Big Bus Tours New York Reviews 4,568

Terrible service. The bus driver would not take us even though the bus (all buses actually) were clearly handicapped accessible. The next bus was even smaller and we couldn’t get on. We were delayed an hour and a half for our tour. We ended up taking a cab. I tried to contact customer service but it was even worse than the bus service. I am generous in giving it one star. You got that star because I had to give at least that for the review. Shameful, predatory, discriminatory service. I take that back - I shouldn’t have included the word service. Do yourself a favor and skip this bus. Look somewhere else for your touring needs. You’ll thank me later.

Worked with them for almost 4 years. Loved every minute i had their. Missed you guys. ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

We were treated poorly, the tour and staff are a mess and I would never use this company again. We had been trying to use the bus since 9:30am, the first time we got on it we were quickly kicked off and told we needed to have my phone scanned to print a ticket. There was no one to scan the ticket which is why we just got on, so after getting on and getting kicked off we were eventually allowed back on after the driver viewed the tickets on the phone. Same thing 2nd time. No one to scan and they just checked the phone and allowed us on. On our 3rd attempt to ride, we waited at stop 8 for a very long time only to realize the bus was not coming as the street must have been closed for a festival. We were unaware there was no bus and the app did not update the route. We then had to walk to stop 9 only to get kicked off to get scanned!! Someone was actually available to scan but we were bumped to the back of crowd. By this time it was after 2:30pm and we then had to wait for next bus after we were scanned because no seats were available once allowed on. This was our 3rd ride and we also had yet to be able to ride on top deck. I then reach out to live chat, the only way to contact the company, and was told there was a wait of less than 8 minutes. Well over an hour later once I’d disconnected does anyone respond. I requested a refund, which I did not do lightly. I am not a hard person to please but this company has unacceptable business practices all around. The service was awful and the bus was our worst experience in the city and the cause of a lot of wasted time in our day. NY is expensive and you want to get the most for your time and money. Big Bus was a huge let down. My request for a refund was denied. They offered me a 50% discount for future use. I will never use this company again.

Very disappointing.
We had used big bus tours in San Francisco and enjoyed it.
In New York we decided that we would try it again. Boy was that a mistake. The day we had our tour apparently there was a parade a tickertape parade. According to the bus driver the tickertape parade was on the route that we were to take. So we got to ride the bus about three stops and were told to get off. The bus driver informed us that we could go to time square and maybe exchange our tickets for a new day. So we went to Times Square to Ripleys believe it or not where the bus driver had told us that they had a booth.
Well when we got there there was no one at the booth. The attendant at Ripleys believe it or not told us that they haven’t been there for months. We attempted to email them where their website says they will reply in at least five minutes. And never got a reply we sent a message to the email where we purchased the tickets with the same results.
We will not be using big bus ever again and would not suggest it.

This company is awful. We purchased the Classic Ticket plus Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise. When the ticket guy printed off our ticket, he only gave us one so when my husband, son, and I went to go on the cruise, they wouldn't let on because we only had one ticket. We went back to wait for the bus that took over 30mins to show up. The driver told us there's nothing he could do and the bus was full so we couldn't go on. So we walked to another stop where the driver said there's nothing he could do.
After dinner we waited at the stop to get on the night tour. After waiting for over 30mins, I got on the app to figure out where the bus was and it said no live times. I got in the chat function to ask if the night tour was running and it took them 12 hours to message me back- and because I wasn't on, they didn't answer my question.
I've been trying to get in contact with them to get a refund for the Crusie portion of my tour that they messed up but of course they don't have a working telephone number and they don't answer their live chat. On top of all of this, their audio didn't work so you didn't get to listen to the tour.
I don't know if Top View is any better but I did see that bus frequently. In the 30mins I spent waiting for my bus, I would see 3 Top View busses stop. Might be a better option than this joke of a business.

