New York Apple Tours
Jul 15th, 1999, 05:56 AM
#1
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New York Apple Tours
Last week my niece and I visited NYC. It was her first trip to the City from Oklahoma. I thought a good way to see the City was with a tour from NY Apple Tours. What a mistake. I strongly suggest that no one use this service. We waited on average 90 minutes for buses that were suppose to come by every 15-20 minutes. When the bus did come it was so full that there was standing room only. We could not see what the guide was pointing out. We lost at least 4 hours per day and did not see the entire tour. I have tried to reach the company unsucessfully since last week. All I can say is SHAME ON THEM. They really gave NYC a bad name with their treatment of the tourists using their so-called service.
Jul 23rd, 1999, 12:44 PM
#3
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I too recently visited NYC. I took my 10 year old son and my sister & brother-in-law met us there from Connecticut. We took a different tour bus but can't remember the name. I said next time I will take Apple-I guess not. The one we took was just the same with the wait. We lost so much time that we weren't able to see much at all. I'm going to give in another try in the spring. Maybe it will be less crouded.
Jul 23rd, 1999, 04:21 PM
#4
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Took 2 Apple Tours (on 2 different days) last August while in NYC. Both days, we got the 1st tour out in the am at the 1st pickup point - obviously no problem with finding a good seat at that point. 1st day we got on/off at varioius stops and fortunately didn't have a problem with either a long wait for the 'next' bus or finding a seat. What you do have a problem with is understanding the tour guide because of the speaker system used .. difficult at best to understand what's being said - and the traffic noise doesn't help much. 2nd day - BIG problem with the waits - we just missed a bus - didn't think it would be 90 minutes (with a temperature to match) before next bus would show up-packed to the gills. Needless to say, all the people waiting at the stop weren't able to get on this already overcrowded bus. Didn't dare get off at another stop because it was getting too late in the day for another bus to swing by and things were starting to close for that day.
We did enjoy the tour, and the guides are all quite knowledgable, however, the audio leaves much to be desired-and the inconsistency in pickups needs improvement. From the sound of the first posters message, the service still needs improvement. Too bad, because it's a great way to cover a lot of ground in NYC at a reasonable cost and with narrative thrown in (at least what you can hear of it).
We did enjoy the tour, and the guides are all quite knowledgable, however, the audio leaves much to be desired-and the inconsistency in pickups needs improvement. From the sound of the first posters message, the service still needs improvement. Too bad, because it's a great way to cover a lot of ground in NYC at a reasonable cost and with narrative thrown in (at least what you can hear of it).
Jul 23rd, 1999, 05:43 PM
#6
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We were in NYC last week. It was our first visit and we had originally planned to take one of the tour busses, either Grayline or Apple.
However, a month or so ago someone on this forum posted about a bad experience they had with Grayline. Their problem was very similar to yours, in that the buses did not come nearly as frequently as they promised--they spent much of their time waiting for busses.
We decided not to take a tour bus. We got a hotel in Midtown and we were able to see a lot of things just by walking.
We came across some things (Rockfeller Center, Carnegie Hall)just by walking around. When we took the Circle Tour there was not a taxi handy so we walked back to our hotel.
I realize everyone has their own preferences, but we would recommend getting a hotel at a good location. I did a lot of shopping around because we could not afford a lot of the hotels, but we did find one at a good location and it was somewhat reasonable(by NYC standards). Just take some comfortable shoes, take off walking and you will have a great time.
Sorry to ramble on, but we just got back a few days ago and are still excited about our trip.
However, a month or so ago someone on this forum posted about a bad experience they had with Grayline. Their problem was very similar to yours, in that the buses did not come nearly as frequently as they promised--they spent much of their time waiting for busses.
We decided not to take a tour bus. We got a hotel in Midtown and we were able to see a lot of things just by walking.
We came across some things (Rockfeller Center, Carnegie Hall)just by walking around. When we took the Circle Tour there was not a taxi handy so we walked back to our hotel.
I realize everyone has their own preferences, but we would recommend getting a hotel at a good location. I did a lot of shopping around because we could not afford a lot of the hotels, but we did find one at a good location and it was somewhat reasonable(by NYC standards). Just take some comfortable shoes, take off walking and you will have a great time.
Sorry to ramble on, but we just got back a few days ago and are still excited about our trip.
Jul 23rd, 1999, 06:18 PM
#7
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Our family of 5, including kids 11, 14 & 18, will be in NYC for 6 days in August. We are not the "tour group" types. We hate being herded around and at the mercy of a schedule. Our intention is to stay in a midtown hotel - at 3rd and 53rd, purchase unlimited 1 week metrocards for the bus & subway system, and follow some of the walking tours in the Frommer's NYC Walking Tour book, and in the Eywitness book. Some of the bus routes are great tours in themselves. We'll just have to pace ourselves and keep hydrated with appropriate airconditioned breaks if the heat is too much.
Jul 24th, 1999, 12:32 PM
#9
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You don't have to wait for some crummy bus. NYC can be broken down into three areas that are of interest to tourists. If you see each sector individualy, you can do it by cab quite reasonably.
Mid-town between say 59th and 40th street is where you'll find most of the things that interest tourists.
Broadway
Times Square
Museum of Modern Art
Rockerfeller Center
Empire State Building (on 34th St)
Fifth Avenue
Lincoln Center
Lower Manhattan
Wall Street
China Town (great cheap food)
World Trade Center (great view)
Statute of Liberty
Ellis Island
Other
Metropolitan Museum of Art (84th St)
Frick Collection (70th St)
If you stay at a hotel in mid-town you'll be able to do everything there including Broadway shows on foot.
Then allocate a day in lower Manhattan and a day at the Metropolitan Museum and the Frick.
You can do the whole city at reasonable expense by cab. It's efficient and cost effective.
If you're into saving money, the only long distance is to lower Manhattan which you can do by subway. Actually, during rush hours the subway is probably the best way to get around.
I did this all by memory, so I'm sure I left a lot out, but I believe the general strategy is sound. Now my wife would add Soho and the garment district, but oh well.
Mid-town between say 59th and 40th street is where you'll find most of the things that interest tourists.
Broadway
Times Square
Museum of Modern Art
Rockerfeller Center
Empire State Building (on 34th St)
Fifth Avenue
Lincoln Center
Lower Manhattan
Wall Street
China Town (great cheap food)
World Trade Center (great view)
Statute of Liberty
Ellis Island
Other
Metropolitan Museum of Art (84th St)
Frick Collection (70th St)
If you stay at a hotel in mid-town you'll be able to do everything there including Broadway shows on foot.
Then allocate a day in lower Manhattan and a day at the Metropolitan Museum and the Frick.
You can do the whole city at reasonable expense by cab. It's efficient and cost effective.
If you're into saving money, the only long distance is to lower Manhattan which you can do by subway. Actually, during rush hours the subway is probably the best way to get around.
I did this all by memory, so I'm sure I left a lot out, but I believe the general strategy is sound. Now my wife would add Soho and the garment district, but oh well.
Jul 24th, 1999, 01:57 PM
#10
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Yes, the tour busses used by Apple Tours are the red double-decker ones. They offer tours to the extent of getting you from one spot to the next on a pre-determined route, so you're free to get on/off anywhere along their route. They don't offer tours of places (like the Statue of Liberty, Empire State, etc), merely get you there.
