The night tour is very good and it takes in a lot of the sights from the uptown, downtown, and Brooklyn tours but, yes, you’ve guessed it, at night.

You need to pick your timing here. The tours start from around 6pm, but if you want to start the tour in the dark, you need to allow for this. We went in September and started our tour at 6.30pm, which meant that the sun was just starting to go down, but it was still light. The tour starts and finishes in Times Square, so if it is not quite dark when you depart, don’t worry, you will see it all again in all its glory when you return at the end of the tour.

We travelled around Times Square, and as we went down one of the roads, we caught the top of the Chrysler Building. The sun was just setting, reflecting off the building and making it look like it was made of gold – stunning.

We went past the Empire State, which lights up different colours depending on the special event or occasion. We went past when it was pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Week. We then went through Greenwich Village, Soho, China Town, Little Italy, and then across the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn.

From Brooklyn, you have the most fantastic views of the Manhattan skyline at night. We did this tour on the evening of the third anniversary of 9/11, and they had the beams of light stretching up through the sky. The sight was awesome and would have been worth the price of the whole tour just for that. When we pulled over to get the best view, most of us on the bus just sat and stared in awe - the guide had to remind us to take photos. This will be one of the lasting memories I take away from this trip.

After a quick tour of Brooklyn, we returned across the Manhattan Bridge and then travelled alongside the East River towards the East Village and onto the main roads of Manhattan. Here you get great views of the Empire State Building, and many other buildings, all lit up. You then head up towards Central Park. The change in temperature as you round the corner of the park is shocking. It dipped several noticeable degrees, and the darkness of the park at night is quite strange.

After the park, you venture back Times Square with all its lights blazing and flashing. It is stunning by day, but at night, it comes alive.

The night tour is well worth doing, but even in the summer, remember that you may need a jumper as the night draws in, as it can get chilly. We had 85-degree weather by day, but were shivering on the tour in t-shirt and shorts at night. Our tour guide was excellent; very friendly and happy to answer questions. I can definitely recommend this tour.

We decided to start our tours on our first full day in the city so that we could get a feel of the place and perhaps find places on the tours that we could later go back to. We started with the uptown tour.

The tour guide on this bus was am energetic elderly lady who had lived in NYC all her life and was very informative and funny. She kept telling the driver to slow down, stop, speed up, and more. As this was an older bus without a built-in microphone, every time someone wanted to get on or off, she had to wind the cable up and escort people up and down the stairs, then re-attach the microphone and start again, which she made very amusing.

The tour started at the back of Times Square and headed out towards the Hudson River where large liners were docked. We then headed to Columbus Circle, which has a couple of glass skyscrapers that are very beautiful and stunning. We then went past the building where Regis and Kelly do their morning show. We were told of many more famous homes and work places, but as Brits, we didn’t know many of those mentioned. After this we headed towards Central Park and went past the Dakota Building, where John Lennon was killed. Strawberry Fields, part of Central Park, is directly in front of this building. Yoko Ono still lives here.

We drove along the west side of the park where there are lots of expensive apartments and where many famous people reside. We then drove into the Harlem area, which from a British point of view, has quite a bad name for itself. However, the area has some beautiful buildings, particularly churches, and some great parks, so it was well worth seeing via the tour. The tour then goes towards Cloisters and then comes back into Harlem and picks up on the north side of Central Park.

You then travel along the east side of the park along museum mile, which, amongst many others, has the Guggenheim Museum. After this, you go along the south of the park, and then back into the centre of Times Square. Keep an eye out for the Naked Cowboy, who strums his guitar in his underpants and is usually surrounded by women having their photos taken with him.

I would definitely recommend this tour, as you see sights that you perhaps wouldn’t see normally because many are quite out of the way, baring in mind that most visitors don’t venture further north than Central Park and most will not go into Harlem, which is a shame as there are some lovely churches and parks there. We were lucky and had a great guide, which made it even more interesting with her funny stories, but you should enjoy this regardless.

We booked Grey Line Tours via the internet before we left for New York. We booked the all loops package, which consisted of four separate tours: uptown, downtown, Brooklyn and a night tour. This was good value for money at $49 per person. Even if you only want to take a couple of the tours, this still works out cheaper than buying them individually.

You have to take all tours within 48 hours, which sounds daunting, but we did the uptown in the morning of day one and the downtown in the afternoon. Then the following day we did Brooklyn and then the night tour, so it worked out great. Each tour takes about 2 hours if you stay on from start to finish.

They all start and end in the Times Square area, except Brooklyn, and are on open-top double-decker buses. The Brooklyn tour is on an enclosed coach, as open-top buses are apparently not allowed in Brooklyn, and this tour starts in Battery Park near the Financial District.

