We really had never met anyone quite like Fred our friendly New York City native tour guide who has singlehandedly set the bar at stratospheric levels for any tours we make take in the future. Exuberant, knowledgeable and witty we all felt it was a real treat to be in this persons company for the duration of the tour. I could not think of any reason why anyone might not thoroughly enjoy this tour. We came away from it with a great feeling for the city and I personally, being a bit of a philistine, with a deep appreciation for the importance of art especially in an architectural setting. I would thoroughly recommend this tour and would also advise everyone to ensure you include the One World Trade Center visit which is the cherry on the cake. Hope you all enjoy it as much as we did
First off, when we booked this tour, it was supposed to be 9 hours and 7 or fewer people, but they knocked it down to 7 hours--but was actually only 6. Secondly, instead of the small group we paid for and wanted, there were a total of 15 people, including one lady with a cane who had a lot of trouble keeping up. This was designated as a WALKING TOUR, so it was unfair that someone who was not capable of doing the walking should slow down the entire group. I feel we might have covered more in the allotted time without this person. By far the most annoying thing about the entire tour was the guide. Yes, he was knowledgegable about the city and quite personable on the surface, but he interjected his own personal political opinions about everything a dozen times. While everyone certainly is entitled to their own beliefs, we did not pay to listen to his while on a tour of the city. Even had we agreed with his opinions, we do not feel it is appropriate to voice them in this kind of an activity. It made us angry and uncomfortable--and pretty much ruined the tour for us. Additionally, he was constantly rushing to make the ferry or make the subway--and there was no time allowed to take photos. Finally, I think this guy is getting a kickback from the producers of that moronic play HAMILTON because I counted at least half a dozen instances wherein he kept talking about how wonderful it is. If I want a review of a play, I will search one out--and it would not be this piece of trash. Overall--we feel ripped off and wish we had not signed up for this political indoctrination masquerading as a city tour.
My family and I did this awesome walking tour in early June. Allie was knowledgeable, caring, funny, engaging, and a great team leader. We had a blast on the subway totally confident to negotiate it all alone. The pace was easy...my 75 year old Mom had no problem keeping up.