New York Night Tour Open Top Bus Tour

'When I booked the night tour, I thought it was going to be a guided tour. I was wrong; it was recorded commentary. It was terrible 90% of the time; it just played music. Then, when the AI voice was talking, the volume was very low, and I could not hear it.'

The Greenwich Halloween parade, unexpected detours, and severe traffic delays turned the entire tour into an absolute mess. The experience was frustrating and exhausting, especially while traveling with my 85-year-old father. We ultimately had to abandon the tour midway and take a train back to our hotel. This was far from the enjoyable experience we had anticipated. I strongly recommend avoiding tours during major events such as Halloween parades, marathons, and other citywide celebrations unless proper arrangements are in place. Guests deserve to know about these disruptions before booking.

Bad services ! Very delay time. I must wait over 40’

Jeff was so friendly. Made it such a great experience. He gave us great advice for riding the bus and for life in general.

New York is beautiful at night! Dress for the cooler weather at night. Get there early to get checked in and in the correct spot.

One of most unprofessional companies I have used for travel. Booked for 6pm ride - yet they pack people in until it’s full. More than 35 minutes just sitting - what a waste of time. Regardless of whether it being good or not - I wouldn’t support this company again.

Unfortunately this was the worst bus tour that our group of 14 ever had. It was a waste of time and money for $69 ticket that includes live commentary. The guide was sick and coughing all the time. No personality and not engaging. He continues to just talk without engaging with the passengers. One of my friends who has lived in NYC for many years even commented that the guide missed to say something about some landmarks along the way that has interesting facts in them. I feel bad for the guide bec he was sick but still has to continue working, but also for all of us who paid for the full price and did not get our money’s worth for it. The company should have looked into this and should have send someone else to replace the sick staff who could possibly spread his sickness to others as well. Unfortunately I happen to be a medical person. Sorry.

Failed to provide headphones as described. Had to ride around in silent bus for an hour and half. Asked for refund. They denied. Extremely rude!!!!

We picked the 8:00pm tour. We did not leave until around 8:30. We booked with the understanding it was an hour and a half tour with a real person as a tour guide. We did not have a real person as a guide but instead it was a recording that was mostly random music. Occasionally, there would be an AI voice that would describe something close by very briefly. However, most of the time the audio was very glitchy and did not give information about the things we were seeing. Since it is advertised as a tour that leaves at 8 and was 1.5 hours long we had plans to do something else starting at 10:30pm. However, we did not get off the bus until 10:15. Therefore, we did not make out 10:30 reservations and lost that money. I have been on other tours similar to this and had a very good experience! In the future we will go back with the other companies

We booked the 8pm tour and left at 915pm, live entertainment wasn’t provided as there was a plug for the microphone

This was NOT a tour- it was a bus ride around NYC. The “tour”was scheduled to start at 6:00 PM, but boarding did not begin until after 6:00, and the bus did not depart until after 6:30 because they were trying to fill the bus with more passengers. The tour guide handed out headphones and explained that his microphone was not working. Unfortunately, when the headphones also failed to work, a passenger who complained was simply told to “call customer service.” The bus ride itself was fine, but there was little to no actual commentary or guided experience. Overall, this was disappointing and not what we expected or paid for. I would not recommend this experience to travelers looking for an informative, well-organized NYC tour.

Was nice to see the parts of the city lit up but the tour flew through the things pointed out so you couldn’t take pics or look at what was talked about before we were on to the next. We have done this tour in multiple other cities and this was the worst.

Meeting place was hectic and not clearly identified. “Employees” in line seemed to need me to download a separate app and some other code to get on bus. Seemed like a scam. Then, seats weren’t together, they didn’t enforce no smoking rule so I had to ask fellow riders to stop smoking weed on the bus myself. Thankfully they did but had to do it more than once since there was multiple people smoking at the back of the bus. Also, the guide didn’t offer headphones which were needed to hear guide. Our guide was sick and kept coughing up a lung after every third sentence.

