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. 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 host details the history of Prohibition and the causes and effects that led to pass and enforce the 18th amendment.

City: New York City

Sat 05 Apr

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $34.00

Make a reservation

Sat 05 Apr

Starting at $34.00

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.

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 (299)

Kevin_M

Jul 2019

Brent did an outstanding job detailing the history behind prohibition, speakeasies; current and past. He kept things simple and entertaining. We really enjoyed our time spent and look forward to visiting several of these establishments on our next visit to NYC.

Bob_N

Jul 2019

Alex was our guide for the West NYC tour. There was some discrepancy on clothing reqd. Viator had advised that no jeans or sneakers allowed. On arrival, Alex was wearing jeans. He said that he would get this fixed, but this trip must have been running for some time?? The only non jeans I had were shorts (as had 2 other blokes), but it would appear that shorts are something that shouldn't really be worn. It didn't detract TBH, as no-one said anything but I suggest you ignore Viator's policy and contact Alex (it's his company running the tours) to figure out exactly what is supposed to be worn. Alex was exceptionally knowledgeable, but he really had a tough time trying to impart all his info to us, there was just so much to tell. He made a good job of tying together what appeared to be unrelated material and made it interesting, and was able to stop mid flow and answer questions without losing his train of thought. We visited 5 bars - 3 bars to drink, and whilst we were keen to learn what the speakeasy's were about, there wasn't much time to talk to anyone else on the tour, as his talks commenced as soon as the last person had their drink in place. It should be noted that due to the early timing, there were no queues to be jumped, and no preferential treatment was given at the bar (e.g other members of public came in and got their drinks in the middle of our round). We did however, shake hands with bouncers/managers at some bars. There is a lot of walking... As there was 11 of us, it took way too long to get drinks ordered - most of the bars had only one member of staff making up cocktails, and complex ones at that. I guess it's difficult to predict what people want as the "best cocktail", but I think this process could be a bit more streamlined. e.g choice of two drinks at next bar and phone them in? The speakeasy's are not original (most of them were pulled down), but most of those visited were in a novel place e.g. go through pizza jt or through no access door in the Chelsea market. Definitely wouldn't find them without insider knowledge. The drinks themselves were pretty steep, around $18 a pop for the ones we ordered, so call it $40 after tips, but you could have ordered e.g beer if money was tight. I guess we were unimpressed with the cocktails - none of them were particularly palatable and after spending $120 for the two of us (excluding the tour fee), I was still pretty sober. All told, glad we went, but wouldn't hurry back.

newspindoc

Jul 2019

Had a great time on this tour. Small group, VIP treatment and great guide. Even as a Manhattan resident, it's a worthwhile, must-do tour.