If you want to take a tour of New York it is feasible to do so for $10 or less. While most of the main tour operators will charge $40 to drive you around in a double Decker bus, there are a handful of operations that will lead you on some of the most interesting walking tours of your life.
By far the best deal in the city is Big Apple Greeter. It is free. Plus, if you make your reservation with sufficient advance notice, your Greeter will give you round-trip subway or bus fare. On top of that, each greeter will take you into whatever neighborhood you request. Big Apple Greeter matches greeters and visitors on a one-to-one basis through information provided by the visitor about date of arrival, requested neighborhood, special interest, language and disability requirements (a Visit Request Form can be filled out online). Tours last 2 to 4 hours and are conducted for only you and your friends or family. Big Apple Greeters represents different neighborhoods in all five boroughs and selected for their knowledge of the city. Currently, there are 30 or more foreign languages spoken among the volunteers.
Most importantly, in late 1993, American Express Corporation began providing financial support to develop the Greeter Access Project, whose aim is to reach out to travelers with disabilities. To date, Big Apple Greeters has recruited and trained nearly 50 volunteers with disabilities and trained the majority of its 500 non-disabled volunteers to be aware of access issues and to be prepared to integrate people with disabilities into the mainstream Greeter program.
Big Onion Walking Tours offers a variety of tours throughout New York City, all of which are led by licensed New York City tour guides who have advanced degrees in American History. For $10, Big Onion explores the history of such neighborhoods as the Jewish East Side, Harlem, Chinatown, Irish New York and Little Italy, as well as historic districts like Lower Manhattan, the Upper East Side and even Brooklyn Heights. But it is Big Onion's specialty tours like Before Stonewall: A Gay & Lesbian History Tour that separate them from the mainstream tour operators. This tour includes stops at sites associated with Bayard Rustin, Willa Cather, Audre Lorde, and two of New York's more famous cross-dressing politicians.
For $13, one can fill up on delicacies and knowledge with The Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour: "From Naples to Bialystock to Beijing." There is even a Riot & Rebellion tour, which delves into the history of over 20 riots, uprisings, and rebellions, including the New York Tea Party (1774), the Doctors Riot (1788), the Draft Riots (1863) and the Flour Riot (1837).
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