Mrs. Rhonda was very informative, welcoming, and made us feel safe throughout the experience. We loved all the interesting details and insights shared along the way. It made the tour enjoyable, engaging, and memorable. Highly recommend!

We bought a pass wihcin was supposed to INCLUDE night. So we took the bus to Time Square and had dinner figuring we would LOVE to ride at night and see the city light up. We were SCAMMED by these THIEVES. When we tried to board after dinner we were told our pass did not include nights. So they LEFT US STRANDED. THEIVES!!!

Awesome way to see New York at night! Don't forget to bring a bonnet and thicker jacket to enjoy the roof top ride. Our guide was very informative and the driver was very good. Overall crew of topview was very organized. Thank you!

Seeing the sites at night, was great. However, we paid for the live version and prior to boarding the bus we were told we would have a live person talking to us pointing out the different locations and sharing information. But that never happened! We went to the upper deck as instructed with no headphones because again we were told we didn’t need them because we would get the live version. Next thing we know the bus is moving, there is no live person and no staff ever gave an explanation. Because the bus was moving we were not allowed to move about to get headphones. So we were left guessing where we were and what we were looking at. Very disappointed in the overall experience.

This is just the usual bus tour- all info is via headphones, with nothing spoken for the last 45 min. Poorly organized, incredibly dirty bus- trash everywhere. If I could’ve cancelled before the trip began, I would have!!! Two stars only because I loved the city view over the bridge. The rest of the tour was a total waste. Not worth the money!

We understand that the weather is out of their control… 100%. Unfortunately, the double decker had trash from previous tours, and the speakers didn’t work and the tour guide with us had no microphones to speak to the group, even if he was knowledgeable about the area, it wasn't enough to save it. The biggest disappointment was sitting there while waiting to fill the bus, it felt like a lack of respect for our time… it was suppose to start at 6:00pm. Yet we didn’t leave until after 6:30pm. Too bad we were looking forward this tour.

Great time. Good price if bought online.

Lovely people and great experience

So fun and employees were helpful!

The ride around during the night was pretty. I think a pass-by of a few famous sights would enhance the experience for those sightseeing for the first time. The taped narration wasn’t clear enough to always understand what was said several times.

The meeting spot was easy to locate, but definitely arrive more than 30 minutes before your scheduled departure if you actually want to board on time—the lines get very long.  The street promoters selling tickets were overly aggressive, and you could tell they weren't thrilled if you had already bought online (presumably missing out on a commission). Staff managing the boarding queue were slightly better, though energy levels were mixed; dealing with crowds of tourists takes patience, and a few employees were visibly running low on it. As for the ride itself, the bus was just okay. It clearly hadn't been cleaned between runs. There wasn't an active live tour guide—one staff member mainly chatted with a few English-speaking passengers—but the recorded audio guide synced up well with the route. It’s definitely a classic tourist trap experience, but I knew what I was getting into and don't regret doing it. Having a general sense of the city's landmarks beforehand helps a lot so you actually know what you're passing by.

Was badly organised. Bus Left late,.nobody told you what was happening. There was no information / facts about where we were & what we were seeing. When we did try the headphones they didnt work very well & the information was so far behind where we actually was was pointless. Really disappointing trip to how it is sold!

This night tour was extremely disappointing. I booked online in advance but was charged significantly more than customers who purchased their tickets at the location. Despite booking ahead, I still had to stand in a completely disorganized line for over an hour before boarding. During that time, the tour operators were angrily arguing with employees from a competing tour company, which was very unprofessional and made the entire situation even more chaotic. When I finally boarded, I had to sit at the very front of the bus, where the windows were so dirty that I could barely see the sights. After booking in advance and waiting so long, I expected a well-organized tour with a clear view of the city. Unfortunately, the experience fell far short of those expectations, and I would not recommend this tour.

