TopView Sightseeing Arvostelua 301

Late vehicles told every 10/15 minutes waited 40 minutes for the first bus which also had no sound system and the scheduled once a day was 25 minutes late.
Not impressed

If you don’t believe this review, take a look at all the other reviews! Find another company! We booked the double decker open top bus. We felt the sights listed in the description were all the top things we wanted to see. We bought are tickets online thru TripAdvisor. Then had to email the tickets to ourselves, download the TopView app and download the tickets there. A bit of a hassle but not a big deal. We wanted to make sure we got a seat on the top so we arrived 15 min before boarding time. We found the empty bus and asked the female driver where we needed to get in line. She snapped back, “get on down there, I’m on break” lol. We ended up standing on the side of the street for an hour waiting for them to let us on the bus while they were on break, joking around with each other etc. This was very unprofessional to not communicate with paying customers as to why we were all still standing in line while the empty bus was still sitting there 45 minutes after our scheduled departure time. We had no commentator as described in the tour description and with this being our first trip to NYC we didn’t always know what we were looking at other than a beautiful skyline. When we asked the driver what stops she would be making in Brooklyn, she snapped back, “talk to the tip jar!” I wasn’t sure I heard her correctly and asked her to repeat it. She said, “if you want me to make a stop, YOU PUT MONEY IN THE TIP JAR, that’s how this works!” Ugh! She was honestly rude x10 and obviously shouldn’t be working with first time tourists. Don’t ask questions….you will get a butt chewing! Overall, the sights were amazing but educate yourself about the route because you will not get info from staff and be prepared for terrible service. Find another company!

The ticket agents were extremely aggressive, but we had one member of our party that had never been into NYC so we negotiated a fair price and purchased. We were told to be at the initial stop by 9:45pm for a 10 pm tour. We cut our dinner short to get there and then they had us sitting around for an hour because they wanted to find more passengers. We were upset because we could have had more time in our restaurant.

We each selected seats closest to the edge of the bus so we could see, leaving the aisle seats available for people arriving after us. The company kept asking us to move seats and sit together so other people could have the better views. We declined and they continued to ask. Thirty minutes after we should have left it started to drizzle. I get that rain happens when it happens but we could have been well into the tour if we had left on time. Every time I asked when we were leaving they would brush off the question and just say “shortly.”

The tour was nice but it was rushed since they waited an hour to leave and it felt like they were just trying to get through it quickly.

I would choose another company if I were to do this again. When I reached out to voice these exact concerns directly to the company I was just told ‘no refunds, it’s in our policy. I never asked for a refund, I just wanted them to know how their business was being conducted and the hour delay. I was told it was because of ‘traffic.’ How does traffic affect you if you’re parked? Made no sense.

Bottom line: find another company to tour with who appreciates your business and time.

Aug 08, 2025. I, my wife, and mother bought tickets expecting a New York city sightseeing tour. Instead got a very long miserable bus ride, with no tour information provided, going stop to stop and sitting extremely long periods of time while the agents stand outside the bus hustling other customers to get on the bus. Since there was only one route all their buses went in line with each other, the only choice we had was to ride it the complete route. This caused us to miss our other planned events.

We were sold what was supposed to be an uptown and a downtown bus tour at around 3:30pm by one of the street representatives near the Empire State Buildign. We told him we could only go that day so he said this was a good combination for the afternoon. He even recommended we pay a bit extra for a cruise as well but we didn't think we would have the time. We each paid $20 extra for the combined trip. We were told to take the downtown tour which we did. It wasn't too bad but the stops to let passengers on and off were really long and there were huge queues. we could tell they didn't have enough buses. We had stayed on the bus all the way. The problem started when we got to the location to take the uptown tour. We were told that those tours ended at 4pm! The person who sold us the tickets knew this full well! We called customer service to get a refund for the portion of the ticket that we couldn't use and were rudely told "we don't give no refunds!" and hung up on. Later that evening we saw a bunch of the redshirted representatives around Times Square scamming unsuspecting tourists were the buses weren't even running at that time. They have really limited hours which they don't tell you about and clearly also don't have enough buses and they will not give refunds even when their representatives commited fraud to induce the customer to buy tickets.

