What is the Best Bus Tour of New York City?

Whether you are from there on travel or are a native and want to see New York City with a new pair of eyes, a bus tour of NYC is your best friend. You can choose from themed bus tours such as the Sex and the City Hotspots Tour or take one that lets you hop on and hop off to see iconic landmarks in the City. 

Note: we strive to keep everything current but be sure you contact the tour organizers for availability and hours before booking a tour. 

Which Bus Tour of New York City is the best?

The best NYC tour buses are often going to be up for debate, and the right one for you is going to depend on your interests. There are enclosed buses, hop-on, hop-off buses, open top bus tours in NYC, and every other combination you can think of! 

While we can’t tell you what the best tour bus in NYC will be for you, we can recommend 10 specific tours that have gained acclaim among travel websites and native New Yorkers. 

1. The Ride NYC 

If you want to explore NYC from a multi-million dollar, custom-designed bus, then The Ride NYC is definitely for you! The first thing you’ll notice when you board The Ride is that it has seats that don’t face forward. Instead, you’ll be angled so that so can look out the window without craning your neck. Speaking of the window, it provides floor-to-ceiling coverage, so there is nothing you can’t see. Plus, with stadium-style seating, there are no bad seats. Sounds fantastic for people watching, but that’s not all you’ll get to see from The Ride NYC. 

During your 4.2-mile journey, you’ll see notable places such as Times Square, Midtown, Bryant Park, Columbus Circle, Grand Central Terminal, and the Chrysler Building. Even better, The Ride NYC provides an immersive show that uses the city’s landmarks as its backdrop. You’ll be wowed by surprise performers throughout the experience, including freestyle rappers and ballerinas. See the City come to life all around you!  

2. NYC: Bus Tour to Superhero Film Locations

Do you rush to the theater to see the latest Marvel movie on opening weekend? Or do you love the DC Extended Universe and its Snyder-led grittiness? Either way, there’s one bus tour you’ve got to join—NYC: Bus Tour to Superhero Film Locations! Every Saturday and Sunday at Noon, this tour meets in front of the New York Police Department off West 43rd St and heads on a 3.5-hour tour of more than 40 filming locations. 

Begin with Times Square, where several costumed heroes have saved the day. Movies such as Captain America, Spider-Man, and Amazing Spider-Man 2 have filmed here. Continue on toward several other filming locations, including the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, Madison Square Park, and the Flatiron Building. Your last stop will be at Battery Park, where you can look out on Lady Liberty just as the characters in Superman: The Movie and X-Men did. 

3. Gossip Girl Sites Tour 

Despite being off the air for over a decade, Gossip Girl still has a very devoted fanbase. Therefore, it should be no surprise that the Gossip Girl Sites Tour is a must-get ticket. NYC served as the backdrop for many pivotal scenes, and you can mentally go back in time as you’re taken to some of NYC’s best locations! 

Begin by ascending the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art just like the characters. Go for a visit at Constance Billard and St. Jude’s schools, which was a role that was filled by the City of the Museum of New York. Next comes the Vera Wang boutique where you can imagine yourself living in the lap of luxury. You’ll also get to experience The Empire Hotel where the hottest scandals and secrets unfolded. Finally, take in the magical Grand Central Terminal and take a frame worthy photo!    

4. Birthplace of Hip-Hop Tour – Harlem and The Bronx 

The original Hip-Hop Tour invites you to participate in this immersive adventure through the history of this music genre. You’ll go back in time over 50 years and get to see where the first ever hip-hop party took place. From there, learn about the historic clubs, secret battle sites, movie locations, music video locations, and much more!   

Have you ever watched a real-life B-Boy and B-Girl dance session? That’s also on the list! You might even have the opportunity to give your hip-hop skills a chance during this bus tour’s famous “Show Your Skills” portion. Plus, get to see some of the most notable street art and listen to your emcee give you an exclusive taste of their freestyling skills. Emcees have included the legendary Grandmaster Caz, Roxanne Shante, Kurtis Blow, and Johnny Famous.   

