NYC Bus Tours: Hop-On Hop-Off, Night Rides, Holiday Lights and Day Trips

The Seven Kinds at a Glance

Each row is a different product sold under the bus tour name, with the catalog price range across the listings in this guide. A hop-on hop-off ticket and a 15-hour day trip share a page but almost nothing else, so start by choosing the kind that fits your schedule.

Live Guide or Recorded Audio

On the hop-on hop-off side, both companies use recorded audio. Big Bus day loops carry pre-recorded commentary in 6 languages, and a live guide rides only on its night tour. TopView runs GPS audio in 11 languages on the Downtown and Uptown routes, while one TopView page says the Brooklyn and Night routes are English only, so check the language before booking.

Every other tour in the catalog has a live guide on board. That covers the half-day and six-hour coaches in English, the borough tours in English or Spanish, the holiday lights buses in English, German, Spanish or a mix, the actor guides on the TV and movie routes, and the day trip guides. The exception is the Woodbury Common Outlets Shopping Bus Trip, which is a transfer with a driver only and no guide.

• Big Bus day loops: recorded audio in 6 languages
• TopView Downtown and Uptown: GPS audio in 11 languages, Brooklyn and Night listed as English only on one page
• The guided, night, holiday, borough, TV and movie and DC tours: live guide, some bilingual
• Woodbury Common: driver only, no guide

Where They Start and Where They End

Almost every meeting point sits within a few blocks of Times Square, on 7th or 8th Avenue between 47th and 51st Street. Big Bus and TopView both start at Stop 1 near M&M's World and Times Square North on 7th Avenue, the half-day luxury coach meets on 8th Avenue at West 49th to 50th Street, the six-hour tour meets at West 51st Street and Broadway, and the four boroughs tour meets at 8th Avenue and 51st Street. A few sit outside that cluster: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Harlem and Queens Bus Tour meets at the Grand Hyatt by Grand Central, the Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Guided Bus Tour on 10th Avenue at 41st Street and the Sex and the City Filming Locations Bus Tour at the Pulitzer Fountain on Central Park South.

Some tours end away from the start. The Dyker Heights coach with a restroom and the Sex and the City tour both finish at Bryant Park, the four boroughs tour ends in Manhattan near Chinatown and Little Italy, and the 5-hour option of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Harlem and Queens tour finishes in DUMBO.

• Big Bus Stop 1: M&M's World, 7th Ave and West 48th St
• TopView Stop 1: 7th Ave between 47th and 48th St
• Half-day luxury coach: 8th Avenue between West 49th and 50th St
• Bronx, Brooklyn, Harlem and Queens tour: Grand Hyatt by Grand Central
• Dyker Heights coach with restroom: 10th Avenue at 41st Street

Big Bus vs TopView Side by Side

The two companies overlap on the Downtown and Uptown loops, so the choice comes down to hours, frequency, ticket length and refunds. All figures here are from the operators' own route pages and from the catalog cards for Big Bus and TopView.

TopView starts earlier and runs longer into the evening. Big Bus refunds, and TopView does not.

The Loops, Stop by Stop

Big Bus Downtown Loop stops run in this order: M&M's World, One Times Square, Empire State Building and KoreaTown, Flatiron District, SoHo, Chinatown and Little Italy, Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street and the Statue of Liberty, Trinity Church, World Trade Center, Chelsea and Pier 57, Hudson Yards, and Circle Line Sightseeing. A full circuit is about 90 minutes on paper, and Midtown traffic makes it longer.

The Big Bus Uptown Loop stops are Hope Sculpture, One Times Square, Rockefeller Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park Zoo, Columbus Circle and Carnegie Hall, about 75 minutes for the circuit. The Downtown Loop starts at Stop 1, M&M's World on 7th Ave and West 48th St, with the first bus at 9:00 AM and the last full circuit at 4:30 PM. The Uptown Loop starts at Stop 14 on 7th Ave and West 53rd St, first bus 10:00 AM and last bus 4:00 PM.

TopView says its Downtown loop takes about 2.5 hours if you stay on, and the Uptown loop about 2 hours. Its Brooklyn route and night tour are nonstop, no hop-offs.

