I bought a tour with Groupon. So it was affordable. Nice ride on the top of the bus which was mostly empty. They gave us headphones to listen to pre-recorded tour narration. The idea is great - there were multiple languages on the screen. But most of them didn't work. Mine had English coming on one side and Chinese on the other lol. It was also delayed. They recheck your tickets at the boat. Have your hats on and lots of sunscreen! read more

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY WITH THEM! You have been warned! They don't care about lying to you, making you wait 5 times what they quote you, or even if the tour bus is working properly. The only thing they care about is getting your money and running away to make sure you can't get it back. They quoted us 15 min for tour to start, we waited over an hour on the top level of a bus in blistering heat (and this was a night tour!) They made us switch buses because they said the first one wasn't working. Then, they sent us off in another bus that didn't have a working automated tour system- and that's all they do. They do NOT have any real tour guides because any normal company would've sent a live tour guide with us when we'd already been on 2 non-working buses. Then, they'll allow their employees to ride up top with paying guests- I wouldn't care except he decided to blast his highly inappropriate music (there were kids on the tour including mine) which we had to listen to because the tour system wasn't working. I asked him to fix it and he didn't even realize it was broken. He ran down to the driver and came back up saying they were working on it. Then, I called the co number and was promised they were working with the driver to fix it for us. When I called again (because it wasn't fixed) they ignored our calls. We were with this sh**ty company for more than 2 hours and all we did was sit for an hour then drive around the crappiest parts of NYC and stare. If I wanted to drive in a bus around the city and stare at trash, I could've taken public transportation. I'm so bummed because I've been before and had wonderful tours but this was my boys' first time. They think NYC was the worst part of our trip. And, that is what this tour company does. Takes one of the best places in the world and ruins it for first timers- makes them think all New Yorkers don't care and the only thing to see is dark streets, trash piled everywhere and one a couple of pretty bridges. My kids literally asked me to stay in Jersey the last part of our stay there. Don't let these idiots ruin NYC for you. If you see the Iconic tour guys trying to sell you tix on the streets, run away! Don't buy this crap on Groupon either (like I did). read more

See all

We were scheduled to ride the 7 pm nyc night tour. we were seated on the bus prior to 7 pm. We checked in many times over the course of the next 90 minutes and were met with angry, rude responses to our question of "when is this thing going to happen??" After 90 minutes we, and several others tried to exit the bus and they shut the doors, trapping us inside. Lots of frantic yelling and angry people. The bus never did go, and honestly we missed out on a night in NYC when we could have done some other activity. Obviously, no refund. What a gross company. Scam!! read more

NY Iconic Tours - This is the exact plate of the bus. Scammers!! - Bus Tours Near Me - New York, New York

See all

I would give no starts there was not one good thing! Buses and boats are filthy. No communication and waited hours for buses to come and getting pressured by random guys claiming to be uber while waiting for the bus. Do yourself a huge favor and don't book with them absolutely awful! Ruined our first day in New York! read more

My sister booked a tour for five people on Groupon. We got what we paid for. Got on in Times Square & went to Battery Park. Got back on in Battery Park & went back to Times Square. The bus was a bit dirty (empty water bottles on the floor) and the microphone jacks for the audio tour weren't working for most of us. The staff were pleasant and helpful. We only waited ten minutes for the bus when we were ready to get back on. We told staff when we wanted to exit and they obliged. Wear a hat & plenty of sunblock. The sun is unrelenting and for most of the tour there is no shade. I wouldn't repeat the experience, but for a one time thing it wasn't too bad. read more

