Open Loop New York

The worst choice we made in NYC! The salesperson we bought from was very nice and then it all went downhill. The drivers were complete bullies, not waiting to graciously accept a tip but before even having a chance to get a tip out they were yelling at us for their $$$, we felt very uneasy with the drivers and will only use über or the subway from now on. You lose my business and my endorsement Open Loop. I am leaving this review on every website I can find.

Everyone from the Bus driver to the young woman in the office where we redeemed our vouchers was helpful, courteous and cheerful. The tour was fantastic, we got a chance to see everything from the theater district to wall street, battery park etc. The Driver stopped at some of the stops and even allowed us a quick stop off to take pictures at a couple of sites. After we got the lay of the land, we used the bus the next to get to specific areas. We purchased our tickets from Costco of all places and was not disappointed.

We have done hop on hop off all over the US and Europe and far and away the worst one we have ever done. Just don’t do it.
The audio didn’t start until halfway through the 2.5 hour tour and didn’t tell you much at all. It could have either been an hour shorter or had twice the stops. Instead, we sat at each stop for five, sometimes ten minutes just waiting. The audio told us about five facts throughout the entire tour, gave usually no introduction or background about the stops, and just played the same five songs on repeat when it wasn’t talking.

Cheap but don’t recommend them. No person commentary and the system commentary is bad. The night tour is late and not on schedule

While the price was right, the narration and communication on this tour was not great. First of all, there was no live narrator/​docent. That would have been fine if the recorded narration wasn’t so bad. It was cheesy and, at times both sexist, and racist. Also, I was not given earbuds when I boarded the bus and wasn’t told it was narrated by recording. I kept waiting for a guide to come up and use the microphone hanging at the top of the stairs, only to find out later that I should have been listening to a recording. I missed several stops worth of commentary. For the record, no one else on the top of the bus knew we were supposed to be wearing earbud either.
Also, as mentioned by other reviewers, I waited forever to board a bus at the start of the tour in front of McDonalds on 8^th and 42^nd, and it felt like too long between buses at the other stops.

You will wait forever for buses to show up. Other buses came every 15 min
When we got our ticket we waited 30 min for bus to leave the drop in front of Mc Donalds and Starbucks from Times Square. The prices are negotiable. We got uptown and downtown for $ 38. However don’t waste your money

I’m surprised more people don’t rate this company higher. Our experience was fantastic from beginning to end today.
First of all, our ticket agent, Belle Ounook Constance Carole, was so different from the ticket sellers from the other tour companies. She was warm, comfortable and helpful. Didn’t push with high pressure.
We took the uptown tour this afternoon with Kim as our driver and Frank as our guide. Since we were wearing KC Royals hats, Frank engaged us with some good-​natured banter. Wonderfully friendly!
But Frank was so knowledgeable and funny in his tour. Great information!
We left a significant tip!
Great job!!!

If you are looking for a bus tour in New York City, Open Loop is the place! I took the downtown tour yesterday (¹⁰⁄₂₁) and had a great time! Our tour guide, Bryant, was both informative and funny throughout. He was happy to answer questions from several passengers and his overall knowledge of New York City is vast. It was fun to learn all of the facts and history about so many great NYC landmarks. We got to see everything from Times Square to Bryant Park to Chinatown to The South Street Seaport and everything in between. I would definitely take another one of the tours.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! The first 2 buses we were in did not have sound or a tour guide. We sat for 30minutes at the Bryant Park stop waiting for a tour guide that never showed up. The bus driver wouldn’t give us the number for the costumer service office. We want our money back.

Well I am glad that my wife and I were able to show our son a full view of NYC for his first real trip, the tour itself is bupkis. No real helpful info from the prerecorded narration of the tour but even more disappointing was that the Statue of Liberty tour which come to find out was going to be an extra cost once we got down there.
I think next time I will convince my family that we should just take the subway and cabs where we need to go. We might even save a few bucks that way.

I’m really surprised that this tour company got such a bad review. We purchased a groupon that expired but this still honored it. The bus was pretty empty and we got great seats on the top. Yes, the tour part is actually taped but it lined up with the destinations well (I think it goes with the gps on the bus) and the information was informative and cool. I would have liked a live narrator but this was not a problem. The bus driver came out on the top when we passed through the Brooklyn bridge and Manhattan bridge areas and offered to take pictures for us.
I really have no complaints for this tour, but I also have never been on another sightseeing bus so I have nothing to compare it to. We went with a few New Yorkers and they loved it too.

