Big Bus Tour: Explore NYC's Top Attractions
3.5
4,364 Ratings

Experience the best of New York City with the Big Bus open-top hop-on hop-off tour. Explore downtown attractions, visit Times Square and Wall Street, and catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. Then, discover uptown highlights like the Apollo Theater, The Metropolitan Museum, and Central Park. Choose from 1 or 2-day options and explore at your own pace.

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights

Downtown - Red Route (Route)

Operating Schedule: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (starting from Stop #1 - M&M’S World)
Buses arrive every 10 to 15 minutes, with the entire route taking 90 minutes to complete.
Download the free Big Bus app for city information and real-time bus tracking.
1. M&M’S New York
Stop 1 - 7th Ave & W 48th St
2. **Times…

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What's Included
  • Open-top double decker bus
  • Unlimited hop-on hop-off access during ticket validity
  • Two Routes - Downtown & Uptown Loops
  • Live bus tracking through Big Bus app
  • Self-guided Vox Walking Tours with 4 tour options (if option selected)
  • Brooklyn & DUMBO Bus & Walking Tour (if option selected)
  • Bike Rental Offer: rent 1 hour, get 2 hours free
  • Free Butterbeer Ice Cream at Harry Potter Store
What's Not Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information

Experience the vibrant energy of New York City with a flexible open-top double-decker Big Bus tour, allowing you to explore NYC attractions at your leisure.
Travel through Downtown New York, where you can enjoy fantastic dining, the lively Times Square, Wall Street, and Battery Park, offering views of the Statue of Liberty. Continue with the Uptown tour…

