New York City Tours for Families

New York Sightseeing Hop on Hop Off Tour - Double Decker Bus
This is by far the best option for touring New York City in my opinion. The guides are very informative and hilarious. There are three tour options you can choose from as well as an all-loop tour. You can explore a certain part of New York if you'd like, or you can explore every nook and cranny in the city. When you purchase a ticket, it if good for 24 hours. You can purchase an All Loops ticket for $50 for adults and $40 for kids 3-11 that is good for 48 hours. What I recommend is purchasing the All Loops ticket that way you can use the tour bus as your transportation. You can hop on and off at any of the 50 convenient stops. Each loop take about 2-3 hours to complete. Since you can get on and off as you please, this is the best option to use as your transportation around the city without having to pay extra for a taxi.

Other options are the Uptown Loop: includes stops at Central Park, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Guggenheim, Apollo Theatre, Harlem, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Rockefeller Plaza, the Theater District, American Museum of Natural History, and Lincoln Center.

Downtown Loop: stops at Financial District, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Chinatown, Little Italy, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller Plaza, United Nations, Battery Park - which takes you to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island by ferry), Radio City, South Street Seaport, 42nd Street, and Times Square.

Brooklyn Loop: stops at Brooklyn Museum of Art and Botanic Garden, New York Mariott Hotel, Fulton Mall, Old Fulton Landing, Atlantic Avenue, Cadman Plaza.

Please note that the prices for each tour include only the bus transportation (and tour guide). When you exit the bus and go sightseeing, you will be required to pay for entry to the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Ferry etc. You can spend as much time on and off the bus as you'd like within your 24 or 48 hour time period. You can ride the bus all year long with the exception of Christmas Day and New Years Day.

The starting point is located at Gray Line Visitor Centre 8th Avenue, between 47th 7 48th Streets. You can pick up all information and tickets here. You can even purchase your Empire State and Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island tickets to avoid waiting in line upon arrival. I would recommend purchasing online before your trip as these loop passes are usually discounted.