Contiki New York Explorer Tour, good value?
I'm going on the USA: LA To Miami Tour (21 Days) in 2025 and plan to also visit NY. I am currently debating whether or not to link it with the Contiki NY Explorer tour. Any opinions on whether it's worth its value?
I did the New York, New Year tour last December and it has quite a few elements from the NY Explorer thrown in.
A few years ago I did the Grand Southern and added a few extra days in New York. A bunch of my tour mates were booked on the NY Explorer and I actually regretted not doing so myself. I thought I was being smart (economically) and bought a Grey Line Sightseeing tour pass that included all 5 boroughs and a cruise around the Statue of Liberty. When it came time to do it, the traffic was so bad that I only managed to get down to Wall Street and back up to Rockefeller Center before I ditched it and did an NBC Studio Tour. More of my time was spent solo, in cafes trying to figure out where I was and what I could do.
When I did the New York, New Year tour, I saw more of NY in one day than I did the extra time I was there previously. The tour managers are amazing and give you tons of suggestions and ideas. Plus, they will take you to a lot of the optionals so you aren't completely lost. Likely a lot of your tour mates will probably be doing it so its great to have people you know to see things with.
I would recommend it, personally. I found there was a great balance of guided time versus free time so if theres something you really want to see, the tour will allow you to do that.
Hope this helps! 🙂