Skip the Line NYC Speakeasy Walking Tour Ticket

Overview

Discover New York City's most secretive speakeasies on this guided, 3-hour, small-group walking tour in Lower Manhattan and Greenwich Village. Take a friendly stroll to discover NYC's most secretive speakeasies, hidden behind unmarked doors, coffee shops, restaurant kitchens, and more. Skip the lines with reserved tables, sip craft cocktails, and turn back the clock to the roaring 20s while the tour guide details the history of Prohibition and the causes and effects that led to pass and enforce the 18th amendment.

City: New York City

Sat 11 Jan

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $35.00

Make a reservation

Sat 11 Jan

Starting at $35.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

List of all the visited speakeasies (only after the tour)

Local, professional guide

Special treatment at the speakeasies

Guaranteed to skip the long lines

Highly accurate and documented history facts

Small-group walking tour

Additional Info

Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Public transportation options are available nearby
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Minimum age is 21 years and bring ID
May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
No gym-wear and no fur. Sneakers and jeans are fine.
Face masks required for travellers in public areas
Face masks required for guides in public areas
Face masks provided for travellers
Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
Social distancing enforced throughout experience
Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
Gear/equipment sanitised between use
Guides required to regularly wash hands
Regular temperature checks for staff
Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons

What To Expect

Lower Manhattan

The meeting point for the group is always at a park where there is seating, shade, and water. While the group awaits for all the attendees to arrive, the tour guide will provide some general colonial history of New York City and deliver interesting facts related to the era — like why we say 'bucks' instead of dollars, why 'Houston' is pronounced differently in NYC, and much more. Once the whole group is ready, the tour guide will provide a small introduction about the speakeasy tour and explain how long it is, how many speakeasies will be visited (it's usually six or seven), and at which speakeasy the group will be allowed to grab a drink. The tour guide will also explain where the tour ends, which is always an area with nightlife, bars, clubs, and restaurants — all located in close proximity to subway entrances. On every tour, the first drink is enjoyed at the first speakeasy. In most cases, the group will either skip the line, get a reserved table, or both — but skipping the line is guaranteed. While enjoying a high-quality, internationally recognized, award-winning cocktail, the tour guide will explain about the causes and effects that led to passing the 18th amendment (Prohibition). The guide will not only explain how and why it was passed, but the history of alcohol consumption in the US in general, the history of alcohol taxation, and most importantly, how the US tried to enforce Prohibition. For each drink, spend up to an hour, but in most cases, the group only takes around 40 minutes. Tour guides are obliged to assure that no one feels too rushed to finish their drinks because they are high-quality crafted cocktails that ought to be savored and enjoyed. Some speakeasies will have even Burlesque shows, but all are completely hidden from the exterior. Go through unmarked doors, back alley ways, phone booths, a bank's vault door, behind a psychic shop, through doors indicating 'No Entrance,' 'Emergency exit only' or even through a Five Guys burger joint. Most of the speakeasies are so well hidden that most of our clientele are actually locals struggling to find them, even with the physical address on their phones. At the last stop, the guide will give the option to either stay at the last speakeasy for a third drink or to explore the stimulated and vivid neighborhood where the tour ends, where there is many nightlife establishments, restaurants, clubs, bars, stand up comedy, life music and much more.

Alex's Tours

New York City

See the true hidden gems NYC has to offer

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (218)

Yana B

Oct 2017

Let me start by saying, we had a fantastic time with Alex'a tours! I booked a speakeasy walking tour with Alex's tours online with a Groupon deal. Even though I was successful at doing so, communication from their support team was mediocre at very best. First of all, they booked me for the West Village tour without even asking me which tour I wanted to go on. When I asked about East Village tour, they said that it was not available on Sundays, but did not provide any info about other tours that were available on Sundays. I asked them if Lower East Side tour was available on Sundays, to which they just booked me for without answering my question or confirming with me if I wanted to book Lower East Side Tour instead of West Village tour. As not to complicate the matters, I decided to just go with it to avoid confusion, but I felt like I didn't get much choice. I'd suggest Alex's tours staff work on their communication and customer service. My first impression of the company was strongly negative. I didn't know what to expect from the tour after my email conversation with Alex's tours. To my great surprise, the tour was fantastic. Our tour guide arrived right on time and filled us in on the itinerary. We visited 3 speakeasy bars on our tour and learned about another 4 when passing by. In each on the 3 speakeasies we stayed at, we learned about the bars and the history of prohibition. Our guide was very knowledgeable about both, the history of prohibition and the speakeasies in the area. He seemed to be a bit shy - sometimes we felt like we were pulling info out of him. Maybe, that is cause most people just want to drink on the tours and are not interested in history. However, once we started asking lots of questions, our guide seemed to open up and shared historical facts and stories freely with us. Overall, we had a great time on the tour with Alex's tours and if we did have a chance to do another speakeasy tour with them, we would definitely do so! A couple of final notes - the drinks were not included in our tour, drinks in speakeasy bars were around $16 each (some speakeasies accept cash only), make sure you have a hearty dinner before you come on the tour (speakeasies don't serve any food)!!

girlnomad

Oct 2017

Alex was very knowledgeable on history, prohibition and the speakeasies of NYC. We were going to do the SoHoNoHo tour, but got switched to the LES because of low mid-week attendance. I called after I got the email, a bit confused and their customer service was great. The coupon code they provide on the website makes this a really good deal. The speakeasies that we went to were fabulous and the drinks at the two (where we could sit and talk) were good. We already decided to do another when we go back. My only suggestion is that the meeting place was just a tad sketchy and suggest perhaps another corner.

Valerie J

Oct 2017

We thoroughly enjoyed this tour. We visited 5 speakeasies...spent quality time in two and were shown where the others were. Rather than a Groupon, you can get good deals, which include drinks, on Alex's web site. Alex is a great guy,,,very knowledgeable about the Prohibition era in New York City, about mixology, and about speakeasy lore. We enjoyed the education we received from him, and enjoyed the speakeasies we spent time in. This was such a fun experience, we intend to take another of his tours every time we come to New York City in the future!