before leaving for the days service, but sometimes we experience issues during more scorching times. As far as traffic is concerned, that is beyond our control. We do our best to maneuver around it, and provide our guests with the best sightseeing experience possible. We're truly disappointed we were unable to exceed your expectation on this trip but with the feedback you provided we can continue to strive to be the best sightseeing company. Kind Regards, BBTNY
KAPAtl
Sep 2019
I like to use the BigBus Ho/Ho service in big cities the first day or two, to get a good overview and take the strain off driving and parking. You can learn a lot of history and trivia, and sometimes get some photos. If the weather is nice, it is a great way to get some air and sun atop the double-decker. You can hide on the inside if the weather is not good. On this trip to NYC, planned to be just sightseeing & shows, we did the BigBus option of 2 days + Circle Line Cruise + Night Tour, and had a mixed bag of experiences. 75% of the guides were very good! 10% were so bad that we bailed just to avoid listening to their voices any longer. 15% were just acceptable. All the drivers were amazing-- whew-- that traffic. . . Tour bus drivers should win awards of some kind. The buses had route and stop limitations due to marches /protests/ parades, and that is not their fault, but did skew our plans for riding vs walking (or alternate transport) to some places. The online BB map route does not match with the printed map they hand you when you board, and in some cases with the downloaded App. BigBus should be able to ensure they sync. Note that it is harder to find the stops than in some cities: the signs are smaller and immediately under the regular city transit signs on the same pole, so look for those. In some cases, but not all, there is a human there to help you know which direction the route is going, and which color route it is (some stops are for more than one color route-- like for uptown, downtown, Harlem, etc- and you can transfer there. Be careful to NOT get on the wrong tour line's bus; some of the ticket sellers are aggressive and will not try to "clarify," just sell you a ticket for their own bus. This IS the "big city," people, so caution is called for. The Circle Line cruise (we purchased as part of the BigBus tix) is excellent, and the night tour is worth the tix price for a different view and less pushing and jockeying for seats. Everyone sits on top, as they take multiple buses. The day lines end at 6 PM. It is really not advisable to plan to use the Ho/Ho Big Bus as point A to point B transport, unless you do not have a "schedule" with reserved times that you must be at a destination. They do try to keep a schedule, but they cannot be precise given all the variables. Flexibility is called for; it is a sightseeing activity. Enjoy!
DeBekka
Sep 2019
I just have to commend our tour guide. We actually did 3 different tours, Red w/Dwayne, Yellow and the Night Tour. Red w/Dwayne was our first tour and we were so spoiled by his attitude, his energy and the interaction he took with the entire bus. The other tour guides were good, but by far he was superior. We would ride with him on every tour if we could. Tell him the Mom and Daughter from Alabama really enjoyed his tour!!

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