It depends: 6 out of 10. The 24-hour Discover ticket costs $62 and covers only the Downtown Loop, with one bus every 30 minutes, while six subway rides cost $18.
The numbers behind the verdict
Six of our ten sights are within a 7 minute walk of a stop, but Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum are not on this loop at all.
Manhattan's length is the argument in its favour: the sights are spread over 9.6 km.
It is your first morning and you want one 90 minute ride from Times Square to Wall Street and back to see how Manhattan fits together.
Your list is downtown: the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, the 9/11 Memorial and the High Line are each within 5 minutes of a stop.
You are with someone who cannot manage subway stairs. Every Big Bus in New York has a wheelchair lift.
You have two days and would take the 2-hour Night Tour anyway. It is $67 alone and included in the $83 Essential ticket.
Skip it if
Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum or anything above 50th Street is your priority. The $62 ticket does not go there.
You dislike waiting. Downtown buses come every 30 minutes and Uptown buses once an hour.
You are happy on the subway, where six rides cost $18 and the 1 train runs direct from Times Square to the World Trade Center.
You want to sightsee after 17:00. The last Downtown bus leaves stop 1 at 16:30.
New York sightseeing bus: the fact sheet
Routes and timetable
Route
Stops
Frequency
Full loop
First / last bus
Downtown Loop (Red)
13
30 min
90 min
09:00 / 16:30
Downtown Loop (Red)
The Downtown Loop has 13 stops and takes about 90 minutes without getting off.
It runs from Times Square down Fifth Avenue and Broadway to Wall Street and the World Trade Center, then back up the Hudson River side past Chelsea and Hudson Yards.
Buses leave stop 1 every 30 minutes from 09:00 to 16:30 and the last one reaches stop 13 at 17:48.
This is the only loop the 24-hour Discover ticket covers.
The Uptown Loop (Blue) is not listed here because it needs a 48-hour or 72-hour ticket: 7 stops from 7th Avenue and 53rd Street past Rockefeller Center, the Metropolitan Museum, Central Park Zoo and Columbus Circle, one bus every 60 minutes from 10:00 to 16:00, 75 minutes round.
Audio guide in 6 languages. Wheelchair access: yes, according to the operator.
Ticket prices
Ticket
Adult
Child
24 hoursDiscover Ticket
US$62
US$52
48 hoursEssential Ticket
US$83
US$73
72 hoursExplore Ticket
US$99
US$89
Prices are Big Bus's online rates checked on 5 October 2026.
The Discover ticket ($62 adult, $52 child) lasts 24 hours and covers the Downtown Loop only, with recorded commentary in 6 languages.
The Essential ticket ($83 adult, $73 child) lasts 48 hours, adds the Uptown Loop and includes the 2-hour Night Tour, which costs $67 bought on its own.
The Explore ticket ($99 adult, $89 child) lasts 72 hours and adds a Circle Line cruise from Pier 83, with a choice of the Liberty or the Landmarks sailing.
A 48-hour Explorer ticket with the same cruise also costs $99.
Child tickets are for ages 3 to 12 and children of 2 and under ride free.
Child fare: ages 3 to 12.
The same day by public transport
MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority)
Adult
Single ride
US$3
One day, unlimited rides
US$18
New York has no day pass, so the day cost is six subway rides at $3.00 each, which comes to $18.
You pay by tapping a contactless card, a phone or an OMNY card at the turnstile.
The MTA's only cap is weekly: after $35 of fares in seven days, further subway and local bus rides are free.
Most visitors make four to six rides on a sightseeing day, so $18 is the high end.
Up to three children under 44 inches (112 cm) tall ride free with a paying adult.
Taller children pay the full $3.00.
Do the sum for your trip
Change the numbers to match your group. Fares are adult fares from the tables above.
Sightseeing bus–
Public transport–
Public transport is charged per ride up to the daily maximum. Multi-day passes can be cheaper still.
24, 48 or 72 hours
24 hoursUS$62 Discover Ticket · US$62 per day · 3.4 times public transport for the same days
48 hoursUS$83 Essential Ticket · US$41.50 per day · 2.3 times public transport for the same days
72 hoursLowest cost per dayUS$99 Explore Ticket · US$33 per day · 1.8 times public transport for the same days
Buy the 48-hour Essential ticket if you want the bus to reach Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum. The 24-hour Discover ticket costs $62 for adults and $52 for children, and it covers the Downtown Loop only.
The Essential ticket costs $83 for adults and $73 for children, and it adds the Uptown Loop and the 2-hour Night Tour. The 72-hour Explore ticket costs $99 for adults and $89 for children, and it adds a Circle Line cruise from Pier 83.
With the Uptown bus running once an hour, a second day is the realistic way to use both loops. If one downtown ride is all you want, the $62 ticket is enough.
The subway does the same day for $18 or less, at $3.00 a ride. The 1 train runs from Times Sq-42 St to WTC Cortlandt for the 9/11 Memorial and on to South Ferry for the Statue of Liberty boats.
