New York Night Tour Prices: What You Pay and What's Extra

The prices of New York Night tickets run from $27 to a few hundred dollars a person, and the headline figure rarely tells the whole story. Some fares are per car, one is per person for a private plane, and the extras land on top: drinks, tips, the trip to New Jersey. Here is what each kind of evening costs, and what it leaves out.

How much does a New York night tour cost?

A typical shared evening costs $38 to $63 a person, and the flights cost several times that. The table gives the range for each kind of evening, what the fare is counted by, and what you will pay on top.

Prices are the ones shown when we checked, and they move. One bus is on an offer fare with no end date, and the Seaport sailing warns that its fare may rise closer to the date.

What is the cheapest night tour?

Circle Line's 90-minute sunset sailing from Pier 16 at the Seaport, at $27 a person. It sails out to the statue at sunset and back. The saving is the guide: you get music and an app audio guide instead, you bring the headphones, and the seats are first come, first served.

The cheapest evenings with a live guide are the gangsters and ghosts walk at $34, the Village haunted walk at $35, and NY Waterway's golden hour cruise and the Dumbo and Queens van at $38 each.

Per person or per group: how do private fares compare?

Private fares are counted three ways, so compare them with care.

• Per vehicle: the private holiday car is $649 for an SUV of up to five. Full, that is about $129 each.
• Per group: the private Jersey skyline van is $889 for up to four, about $222 each when full. The shared van on the same shore is $89 a person.
• Per person: the private night flight by plane is $178 a person, though nobody else flies with you. Three of you pay $534.

So private costs more for two, and comes close to the shared fares at four or five.

Do you need to tip?

Expect to. Almost every fare leaves out gratuities. The Dumbo and Queens skyline tour suggests 15 to 20%, and the Niagara day trip suggests $10 a person. On the private car, the chauffeur's tip is not in the fare either.

Are drinks included?

• In the fare: one drink on the yacht, one beer or wine at the end of the Big Bus tour, and bottled water on the closed-top bus and the holiday bus.
• On sale: the bars on the cruise boats, and drinks on the dinner walk.
• Yours to buy: every drink on the bar walks. Entry to each venue is free, and on the rooftop walk the host may gather the money for one bill.

The dinner walk is the one fare that includes food: tastings that add up to a two-course meal.

What else might you pay on the night?

• Parking: Circle Line listed parking at Pier 83 at $30 before 3pm on weekdays and $35 after 3pm and at weekends, subject to change.
• Snacks: the Hoboken bakery stop on the Jersey van is at your own expense.
• Photos: HeliNY sells souvenir photos.
• A second seat: on Charm Aviation, anyone over 275 lb buys one.
• Entry: the Spanish-guided van ends outside the Empire State Building on 34th Street, but entry is not included.

What does it cost to reach the New Jersey airfields?

That is on you, and it varies. HeliNY's Linden Airport is a train ride from Penn Station, then a free shuttle on request or a short taxi. Charm and Zip fly from Essex County Airport in Fairfield, about 45 minutes by taxi from Midtown or by the Lakeland bus from the Port Authority.

Check the train or bus fare on the day, and allow for a taxi both ways if you fly late. Our post on getting to the airfields covers the routes.

Is a helicopter worth seven times a cruise fare?

A flight costs about seven times the Harbor Lights fare, for 25 to 30 minutes in the air: roughly $11 to $13 a minute. A cruise gives you two hours for $45.

It is worth it for the view from above, which nothing else gives you. It is poor value if you simply want the most lights for the money. The night helicopter tours page compares the flights.

What happens to your money if you cancel?

Almost every fare refunds in full if you cancel at least 24 hours ahead. The private plane is the exception: it cannot be refunded or changed once booked.

Inside the 24 hours, the rules tighten. Charm Aviation charges to rebook and treats a missed flight, or one without photo ID, as non-refundable. A latecomer to the 8pm ghost walk gets no refund. If an operator cancels for weather, you are offered a new date or your money back.

How far ahead should you book?

As soon as your dates are fixed. Almost every fare refunds in full up to 24 hours ahead, so booking early costs you nothing if your plans change, and the Seaport sailing warns that its fare may rise as the date gets closer. The helicopters carry six at most, and in December the lights tours run for a few weeks only.

A booking buys your place, not your seat. On Circle Line's boats and TopView's open top, seats are first come, first served, so arrive early for the one you want: a seat on the top deck or by the rail is the one worth queuing for.

What does the Niagara day trip cover?

At $180 a person it is the dearest shared fare, and it is a different thing: a 23-hour coach day to the falls, with more than five hours there and a stay for the evening lights. The fare covers the coach, a guide in English or Spanish, and the entrance and national park fees. The Maid of the Mist boat ride is in the fare only if you book that option, and it typically runs from May to November.

Food and drinks are extra, and the operator suggests a $10 tip. Every traveller needs their own seat, and you bring any child seat.

Do children pay less?

Sometimes. Under-3s ride Circle Line's Harbor Lights boat free with an infant ticket from the box office, and under-2s ride the Dyker Heights coach free on a lap. Children six and under go free on the gangsters and ghosts walk.

Others charge in full: from age 2 on Charm Aviation, and at every age on the yacht, whose tickets are all priced as an adult's.

Which fares are the best value?

• Most for the least: the Seaport sunset sailing at $27.
• A live guide for under $40: the golden hour cruise, the Dumbo and Queens van or the haunted walk.
• A group of four or five: the private car or the private Jersey van, per head.
• Dinner and a story: the mafia walk at $129, food included.

Our night tours compared weighs the same evenings by what they show you, and every way to see the city lit up sets out the ways to ride.

Frequently asked questions

Three fares, three ways to pay

NYC: Statue of Liberty Sunset Cruise Ticket

Ninety minutes from Pier 16 at South Street Seaport, out to the statue at sunset and back, with music and an app audio guide in nine languages rather than a live guide.

From $27 per person

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NYC Private Holiday Lights Tour

Your own SUV for up to five with a chauffeur, collected in Manhattan: half an hour driving the lit Dyker Heights blocks and a 20-minute stop by the East River.

From $649 per vehicle (up to 5)

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New York City Night Lights Helicopter Tour from New Jersey

A shared helicopter flight of 25 to 30 minutes from Fairfield, New Jersey, about 45 minutes by taxi from Midtown. Landing fees and fuel are in the fare; up to six fly.

From $334 per person

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