Our experience was not good! From the moment we arrived, the guy said our tickets from Trip Advisor were not actual tickets. I had to go through my email and download an app. Then, once we got on the bus, there was no guide even though we paid for one! The whole time, we had to look on Google maps to even find out what building/landmark we were looking at. Lastly, we were told it would be a 1 hour bus ride and it ended up being 2.5 hours. Our driver drove so slow and other buses were passing us. The sights were beautiful but the experience was NOT what we signed up for. Definitely go with another company!

It was complete chaos finding the bus. Then there was a massive line without any guidance on where to go. The guide was okay but stopped talking on the way back.

To start, it was hard finding the meeting location, as street addresses are not openly posted. You have to look for the double-decker open bus. The meeting location (Times Square) is extremely congested. Second, reservation were made on Trip Advisor, but accessing tickets at the bus requires downloading a different app, and that was a hassle. Third and most importantly, there was no narrator or tour guide pointing out spots of interest. It was basically a 1.5+hour bus ride on a hard plastic seat, with no information on where we were, or where we were going. Save your money and do something different.

Good route around the city - only fault was our tour guide had no hook up - he really did his best for everyone - but parts you just couldn’t hear

Arrived 10 minutes early, employee said we were supposed to already on bus but there was no bus. Waited in line for about an hour then 2 buses arrived within 15 minutes of each other. Tour guide was knowledgeable but had no microphone so we could seldom hear him.

Booked for the 8pm night tour with live commentary. Turned up early as advised, spoke to several Topview operators, to be told that could board any bus, they were all the same and none had live commentary. It was chaos as there were lots of people trying to board buses, in a packed tourist area. Operators were hassling passing tourists to buy tickets, without looking after those that already had tickets. After insisting that we had tickets for a bus with live commentary, we were advised to go seak out the superviser. He jostled us into another queue where we waited, watching packed buses leave every 15 mins. At 8.30 people in our queue were getting annoyed. The supervisor had disappeared. It was a battle to stay where we were and not be put onto a bus without a live commentator. . Another supervisor appeared, and when people started to complain, he told them it wasn’t his fault, but to take it up with the company. A fight nearly broke out. This was all in front of children and grandparents. Eventually a bus with a live commentator turned up, but we couldn’t get on as a truck was blocking our way. Then others were boarding who hadn’t booked this bus. We left at 8.45, but the traffic was so bad that we didn’t move far. The man doing the commentary was a local, but did not entertain us. It was like he didn’t want to be there. To add to the already awful experience, the seats were uncomfortable, really hard plastic. Then the bus stopped totally due to a hold up on the Manhatten bridge, where another bus had broken down. Some people got off the bus early (it wasn’t a hop on hop off bus). We got back late, having first been told we would be dropped off somewhere different and would have to make our own way back to the start! This was the worst experience we have EVER had on an open top bus. If there had been friendlier staff and people who knew what was going on things would have been better. No more tickets should not have been sold till everyone was on a bus! How could the staff not know that the 8pm bus had live commentary. The queues were dangerous, it was a miracle that no one got crushed!! A NIGHTMARE on TImes Square.

First time in new York for my 69th birthday. Fantastic night tour on the bus. Highly recommend it. Very organised and easy to get there. Staff was amazing no stress. Travel all the way from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The vendor and the purchasing agent did not have the same QR code and that led to us being unable to board the bus, the top down bus operator had so many people with very few who knew who were the different booking agents, eventually we got to ride the tour we paid for, and as for the narrator went, we were given wired ear buds to listen to a pre taped recording

Best experience I’ve had. Beautiful!!

We paid to have the tour with a live person pointing out the highlights. We got a set of ears plugs that mostly played music with the occasional interruption for a recorded highlight.

