NY: Empire State Building, Liberty Cruise, & Hop-on Hop-off Tour
Description
Explore the Big Apple with this top-rated Best of New York bundle—featuring three iconic experiences at one unbeatable price. Empire State Building Begin your adventure with express entry to the 86th-floor observation deck of the Empire State Building. Marvel at sweeping 360° views of Manhattan’s skyline and landmarks—from Central Park to the Statue of Liberty. A must-see art deco masterpiece! Circle Line Boat Cruise Cap off your NYC experience with a Circle Line sightseeing cruise—choose between the Liberty Midtown Cruise or the Landmarks Cruise. See the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, and One World Trade Center. Big Bus Hop-on Hop-off Tour Next, see New York your way with a flexible 48-hour hop-on hop-off bus tour on two routes. Ride top-deck for open-air views and enjoy audio commentary in multiple languages. Hop off at must-see spots like Times Square, Wall Street, and the MET—and hop back on whenever you're ready. The free Big Bus app tracks arrival times in real time.
Tour Options
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Circle Line audio guides available: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, and Japanese
- Big Bus audio available: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese
- Circle Line and Empire State Building can be separate days. Select date and time at redemption or visit bigbustours.com/manage-my-booking
- Cruises operate daily from Circle Line Cruises at Pier 83, 42nd Street in Hudson River Park The nearest Big Bus Tours Stop is #12: Circle Line Sightseeing
- Cruise duration is 60 minutes for the Liberty Midtown Cruise or 90 Minutes for the Landmarks Cruise
- Cruises feature an onboard café and full bar, restrooms, outdoor deck space, air conditioning and indoor seating with large windows.
- Guests may activate ticket in two ways: 1. Download and open the Big Bus app. Tap "Add Booking" and enter your booking reference. On the day of travel, open your ticket and press "Activate" then show your activated ticket to the driver at any stop along the route. Plus, use the app for route information and live bus tracking. 2. Redeem voucher and activate with Big Bus staff at 7th Ave & W 48th St (Outside M&Ms World), or with a driver at any stop along the route.
Reviews(12)
Did this type of tour years ago in NYC and never had issue. This time, buses are extremely slow and do not run as advertised. The app is useless in tracking and finding bus stops. Would not do again. Missed the add ons Empire tour and boat tour bc how slow the bus was and the bus needs to run past 4-4:30 pm, also needs to start earlier. Waste of time. Also bring back the actual tour guides instead of a recording on headphones.
Hello Kristy_D. Thank you for your forthright feedback; we are always looking to improve our customer experience. We regret to hear that the bus tour did not align with your expectations. If you wish to provide more information, please do not hesitate to reach out to us directly, and we will assist you. Best regards, Razvan @BigBusTours
Hop on hop off bus is great. Stops are easy to find and the audio tour was nice to listen to. If you ride on the top deck of the bus for the blue line make sure to duck because there are some low branches that will hit you when you go by Central Park. The Empire State Building was great as well! You have to pick your date and time through the big bus tours app. It was easy to redeem the tickets, however the ticket doesn’t show the date/time you selected. The City Cruise was very informative. There was a tour guide that talked throughout the cruise giving some history and facts about certain city landmarks. The date and time for tickets are also picked through the big bus app and don’t show the date/time you selected.
Hello Emily_W. Thank you for your generous feedback! We are pleased to hear that you enjoyed your tour with us. Your suggestions have been noted, and we will work towards making improvements. We look forward to seeing you again soon! Best regards, Razvan B @Big Bus Tours
This was a fabulous boat trip/ cruise. A very informative tour with a knowledgeable former professor as the audio guide. Very satisfying.
You get to see so many things. The hop on/ hop off feature is amazing to stop at little shops or grab a quick bite to eat. Would absolutely recommend the boat tour, was so awesome!
Hi Denise_H, thank you for the wonderful review. We are happy that you had such a positive experience. Thank you for recommendation. We look forward to your next visit! Best, Denisa from Big Bus Tours
Great Value! Family visiting from Australia. The combo tour allowed them to see so much over their time! Highly recommend!
Thank you for the rave review! We're thrilled that your family from Australia took advantage of our combo tour and were able to see so much during their visit. We appreciate your recommendation and hope to see you all again soon!
