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NYC Bus Tour of Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens: Contrasts, Color and Character
New York, United States
From $79.00
Select Date and Travelers
Free cancellation
Up to 24 hours in advance.
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- 6 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
Explore four of New York City’s boroughs with this all-day guided bus tour. Ride around comfortably and learn about Harlem’s African-American history at the Apollo Theater, see the graffiti murals and colorful street art in the Bronx and Brooklyn, immerse yourself in downtown Flushing’s Chinatown, and experience the culture and traditions of Brooklyn’s Hasidic Jewish community.
- Get a comprehensive look at New York City’s boroughs with this tour
- This tour is a good option for both first-time and returning visitors
- Enjoy waterfront views of the Manhattan skyline and Brooklyn Bridge
- Depart from a convenient location in Midtown Manhattan
What's Included
- Private transportation
- Professional Tour Guide
- Gratuities
Meeting And Pickup
Meeting point
- 840 8th Ave840 8th Ave, New York, NY 10019, USA
Meet at the corner of 8th Avenue and 51 Street. The closest address is 840 8th Avenue. Your guide will be wearing an orange hat AND/OR a blue top or jacket.
Start time
09:00 AM
End point
- Lafayette Street & Canal StreetLafayette St & Canal St, New York, NY 10013, USA
This tour ends in between Little Italy and Chinatown in Manhattan
What To Expect
Times Square / Theater District
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Apollo Theater
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Yankee Stadium
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Bronx
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Bushwick Collective Street Art
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Williamsburg (Pass By)
Brooklyn Bridge Park
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Dumbo
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Little Italy
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Chinatown
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 travelers
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
Traveler Photos
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Reviews
5.0
678 reviews
Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 678 reviews
Get to Know the Real New York
Denise_T, Jun 2023
I truly enjoyed the bus trip and learned a massive amount about Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn. What really struck me was how the tour didn't just show us famous and familiar sites. Kevin wove the history and relatively recent events of the area together to really give me insights into how people lived, created art and raised their voices and spirits. He did it with passion, humor, honesty. Truth be told, I could have listened to Kevin for many more hours. I wish there was a way to refer my friends to his tour.
Bronx Brooklyn bus tour
Russell_P, May 2023
Great tour to see the sights outside of the box. Tom really enjoyed his job and made it a great experience
Fabulous Tour
Elaine_S, May 2023
The bus tour was really interesting, the tour guide Jim Quinn was extremely knowledgeable and gave us lots of interesting facts which we really enjoyed. It was good to see different areas away from the main city.
A tour that you will not forget
joanne_g, May 2023
The tour was amazing, we had the change to walk around on our own and the street where we stop to eat was great, you have a lot of options to choose of what you would like to eat. The tour guide was Tom and he was very nice and we were lucky to be able to celebrate his 100 tour with him.
NYC BURROUGHS
ANN_R, Apr 2023
The bus trip was fun, we ate snacks, played on are phones, and talked about are trip. (From the - 13yr old)
I enjoyed it as I had never been to the Burroughs and enjoyed the history
Can’t wait to see the Photo taken of the group in front of the globe in the park
Great tour, I enjoyed it...
Mary_M, Apr 2023
Great tour, I enjoyed it very much! The tour was on time. The tour ended in Lafayette and Canal, which we had time to explore china town and Little Italy.
Interesting tour
Mary_M, Apr 2023
This tour is a good way to see the different parts of NY. George is an excellent tour guide, very knowledgeable!
The must tour
Melina_G, Apr 2023
Wonderful tour with the perfekt tour guide Jorge (sorry if I didn’t spell it right)! You learn so much about New York and its inhabitants. Don’t miss it
Not a fun / Not Exciting tour ehhh...
