Debbie

We are traveling to all of these places in a few weeks and I would like to know if these trolley tours are a good way of getting around to see the key points of each city. We won't have a lot of time in each place and these sound good but you know how sometimes things sound great and actually are not. Thanks for any input!

Debbie

that was suppose to be New York City.

David

I have taken both the Lower and Upper Manhattan Gray line hop on hop off double decker bus tours. I thought that they wee a great way to get an overview of The City. I assume that this is what you are referring to for NYC. I am not aware of trolley bus toues in NYC. You can purchase Gray Line tickets at the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 8th Avenue and 42nd Street.

lcuy

We've done the trolley tours in Boston and DC. Found them to be very convenient and quite cheap for all the ground you cover. In addition, the drivers on most all of them were informative, and funny as well. I think we went on the Old Town Trolley Line in both cities, but I might be mistaken on the name.

Debbie

David thank you, that is what I meant for New York City. Glad to hear you liked them. Thanks to you to for the DC and Boston info!! Makes me a little relieved before we use them. If you are ever in Paris, France, they have an open air-double decker bus that operates the same way it is great!

Jen

I also enjoyed the Gray Line bus tours in NYC. I bought the All Loops Tour ($49, though I had a $5 discount coupon), which is good for 48 hours and has about 30 stops, total. You do not have to go to the Port Authority to buy tickets, they sell tham at the hub of the loops, which is their offices in Times Square at 777 Eighth Avenue between 47th & 48th Streets. Here's a tip: The ticket is good for 48 hours, so if you buy it mid-morning, an hour or so after they open (at 8:30 IIRC) you'll get a third morning boarding. I hopped on and off, and foundthat the quality of the tour guides varied tremendously, so if you don't like yours, hop off and catch the next one!
http://www.graylinenewyork.com/sightseeing.cfm?tour_id=274&mode=tour_detail&location_id=1077

In DC, we found that the trolleys ran infrequently and were often extremely crowded, though I suppose this depends on the day and season. We preferred using the Metro.

In Boston, the trolley tours are notorious for conveying misinformation, so use your eyes more than your ears and don't believe everything you hear. The most fun is the Duck Tours, which use retired WWII amphibious vehicles and go right into the Charles River.

Jen

Just rememberred another tip about the double-decker tours in ANY city: everyone wants to be on top, and sometimes people will refuse to board, and choose to wait for the next bus, if ther are no seats on top. They forget, or haven't noticed, that usually people will descend and get off at the very next stop and then you can grab your seat up top!