Gray Line New York Tours Visitor Center

Athough it is stated they were the New York Experts, it didn't happen. Do your own homework and know the times places open and close. And after that mess, you can get a refund...don't hold your breath. This took over 10 calls and finally a call to corporate, one year in total. Take the subways, take the taxis, walk..... more

I bought tickets for my daughter and niece to see all the sights, hop on and off. Well, the sharks who sold us the 2-day tix at Times Sq said the bus passed every 20 minutes. We got in line and waited an HOUR during which time NO BUSSES CAME. The lines were very long. Finally got on. At the Seaport had to wait about 30 mins and then as a result missed the 'night tour' by about 15 mins. The next day waited 1.5 hours for the Uptown Loop at a designated stop while FOUR busses passed without stopping but there were empty seats on them. What's going on Grayline? They were so eager to push the tickets on us, but could not deliver what they promised. It was not easy. We never used the tix on the second day. Tried calling their office, waited on hold 45 mins, and was told to submit a complaint in writing and MAYBE they'd issue a partial credit. I say this is a RIP OFF. BEWARE. You can take the subway or taxi's and walk - just use their map!! While it looks like fun, the reality, especially in baking heat of summer in NYC, is more like biting into a bad apple that looks good on the outside. Pros: convenient way to see major sights in short time Cons: no busses came - overcrowded, rude personnel more

I read other reviews before posing my review.And I have to say, the tours to me are what I expected.But one thing you must do,and that's ask questions,but not when a tour guide is conducting the tour,as I experienced during my trip. Pros: Got to see alot of NYC Cons: Had to wait in line for about 40 minutes to get on the bus,but who hasn't waited in line before? more

If you have time to do several of the ""loop tours"" I would highly recommend it. We purchased the ""all loops"" tour, which allows 3 days to take them at your leisure. A great value for the money. We found it to be an easy way to scope out the city without pounding the pavement and thus saving our feet. The hop-on / hop-off work out well for us too. We would start the tour, get off for shopping, museums etc... and then hop back on and pick-up the rest of the tour. The tours were fun, relaxing and the guides informative. In addition to the general information given, each guide had their own tidbits of little known facts. Also, the tour guides would tell you when the best photo opportunities were coming up and to ""get your cameras ""ready!"" Best seats are up top. Pros: See the city without killing your feet! more

For a first time visit to New York - a tour seems to be a good bet to get acquainted with a very busy city. This line offered ""hop on hop off"" service - hitting all the major tourist spots and allowing you to get on and off the bus at your leisure. For $37 pp, we were able to see Times Square, Wall Street, portions of Central Park, The Village, Chinatown, Little Italy, and Rockefellar Center. I would not do it again - as once you are familiar with the city you can utilize the subway to go anywhere you'd like for substantially less money - but it was worth it for our induction to New York. Pros: Hop On / Hop Off Cons: Tip-Craving Staff, Prolonged wait at stops more

The New York sightseeing tours are great.The guides are interesting and helpful.Relaxing rides and great views of the city.The only bad things are the lines. Pros: fun tour guides,nice views,relaxing rides Cons: lines more

If you plan your stops the Gray Line bus can be a fun and informative way of getting around the city. The tour guides were all very interesting and knowledgeable and helpful in answering questions. The street vendors are not really helpful....they are more concerned with selling tickets than answering questions about sold products. The lines were reasonable and the commentary informative. We loved it and found it to be of value. Pros: Guides give tips on shopping, sites, tour stops, etc. Cons: Traffic! but that's really nothing they can control. more

First, buy your tickets from your hotel. The street guys use wireless credit card systems that are vulnerable to sniffing and stealing your id. Pros: Lot of different tours Cons: 1/2 empty buses leaving crowded lines in Times Square, rude employees more

BEWARE of many things first of all really weigh what you want to see before choosing which tours you would like to get booked on. We paid for the ""all loop tour"" this tour includes tickets to Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and a museum we only got to do the upper west side we had to get off in Harlem @ 3:00 pm and take the subway down to Battery Park to catch the last boat (last one departs at 4:00pm) to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island... please note we barely made it! I also recommend (no matter what the weather is like) sitting on top you can not see anything below in the bus. We returned to catch one of the last buses at 7:00ish to catch the 2nd half of the downtown loop. Pros: Covers many areas, air conditioned, tickets 4 attractions Cons: can be expensive, bus hours, traffic prolongs tour more

Don't like waiting for the bus. Too many people on the bus. Felt like I was being herded through cattle cars. Pros: Saw lots of stuff, convenient Cons: crowded, have to wait for bus, too impersonal more

Uptown tour - The first guide was 15 minutes late and told us little about the city, its history - mainly Seinfeld references and rental prices. The second guide (once the bus showed half an hour late) was rude, took us off the tour (we missed the second half of it, and ended up at Bloomingdale's instead) and refused to answer questions like: what is the next stop? The driver got off the bus and was gone for 15 minutes, and thought leaving a bus full of tourists to deliver a pie to her mother was a commendable thing to do. To top it off, I have yet to receive a response from Customer Service. Cons: uninformative, rude guides, irresponsible driver more

Took the downtown tour. Guide was very knowledgable and had interesting things to say. Definitely sit on top; you can't see anything from below. Last couple of miles (i.e. past Chinatown on the way back north) is not very interesting, so you could skip that part if you're pressed for time. The hop on - hop off is good, but buses are full late in the day, so you may not be able to hop back on then. And you may wait 30 minutes to catch a bus late in the day, versus 5-10 minutes earlier in the day. Pros: interesting Cons: full late in day more