USA Guided Tours — Local services in New York

We booked this tour because of all the positive reviews and it would give us an opportunity to see many of the sights we wanted to see all in one day. First the positives, it started out great, busses were lined up and waiting at the meeting spot, check in was easy, and we even got started 15 minutes early since everyone was on the bus. Dana was our tour guide and she was great, very knowledgeable and shared so many fun facts and tourist tips during the (very brief) time we were with her. It seemed like it would have been a great tour.

It was downhill after that. After we returned to the bus from our first stop at Central Park, we were told the bus wouldn’t start. We waited on the bus for 45 minutes for a supervisor to arrive and search the bus for jumper cables (none were found). He then tried to jump the bus with a jumper box (didn’t work). Then we were told that the tour was cancelled and we should all exit the bus right there on the street where we broke down. No effort was made to coordinate for us to join another tour, bring another bus or even provide transportation back to the original spot where we were picked up. No resolution to make this right for the customers was offered, and it was a huge disappointment.

I understand that things happen, and I am generally very understanding and go with the flow when they do. But it is easy for a company to have great reviews when everything goes according to plan. True customer service is achieved with how a service failure is handled. I was disappointed that there was no backup plan in place for a bus breaking down for a company that provides bus tours. I was also disappointed that no one reached out to us to offer to reschedule the tour for another day while we were in town. We changed our initial flight and came to NYC a day earlier than planned specifically so we would be able to go on this tour. So, while I appreciated the prompt refund we received after the failure, it was really the bare minimum from a customer service perspective and the whole experience left us with a sour taste. The two stars are solely for Dana and the great tour she...

One word . . . TYLER!!!! This fabulous and hilarious woman is everything an excellent tour guide should be and more. Highly engaged, quick witted and kind spirited; Tyler is a New York native, an unbelievable wealth of knowledge and an absolute NECESSITY for all first time New York tourists. We felt safe with her the entire time. There was not a single dull moment to be had. With every twist and every turn up and down the Manhattan grid-scape, Tyler was ready with an interesting fact and/or story about something on every single block. She answered every single question the group had about New York, it's past and it's present, with quickness, clarity and ease. Its actually kind of scary when you think about how much information her brain must hold. Since 2012, she's been leading guided tours and her experience is on full display. She doesnt read from any notes, and you can tell she isn't just reciting from a rehearsed script. It is beyond evident that she eats, breathes and sleeps "NEW YORK". New York is Tyler, and Tyler is New York. Her attitude is cooler than ice and her enthusiasm is infectious. She cultivated such a genuine air of community within the group that we genuinely dreaded having to eventually go our separate ways. At the end, she hugged us and sent us on our way with a few pro tips on how to get around town like a true New Yorker. The tour itself is insane too: We saw pretty much everything there is to see in Manhattan, took a ridiculous amount of pictures and videos, ate amazing food, road the staten island ferry, adventured through underground cityscapes, and so much more. But by far, the absolute best thing about it was our unbelievable luck in having Tyler as our guide the whole way through. Thanks to her and this wonderful company, we have fallen in love with this city in just one day. We head home in the morning but we are already planning our next trip back and will definitely be booking this again. If you only have one day to spend in New York, book this tour and ask for Tyler by name! You can...

Here's what I wish I knew before booking.

I've taken over 60 guided tours across the U.S., so I know how group tours work -- schedules, pacing, group etiquette, all of it. I also know the difference between a tour that's well-run and one that's just plain unpleasant.

Unfortunately, this one falls in the latter category.

The Experience: Our group was rushed from the start. At Central Park, we were told to take quick photos. I'm diabetic and needed a snack to maintain my blood sugar, so I grabbed something from a vendor literally 50 feet away, in clear sight of the group. We weren't boarding the bus -- we were 30 steps into the park when our guide Rachel, using a loudspeaker, publicly scolded me for holding up the group.

For the record: I wasn't late. I wasn't out of sight. I wasn't disrespectful -- just trying to manage a medical need. But instead of support or discretion, I was called out in front of everyone.

The "Lunch Stop"? Fifteen minutes for Burger King or pizza. That's it. We were walking to the 9/11 Memorial eating hamburgers. Again, no time to enjoy, reflect, or absorb the experience.

The Rest of the Tour: Most of it was spent stuck in traffic on a closed-in bus that offered little visibility. On the Staten Island Ferry, I moved slightly to take a photo and was loudly told not to move. At that point, we left the tour -- and I don't regret it.

To Be Fair: Rachel did provide a helpful guide and some interesting facts. But even that was undermined by misinformation -- like saying the government spent $4 million to correct the Verrazzano Bridge spelling (it was actually $300,000).

There's a big difference between keeping a group on time and making guests feel policed and humiliated for something as simple as getting a snack.

My advice? Skip this tour. Book with Big Bus or another open-air option where you can enjoy NYC without the stress or condescension.

Overall this felt more like a school field trip run by a power-tripping chaperone than a professional...