86% A Pleasant Way to Spend an Afternoon in New York
By: Anonymous | Tue Jan 18, 2011 at 10.58 PM
Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and walked at a good pace for our group which included a variety of age groups. It was a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon in New York.
We have booked this tour as part of our 10 day trip to NYC and were satisfied with it.
On the first day of the tour it was a bit difficult finding the correct bus in Chinatown as there are countless tours with this and other companies.
..Behind a desk two Chinese people were advising the bus numbers for the respective tours but we were sent tot he wrong busses twice. When we finally got to our bus our tour guide Wendy greeted us with a loud "NO!" as the bus was almost full - except for the two of us. Everything was sorted quickly though and we got on the bus to commence our travels with 43 Chinese people and 9 none-Chinese people. We saw another bus with Indian people so I think they're trying to group you by ethnicity - maybe so you don't feel like a stranger?
The Chinese unfortunately kept to themselves so we only really had contact with the other 7 passengers. We ended up becoming very good friends with one of the couples and has made the trip be forever more memorable in my mind.
There is a lot of driving and you only have little time to enjoy at the attractions. I was trying to meet up with a friend from Toronto and ended up seeing her for about 10 minutes. But all in all the tour is great. If you do all the attractions it's quite pricey but we simply informed ourselves before the trip and did
- The Thousand Island Tour
- CN tower
- Skylon tower w/o lunch (I wouldn't recommend this attraction)
- Maid of the Mist
- Cave of the winds (definitely do this if you can! You're walking where the American Bridal Veil Falls come down into Niagara River. On the Hurricane Deck you're being showered by the Falls as the powerful Bridal Veil speeds down into the river )
only. That way we had a little bit more time while people were doing e.g. The Corning Glass Museum, the Niagara Imax etc.
The admissions purchased from Wendy weren't noticeably more expensive than the ones on-site. You were always in the Fast-Track and somebody else (your tour guide) is doing all the organising/queuing for you so I didn't mind those 2-5$ more.
This tour incluides a lot of driving, getting up early and very tight time lines - but you get a lot in return. Canada is simply beautiful and the Niagara Falls are worth visiting once in your life.
The hotels we stayed at were the Holiday Inn and Travelodge, the standards were very good but the hotels were far away from the city so you weren't able to go explore on your own at night. This is probably better as this tour is not for part animals due to getting up early and lots of travelling.
I don't know about the lunch/dinner organized by our tour guide as we never went on those. Due to the nature of the group they often went to Chinese buffets - but we wanted to explore the local cuisine and went wandering off on our own. I can recommend traditional Chinese buns in Toronto.
Our tour guide Wendy was charming, entertaining and absolutely wonderful! Everybody loved her - aside from two Russian passengers that were being incredibly rude and refused to pay the service fee. Aside from that the trip was really wonderful and Wendy (although I'm sure that wasn't her real name, just simplified from Chinese for stupid tourists) and our driver Jorge were just perfect! Jorge ("George" for stupid tourists) drove us safely over 1000 miles to all our locations and listened to a lot of Chinese chatting with an angel-like patience.
I'll definitiely check out tours4fun again when i go back to the States.Read full review
Recently we took this three days trip and my wife and I were totally satisfied, especially considering the low cost. They kept us in a decent hotel which included breakfast. The tour guide Mr. King was polite, gentleman. Despite majority to..urists were from South-east Asia, he first described in English and then in Chinese. The bus driver was from Floria and he was also a perfect gentleman. Overall, the we were veru happy with the trip. I can highly recommend this tour.Read full review
This was by far the best tour I've experienced. The guides were so friendly, gracious, and knowledgeable.
I enjoyed visiting the Amish community, especially the Buggy Ride. Our buggy driver was very friendly and accommodating and answ..ered all our questions. He was informative, entertaining, and most importantly, he knew how to engage both adults and children in his discussion.
Thanks for a memorable tour.Read full review
I went to the Falls when it was COLD. Everything was practically frozen! I thought it was kind of cool. Took lots of pictures. Avoid the gift shop if you can, it gets a little too crowded.
I go to school in Boston and I finally, finally, got around to visiting NYC for the weekend. I didn't have much time to see all the typical tourist stuff on foot, so this tour was a great alternative. Plus, the price is practically a steal... I saw a good portion of New York in just one day! Just one thing to keep in mind if you book this tour. Try and get a seat up front, those seats have the best views.Read full review
What a great tour and a good deal all in one! My wife and I booked this tour for an anniversary present and really enjoyed ourselves. We had always wanted to see Niagara Falls in style, and this tour was the way to do it. Our guide was punc..tual, knowledgeable and very friendly. It was great to be able to have a fully guided tour not only of the American side of the Falls but of the Canadian side as well. The Maid of the Mist was fantastic- we got a little wet but we were prepared- make sure to bring your waterproof camera! My wife just loved the lunch that we had with the impressive view of the Falls to boot. This tour was a great way to see one of Mother Nature's most awesome creations without the hassle of renting a car and having to drive ourselves. It was worth every penny.Read full review
Boston had always been on my list of cities I wanted to see, and I think that this tour was the best way in which to accomplish this. As a world traveller, there are many places that one wants to go and visit, but Boston was on my to-do lis..t for sure. I really liked walking along the Freedom Trail and the view from Boston Harbour was fabulous. It was interesting to see the sight of the navy ship "Constitution" since I had spent time in the British Navy and I could see some similarities. I also really like the history of Boston and the feel of its thriving financial district. Bunkers Hill made a great backdrop to take some photographs to send back to my loved ones in England. Lunch at Quincy Market was fun and I really enjoyed taking pictures of Harvard and Cambridge University. I honestly didn't want to return to New York City- this tour was really fun and I enjoyed it immensely.Read full review
My family and I had a great time in Washington, D.C. It was a nice way to get there by taking the bus because we also had the chance to travel through New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland on our way. Madame Tussauds was very fun and I loved t..aking my picture with the famous wax statues. Capitol Hill was very interesting and beautiful in its own right. My son really enjoyed the Air and Space Museum and the Memorials to Lincoln and the Korea and Vietnam Wars were very heartfelt and intriguing. I loved the panoramic city tour and our guide was very knowledgeable and interesting. Our driver was top-notch and the price was very reasonable. I wish there had been a little more time for personal shopping for souvenirs etc but overall I was very pleased with this tour. Thanks for a great time!Read full review