The Tickets in the Catalog

The Big Bus open-top pass costs $62 and is valid 1 to 3 days from activation. The 48 and 72-hour tickets add the live-guided night tour, and the 72-hour ticket adds a Circle Line cruise and self-guided digital walking tours. It rates 4.2 from 6,598 reviews, the most reviewed tour on the site.

The TopView Premium Pass costs $75, runs 48 to 96 hours, and covers Downtown and Uptown unlimited plus one ride each on the Brooklyn route and the night tour. It has no reviews yet, it is non-refundable, and its description promises a Liberty cruise that the inclusions do not list, so confirm that before booking.

The Big Bus ticket with Empire State and cruise costs $99 for 48 hours and bundles the 86th-floor observation deck, the 2-hour night tour and a 60 or 90-minute Circle Line cruise, rating 4.4 from 205 reviews.

Both operators board from a phone app. Big Bus tickets are scanned and activated in the Big Bus app, and TopView requires a digital ticket in its app, paper vouchers are not accepted.

Rain, Winter and Accessibility

TopView says its buses run in wet weather with free ponchos and lower-level seating, and in winter the open top gets a transparent cover. Big Bus does not allow luggage on board, and strollers must be folded and stowed on the lower deck. Big Bus says 100 percent of its New York fleet is wheelchair accessible with lifts rated to 650 pounds, but passengers with reduced mobility may not be able to reach the upper deck.

A note on brands: Tootbus does not list New York among its cities, so it is not part of this comparison.

The Guided Tours Compared

The figures below come from the catalog cards. Each price is per person and each tour refunds in full up to 24 hours before the start.

Why a Guided Coach Beats a Hop-On Bus for a First Morning

For a first morning in New York City, a guided coach does what a hop-on ticket cannot. The guide is live and local, the route is fixed, and you see Midtown, the Village and Downtown in 4 hours without ever checking when the next bus comes. The Half-Day Luxury Bus Tour is the pick: $68, rated 4.9 from 2,981 reviews, with photo stops at Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, Pier 17, a Statue of Liberty viewpoint and the 9/11 Memorial. Bottled water is included.

What it gives up is depth. The stops run 10 to 15 minutes each, and the 9/11 Memorial is covered from outside the museum only since no admission is listed. You see a lot, you enter nothing.

The Six-Hour Bus and Boat Tour at $99 is the longer version, with a 40-minute lunch stop and a 1-hour boat ride past the Statue of Liberty. One caution: the inclusions say round trip ferry tickets while the itinerary calls it a free Staten Island Ferry ride, so confirm which boat you board before you book.

The Brooklyn and DUMBO open-top tour runs only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 PM, and with just 15 reviews it is the thinnest listing of the three.

The Night Tours Compared

All figures come from the catalog cards. Every one of these refunds in full up to 24 hours before the start.

Open Top or a Roof

The TopView open-top night tour leaves Times Square daily at 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM, runs 90 minutes with no stops, crosses the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn and carries a live English guide. Bring the digital ticket in the TopView app, paper vouchers are not accepted, and seating is first come, first served.

The three-hour enclosed night tour at $48 is the lowest night price. The roof matters in January, and it adds a photo stop in DUMBO for the Brooklyn Bridge and skyline. Note the bus is not suitable for wheelchair users, every guest climbs 3 steps to board.

The New Jersey minibus at $89 is the highest rated at 4.8. It spends about an hour at Liberty State Park, 20 minutes each in Hoboken and Hamilton Park, and shows the Manhattan skyline from the Hudson waterfront. There is no restroom on board.

Timing depends on the season. Sunset falls at 4:31 pm in late December and 8:30 pm in late June, so a 6:00 PM departure in summer starts in daylight and finishes lit up, while in winter the whole ride is dark.

Night Loops on the Hop-On Hop-Off Tickets

The hop-on hop-off tickets include night rides of their own. The Big Bus night tour lasts 2 hours and departs Stop 1 at M&M's World, with one Big Bus page listing 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM departures and another listing a single 7:00 PM departure, so confirm the time when you book. Arrive 30 minutes early.

TopView's live-host night tour departs daily at 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM from Times Square North and takes about 1 hour 30 minutes. From December 3 to January 4, Big Bus replaces its night tour with a Holiday Lights Night Tour instead.