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Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.5
(4364 Ratings)
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Tarakj5397io
Jul 11, 2024
Using a tour bus to view the sites of NYC - It was a mother/daughter trip to NYC, my daughter (13) and my mom (77). My mom had been to NYC before, but my daughter and I had not. The Big Bus was a perfect choice for us because my mom already knew of some places we wanted to see: Statue of Liberty, 9/11 memorial, Flatiron, Empire State Building, and some other sites. We were able to hop-off to view things at one stop, hop-on to get to the next stop, hop-off to view things at that stop. It was a great way to see the important places of New York City. Do not pay extra to see the Statue of Liberty, instead, get off at the Wall Street financial district and walk to the big glass building for the Staten Island Ferry. The Staten Island Ferry is free, will take you across the water to view the Statue of Liberty, unboard then reboard, it will take you back. We had gotten off the Big Bus at the stop after the financial district stop and found ourselves walking back a ways to get to the Staten Island Ferry for the Statue of Liberty. If the trip was just my daughter and I, we would've taken a group tour bus that says together and explores different stops together with a guide, to be sure we saw the important things and were able to get around ok. We were staying at Crowne Plaza Times Square, and one of their stops was close to the hotel by the M&Ms store. SIDENOTE FOR THINGS TO DO: Get your tickets ahead of time for Top of the Rock or Summit One Vanderbilt to view the skyline. We didn't decide when or which one we wanted to do until the day of our tour, decided and heard that Summit was the better choice and experience, but they were sold out for the day when we got there late afternoon. If you want to be part of the Today Show outside audience with hopes to get on TV, get there no later than 8:00am, earlier the better though. We got there about 8:00am, got to meet the hosts, and Scarlett Johannson came out and greeted us the day we went. We made it on TV too!! WATER: It was hot and sunny when we went, and so I'd suggest bringing a refillable water bottle with you on your trip so you can refill wherever you see water stations. Otherwise, there are people selling cold bottles of water for $1 each.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mary_s
Aug 30, 2024
A bummer of a trip! - we reviewed the bus route noting items we wanted to see and do. Was told we could get tickets on any bus (not true) and ended up walking five blocks to get a bus. We are 80 year old senior citizens pushing walkers so this was a chore. Then we find out they changed the route and were let off at least 10 blocks from where we thought we were getting off by the subway station at Staten Island Ferry. We did NOT walk back to the pickup point instead we took a taxi back to our hotel. We were upset not to see or even go near the 9-11 site. Unless you are in very good health and can walk forever we would NOT recommend this tour. Also there were too many advertisements in the earphones and little information on sites.
Review provided by Viator
Lawlovetraveler
Jun 24, 2024
Not a fan. Walk & use the subway and save yourself a ton of money - I would not suggest this ticket. We did the downtown loop because we felt that everything we wanted to see in the uptown loop was in walking distance. Turns out most of the stuff in the downtown loop was walkable and anything that wasn't, it wouldve been more efficient to just take a subway there instead. We took the bus between two stops just because we had the ticket but still had to walk a bunch to get to our ultimate destination. The bus was packed, people were standing, there wasn't any AC so everyone was dripping. They have some tint covers over the windows which probably helped with the temp but made it feel more cramped than it was. The cord for the audio portion plugged in at the ceiling so there was this cord just dangling in front of my face. One ear bud didn't even work. I was listening to crappy music more than actual guide information. The information that they did share wasn't that exciting. Maybe we weren't in a great part of the tour. The driver (and various drivers that were hopping on/off) weren't overly friendly either. There were a few spots (Whitehall Station in particular) wasn't even on the route but the bus drove within a few blocks of it without stopping. Then another two other stops were like 1-2 blocks away from each other. Bright side: I needed to communicate with customer service for a change in our ticket prior to our visit and they were helpful and friendly.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nmclaughlan
Jul 16, 2024
Massively Overpriced for what it is ! - This is quite simply not worth the prices ! I would have paid £100 for what we got … buses too full / drivers to ruse and aggressive and the commentary was appalling and mostly cheesy songs or rap music … not enough details of key sights such as Carnegie Hall which didn’t merit a mention and the attempts at humour were cringeworthy … either revise the prices down or recruit more friendly staff and get better details for the commentary … would not recommend … would suggest for a family of four you pay a taxi driver £150 for a tour !
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Yogesh_p
Dec 27, 2024
Bus was too crowded. Had... - Bus was too crowded. Had to wait for more than 45 minutes in cold had to miss multiple buses due to this. Ended up canceling the trip
Review provided by Viator
Celestemy7360xg
Aug 14, 2024
WORST TOUR BUS EVER!! - I NEVER leave negative reviews but this was just AWFUL! They do not announce your stops or give any information on the tour. Our headsets just played music. Due to not announcing the stops we missed our stop for the Statue of Liberty and when we tried to get off the bus the driver wouldn't even allow time for people from the top to get down the stairs to get off the bus. Often this resulted in extra walking which meant we missed many sites. When I tried to ask about what stop it was, the driver started yelling at us that our stop was 2 blocks back. That's right--yelling! Also, we bought the package with Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty. We were not told you needed to pick up tickets for this. Your QR code doesn't work for these. We walked all over the city searching for where to get the tickets. INSANITY!! Worst tour EVER!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Irinabf6550nq
Aug 9, 2024
A Disappointing and Overpriced Tour Experience – Skip the Big Bus Downtown & Uptown Hop-on Hop-off Tour - We recently took the Big Bus Downtown & Uptown Hop-on Hop-off Tour, and unfortunately, it was a huge letdown. Despite the promising concept, the reality was that participants just sat on the bus and were driven around aimlessly with little to no context or explanation. The company handed out earbuds, but the information provided through them was subpar at best. As we passed by countless gorgeous buildings and landmarks, we were given little to no information about what they were or their significance. Instead, the audio was mostly filled with generic music that added nothing to the experience. It was incredibly frustrating to be surrounded by so much history and beauty, only to be left in the dark about it. It was no surprise that most people weren't even using the earbuds—there was hardly any information worth listening to. The fact that this lackluster experience came with an $80 price tag per ticket only added to our disappointment. What a waste of money. If you're looking for an informative and engaging tour of the city, this is not it. Save your money and look for a better option.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joel_y
Aug 3, 2024
The worse - This was a bad experience, I had to go searching big bus site for stops locations and was unable to find start of day and end of day time. Bus driver was rude. I never got to go on my tour because of time. Never again will I use Big bus.
Review provided by Viator
Sharonmc7126ug
Jul 24, 2024
Experience not worth the cost. - They did not have a person on the bus providing commentary. Audio tape had lots of music and not enough information on the sites of NYC. Not good value for the cost. Would not recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Frankm2157
Jul 14, 2024
Pretty Disappointing - The earphones didn’t work. No idea what we were seeing during the tour. The driver wasn’t terribly informative. Hopped off easy enough, but to hop back on took more than an hour. Every bus that stopped was full, with the exception of one. He let 10 people off and only two people on, leaving many of us stranded. Took 4 buses to get on. Do NOT recommend this tour
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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