Beware! There were a ton of "NY city officials" In vests near battery park and they said they are just city guides helping you get to where you want to go. They explained that the Staten Island ferry is free but takes 3 hours, they, however, offer a one hour boat tour of the Statue of Liberty. They said the fee was 39 per person and that a bus comes every few minutes. We were charged 49 per person, and waited 45 minutes for our bus to arrive. Once on the bus, the driver left and apparently was on break, so we sat there for another 15 minutes before someone came in and said another bus had just showed up and we needed to run to catch it. Thankfully once we were on that bus we were on the way, after waiting an hour and 10 minutes total just for the bus. Then we arrived near the pier, walked to the boat, had to wait for that, and that tour took an hour. At this point it's been 2.5 hours total. They said we can either take the bus back to battery park, or walk, because the walk is only like 15 minutes. Well the walk was another 1.5 hours, so it took us 4 hours to do a boat tour we could have done for free. Don't waste your time. The statue was beautiful, but they all lie and just want to sell tickets. This was the reason we were unable to finish our bus tour, and we were so disappointed because we weren't able to see all that we wanted to. There is no communication, they totally lied, overcharged us and it was very frustrating. read more

the bus broke down and they abandoned us to find our own way back. No compensation or refunds. To Start the ticket pushers said that the last bus was leaving immediately and we ended up sitting on the bus for 25 minutes.. Then we had to wait on the boat for another 45-60 minutes before it even moved After passing another bus driver with the same uniform strung out on the bench. Then after the boat ride when we were supposed to load the bus to be taken back to Time Square the bus was broken down and the driver said they were sending a replacement. It was going to take a long time and he didn't know how long. I will never ever recommend anyone to use that company. read more

NY Iconic Tours - Broken down bus! - Bus Tours Near Me - New York, New York

Do yourself a favor and don't book with this company. This is a big scam. Their website doesn't work and no one answers their customer service calls. Zero stars! read more

Beware this tour company is unreliable, non-existent, unprofessional, etc; I already disputed the charges with my Creditcard for false advertisement. Bought tickets during a family vacation scheduled for Jan 2025 and when we showed up to the recommended departure location, no representatives from Iconic tour bus were present, call them and went straight to voicemail. So, I had to buy new tickets from the other tour company that was readily available on site. Lessons learned, alwaaaaaaays check reviews before purchasing goods and services (me of all people should know better) . Hope this helps prevent future scams by Iconic Tours. read more

Absolutely terrible. Waited 2 hours. Not 45 min. Complete a waste of time. If I could give it zero stars I would.

Absolutely terrible scam of an experience. My family and I paid to take this boat tour for one of my mother's birthday presents. Upon our ARRIVAL is when they decided to inform us that the boat was broken down AND their solution was to give us a free tour bus ride, a nyc themed pen, and take the (FREE) Staten Island Ferry. Which is not only not the experience we paid for, but such a lame "solution". We could've been informed about the boat being broken down any time within the last two weeks since that's how long it's been broken down for. Insane. Will be getting our money back read more

The worst ever. Do not use. Nothing worked. Headphones. AC. Hour long wait for first and only bus. And then the driver didn't stop at promised locations!!!! Horrid. read more

Picked this Groupon in order to utilise the on and off bus option. The first bus skipped several stops and was heading to a pier for its boat tour. We as well as other passengers had to ask to get off at sooner stops. When we got back on we asked for a certain stop and were instead taken to the pier for the boat tour. Would not recommend. read more

Terrible experience. Sold one package, and provided another. Full of delays and excuses! Waste of time and money. It is a scam!

Great service! With a smile and eagerness(overly, some would say) they took us around NYC.

This is a scam. Avoid!!! The agent quoted us one price and then charged $20 more per ticket than quoted. When confronted, he said he could not do anything. Quoted that it was a 60 minute tour. We then walked 15 minutes to a bus, followed by a 40+ minute bus ride to a pier. It's there you learn it's a 90 minute boat tour ... starting 30 minutes later with a separate company. So ... plan for no less than 3 hours. They ask for and insist on tips at every step of the journey. This place is terrible. We are disputing charges with our credit card supplier. Will be reporting to BBB. read more

Horrible and total scam. Making you think they're part of city cruises the OFFICIAL ticket sellers and they're not. Will hustle you straight out of the subway so beware. We didn't even get to go on the tour cuz we got to the pier ALL the way uptown btw, away from battery park, just for their boat to be sold out. Will be disputing this charge. DO NOT BUY FROM THESE SCAMMERS. read more