The Dyker Heights Tours Compared

All of them refund in full up to 24 hours before the start. Figures come from the catalog cards, and no listing prints its season dates, so check availability for your date before booking.

Dyker Heights Itself

The lights sit along 11th to 13th Avenues between 83rd and 86th Streets in Brooklyn. Most displays go up the weekend after Thanksgiving and stay until the end of the first week of January, and Time Out calls mid-December through New Year's Eve the best window. Most houses switch off after 9 pm, so go at dusk.

The neighborhood is hilly, parking and traffic are generally bad and bathrooms are hard to find, which is exactly what a coach solves. Doing it yourself, Time Out suggests the D train to 79th Street and New Utrecht Avenue and a walk of about 15 minutes.

No catalog listing prints its own season dates, so confirm your date is inside the lights season before you book.

Manhattan's Lights on the Same Trip

The Dyker Heights rides add Manhattan stops too. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree arrives November 7 and the lighting ceremony is December 2. The Bryant Park Winter Village opens October 28 and runs through the winter with free skating, per Time Out and Hoodline.

Saks Fifth Avenue unveils its holiday windows and light show in November. The Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Guided Bus Tour at $63 ends at Bryant Park, home of the Winter Village, rather than at the meeting point, which turns the last hour of the evening into your own walk among the Manhattan lights.

Compare the Borough Tours

The table below compares the borough tours in the catalog on price per person, length, the stops each names and the rating with review count. Each has a live guide and each refunds in full if you cancel up to 24 hours before the start.

What You See That No Manhattan Loop Reaches

The Four Boroughs Bus Tour of NYC Neighborhoods stops outside the Apollo Theater on 125th Street, which opened as the Apollo in 1934. In the Bronx the Contrasts Tour of Harlem, Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn stops at Yankee Stadium, where MLB's current guide lists a capacity of 46,543 and an older MLB chronology lists 52,325, so both figures circulate. The same borough is where DJ Kool Herc hosted a back-to-school party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in 1973, widely cited as the birth of hip hop.

In Queens, Flushing Meadows Corona Park holds the Unisphere, 140 feet tall, built for the 1964-65 World's Fair. The Bronx, Brooklyn, Harlem and Queens Bus Tour adds about 60 minutes at Coney Island on its longer options, with the boardwalk across Surf Avenue.

How to Choose

The Four Boroughs Bus Tour of NYC Neighborhoods is the most reviewed borough tour, rated 4.9 from 4,348 reviews, in English only, and it ends in Chinatown and Little Italy rather than at the meeting point. The Bronx, Brooklyn, Harlem and Queens Bus Tour works if you want a set length, with 4, 5 or 7 hour options, and the options end in different places, so read the option name before booking. The Contrasts Tour of Harlem, Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn is the lowest priced at $40, the guide speaks Spanish and English, and the itinerary lists both a bus or coach and a van, so the vehicle is not fixed.

Each refunds in full up to 24 hours ahead.

Compare the Location Tours

The table below compares the TV and movie tours on price per person, length, minimum age and rating with review count. Each is run by On Location Tours with a live actor or actress guide.

Actor Guides and What You See

The guides are local actors, and on The Sopranos Filming Locations Bus Tour the guide worked on the sets as a stand-in or extra. The TV and Movie Locations Bus Tour in Manhattan lists the Friends apartment and the Ghostbusters firehouse among its sites. The Friends building at 90 Bedford Street is a private residence, and the firehouse at 14 North Moore Street in Tribeca is still an active FDNY firehouse, not open to visitors.

Carrie Bradshaw's stoop at 66 Perry Street is a private home too, so you look from the sidewalk. The Sex and the City Filming Locations Bus Tour covers over 40 locations and includes a complimentary cupcake at Magnolia Bakery. The Sopranos tour crosses the Lincoln Tunnel into New Jersey, with about 20 minutes at each of four named stops including Satin Dolls and Holsten's.

The Catch: No Refunds and Age Limits

None of these location tours refunds, with all sales final. The Sex and the City Filming Locations Bus Tour and The Sopranos Filming Locations Bus Tour admit adults 18 and over only, and the bars on the Sex and the City tour require 21 with valid ID, so younger guests cannot step inside. The Sopranos tour also closes booking 48 hours before the start.