LyBia_H, Apr 2023
The tour was very "BORING". The tour guide talked A LOT about P.O.C (being) poor, low-income, talked about crime, the projects. But when we got to a nice neighborhood. that was supposedly "Italian" she talked about their money / riches / wealth or whatever. There was NOTHING exciting about this trip #IMO the BEST thing that I saw was the Brooklyn Bridge at #DUMBO (I think it was the Brooklyn bridge). We got dropped off for an hour in an area for LUNCH where there was Really NOTHING there to see or do! NOTHING.. Why stop there. There were a few food trucks, a weed store, she mentioned a thrift store (I didn't find it) she mentioned a mural of Biggie (I didn't find it).. I would NOT recommend and I would NOT do this one again. Then we were dropped off in the end at a different location then pick-up and I had to find my way back to the Upper Westside.. I'm not from NY that wasn't a good thing for me. I found my way back to my room but I didn't like that the drop off wasn't at the pickup point. It did fill up 6 hrs of my last day in NY. So I appreciated that much..
Do NOT recommend this tour guide - areas and stops are fantastic.
Karena_H, Mar 2023
Where do I begin? As soon as the tour began, the tour guide mentioned that if we wanted to leave, we should let her know, so she does not assume we are lost. This implied that people had been leaving her tour without notice, which started things off rough. Throughout the tour, the tour guide droned on and on, but did not make the communication very fun, funny, or interactive.
The tour highlights prominent places, people, and works of art from African American, Puerto Rican, Indigenous, Satmar Jewish, as well as other communities, however, the tour guide does not appear super knowledgeable about any of these groups. In fact, she spoke positively about "cleaning up" gang violence, gentrification, and police/government activity that oppresses these groups. Everyone deserves a safe place to live, sure, but the language that was used to describe the progression of the boroughs over time was antiquated and quite frankly, racist. Another oddly placed comment was about a congresswoman from one of the boroughs who essentially pulled herself up by her bootstraps to make it out of New York. We know that "bootstrapping" is a myth that has long been told to further oppress people. There was little attention given to the musical and hip-hop artists that are celebrated in these communities. It would be great to hear more about their careers, where they grew up, how they give back, etc., etc. There was no information given about the Apollo Theatre and what it meant to Black folks in its prime. Additionally, there were some "facts" presented that just were not true. For example, "New York City was a city since colonization." Not quite - much of what is now Manhattan was farmland for a while...
There was no mention, let alone honoring of the indigenous communities that were driven off of their homelands. I would suggest reading up on the history of each stop on the tour, each borough, and the communities that led to the areas becoming what they are today.
It also would have been great to walk around Brooklyn together, seeing the street art and knowing how to contribute to the artists and/or community.
When we saw the Hasidic Jewish community, the narration felt weird. It was as if we were watching them "in their natural habitat" while the tour guide talked about them in very broad generalizations. It reminded me of Ota Benga being put on display in the Bronx Zoo. Disgusting.
The tour guide did not do a great job of ensuring people in the back of the bus knew where to go at each stop, as she did not walk with us. I think it would be helpful for her to walk with a colored umbrella or something of that nature to ensure everyone knows where to go. She was not helpful with photos or even making sure that everyone saw the sights we were stopped at.
The bus was also very old. It was clean and the seats were okay, but it rattled LOUDLY the entire ride. The bathroom on the bus was inoperable and also obstructed the view for people in the back row. The driver and guide did not offer water bottles or ponchos for us, as other tours often do. Also, every seat was sold out, so not all groups could sit together. One party chose to leave the tour before it began. Lastly, this tour does not drop you back at your starting location. You have to take the subway back to Manhattan or walk for an hour. This should be made VERY clear during booking.
Overall, the stop themselves were awesome, despite not having a lot of context for why we were stopping or how the different stops were connected to one another. If you feel like being your own tour guide, you can look up the history of each location yourself and enjoy the stops. However, I don't believe this is what I paid for here.
TL, DR: If you are a person from a historically oppressed group or a person who enjoys ACTUAL FACTUAL history, this might not be the tour for you.
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Hi Karena. We appreciate your honest feedback about our tour and guide. We take these types of responses very seriously, and will be taking an in depth look at the situation at hand to better clarify any misunderstood details, and to offer solutions that best suite all parties involved. If you would like to send over any more details, please do not hesitate to email us at customersupport@exp1.com, and we can follow up with you in more detail there.
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NYC Bus Tour of Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens: Contrasts, Color and Character
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