Our private tour was well worth the expense. Our tour guide, Liz, was very knowledgeable about the history of the places we visited and even carried a binder with photos to enhance the experience. She saved us hours of standing in lines for both the Statue and Ellis Island tour. She gave information and insight to both places that I'm sure were beyond what one would have received from a group tour. I highly recommend Top Dog Tours. Ask for Liz. She was wonderful!
Sean or Shawn was phenomenal. He was easy to relate too, simple to understand, and very enjoyable to learn from. A very good time, very amenable and personal service. I could not recommended this enough.
I loved the Statute of Liberty and Ellis Island - however the 150/person fee I paid for the private tour was not worth the money. We received emails and calls reminding us not to be late or we would forfeit our tour. Our tour guide, Victoria, was over 15 minutes late and was unable to spend time with us at the Battery Park museum. She did provide us with our ticket for the ferry to the Statute of Liberty and to Ellis Island. Once on board the Ferry she apologized for being late and reported the train she was on had been delayed.
Her information available about the Statute of Liberty and Ellis Island was very shallow. Many questions we ask she was unable to answer. It was almost like she had her information memorized in a specific order - if we interrupted she struggled to continue. She left us for over 30 minutes at the Statute of Liberty - not quite sure why that was and did not provide any information not available within the museum at the Statute of Liberty. Upon arrival to Ellis Island we had the opportunity for a guided tour - which I'm disappointed we missed since we had hired our private guide. Her lack of enthusiasm and interest in Ellis Island - as well as limited information was disappointing. Not only due to the cost of the tour - but this may have been my only chance to visit Ellis Island and I would have loved to have had a guide that brought it to life with their stories and history.
When we ask her about Bob Hope's interest in Ellis Island she reported the tour company had not covered that information and she had not been to the third floor to learn more about it. I find that unacceptable when hiring an expert to escort you.
Fortunately I have experienced many tour guides and docents that have been excellent. I cannot recommend this tour company and do not like that I missed the tours available on tape at the venue - those tapes had to be better than this tour guide.
Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear your tour experience did not meet your expectations. As this is a personalized, private, tour experience, the opportunity to utilize the pre-recorded audio commentary is generally not given, as a private guide is provided instead. We regret that you felt the guide's knowledge was lacking on this particular date and our local tour operator will strive to improve for the future. Thank you again, and we hope you enjoyed your time in New York.