Caveat: I’m a New Yorker. So I did what I never, ever do — purchased the Groupon THEN looked at reviews. I was surprised to see how horrible the reviews are, and was going cancel but my friend convinced me to go with it. I’m glad I did.
We redeemed our Groupons and headed to 50^th street for the pickup. We had just missed one, so we waited for about 10 minutes. Got on. We had to transfer at Bryant park for the downtown tour. Unfortunately we waited there in the rain for 20 minutes or so. Finally got on the downtown loop. Since I read reviews, we brought headphones. I thought the audio was informative, and preferred that to a tour guide!
I did notice that most of the others on the bus didn’t have headphones or know about it. This is so crazy to me. A major part of the tour experience and there is no way to inform customers? Why not put it on the brochure, train drivers to hand them out, place signs on the bus… it was mind boggling. Other than that, WE had fun and it was worth the $ 22. Would probably recommend another tour for tourists interested in more information and organization.

Only gave it a star because I had to, so I could write this review. Worst tour bus EVER. You will regret taking this one, I know I did! You will see plenty of the other buses especially the Big Bus tours. You will waste a lot of time with this choice.
A real joke! Buyer beware, I wished I had listened to the reviews.

Firstly I should I say I am a New Yorker, I did not take this tour for an educational experience!
I purchased the night-​time tour through group-​on for $ 22 for two people (which was a STEAL, compared to other bus tours)
The ride consists of 90 minutes going through Midtown, Chinatown and going across the Brooklyn Bridge for the epic skyscraper shot of NYC!
Before even getting onto the bus you need to go redeem your groupon vouchers on 44^th street and then catch the bus on 50^th street. Both by an Open Loop employee as well as what was written on the voucher it states to wait IN FRONT of a Starbucks. Upon following direction we were told that they actually moved the spot across the street.
Now, uncertain where to stand we all frantically made a group decision to go across the street so that we don’t get split up.
They did in fact move the bus stop so thankfully we were able to get on with no issues.
My boyfriend being that of a techy and curious mind saw a head phone jack and decided to plug in his ear phones, good thing we did because their was an actual audio tour guide with music and explanations of where we were and a little history behind it.
Not ONCE did anyone from the tour mention to anyone that their even was this audio available to us.
We, being the good patrons that we were took it upon ourselves to tell people but many didn’t have head phones with them.
If I had a dollar for every time our heads almost got decapitated with the branches we were passing and how many bets we made on who can reach the traffic light, we’d be rich!!!
I can not blame open loop on this one because any open double decker bus would have this issue, ride if you dare!!!
Over all my personal experience was mediocre and for those foreigners who were just with eyes and mouths wide open taking in the breathtaking views of NY but with no knowledge of who, what, where, when or why would probably rate this a zero and pay the extra $ 40 for a true experience on the bolt bus, grey line, etc.
The worst part for me was upon leaving the bus seeing a GIANT mountain of headphones that were made to be given out!!!
I read somewhere that the night time tour has no audio… so maybe they could save themselves with that one, but I did enjoy the audio and the crazy music and the shots I got for a $ 22 ride were pretty priceless.
As a tourist — no go
As a New Yorker looking for a nice night out, why not!

I had an Amazon coupon, $ 39 for 4 on the all-​day Open Loop; it was just me and two kids, but still it was an awesome deal. We got there at 9 AM, had no problems whatsoever redeeming the coupon, girl at the desk looked sleepy but was helpful, told me to hang on to my tickets and that there were always more buses at Bryant Park, because that is where they all connect. Good advice.
There were only a few people on the bus at this time and we got front row seats. My kids were ecstatic and had ear-​to-​ear grins plastered on their faces. I did not know there was an audio option until I saw the guy next to me listening to it. He had his own headphones (I did not bring any headphones). At some point, the audio died and while he was friendly to me, he was extremely rude to the driver. He stuck his hand out and started banging on the outside of bus screaming, «audio not working!» I’m from NYC and my kids were too busy being on the top of the world to bother with the audio, so I was much more sympathetic to the driver, who was very friendly to me and the kids. I can’t imagine having to deal with rude tourists all day.
We stopped off at the Met. After we were done at the Met, we went back to the same spot and waited 15 minutes for the Loop bus. This driver made it a point to come up to the upper deck to give everybody headphones. I looked at him with great surprise and said, «thank you!» He said, «well, sometimes people forget.» Later on, I asked him if we could keep the headphones and he said, «yes.» Then my kids informed that there was a tub of complimentary headphones sitting there next to the rain bonnets. Duh. They were definitely more into the tourist thing than I am. We got off at Columbus Circle.
The wait to catch a bus at Columbus Circle was 30 – 40 minutes. It was 3:40 PM, rush hour had begun, so the streets were mobbed with pedestrians and there was traffic galore. The bus was crowded when we got on, but we only made it to one stop before we were told to get off and transfer to another bus to finish the trip back to Bryant Park.
At Bryant Park, we decided to do the full downtown tour and not get off at any stops. The only bus going downtown was super crowded and my kids bemoaned the fact they could not get front row seats again. We found some top deck seats in the back.
The bus sat for about 10 – 15 minutes, inched its way to the next stop and then it sat again. A staff member came upstairs and informed us that there was not enough pressure in the bus, that someone had turned it off for some unknown reason and it will take a little bit of time to get the bus going. Also, the audio was not working, so he will do the tour instead. My kids, who sat behind me said they could not hear anything he said. They also complained that they did not want to be on this bus for the full 90-​minute tour. Most passengers looked equally unhappy.
The bus moved another 3 – 4 blocks and we were hopeful again; but it stopped once more. At this time, the guide informed us that the bus is officially not going to make it. It was one of the older buses and he called in for a rescue bus to take us on the tour.
When another bus showed up, half the passengers pushed past everyone and ran towards that bus. This other bus looked super crowded, so I just sat there and let all the pushy people go ahead of me. My kids were distraught, but I told them to hang tight, to let everyone else go. When the seats up front were cleared, we moved to sit closer to the front of the bus right near the exit. Half of the passengers thought the same thing — the other bus was too crowded to take all of us and nobody wanted to sit on the lower deck, especially not on a gorgeous day.
The guide came back up and told us we would be sent another EMPTY bus in 10 – 15 minutes. By then, we must have waited for at least 30 – 45 minutes, maybe an hour total. (My cell phone had died, so I lost track of time.) At any given moment, I could have gotten off the bus and gotten on a regular city bus, but what fun was that? So the kids and I sat patiently and enjoyed the breeze.
Another bus did finally come, but it was not empty. It was not crowded either and we did get front row seats. The audios also worked. My kids were happy. By then, I was super tired/​sleepy, so half way through the 90-​minute trip, I leaned my head back to let the wind usher me into a dream world. It was a great ride. I learned a few odd facts about the city I did not know before.
I am giving it a positive rating, because I thought the staff genuinely tried to make the best out of a bad situation. I don’t know how to run a tour company personally, so I don’t know who is responsible tor «technical difficulties» such as what I experienced. Also, I purchased this service with a coupon and it was mainly for my kids to have a great time (they did, kids were forgiving, trip ended on a positive note). I was just in it for the ride!