The 4 and 5 trains run from Grand Central to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall and Wall St. For a view from a seat, the M55 bus runs south down Fifth Avenue and Broadway from 44th Street to South Ferry for the same $3.00. The M4 bus goes up Madison Avenue to the Metropolitan Museum at 82nd Street.
Two adults save $88 on the day compared with two Discover tickets.
Does it suit your trip?
With children
A child ticket covers ages 3 to 12 and costs $52 for 24 hours. Children of 2 and under ride free, and strollers must be folded and left on the lower deck.
Two adults and two children pay $228 for the Discover ticket. On the subway the same family pays $72 for six rides each, or less if the children are under 44 inches tall, because they then ride free.
The top deck is the part children enjoy, and 90 minutes round the Downtown Loop is about as long as most will sit. Anyone under 15 has to travel with someone older.
Take the top deck only if you are dressed for the weather, because it is open. The lower deck is enclosed, and from it you see storefronts and traffic instead of skyscrapers.
Big Bus runs every day except Thanksgiving and 31 December, and it suspends tours only in severe weather. The 24-hour clock starts when you activate the ticket in the Big Bus phone app, so wait until the sky clears before pressing the button.
Ride before 11:00 in July and August, because the top deck has no shade. A full Downtown Loop is 90 minutes in the sun if you stay on.
Buses come every 30 minutes, so a full bus at Times Square or the World Trade Center means half an hour on the pavement. The first departure from stop 1 is at 09:00 and is the easiest one to get a top deck seat on.
Luggage is not allowed on board, so leave bags at your hotel.
If you cannot walk far
Big Bus says its whole New York fleet is wheelchair accessible. Each bus has a lift with a limit of 650 pounds (295 kg).
The top deck is reached by stairs, so passengers who cannot climb ride on the lower deck. Big Bus asks for 48 hours' notice if you need any other arrangement.
For people who can walk a little but not far, six of the ten main sights are within 7 minutes of a Downtown Loop stop. MTA buses are the cheaper fallback, and every one has a ramp or lift.
Use the subway and walk the two parts of Manhattan that reward it. Downtown, the 9/11 Memorial, Wall Street and Battery Park are within 1.2 km of each other.
The Staten Island Ferry from Whitehall Terminal passes the Statue of Liberty and is free, with a crossing of about 25 minutes each way. In Midtown, Grand Central, Bryant Park, Times Square and Rockefeller Center fit into a 2 km walk.
For an open deck after dark, Big Bus sells its 2-hour Night Tour on its own for $67.
Check which loops your ticket covers before you board. The $62 Discover ticket is Downtown only, and the Uptown Loop needs the $83 Essential or the $99 Explore ticket.
Activate the ticket in the Big Bus phone app just before your first ride. The 24, 48 or 72 hours count from that moment, not from the purchase.
For the Statue of Liberty get off at stop 8 and walk 11 minutes down Broadway to Battery Park. Stop 13 is for the Circle Line cruises at Pier 83, which sail past the statue without landing.
The Uptown Loop starts at stop 14, on 7th Avenue at 53rd Street, five blocks north of stop 1. The only stop the two loops share is stop 2 at One Times Square.
The last Uptown bus leaves stop 14 at 16:00 and calls at the Metropolitan Museum at 16:45. Miss it and the M4 bus or the 4, 5 and 6 trains at 86th Street are the way back.
Bring your own headphones. Commentary is recorded in English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Italian.
New York hop-on hop-off bus: quick answers
How much is the hop-on hop-off bus in New York?
Big Bus charges $62 for an adult 24-hour Discover ticket and $52 for a child aged 3 to 12 when booked online (checked 5 October 2026). The 48-hour Essential ticket is $83 and the 72-hour Explore ticket is $99.
Does the 24-hour ticket include the Uptown Loop?
No. The Discover ticket covers the Downtown Loop only. Central Park, Rockefeller Center and the Metropolitan Museum are on the Uptown Loop, which needs the $83 Essential or the $99 Explore ticket.
How often do the buses come?
Every 30 minutes on the Downtown Loop, from 09:00 to 16:30 at stop 1. The Uptown Loop has one bus every 60 minutes, from 10:00 to 16:00 at stop 14.
How long does the full loop take?
The Downtown Loop takes about 90 minutes without getting off and has 13 stops. The Uptown Loop takes about 75 minutes and has 7 stops.
Does the bus go to the Statue of Liberty?
It goes near the ferry, not to the island. Stop 8 at Broadway and Wall Street is an 11 minute walk from the ferry dock in Battery Park. The 72-hour Explore ticket includes a Circle Line cruise that passes the statue without landing.
Is the sightseeing bus cheaper than the subway?
No. A subway ride is $3.00, so six rides in a day cost $18, and after $35 in seven days the rest are free. The $62 Discover ticket costs about 3.4 times a day of subway rides.
Big Bus Tours · New YorkOn Civitatis · rated 7.9/10 by 445 travellers