Bought a groupon and got to the location on 47th street and tried to board the bus and were denied because another company loaded from that location during the day. We showed them our tickets and one of the other reps shouted "You've been scammed! They only have night tours!" We saw two ads for Iconic: One for a night tour and one with no mention of a night tour with a picture of a bus in daylight so we bought it. Horrible experience for my Australian relatives. So they had to buy new tickets on a TopView bus leaving from that location. They should really be ashamed of themselves. As a New Yorker I'm disgusted as I am proud of my city, but tourists should be treated better. read more

First and foremost, if I could rate this company lower than one star I would. Don't waste your money or your time. They do not run frequently as stated and don't have any narration. If you wantt o take a bus tour than you are better off using top view or the big bus companies. There were customers who wanted their money back immediately after purchasing the tickets and the ticket people ignored their request. Skip using this company for any bookings. read more

NY Iconic Tours - Broken equipment on bus. - Bus Tours Near Me - New York, New York

The bus never showed up at the starting location. I called to find out why and left a message. Then on endless hold until they hung up. Do NOT book with this company. read more

Wait time is very long. They will not refund your money so be careful before you pay.

Totally unreliable. We got off at the Battery Park stop and tried to tale another one around 3 pm but they just kept skipping us. When finally one showed up after almost an hour, he made us get off the bus because they were on a different route. The one that took us didn't even complete the stops. He just took us straight to Times Square on an alternate route read more

Be aware this Tour. These guys try to scam the tourist. They told us to take us to the statue of liberty and let we waited on the bus for couple hours. Be caution with these Tours. Called my credit card to dispute transaction. read more

NY Iconic Tours - Tours scammers - Bus Tours Near Me - New York, New York

Pretty good so far so much knowledge to obtain Love th automated recording that gives the information. read more

Golpe. Vao tentar vender a todo custo. Depois levam para um ponto de ônibus , que fica por horas e nao vem ônibus , quando vem é lotado. Deixam vc no ponto sem orientação de qual pier saira o barco. Nao conseguimos embarcar e nem o dinheiro de volta. Cuidado é golpe. read more

A complete and utter scam. After wait 30 minutes for a bus, sitting in traffic for 45 minutes, we get to the pier and there's no ferry's. They not only overcharged us (was told it was $40 each but my transaction statement was $120) but refused to refund us when we didn't receive the service we promised. Do not fall for this read more

buses are not working, they have the drivers fix the bus. not in compliance with department of transportation. does not pay workers . the drivers then don't go to work. opu (the manager) will text and call employee to say " i have your money i owe you from 2-3 weeks ago, can you come to work. she waves the check in their face so they can work. the checks given ( from a chase account) bounces! do not ride with them! those buses have stopped on drivers while driving and they are told to keep driving after turning the bus off and on. read more

Biggest scam and most unorganized group ever. The poor workers were fed a sh*t show. John and Isaiah were absolutely amazing at trying to keep everyone happy and doing what they could with what they had. The owner of the company or whoever they were dealing with was the rudest and had no idea what was going on, they didn't even have a route to go off of for the Holiday Light Tour. When we first arrived to NYC the location we had been given wasn't even the correct one, so we ended up using a different company since the bus never showed up. Later when we were to get on for the Holiday tour, online and Groupon all said to get on by Red Lobster and the 5 building. Well that wasn't it and the Iconic worker that came by us wouldn't help until we got firm with him asking 'so where do we get on the bus' and he finally took us around the corner to get on a bus that didn't even say Iconic just Orange Bus. We then sat on this bus from 5:15 to 6:45 waiting to leave when we were supposed to leave at 530. The 630 people started getting onto the bus until it was full. When we finally got moving it was still a sh*t show as they didn't even have a route in place. The drive slammed on the breaks so hard that a lady flew out of her seat and hid the ground while some of us others slammed our knees hard on the other seats and I slammed my head into the metal bar infront of me. People started asking to be let off the bus in random areas because they got scared. Eventually we did the same thing and all we got to see was really Macys lit up. Do not recommend this company at all! Ps. John and Isaiah did amazing with what they could and tried there hardest to make everyone feel better, things just got to far away and when one thing got fixed another issue happened. These two guys are jems to have and deserve to be treated better! read more