Because there is no refund if your plans change, book these once your dates are fixed. If you want a tour with free cancellation up to 24 hours before, the Half-Day Luxury Bus Tour of NYC Highlights is a safer flexible choice.

Compare the Day Trips

The table below compares the bus tours from NYC on price per person, length, main stops and rating with review count. The Washington trips include a live guide, the shopping trip is driver only.

A 15-Hour Day, and the Train Alternative

Both capital trips are 15 hours door to door. Amtrak says the Acela does New York to Washington in about 3 hours and the Northeast Regional about 3 hours 20 minutes, and Amtrak notes buses take about 4 to 4.5 hours, so the train is the faster option if you have more than one day. In Washington the Smithsonian museums are free, and ten of them sit along the National Mall.

On the Washington DC Day Trip by Bus or Van the 90 minutes of free time is the only museum time and admission is not included. In Philadelphia the Washington DC and Philadelphia Day Trip by Coach stops at Independence Park and the Rocky Steps. The Liberty Bell Center is free with no ticket, while Independence Hall timed tours need a ticket with a $1.00 per ticket fee.

Woodbury Common: Shopping, No Guide

The Woodbury Common Outlets Shopping Bus Trip is a round trip by reserved-seat bus from Times Square to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets at 498 Red Apple Ct, Central Valley, which Simon describes as an hour north of New York City. Simon lists over 250 brands including more than 80 luxury stores, and showed hours of 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM on the page capture. There is no guide, only the driver, and a VIP discount e-booklet is included.

The listing does not state departure times, so check them at booking. This page covers tours from New York, not coach trips to New York from other cities.

When It Pays Off, and When It Does Not

Yes, if it is your first day and you want an overview before walking on your own, if walking long distances is hard, or if you want a live guide explaining what you pass. A guided coach also fixes the outer borough problem: the Four Boroughs Bus Tour of NYC Neighborhoods covers four boroughs in 6 hours for $84, which is hard to piece together alone. Night rides and the December Dyker Heights lights tours, from $45 on the Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Tour, are worth it because the guide handles the logistics.

No, if you already know Manhattan well, if you are traveling at rush hour, or if rain is forecast and you are on an open top deck. The pick overall is the Half-Day Luxury Bus Tour of NYC Highlights, $68 for 4 hours with a live guide and five photo stops, rated 4.9 from 2,981 reviews, which is $16 less than the only tour rated as high with more reviews, the four boroughs tour.

The Cheap Alternative: the MTA City Bus

You can see a lot of the city from a regular city bus at $3.00 a ride. The table below compares the low-cost rides and what each covers, with fares from the MTA.

Passes: Go City and CityPASS

The Go City Explorer Pass starts at $89, lets you pick 2 to 10 attractions, and includes the Big Bus 2-Day Downtown and Uptown hop-on hop-off tour. One source says the pass lasts 30 days from the first attraction visit, an older comparison article says 60 days, so check the terms at purchase. New York CityPASS costs $149 for adults, lets you choose 5 of 10 attractions, is valid 9 days, and does not list a hop-on hop-off bus.

Central Park Normals by Month

The table below shows the Central Park normals from the National Weather Service for four sample months, in degrees Celsius with Fahrenheit. Open top decks are exposed, so dress for the season and not for the season inside the bus.

Traffic and Congestion Pricing

The Congestion Relief Zone covers Manhattan south of and including 60th Street and tolling began in January 2025. The MTA says about 4,000 vehicles enter the zone every 10 minutes on average. Tour buses are tolled in the zone, with the MTA listing $21.60 at peak and $5.40 overnight for large trucks and tour buses.

The practical effect for you is that printed loop times run long in Midtown. Big Bus gives its Downtown loop as about 90 minutes, so leave slack before any fixed appointment after a loop.

Where the Buses Start, and the Apps

Almost every tour on this site starts within a few blocks of Times Square, on 7th or 8th Avenue between 47th and 51st Street. The Times Square Alliance district runs from 40th to 53rd Street between 6th and 8th Avenues and averages about 330,000 daily visitors, so allow time for the crowds. Big Bus asks night tour guests to arrive 30 minutes early at Stop 1 at M&M's World.

Both hop-on hop-off companies board from their apps: Big Bus tickets are scanned and activated in the Big Bus app, and TopView requires a digital ticket in its app, where a printed voucher does not work.