What a waiste of money and time!!!
Waited more then 1,5 our on a bus!!!!!!
THEN NO PLACE IN THE BUS AND MUST WAIT ANOTHER 45 MINUTES FOT ANOTHER ONE!!!😂😂😂😂
Then no place on top of the bus.
No information on the headphones only music. What a scam!THE CITY MUST DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS TOURIST TRAP!!!

Terrible. Their sales pitch is "Hop on, Hope off". They need to add "and never get back on". We waited at a stop for 75 minutes for a bus to arrive whilst 4 rival companies went by. Tried calling customer services. Kept on hold with no help. This company has woefully too few buses and most people wait at stops hoping for a seat that rarely materialises. Save your money or go with another company.

We purchased the hop on hop off pass and the liberty cruise for the next day. We were told that the buses arrived at the stops every 15-20 min and the liberty cruise would take us to liberty island. We later found out that the cruise only goes by the Statue of Liberty and you can not get off there. When we arrived at our first bus stop our tickets were scanned and then we waited an hour and a half for the bus. When it arrived only 3 people were allowed on board because it was full. Which caused us to miss our liberty cruise. The employee at the stop said that a lot of drivers called off. They only had 14 out of 80 something buses running. He gave us an email and said if we emailed customer services they would give us a refund. After emailing customer service they replied the next day and said that because our tickets were scanned they would not refund us. They said they would just renew our tickets and we would have 12 months to use them. I replied back and said I wanted a refund due to missing our cruise and not riding the bus. They should not scan tickets until you board the bus. I have not received a reply back. Topview has poor customer service and employees that lie. I do not recommend using them to tour New York City. Our entire day was ruined and we did not get to see everything we wanted to because of their poor planning. Also we did not even use their buses or cruise and they would not refund us. Don't waste your money like we did.

No ac its so hot on the busses. They dont announce the stops so you know where you are . The bus drivers are very unhappy with their jobs you can tell they weren’t very professional amd theres a 30 minute wait time in the hot sun for a bus to come

No information and organization plus no air conditioning inside the bus in summer is really painful going to the tour without Ac .

One of the worst bus rides I’ve ever been on, if not the worst. We got harassed for days until we finally decided okay we can try it. Which is fine, but then the bus was relayed for more than 30 minutes.. The workers were being rude and were arguing with many other customers. They made us wait with no explanation but “wait it’s coming soon” and “10 more minutes”. But at this point it’s been almost 30 minutes. When we finally got on, the bus randomly jerked and some items customers had went finally forward. The driving was really harsh. Then the bus randomly stopped on the street. The driver gave us no explanation and many us were confused. After 5 minutes he got off and randomly paced around calling someone and got back in and continued. Then instead of stopping at our stop, he stopped a few streets behind and said the tire broke down. He didn’t give an explanation till we asked him like 10 times. Then when we wanted to ask him questions he just walked away from us.

WORST COMPANY EVER!!!! Tour was supposed to run until 6pm, driver stopped at 5:20 and didn't even bother telling us he was not going to continue tour. Another representative was sent on the bus to tell us we had to get off the bus. Driver also was not paying attention while we were getting off and turned into my 15 year old son running into him and proceeded to threaten him about making him drop his phone. Never again. AVOID AT ALL COST!!!!!

