rhettski

Still planing our 9 night stay,we arrive sunday afternoon and were thinking of taking the "Royal bus tour of NY"by the "King of NY" on the monday to obtain an overview before our daily subway day trips.Is this $80,6hour tour worth the effort?
Any feedback or experiences on this tour much appreciated.
thanx Rhettski

MichelleY

We went on this tour and thought it was great. The owner, Steve, was our guide. The van held 14, a good size and Steve was very informative and interacted well with the group.
We thought it was well worth it.

Here is a link to my trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-big-apple.cfm

Good luck,

MY

doug_stallings

I've said this many times before, but I'll say it again, especially for someone who has 9 full days in NYC. Why on earth would you pay $80 to take a guided bus tour? It's one thing if you have limited time and limited inclination to explore independently, but you have time.

The best way to see New York is on foot at street-level. And with 9 full days, you can pretty much explore all you want to explore in some depth. If you want to spend money and learn more about the city, do it on foot by taking a guided walk or three. There are some excellent walking tours in New York but I would never pay $80 to be trapped in New York City traffic for 6 hours.

Aduchamp1

I agree with Doug on all accounts, why spend that much money if you are going to be here nine days?

There are many ways to get around NY-subway, bus, cab, and walking. Unless you take cabs everywhere your entire transit bill for the nine days will be less than $80.

Break the city into general areas and walk. You will see much more.

nytraveler

A third agreement from a native New Yorker. You have plenty of time to see major sights - and some minor sights - yourself the best way - on foot. (Or subway for longer trips.)

In a bus you will waste a lot of time sitting in traffic and will see a limited amount - many streets and sights (Central Park) don;t allow buses at all. So - unless someone has a walking issue IMHO this is a very expensive waste of time. (Walking tours show youmuch more of the real NY.)

rhettski

thanx folks.....scratch the bus tour....best Rhettski.

djkbooks

Well, a native New Yorker, who has all the time in the world, would have a much different perspective than a first time visitor.

I totally disagree that you can see much more from the sidewalks.

We've visited NYC many, many, times, and still love to ride around on the hop on/hop off buses to enjoy the spectacular buildings, neighborhoods, and scenery all about. You can get a much better perspective of the various neighborhoods, and "sitting in traffic" gives you longer to look all about. And, you do get all the way around...

It's not so easy to view the tall, tall, buildings from the sidewalks. (In fact, one of the above, admonishes all those who stop while walking along to look up!) From seats on the upper level of the open top buses, for example, you can sit back in your seat and look up all along the way for much better views (and also photo ops) than from the sidewalks.

For sure, you can go all over for much less by walking or using the subways (no views whatsoever, you may as well be a gopher) and city buses (with small windows and obstructed view), but it's not about the cost of "getting around", rather the amazing scenery.

Another great way to enjoy the skyline and bridges, in particular, is with a boat tour.

For a first time visitor, especially, I highly recommend a tour for the views and "orientation".

nelsonian

We did a hop on/hop off tour and enjoyed it. We only had 3 1/2 days in NYC though so it was a good way to see some of he sites in Brooklyn and in Harlem.

Peteralan

I agree. That particular tour sounds very good. It does not have to take the place of getting around yourself, you can do both ! Your tour will give you a good overall image of NYC and then you can explore in detail. The locals are so used to the city they do not understand that strangers are not in the same priveleged position.

Cicerone

I have enjoyed taking those double-decker open roofed “hop-on, hop-off” bus tours of many cities myself over the years. I agree that they can be very good for getting an overview of a city and seeing major sights from the outside, with plans to revisit in depth at a later date.

However, from looking at the website for the tour which the OP has mentioned, the two major drawbacks I see are that: (i) the buses are not double decker buses with open roofs, but rather just a minivan like you would get at an airport going to your car rental lot, and (ii) you are in that bus for quite a long time. In a minivan, you will essentially be at street level with traffic, and may not be able to appreciate much at all, i.e. if you are in the middle lane of traffic on something like 5th Ave. Without an open roof upper level, you really are going to be straining to see those skyscrapers, St Patrick’s cathedral and probably any sight which has depth rather than being all street front (i.e., Rockefeller Center), plus IMO photo opportunities may be obscured by windows (or by your flash bouncing off windows).

I simply would not want to be on a bus for that long. The advantage of the “hop-on hop-off” buses is that you can DO just that: get off when you need a break, a meal or want to see something in more depth. To merely zoom by something in a car as part of a 6-hour tour, will, IMO, make it all start to run together after a while. Although you do apparently get out at some places (Grand Central, the WTC site), by their own admission there is “very little walking” involved; so basically you are sitting for 6 hours, including lunch. The bus stops for lunch at Katz’s Deli, which you may not want to do (and which is not cheap). Nothing like going in with a herd of tourists into a pretty touristy place. With all the choices available in NYC, you might want to pick your own restaurant.

There are several hop-on, hop-off buses available in NYC. Gray Line at http://www.newyorksightseeing.com/ have run these types of tours for many years. See also http://www.citysightsny.com/. They all have guided commentary.

Aduchamp1

Like all tours, it is someone else's version of the world.

jroth

We have visited just about every major city in the world - and have never taken one of those bus tours. Besides being overly expensive - you are encapsulated in the bus and you are looking at the city from outside - in. And if you would like a bus ride - you can take any north/south bus line for $2.25 and get a good city view. Or take a crosstown bus for that view. And - although the subway is underground - it really is a slice of New YOrk life. And for $160 (or much less) for two people - you could also just take a taxi and he'll give you a multi-view of the city and you can direct him wherever you would like. But - walking and public transportation is still the best way to get around and see the city.

bachslunch

I'm going to poke my nose in here to speak in favor of Katz's Deli. Tourists do indeed go there, but from what I've seen and heard, so do a lot of locals. And there's a reason for that, as for starters they make the best pastrami sandwich I've ever had, anywhere -- a sentiment I've encountered several times online both at Chowhound and in this forum. In fact, I'll go so far as to say their pastrami on rye, juicy (not extra lean) with a little deli mustard, is the best sandwich I've ever had at a restaurant.

I just don't see any basis for suggesting Katz's Deli is a tourist trap. Will agree it's not cheap, but then again, neither are any of the major NYC delis. If you really want cheap food in NYC, you'll likely have to limit yourself to Gray's Papaya, street food carts, a pizza slice at those spots that will serve them, and a few other isolated options.

Rich

. . street food carts . . mmmmmmmm

Aduchamp1

Katz's makes excellent, excellent pastrami. Their food is not touristy, some of the clientele are.

And although I love Katz's pastrami, overall 2nd Ave Deli is better.

Rich some street is fine, others??? Those fried knishes that look like third base and that have been sitting on the grill since last summer and have a green patina when you bit into them are an acquired taste.

sf7307

>>

Although I love Katz' pastrami, I have to disagree with the "not extra lean" comment. I spent a lot of time picking the fat off the edges because I didn't order extra lean.