The Best Thing To Do In NYC
I’ve been missing travel so much this past year. Even my phone knows it! But seriously- my phone really does seem to know a lot about me- hmmm… Anyway, a notification came up on my Photos app the other day. It reminded me of photos from our trip to New York City in 2015 with two of our best friends. That trip to NYC was a surprise to me. I typically prefer quiet and serene travel – not the bustling and busy city. And I’m far from the nightclub scene I would have loved in my youth. But, this was a fun and interesting place to visit.
Thinking back to this vacation, there was one thing that made the entire trip wonderful and I thought that I should share it with you. It’s just that awesome. It really is the best thing to do in NYC!
That best thing to do in NYC is to take a private tour with Real New York Tours. Now, I have to note that I am in no way affiliated with this tour company and they have not compensated me for this article. I just feel that this company and their tour guides (at least the one we had) exceeded our expectations for exceptional service. And, I want to promote this service because it’s just that awesome!
Real New York Tours is a small family- run company that started in 2007. They tout themselves as going beyond the typical cookie-cutter tour experience, offering travelers a more local and immersive perspective of NYC, and helping you to feel like you spent the day with a friend strolling around the city. And it does just that!
We booked the full-day private tour for the four of us for the day after we arrived to NYC. There were group tours that they offer, but we wanted to book something private so we could tailor it to what we wanted to see. Amber and Luke, the owners were great. They asked us what we wanted to see and learn about so they could match us to the right guide. We decided on a mix of history and pop culture. And, we wanted to see several city landmarks including Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, SoHo and Greenwich Village, National September 11 Memorial, and Grand Central Terminal.
Our tour guide was Heidi, and she was simply wonderful and so knowledgeable! She was fun and entertaining and knew exactly what we would be interested in hearing about. She was able to answer all of our questions too! I don’t see her on the website’s tour guide listings so I’m not sure if she’s still working with them, but I am sure that any of the guides would be great!
Heidi picked us up at our hotel lobby (The Cassa Hotel) and after introductions and a discussion about what we were interested in seeing/doing/eating, we went straight to the subway. We used the subway for the entire day. It was great to have an introduction to the subway lines for us Canadian country folk!
We spent the day learning about the history of NYC along with some fun pop culture info such as where certain movies were filmed. It gave us a great orientation to the city and helped us to feel more comfortable exploring on our own for the remainder of the trip. We also got insider info for places to see and where to shop and dine like a local.
The day was very busy, and we saw a lot of the city – putting on 29,000 steps that day! So, not for those who have mobility issues. However, being in our mid/late 40’s and one of us had a knee injury from Volleyball – I’d say we did rather good! Heidi even spent almost an hour longer with us, making sure we saw everything that we wanted to see, and orientating us how to get back home. She really did feel like a friend strolling around the city with us that day.
Booking this private tour with Real New York Tours was definitely the highlight of our trip. I often recommend it to friends and family who are travelling there. It really is the best thing to do in NYC. Hopefully we can get back there soon!
Take care,