Me, my daughter, friend, and niece all purchased tickets and we got on and were told we were at the spot to get to the free ferry. He told us wee were there. We were not let out at the right place and had to walk 35 mins to get to the direction of the boat, but then it started to rain and we couldn't. The bottom of the bus has no air and is very very humid.
There were no other buses. We had to try to figure out where we were and then call to try to see how to get to a bus to get back while we could. They said we had to walk back to where were dropped off. We are from Georgia. We don't know anything about New York. We got back to where we started, but then found out the bus tour was over. We never got to get on the boat, so, we literally missed everything. We paid $55 for nothing. We didn't get a chance to even do anything. This was the worst thing ever. Its annoying since this was our 1st time here. There were no announcements to tell us where we were. We are tourists. We don't know anything. Plus, we were harassed on the street. When we first considered it, we asked if we could have the map (which doesn't help you at all). The black guy that was showing us said no. He wouldn't give us a map unless we bought tickets. He was mean and rude. He snapped at my niece. So, we said we didn't want to do it. We went down and talked to someone else, a Hispanic gentleman, who actually sold us the tickets later. He was super nice. We told him we would be back. Then we went to eat breakfast. We start walking down the street from breakfast to go look for the Hispanic gentleman who we said we would buy from. As we do so, we see the rude black guy. He is walking down the sidewalk on the other side of the street looking at us and so, I tell my family to stop behind this van. He walks across the street and goes, so are you ready now. I said no, and we crossed the street to the other side. He came behind us and proceeded to follow us a whole block trying to see who we were going to. I finally had to turn around and scream at him to stop following us or we would get the police. I shouldn't have to be harassed and followed on the street. That is crazy to me when I am w/my teen daughter and young niece in a city I haven't been to. I have requested a refund from them. Its chaotic, unorganized, and it straight harassment. They look to profit off tourist who don't know anything. They said reach out to customer service and I did. They told me that go could get a credit for next time. I'm never coming back to New York. What does that do for me? I'm back home now. I will dispute it w/my bank.

My experience with TopView Sightseeing was incredibly disappointing and frustrating. What was supposed to be a highlight of our trip turned into a massive waste of time due to misleading information and poor management.

We spent over three hours waiting in a queue to get on a bus, only to find the operations completely crippled by a major city parade. As tourists with limited time, this was unacceptable. The company claimed the delays were "beyond their control" due to the event. This is simply not true. Competitors like The Big Bus Tour clearly stated on their website that the route would be closed for the parade, allowing them to avoid the chaos entirely. TopView, however, provided no such warning on their website and continued to sell tickets to unsuspecting customers on the day, fully aware of the major disruptions.

To add insult to injury, we had purchased vouchers for the Harry Potter museum, but because of the massive delays and wasted time, we couldn't even use them. The company refused to issue a refund, hiding behind their "all sales are final" policy. While this may be legal, it's not honorable. When a business knows its service will be severely impacted, it should offer a refund or not sell tickets for that day in the first place.

TopView's customer service was also unhelpful. They expected us to call a U.S. number to resolve the issue, which was impossible for us as international tourists without an international phone plan. Their "solution" was to offer rescheduling, which was not a viable option given our limited time in the city.

Ultimately, TopView's decision to operate and sell tickets on a day they knew would be severely impacted was a disservice to their customers. They prioritized making sales over providing a functional service. I would not recommend this company to anyone looking for a reliable sightseeing experience.

They ticket seller told us the buses were every 15 minutes. The uptown bus is actually listed for every hour, and it was longer than 1 hour between buses, as I just seen one pulling off and 1hr 15 mins before next bus

The worse service people. They aggressively sold me tickets and assured that I can go in with a stroller , the bus driver refused to take me with a stroller. They never refunded anything. I lost money and time. Was humiliated with such unrespect and lack of simple humanity. They are not accessible and should not sell anything to people with strollers

The sales guy on the street said "24-hour hop-on/off" We told him our plan to take a subway to canal street, check out the shops, then use the bus to get to a restaurant, eat, and shop around soho. He said great, and we paid $300 for the whole family to get on. We also told him we plan to hop on at three and get back to edison hotel by 8. He approved. We were then stranded in the rain, because the bus closes at 5:30 which it says nowhere on the brochure and it only says on the website

Worst company. Sales people are scammers. They know your going no where fast. No AC and over sold tix. We about died in the heat. No water on board and your stuck! It was a terrible experience.

Complete misinformation from the sales person, as the downtown line goes every 20 minutes instead of 10 and the uptown line goes once an hour instead of 10 minutes. Also, the final departure of the uptown line is 5pm instead of 8pm as the guy was saying.

Absolute waste of money!

This is the worst company! Do not purchase from them.

We had no air conditioning on the bus during a heat wave! Wouldn't even open the windows or door. There was no notifications from the tour guides or driver of what stops we were at. We had to do guesswork to figure out where we were! There wasn't any guides or information, just long lines and rudeness like we were herds of cattle.

They should have told us about the time limit for The Top of the Rock! That you have to pay extra after 6 pm.

Avoid at all costs.

Just take the subway or walk. Or take a Uber/Taxi.