I gave 2 stars because it was pretty amazing to see NYC lit up at night (the 8p tour). However, the experience could have been much better. There is no live guide. You are provided headphones, and it is difficult to hear over the noise of the city; it was also difficult to tell if what was being presented matched what we were in front of. The driver was driving erratically, racing through lights; felt very unsafe for an open top bus. Several people on one side of the bus were hit in the face by tree branches. I realize the driver cannot control branches, but I would think they would be mindful of people on an open top bus; we were also going fairly fast at that point. The bus did not make it to the departure point noted on the Viator page. There appeared to be a lot of traffic, which I understand. We were told the departure point was “a block away”, but it ended up being a further walk. I booked this with my disabled mother, and there were several other elderly couples on the tour who had to walk further than they anticipated. This was not what I expected, and I’m not sure it’s worth the money and the risks. If you’re able to walk, do so; if not, might be worth going with a different company.

They didn’t leave on time, but otherwise it was a wonderful experience.

Decided we wanted to do this on the second night and bought tickets from a street seller as we had researched and the price was the same online but we didn’t want to pre book as the weather was changeable. Bought tickets and was rushed over to the bus, got on and I told the guide if there were no upper seats I’d be getting off and waiting for the next bus. Got rushed on and the doors closed immediately and the bus moved off whilst we were on the stairs! Got upstairs where the signs clearly stated no standing whilst in motion, and there were no seats together and the seats remaining were all aisle seats so none of our party were together or had a window view. We were not given headphones so had to go back downstairs to get them. Bus was filthy, rubbish all over the floor and the recorded commentary kept glitching and stop starting and then repeating itself. Only the driver on board, he had to keep stopping and coming upstairs to tell people not the stand up whilst the bus was moving-ironic really! They took no notice of him as didn’t speak English. Very expensive for what you got, clearly a money maker and they don’t care about the experience received at all.

Excellent service and experience! The staff was very friendly and easy to locate in midtown near Times Square.

I attended the tour yesterday and it was so disappointing there was no tour guide at all it was simply a drive around the city in the rain. this was so awful.

Absolutely amazing experience! Excellent guide! Highly recommended!

Loved this fun tour! The view of the city up high was breathtaking and fun! The price was right via Viator. One of the highlights of our NYC trip

Amazing experience for my birthday

I did the NYC Skyline Night Tour on 5/31. I paid ~$10 extra to have a live tour guide, as opposed to the pre-recorded audio tour. Not only was my tour pre-recorded, not live, I'm 99% sure that the audio tour was read by AI. I reached out to customer service about getting refunded the $10 difference in early June and haven't heard back. Also my bus left about 40 minutes later than scheduled, they seem unprepared for the number of people waiting for a tour.

Very helpful guides with buying and setting up the tickets and getting good spots

TopView bus service was a complete waste of money and, most importantly, time—especially for customers who book tickets online. First, they sell tickets at different prices for supposedly different types of buses, but in reality, there was no clear distinction. Their agents were selling tickets on the spot and allowing those customers to board before people who had already booked a specific time slot online. We had booked the Live Entertainment Tour for the 8:00 PM bus, but that bus never arrived. After waiting in the queue for almost 90 minutes, we were eventually put on a 9:15 PM bus. Second, there was no Live Entertainment bus at all to justify the $59 ticket price. Instead, everyone was placed on the regular audio-narration bus, which costs around $49. Essentially, we paid an additional $10 per person for a service we never received. For five people, that was an unnecessary $50 expense. The poor organization and long wait also caused us to incur additional parking expenses and completely disrupted our other plans for the evening. Allowing us onto a bus and taking us on the night tour after making us wait for 90 minutes does not make up for the inconvenience. Overall, this was a very disappointing experience. TopView needs to seriously improve its booking, boarding, and bus allocation process and ensure that customers actually receive the service they paid for.

OVERCHARGED. DO NOT USE. I paid extra for a tour with an expert guide who explained the sights, and we got on the same bus as everyone else in the queue and received a shoddy earpiece with a recorded narrative. The bus driver never spoke at all. Additionally, it was raining so we could not sit up top and you literally cannot see anything from downstairs. Complete waste of money. The salespeople along the sidewalk who take your money will convince you that you are getting somethin g special when in fact it is all just the same boring tour. I do not recommend this company. Go with another operator.

Amazing offers amazing service