New York City HOHO Bus

[cfgrandma]

We are arriving on a Sunday in NYC in September after an overnight flight from California. I am looking into doing the HOHO Big Bus city tours. Do any of you know if the buses are really crowded on Sundays or should we do it on Monday?

 

Thank you,

Carolyn

 

[mjkacmom]

I suspect Sunday might be better because local traffic is much heavier during the week. 

[Nitemare]

HOHO busses in NYC are always crowded.  They are ok to do a loop, but I wouldn't suggest Hopping off and expecting it to be easy to Hop back on one, as they are usually full.

 

Also, if it's hot like it can be in September, it is going to be quite uncomfortable up top.  And if it's raining . . .

[cfgrandma]

1 hour ago, mjkacmom said:

I suspect Sunday might be better because local traffic is much heavier during the week. 

Thank you Mjkacmom, I was hoping that Sunday would have less traffic. 
 

Nitemare, I thought that they may still be crowded on Sunday. After flying overnight we will be doing the 2 loops to sightsee and kill time until our hotel check in.

 

Carolyn

[mjkacmom]

8 minutes ago, Nitemare said:

HOHO busses in NYC are always crowded.  They are ok to do a loop, but I wouldn't suggest Hopping off and expecting it to be easy to Hop back on one, as they are usually full.

 

Also, if it's hot like it can be in September, it is going to be quite uncomfortable up top.  And if it's raining . . .

I also recommend staying put and getting an overview of the city, and walking/subways for transportation.

[trivia addict]

HOHO buses in NYC like those in most cities are generally overcrowded. Once you get off it is often difficult to find a spot on the next bus and can be long wait times between buses. So you end up frustrated at wasting  time.

 

I like to use them in a new city for a good overview and guide of the city. I stay on for the entire loop and afterwards or the next day I can go back to the places that I want to visit. Of course time constraints might preclude you from going back, but for me, I would rather see the entire picture unless of course there was something very special on your bucket list you must see!
 

[cfgrandma]

4 hours ago, trivia addict said:

HOHO buses in NYC like those in most cities are generally overcrowded. Once you get off it is often difficult to find a spot on the next bus and can be long wait times between buses. So you end up frustrated at wasting  time.

 

I like to use them in a new city for a good overview and guide of the city. I stay on for the entire loop and afterwards or the next day I can go back to the places that I want to visit. Of course time constraints might preclude you from going back, but for me, I would rather see the entire picture unless of course there was something very special on your bucket list you must see!
 

We often ride the HOHO buses for the whole route. Husband has some mobility difficulties so staying on is best for us. We typically do them on our arrival day to see as much as possible while adjusting to different time zones.

 

Thanks,

Carolyn

[markeb]

Just seeing this thread. It's been a while since I did a HOHO in Manhattan, in August, and of course it rained!

 

The Uptown loop was very nice. It was kind of made for just staying on and went to places I wouldn't have gone walking or riding the subway. Grant's Tomb, the Apollo Theater, and a lot of places I've forgotten. 

 

With mobility issues, I'd cautiously recommend the downtown loop, but the bus gets stuck in some really bad traffic and you are going to places you want to get off and see. You honestly can't see the Empire State Building when you drive by on a bus (OK, you can see the first few floors, but so what). If you understand and accept the limitations, you should get a good look. My gut tells me to do the Downtown loop as early in the morning as reasonable and do the Uptown loop in the afternoon. But that's just my gut with no real data. If you don't plan to go back Downtown, then get off at the Battery and look at options to reboard on Broadway closer to Wall Street or Trinity Church (depending on mobility). That will let you walk through the Canyon of Heroes, see Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange, Federal Hall where Washington took the oath of office as the first President, and the church and cemetery (Alexander Hamilton, his wife, and others are buried at Trinity Church). It's one of the best half miles you'll walk in New York if you're vaguely into history.

[DanJ]

Interesting thread I'm glad I had a look at. We arrive on a Thursday for a Saturday cruise and planned to use one of these buses as our getting around method. Rethinking that now. The 2 main things we want to do are 9-11 Museum and Intrepid Museum. Was thinking of Friday morning for one, afternoon for the other with using the Big Bus from our hotel at 7th and 51st. Now I'm thinking maybe do 9-11 on Thursday afternoon after we arrive.  Also want to go up some tall building lol. My preference would be One World Trade while we are at the memorial, but not sure we would have the time on the Thursday to fit in both (land at noon at LGA, who knows when we get to the hotel to dump our stuff, grab lunch, and how long to get down to the WTC area). 

 

Thought of Intrepid Museum on Thursday but they annoyingly close at 5. Not to mention, most of these places sell timed tickets so it's hard to plan things for the arrival day. 

[Nitemare]

They are dreadful to use as transportation.  The subway is fast, easy, cheap, and safe.  If you are walkers, the stroll from the 9-11 Museum to the Intrepid is along the river and is beautiful with all sorts of parks and attractions en route.  We've walked that path dozens of times

Edited July 25 by Nitemare

[TSS Alex]

9 hours ago, DanJ said:

IMy preference would be One World Trade while we are at the memorial, but not sure we would have the time on the Thursday to fit in both (land at noon at LGA, who knows when we get to the hotel to dump our stuff, grab lunch, and how long to get down to the WTC area).

A couple of things to help:

 

• 7Av/51 St to WTC is 20ish minutes by subway (Southbound 1 train from 50 St to WTC-Cortlandt)
• One World Observatory is open to 9pm
• Public transportation is showing 45 to 60 min from LGA to 7Av/51 St (at 1655 on a Thursday).YMMV.

[carol louise]

On 7/24/2024 at 3:32 PM, cfgrandma said:

We often ride the HOHO buses for the whole route. Husband has some mobility difficulties so staying on is best for us. We typically do them on our arrival day to see as much as possible while adjusting to different time zones.

 

Thanks,

Carolyn

There is always much to see in Manhattan, so I think your arrival day plan is good. I have lived here for coming up on 55 years and the city never bores me. When you aren’t looking at architectural or cultural points of interest, the endless variety of people going about their daily business is fascinating, so even when stuck in traffic, there’s something to look at!

 

Check out the itineraries of the lines. I just looked one up (“Big Bus Tours”) and it seems their uptown route only goes as far north as the Metropolitan Museum, not to Harlem, as another poster mentioned having been to on one of the HOHO bus lines.

Edited August 4 by carol louise