5. New York City Night Tour Bus 

So far, everything we’ve presented to you takes place during the day. But as we all know, there’s something extremely special about viewing NYC at night. The skyline is ablaze with lights as you make your way through the city on this 4-hour excursion. What a fantastic way to see the city that never sleeps! 

Climb aboard the New York City Night Tour Bus and depart from midtown Manhattan. You’ll pass several noteworthy, iconic sites, including Times Square, the Empire State Building, and Chinatown. You’ll also be given the opportunity to get off the bus and stretch your legs as you take guided walking tours of Grand Central Station and High Line Park. There is simply no better nighttime tour of NYC!  

6. Big Bus Tours

Family-ran Big Bus Tours serves up the Big Apple in fantastic slices, and it’s been ranked TripAdvisor’s #1 hop-on, hop-off bus tour in NYC. Select from two different loops: Downtown Loop or Uptown Loop. No matter which bus tour you select, you’ll climb aboard the best double decker bus tour in NYC! 

The Downtown Loop departs M&M’s World and makes it way to: 

• Bryant Park 
• Empire State Building/KoreaTown 
• Flatiron District 
• SoHo
• Chinatown/Little Italy
• Brooklyn Bridge 
• Wall Street/Charging Bull 
• Statue of Liberty/Battery Park 
• World Trade Center 
• Hudson Yards 
• Circle Line Sightseeing 

The Uptown Loop departs Hope Sculpture and goes to: 

• Bryant Park 
• Midtown East 
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art 
• Central Park Zoo 
• Columbus Circle 
• Carnegie Hall 

7. Sex and the City Hotspots Tour

The Sex and the City Hotspots Tour is always a hit among fans of the hit TV show and movies. This 3.5-hour tour lets you follow in the footsteps of the SATC gang while riding around NYC on a comfortable couch. More importantly, you’ll get to visit 40 hotspots from the show during the tour. 

For instance, you’ll get to visit Steve and Aidan’s bar Scout, where the ladies dished on guys and drank cocktails, including SATC’s iconic Cosmopolitan. You’ll also visit fashionista Carrie’s West Village Brownstone and shops seen on-screen like the Pleasure Chest where Charlotte bought her pink “rabbit.”

8. The Original Brooklyn Pizza Tour

The Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tour has been featured on Good Morning America and the Travel Channel, and tickets often sell out. If you are fortunate enough to score tickets, the guide covers everything you wanted to know about pizza and Brooklyn. 

Highlights include chowing down on tasty NYC pizza at hot restaurants like Grimaldi’s and visiting famous Brooklyn movie locations such as Goodfellas. If you are a fan of Goodfellas, you might also like to catch The Sopranos Sites Tour that lets you see sites from the TV show’s  opening credits, including Pizzaland. 

9. NYC Bus Tour of Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens

This is one of the top bus tours in NYC, and the experience lasts an astounding six hours! Join up to 50 people as you tour Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens. Noteworthy stops include: 

• Appollo Theater 
• Street art in Brooklyn and the Bronx 
• Chinatown 
• Brooklyn’s Hasidic Jewish community 

Learn about the culture and history of these sites as your tour guide introduces you to a completely new view of NYC. 

10. TopView Sightseeing Tours

Hop-on; hop-off bus tours are an excellent way to see NYC when you have a short amount of time to do it. Sightseeing tour companies such as TopView offer several different levels of packages for doing it, too, and one of the best is TopView’s New York City 72-hour sightseeing pass. For three days, this pass allows you to go sightseeing via a double-decker bus. 

The complete loop takes around 2.5 hours to finish. During the excursion, you’ll get to see landmark attractions by day or night, such as the Empire State Building and the Flatiron Building. 

Now See NYC from the Water

Tour buses let you see the sights and sounds of NYC from land, but Sea the City Tours allow you to appreciate the true size and beauty of Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs by water. See awe-inspiring sites from a unique vantage point as you create memories that will last a lifetime! Sites include:

• Yankee Stadium 
• Statute of Liberty 
• World Trade Center 
• Brooklyn Bridge 
• Empire State Building 
• Pepsi Cola Sign 
• And many, many more!