Does anyone have any comments on the Grey Line tour service in New York City? Are the tours worth the time and or money?

I had a great time on their tours! I bought the 48-hour ticket that allows unlimited use of their Uptown and Downtown daytime hop-on-hop-off tours, plus their nighttime tour, which is mostly lower Manhattan (with a brief foray into Brooklyn) and isn't hop-.

It's a great way to get around while seeing things and leraning a biut about the city. A word of warning: The quality of the tour guides is VERY uneven, some are charming, well informed while others are obnoxious, rude, and giving out misinformation. (One example: While disembarking, I quietly mentioned to one guide that he might want to double-check his assertion that Barnard Collegeis coed. He gave me an argument, which is both ignorantand rude, as well as wrong!) They were doing an evaluation when I rode in July, so perhaps things have improved.

Anyway, if you have a few days I'd recommend them. Riding on the upper level gives you a view that just can't be gotten from regular buses, or even walking, and certainly gives a better perspective than taking the subway from one spot to another! If a bus arrives wtihout any opening on the upper level, get on anyway -- probably a seat will open up when people get off at the next stop!

Do it! It is so much fun!

They have a wonderful reputation. So, I would definately take them. By the way it is Gray Line Tours.

I've used Gray Line Tours in a couple of cities and have always been pleased. The double decker Gray Line buses in NYC are a great way to take in the sights. As for other NYC tours offered by Gray Line, you can just as easily reach the sights on your own via subway, bus, taxi, or foot. By seeing the sights on your own, you can stay as long as you like!

Does anyone know if the 48 hours begins when you purchase the ticket or is it a calendar day....we arrive on a Sunday afternoon and would like to do the holiday lights portion that night but would like to use the hop on/hop off feature Monday and Tuesday??? Also, can you get tickets when we arrive or should we get them in advance (early December)!!??

Their web site says "2 consecutive days" so it looks like it's calendar days, not literally 48 hours. (Though I would have sworn that's what it was last summer.)

No need at all to buy in advance. Wait and check out the weather forecast!

I've never taken one (as I live in NYC), but you'll see a lot more walking on your own with a guidebook. Just buy the funpass al-day metrocard for the subway and hit the pavement.

J, if you've never taken oneof hte Gray Line bus tours, then perhaps you're not qualified to make that judgment.

How can someone on foot possibly cover the same amount of ground that the buses cover, nor see what a person can see from the upper deck of the bus? Can they read more than the bus tour guide would say? Perhasps, but htey can't be looking at hte scenery whle they're reading! And they won't see ANYTHING while they're on the subway!

Take the bus tour, or at least leran about its routes and highlights, before you judge. Plus, since it's a hop-on-hop-off bus, you can see everything from the ground, too -- just hop off!

I live in NYC. I have never taken them here but have in London. Great over view of the city. Would highly recommend to anyone anywhere.

I have done the Gray Line New York City Lower and Upper Manhattan tours and thought that both were great. They give you a great overview of the City so that later you can focus on a particular attraction on your own time that is of interest to you.

At SamIAm's admonition, I just checked out the Gray Line website. I stoppped when I saw the prices---40, 50 bucks? Is that right? Wow. That better be one damn good tour to compare to a $4 daily metrocard, a pair of walking shoes, and a bus/subway map. Neighborhoods with narrower streets, like SoHo and the Village seem impossible to enjoy via bus, to me. But what do I know, I've just lived here for 8 years?

At SamIAm's admonition, I just checked out the Gray Line website. I stoppped when I saw the prices---40, 50 bucks? Is that right? Wow. That better be one damn good tour to compare to a $4 daily metrocard, a pair of walking shoes, and a bus/subway map. Neighborhoods with narrower streets, like SoHo and the Village seem impossible to enjoy via bus, to me. But what do I know, I've just lived here for 8 years.

For $49 (though lots of discounts like AAA are available) you get maps, guides, and TWO days of unlimited rides, plus the evening tour.

You're right, some neighborhoods must be toured by foot. But you're comparing apples and oranges -- for an overview of a large area of the city, take the tour bus. For details about specific neighborhoods, get off the bus and walk around. The two approaches serve different purposes. Ihad a wonderful 4-day trip to NYC that combined the Gray Line tours with neighborhood walks. They're not mutually exclusive!

It is a lofty price Sam but if you won't make your way back regularaly it it money well spent. It is what you would spend on most commercial tours also.

Can I get on and off the tour bus anywhere in Manhattan or do I have to find specific street corner or bus stop specified by Gray Line to get on and off the tour bus?

Each of the Gray Line bus loops (uptown and downtown) has about 20 specific stops at logical places where people might want to get off (at museums, etc.). They are clearly marked, maps are given out freely, the two loops overlap in several places, and there are Gray Line staff to assist at the more popular/crowded stops.

Susan, You can get on and off the bus at any of the over 40 designated stops along the tour route in Manhattan. You can buy tickets for the tours at the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 8th Avenue and 42nd Street.

You don't have to go to the Port Authority: The Gray Line has Visitors Centers at 8th Ave. between 47 and 48th Streets and on Broadway between 46 and 47. You can also buy tickets at Macy's, at the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and the Waldorf-Astoria.

Since I know New York pretty well, I've never done the bus tours, although I sometimes take out of town guests on the Circle Line tours during good weather. Seeing the city from the water gives you an entirely different perspective.

I find that city bus tours in general give you a great overview of a city. I'm one of those who likes to know where places are in relation to each other, a perspective that you really can't get using the subway. And NYC busses take a really long time to get from on place to another.

The major down side as has been mentioned before, is that sometimes, quite often in face, some of the information is unreliabl.