New York City is one of the most popular cities for tourists from around the world.  Within the city are so many well-known landmarks, museums, and famous sites.  And while we may live on Long Island, chances are that most people have not visited many parts of NYC and are missing out on all that it has to offer.

“I have lived in New York for my entire life, but I have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building,” said sophomore Hannah Roth.

Guided tour buses are offered throughout the city and are a great way to learn and explore so much about the city without having to get out of your seat.

One of the most popular tour bus companies available in New York City is the Big Bus Tours.  This bus tour offers both a Downtown route and an Uptown route and provides audio guides which provide information that corresponds to your location.

“I went on a Big Bus Tour in Washington D.C. and I found the audio guide to be very informative,” said junior Jake Wiener.

A great feature about the Big Bus Tours is that you are able to get on or off at any of the sixteen stops on each of their tours.  This allows you to explore some of the great things hidden throughout the city, ranging from the M&M World Store on 7th Avenue to the American Museum of Natural History.  The entire tour costs just under fifty dollars and lasts 2.5 hours, but if you get off at every stop, this tour could easily last all day.

Another tour available is the Double Decker Bus Tour.  This bus company offers a variety of package deals, including 3- day tickets, 2-day tickets, 1-day tickets that also offer an attraction (such as a ferry tour or a ticket to the Top of the Rockefeller Center), and even night tours.  The tickets are based on hours, so if you have a 24 hour ticket, you can take the bus as many times as you want over the course of that period.  The Double Decker Bus Tour covers many famous attractions throughout the city that are often missed by tourists, and the tickets range from fifty to eighty dollars.

A final tour available in New York City is provided by USA Guided Tours.  This bus trip includes a guide, who is able to provide information about the city.  USA Guided Tours operates as a hop-on hop-off system, and a guide is always available to walk around parts of the city with you.  The tour costs eighty-four dollars and lasts for five hours.

“I went on a USA Guided Tour this summer, and my guide taught me so many things I didn’t know about the places I usually go to when I’m in the city,” said junior Idell Rutman.

There are many options of tour buses throughout the city that will allow you to explore a place that is so close to us.  Tourists could also find bus tour deals on websites like Groupon.com.  Deals are updated on a regular basis, and could bring down the price of a bus tour by a lot.  Having the opportunity to explore one of the most famous cities in the world is a luxury that living on Long Island gives us easier access to.

“I would love to go on a bus tour because even though I go into the city pretty often, I always feel like I miss out on such great things to do,” said junior Emily Kraus.