6 tours and boat rides
Named operators, no ranking — boat tours, sightseeing cruises, the ones that actually exist and run.
Statue of Liberty Ferry
Statue City Cruises has held the National Park Service's ferry concession since 2007 and is the only carrier authorized to land passengers on Liberty and Ellis Islands.
Tickets sell out during peak season and every passenger passes through airport-style security screening with strict bag-size limits before boarding at Battery Park or Liberty State Park.
Circle Line Cruise
Circle Line has run harbor sightseeing since 1945, and its full-island cruise follows a route around Manhattan that opened up only after the Harlem River Ship Canal was cut through Marble Hill in 1895.
Much of the ride is on an open outdoor deck, so dress for the weather and river wind regardless of the forecast on land.
Big Bus Tours
Big Bus traces to a three-bus London operation the Maybury family started in 1991, and its NYC service now runs open-top double-deckers on two loop routes.
The uptown and downtown loops run on different frequencies and stop earlier in the afternoon than many visitors expect, so check the last-departure times at your stop before hopping off.
Central Park Bike Tour
Central Park's 6-mile loop drive has been car-free since June 2018, so cyclists now ride the park's real hills, like Harlem Hill, without sharing the road with traffic.
Guided tours typically supply the bikes and helmets, but riders should expect real climbs and to share the drives with runners and pedicabs, and trips are weather-dependent.
Brooklyn Bridge Walk
The bridge's elevated pedestrian promenade, built in 1883 eighteen feet above the road, was shared with cyclists until 2021, when the city gave bikes their own protected lane below.
The Manhattan-side entrance is a tight merge point for pedestrians and cyclists, so stay alert and keep to the marked walking side rather than drifting into the bike lane.
Village Food Tour
Greenwich Village's food-tour circuit runs through genuine neighborhood institutions, like Mamoun's Falafel, open on MacDougal Street since 1971, and Faicco's, an Italian pork store dating to 1900.
These are small-group walking tours with several tastings spread over a couple of miles, so book ahead, wear comfortable shoes, and pace your appetite rather than filling up at the first stop.