Took the tour yesterday. It was a horrible. Tour was off route, no announcements nor the route. We had to get off because of the overcrowded bus and no air ventilation. They had barely any buses running compared to their competition. So disappointing. We went to the office on 8^th Ave and were refunded. Better off going with Grayline

Like so many others, I really wish we had taken the time to read the reviews and think through this a bit more, we could have avoided a bad experience and not wasted our time or money.
We had previously used BigBus in San Francisco and had a great experience, but they are a bit expensive for a family of six. Once we (finally) got on the open loop bus, it was immediately apparent that the big bus, though expensive, was a good value.
The open loop does not have a live tour guide narrating, just a bland audio track that may or may not even in sync with where you are in the tour. The other big problem is wait times. We saw a steady stream of big bus busses all day, but never could find another open loop bus.
We ended up taking a taxi and the subway, which made for a nice experience as well.
Save yourself the aggravation and pay the premium price for a great experience on big bus. Do not waste a minute or a dollar on open loop!

*** Fun ***
My sister and I found a deal on groupon, so why not? (We live in nearby suburbs)
We did both loops and learned a great deal, plus being on the top you see a view that can’t be beat!
Information was helpful, but could use an updating or maybe more movie, TV show, movie star info…
Overall, I recommend

As another reviewer said, this company is not at all as bad as others have made it out to be. Sure, they didn’t seem to have as many buses as other companies I noticed, and the audio was a little lame (but I personally did not care about the audio). But they were also cheaper in comparison to other companies AND it seems they often run a Groupon, which is what I used. Their buses are a great way for a first-​timer to see the city without having to fork out money for taxis.
Another complaint among Unilocalers is that their pick-​up/​drop-​off points aren’t labeled well, but you just return to the same spot they dropped you off and get back on.
I also had no issue getting my Groupon redeemed. I just showed it to them and they gave me my tickets. All of our drivers were friendly and entertaining. And the night tour was WONDERFUL. I got some really great photos of the city lights.
I don’t de-​value the bad reviews here, because I know how much bad experiences can affect you. But I do think that Open Loop is worth the risk if you’re a first-​timer in NYC like I was.

It’s really not as bad as some people make it out to be.
The good: The buses are relatively new, all drivers were very friendly and chatty.
The bad: They seem to be unorganized: at one of our stops to make the switch from Uptown to Downtown the bus was delayed by over an hour, it wasn’t a big deal since I ended up going uptown instead even though I hadn’t initially planned it. They don’t have as many vehicles as their competitors and there aren’t that many «get on get off» stops.
Having said that with proper planning it’s actually quite manageable. Most people’s complaints revolve around the fact that their soundtrack isn’t very good — that may be the case there is mostly music with long pauses and the occasional tidbit of info. But I for one actually enjoyed the silence.
The price is definitely right a lot cheaper than their competitors.