You can hop on and off at the numerous stops along the way, but I wouldn’t recommend it. We had to leave quite a few people at stops who wanted to get on, but there simply wasn’t room, or they had to sit in the lower, enclosed deck. I think the best way is to take each fully, then go back to any places that you want to visit again in your own time. The night tour incidentally is not a hop on/off.

If you do these tours when it is hot, as we did in September (85 degrees), remember to take a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and plenty of water. On the top deck of the bus, there is no protection from the sun and it can become very overpowering. Likewise, if you visit when showers are likely, then bring something to cover yourself. On the brochures it says that rain ponchos are given out free on buses, but when some people asked for them on the night tour, when it got cooler, they only had a couple available on the bus.

As I said, it was very hot when we did the tours, but the night tour can still get cool, as we found out. As we hadn’t gone back to our hotel that day, we were just in t-shirts and shorts, but would have welcomed a jumper as the night set in. So if you plan to do this tour in the summer, pop a light jumper or similar in your bag, just in case.

It also goes without saying that you should take your camera with you. The bus does slow down, or stop at major points, so you can get some great pictures. A video camera is also good, as you can get the atmosphere and the commentary too.

I cannot recommend these tours enough. Great tours, great sights, great value.

I am not usually one for touristy bus tours, but being alone I wanted to see as much as possible and not feel intimidated having no idea how to get around NYC. I picked up the tour outside the Empire State Bldg. It takes you all over the city and the map is easy to follow as the bus makes its way through the traffic. I LOVED being able to sit up top and just gaze and "gaga" over the tall buildings. Being on top also gives riders an almost 360 degree look around and really helped orient me to the city and where things are. After spending my whole life (34 years worth) seeing New York City on TV and movies, it was amazing to me to see it up close and in real life. For those more cynical and professional travelers, this may seem naive but I really enjoyed it. I am usually the kind of person who prefers off the beaten path non typical tourist stuff. The Gray Line tour guides were all very informative, many were funny and most were extremely friendly and helpful. They pointed out all kinds of interesting things that I never would have known if I were just walking around or taking a taxi.

Traveling alone, I thought the bus was a good way to get around as well as to chat with other tourists and get my photo taken so that my pictures actually reflect the fact that I was there! It eliminates the obviousness of me standing by myself on a street corner with a map and a guidebook shouting TOURIST!

I purchased the "All Loops" tour for $50 which included all of Manhattan as well as a nighttime tour over the Manhattan Bridge to see the skyline at dusk- beautiful. The daytime loops are split into upper and lower loops with transfer between the two in Times Square. You could also purchase the Loops separately for $37 if you were only interested in doing one. I recommend both. The pass was good for 48 hrs and there were many places to get off and reboard later like Battery Park, Chinatown, SOHO, Museum Mile, Rockefeller Center, Harlem, Times Square, Central Park, and more. For someone who is familiar with NYC and a veteran traveler this might not be so great.

I would recommend this to travelers who want to see a lot in a short time or for those who would like a good overview for the start of a longer trip.

I see myself as way too cool for city tours, so I usually talk myself out of taking them. However truth be told I have found some city tours to be very helpful in getting to know a new city on the first day and helping me get the lay of the land. Chris found this Grayline Tour on-line and suggested we take it with the kids, as it was their first visit to New York City.

In theory, the concept sounded great. You buy a two-day pass for $49.00 and are able to use the pass anytime in the two-day period to hop on and off the double-decker buses anywhere on the loop they run. The bonus was they also provide you with a ferry ticket to Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty, plus a ticket to the top of the Empire State Building. I had to admit the price could not be beat! Plus the loop really did cover most of Manhattan and some of Brooklyn.

We got our vouchers and headed over to Times Square to catch our bus. It was a very busy Saturday in June and the whole city was crowded. We turned the corner and saw the line was wrapped up and down the block three times! Yikes! So we got in line. We waited almost 50 minutes to board our first bus. Few buses came and those that came were already doing the loop and only had room for a handful of new passengers. The wait was a big waste of valuable vacation time.

I did love the upper deck view of the city. The perspective was great. It really was a whole new way to look at New York. Some guides were good, some a little silly, some seemed bored and some gave conflicting information. So like most anything, it was all on who you were lucky enough to get as a guide.

When we went to Ellis Island our ride to the ferry was fine. We got to the island and had an enjoyable and very educational day. However, coming back it was 5:00pm and the line again to catch a tour bus was endless. We got in line, but soon learned some people had been in line for over an hour. Buses came by but they only would take one or two people each time, as they were already full. We scrapped the tour bus home and hailed our own cab.

In theory I like the on and off loop idea. It was a good way to see New York, was cheap and seemed to be the right thing to do. However on the Saturday we took the tour the city was packed and the system seemed to overwhelm itself and just not work correctly. I may try it again on a weekday, during the school year, but never again on a Saturday in June!