Horrible! I never write bad reviews but I have also never been as disappointed as I was with this company. Ordered tickets and was never sent email with vouchers. Downloaded app unable to locate tickets on that as well. Only contact info for company was live chat that gets you no nowhere. Three days after my trip vouchers where sent. Asked for my money back and they won’t refund me! Apologized for delay and told me I had 6 months to use tickets. Beware if you use this company, if you have a problem customer service is horrible and don’t expect to get any help!

gobob and gratrock

We went on Big Bus tours in NYC, classic ticket red and blue route.It was amazing experience.I got to have my son for free, and the staff was just amazing.Very nice and friendly and very helpful.They explained everything to me in a very simple way, answered every question i had, the buses very clean, no issue, we were able to listen the tour in a headphones, we really had great time.I'm so happy i bought the tickets, it worth every penny!

If you don’t want to walk, it’s ok. The Brooklyn route and the night tour are kind of disappointed. Except for the bridge there’s nothing else to see. The red route is ok.

great service, they r one of the best i have seen so far. price is also very reasonable.

Like the rest of the feed backs on here,cannot get a refund,I know its bad times but with this Covid but you should get a refund but no...They have now stopped replying to my emails...Crap company...Dont use them..They dont care..They take your money and run and its at a time when you need your money back..DONT USE THEM..

Gave them all the required information for a refund.

Have only received offer after offer to extend or do the bus tour in another city when we have fully stated that all we want is a refund. As we have had to cancelled our trip due to Coronavirus and are unsure when we will travel again.

All they will do is keep is repeating them self with a offer or go to your travel insurance company even when you have clearly explained that travel insurance will not cover you in a pandemic.

Clearly not looking after there customers in a time where many other travel companies have been outstanding in doing everything to look after there customers and there brand.

Very disappointed and will not use or recommend this company as they clearly do not look after there customers!

I totally agree with Neil’s comment.
We filled in the required information as requested on the refund page on their web site i.e. booking confirmation, date of purchase, screenshot of ticket and the last four digits of the payment card. After numerous emails to Isabela at Big Bus their only option for us was to extend the date or change city location.
Unfortunately we both have health conditions that mean travel insurance will now be so excessive that we will be unable to travel abroad in the foreseeable future.
Puzzling when an excerpt from the Refund Terms USA states ‘customers may receive a refund if transportation cancellation prohibits a customer from being able to get to the city for which they have purchased a Big Bus ticket.’
So we too have lost a considerable amount of money having purchased tickets for New York and San Francisco.

So we have had our US holiday cancelled due to the restrictions just placed on travel from the UK for Coronavirus. On contacting Big Bus, they will not refund our 3 day tour tickets as they 'Don't have a refund policy', they just offered tickets for other citys for up to 12 months. As we have no other plans to go anywhere else for the next year, it is pointless accepting this, so we are $135 out of pocket as THEY DON'T OFFER REFUNDS.

When I first moved to New York I used them a few times to get to know the city. Also when friends visited. I thought the tour was pretty good. Sometimes the buses would take longer to show up.

Mixed feelings about this company. Friendly people, interesting topics. Learned so many new things about city.

The main issue we had with Big Bus Tours – we missed several 'side' tours because of there were no buses at the stops (waited for 40 min, at correct stop, at proper time).

I bought 2 tickets on the street, right next to first stop. It was 12:30 PM, the salesman told me that it was a great deal to stop using metro and use the bus instead. The thing is: in winter, the buses stop at 5 PM.

Also on the streets I was told (SEVERAL TIMES) that you can catch a bus every 10 minutes. That was also a lie, they come every 15-25m.

Two unlimited metro tickets cost 66usd and the "scam"-bus cost 118 usd (with taxes). Avoid it or use it in summer.

Ps: there is no exchange or refund on the ticket.

Tim was knowledgable, witty, edgy but most of all had the bus laughing and having a memorable time.

We were very disappointed with Big Bus. We often waited a long time for a bus The worst was the costumer service when we had a problem. They were not helpful and also and bordered on being rude. They were also the most expensive. We would definitely go elsewhere!
As they did on another review, if they apologize and say to contact them and they will work with us. We want to let you know that we have tried several times to no avail.

A brilliant way to see NYC! The guides were all good fun and very informative. Would highly recommend. Thankyou!