Unfortunately, our family had a terrible experience due to extremely poor logistics and organization, and I strongly advise others not to book this trip, as you may end up having the same experience we did. We booked this tour because the website stated that the timing was based on “availability,” which was very unclear. To clarify, we contacted the online assistant and were told that the last cruise was at 5:00 PM. Based on this information, we arrived at the Empire State Building at 5:00 PM, expecting to start our tour there. Instead, we were informed that our actual time slot was 7:45 PM. After that, we tried to join the Big Bus Tour. We stood outside in line on the street for 30–40 minutes in the cold. When our tickets were finally checked, we were told that this bus was for night-tour bookings only, and that we had missed our tour, despite never being given a clear time anywhere in our booking details. We then attempted to go on the Circle Line Cruise, only to find out that we had also missed that tour as well, again due to the lack of any clearly stated time information. Although we arrived based on the instructions we were given, both tours were considered “missed.” In the end, the only activity we were able to do was the Empire State Building at 7:45 PM. That was the sole availability offered to us. We paid $498 (almost $500) for this family package and received only one attraction instead of three. We spent a long time standing outside in the cold, became sick, and were left confused and frustrated. No staff member approached us to explain how the tour actually works, and there was no guidance or support provided on site. This experience was extremely disappointing and poorly managed. We are still trying to understand how to get a refund, but overall, this was a very frustrating experience. Please be very careful when booking this tour.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We are truly sorry to hear how frustrating and disappointing your visit was, especially after traveling with your family and spending time waiting in cold conditions. This is certainly not the experience we aim to provide. We regret the confusion surrounding timing and availability for the bundled attractions. Each component of the package operates on its own schedule, and while availability is referenced at the time of booking, we understand that this was not communicated clearly enough in your case. We sincerely apologize if the information provided by our online assistant or booking details led to misunderstandings about start times and check-in requirements. We are also very sorry to hear that you were unable to join the Big Bus Tour and Circle Line Cruise as planned, and that you did not receive on-site guidance when you needed it most. Our teams strive to be visible and helpful, and we regret that this was not your experience. Your feedback regarding logistics, communication, and guest support has been shared with our management teams, as it highlights areas where we clearly need to improve. Regarding your refund inquiry, we strongly encourage you to contact our customer support live chat directly on our Big Bus Tours app with your booking reference so they can review your case in detail and assist you further. Thank you again for bringing this to our attention. We genuinely regret that your experience fell short and appreciate your candid feedback, which helps us work toward providing clearer information and better support for future guests.
Overall, in general, it was a good adventure as planned. Only snag was at the very end of our trip when the bus was supposed to run until five. At 4:20, the bus stopped, it had us disembark and get onto one of their other buses that been sat there for another 20 minutes before it took us to the final stop to get off luckily it was near the hotel we were staying. Be careful what time you plan to exit the bus.
Hello DeeDee_, we truly appreciate your honest review and are delighted to know you had an amazing time. Thank you for your recommendation, and we look forward to welcoming you back in the future!-Best wishes, Mara from Big Bus Tours
Be careful to remember which cruise line & bus you're going on. There are at least 3 different companies doing the same thing. NOT this line but another company at Battery Park tried to tell me I bought the 4 hour cruise & had to buy the 1 hour cruise there if I didn't want to do the 4 hour one. When I looked at my ticket online, I bought the 1 hr cruise, but with a different company down at the Piers, not Battery Park. The other companies are not always nice and work to get your money. The worst I found was at Battery Park. They were not this line but they were working together to scam people into buying more tickets. The guy at the entrance of the park acted like you couldn't go into the park unless you showed them your ticket too. The guys handling the bus tours were all very good though & helped direct me to the right line for the bus tour I bought. I loved the bus tour and my only wish was that I could find the places for pick up/drop off easier after I'd walked around. They aren't exceptionally well documented on the signs.
HI Jackie_W. We are grateful for your review. It is wonderful to hear that you had a pleasant trip. We anticipate your next visit! Regards, Razvan from Big Bus Tours.
Excellent value for money. I went with 48 hr hop on off bus plus two attractions (empire state/liberty cruise) and entry to all attractions was seamless. Bus were very frequent, so if one’s packed then I didn’t have to wait long for another one. Staff at stops and drivers were excellent.
Thank you for your kind words! We are thrilled to hear that you had a seamless experience and that our staff made it even better. We strive to provide the best value for our customers, and we're glad to know we hit the mark. Come back and see us again soon!
Very straightforward. Great Introduction to New York. Saw tons.Guides were entertaining and knowledgeable. Very good value.
Thank you for your wonderful review! We are thrilled to hear that you found our tour of New York to be straightforward and enjoyable. Our guides take pride in providing entertaining and informative experiences at a great value. We hope to see you again soon!