We had an extended layover on our international trip and decided to make a day out bit in NYC. Got last minute tickets on Groupon. Our driver Gene was so nice and accommodating. Great way to get around the city in a short amount of time! read more

Really nice bus tour, able to enjoy on your own and easy to navigate where you are. Driver Gene was really nice and would definitely do it again! read more

Wow! Worst rip off ever. Look, I get it, it's nyc and it's night time and you are looking for something to do. And the idea of a one hour night time tour sounds kinda fun. We were approached by several companies, and we made the mistake of choosing Iconic Tours. Seriously. They sell you on the idea of hoping onto the next bus, when in reality, they sit you on a 1/2 empty one and wait until every seat is full. We literally waited 1 hour and 29 minutes before the bus pulled out. Every 20 min they promised they were going to take off, but waited for every seat to be filled. And understand, every seat being filled means them walking up and down the streets of time square trying to sell other pedestrians on a night tour, so you won't leave until they fill the bus entirely. After 45 min we asked for a refund and they said "no refunds". The buses are old, real old, and filled with trash. They were not kind, only cared about getting people in the seats and making their money. I'm not saying don't do a night tour in New York, but do yourself a favor and don't do this specific tour. Worst mistake we made in New York read more

Not worth it, even if it's free. Dirty, duct tape bus. Doesn't follow the map. Just a complete disaster. There are much better hop-on/off options. read more

SCAM! Misleading information. They do not run frequently as stated. Lied about departure and arrival times.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!! These guys are outside of Battery Park and will try to sell you "tickets" to the Statue of Liberty ferry. They will harass you and try to check your tickets if you have them but, do not engage them and keep walking. They have no right to stop you and they ARE NOT affiliated with the official New York Statue of Liberty tours. DO NOT BUY from them or give them the time of day. They will tell you the next tour is at this time but, the reality is they have no set tour times and will wait to try and fill up the bus. You may end up waiting for a very long time if you get a tour at all. Don't talk to the other "tour agencies" that are there as well. They are all in on it and try to help each other out. read more

Scammers that take advantage of tourists. Waited over 3 hours to get on the bus and then take a quick tour on their run down boat. Absolutely AVOID at all costs! They charge random prices and will lie about the wait times, and refuse to refund you. read more

To say my experience was negative is an understatement. I bought the Groupon for this tour on the only full day we had in NYC where I was taking my family to visit for the first time. They came from Brazil and were very excited to see the Big Apple. When I arrived at the location to board the bus, I was told by "Smitty" that it was going to be 1 1/2 hour wait for the bus, when I questioned him, I was told that their buses were being fixed and there was nothing he could do. He was friendly and tried to assure me we would still a good experience, but that is where the problems started. We waited for the bus, then were dropped off by Wall Street and that is basically the only successful time we used it. The driver told us it would take him hours to drive by because he was the only bus doing that route. We walked around and when we were ready to move on, I called Smitty, per his request, to try and take the bus to go to the stop next to the Brooklyn Bridge. Smitty video called me and was providing instructions on where to go when he asked me to point the phone at a woman that was working at the bus stop. She proceeded to yell and curse me out, before realizing that someone she knew was on the video and trying to talk to her. In any case, we were told that the bus to the Brooklin Bridge was only going to circulate at night (it was about 4pm, we were told we could board the bus around 7:30). So we just asked to be dropped off around Times Square. The woman that yelled at me earlier put my group in a bus, but eventually the driver stopped and said we had to get off because that bus did not go to Times Square. We tried to explain what the woman had said, but he was rude and condescending. We got off and had to figure it out another way to get to Times Square. This was an enormous disappointment. Also, the tickets were being sold at Times Square for $19.90 per person, so the Groupon was not the great deal advertised. I do not recommend this at all. My family went back to Brazil without seeing all the spots they wanted see. This happened in a hot day in June, and we had to walk/wait around a bunch with a child and a senior person in our group. Very disappointed. read more