Central Park Sightseeing

Glad my wife and I decided to take this tour. The park, the people, and the weather made for a ride around the entire park. Annie and team did a fantastic job with outfitting us with bikes, baskets, bike lock, and a map. I would recommend this company for a good bike ride.

We used the Central Park shop and they were fantastic. A family with 3 kids, we were in and out in 10mins with 2 bikes that needed to come from the garage, so they gave us extra time on the bikes. Sure the bikes weren’t outstanding but they were OK from a hire place, thus the reason for 4 stars only. The staff were friendly and helpful. Overall a pleasant experience.

Could you be less helpful? Came here to buy a few of their used bikes that were «ALL TUNED UP». Nope.
I really wanted your bikes but you didn’t want to put in the most minimal effort to help. Thanks for not only sucking but ruining our day.

DO NOT RENT FROM HERE IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE! The bikes are not maintained for safety, the «owner» (if thats who he really was) is money hungry to the point of listlessness, and the customer service was so bad I would have given it a 0 out of 5 stars if I could. The price of the rentals in advance ($ 7/​hr) is what I attracted me to this bicycle rental shop, but you definitely get what you pay for. What you save in price you sacrifice in service and any sense of safety.
My mother and I rented bikes from this place and one of the bikes unbeknownst to us was broken. We rode for an hour worry free aside from some clinking and some stalling. I am a your average amature rider and could not identify the sound of a problem. I figured they were frequently used bikes and should probably not be overly taxed with high speed riding. I kept at a very slow pace (slower than jogging passersby) and focused on seeing the sights. A professional bicyclist who was passing by heard the sound said it wasnt safe to ride and advised me to get off the bike. About 3 seconds later the pedals stopped working and the chain of the bike fell of the track almost sending me head first into the concrete. Another professional bicyclist stopped and fixed the chain for me. The bike chain then came of the track 5 more times in 10 minutes. Apparently the chain was stretched and was very dangerous for a rider particularly when going down hill.
After trying everything imaginable to work through this problem I called the bike rental office to let them know what was going on. They were quick to interrupt my safety concern to inform me that I would still need to pay the balance of the bill for the remaining 45 minutes even though I would not be able to ride the bike back. They also said it would be inconvenient to pick us up and they wouldn’t be able to pick us us for another 40 minutes. They told us repeatedly that bike was fine and that all the bikes were fine.
Because they emphasized that it would be inconvenient to pick us up we decide to walk back carrying the bike most of the way. When we came back and told the office that the bike was faulty, they put the chain back on the bike and rented it to the next customer despite our protest that it needed to be serviced and was unsafe. When we asked Jon, who claimed to be the owner and manager, for a prorated charge for the second hour (in which we were only able to ride uninhibited for 10 minutes) we were interrupted, berated, and threatened. We were told that they didnt have time to hear about bicycle safety problems when there were other customers to serve. My mother ended up in tears and we were both terribly afraid for the tourist who walk away with that death trap of a bike I had just risked my life on in the park.
Renter beware!

Had a great experience — showed up around 11am on a Monday to rent some rollerblades for a few hours. There was almost no line and they had me in and out with a pair of rollerblades and knee and wrist guards in like 5 minutes. The guy who helped me, Alex, was super super friendly and nice and helpful. Perfect location for renting stuff to explore central park.

I wish I could give 0 stars. We were with kids and the bikes were terrible and the service was worse. Nightmare. We had to leave part of the family in the park and go back twice just to try to switch bikes. Ruined our day in Manhattan.

Worst experience we’ve had in NYC. Even spoke with the manager and he didn’t help. Gave us 3 broken bikes and refused to replace them. Would NOT recommend to anyone. Not even my worst enemy.

This is a must do!!!
The employees here are super friendly and it’s so convenient to go in rent a bike and enjoy the city!!! It’s very reasonably priced for a 2 or 4 hour ride. You should absolutely take advantage of this oppurtunity !!
It’s made me want to go Ike riding again and again and believe me I will be back !!

This was my first time at Central Park Sightseeing, I was excited for my first bike tour even though I had always been skeptical about biking alone in the city. But the staff was very helpful, the bikes and helmets were in great condition and our tour guide made sure we had a safe route. My friends and I were able to see the beautiful nature Central Park has to offer as well as the historical attractions! I recommend this to anyone visiting or already living here in the city. It’s a great chance to see such a special part of New York in a different way !

I had such an amazing 1^st time experience with Central Park Sightseeing. From the minute I stepped foot into the store, to my experience in the carriage to the end of the ride was everything I had hoped for. I had a few friends in town visiting from out of state and one of the owners who is the sweetest person ever made sure we had the best person guiding us. When we stepped foot onto the carriage, our guide gave us the rolled out red carpet tour, talking about Manhattan and all of the wonderful cool things that has happened in the park and other areas of the city. He was sweet, comical and super entertaining. I give Central Park Sightseeing 5 stars for their 5 star service! I would definitely come back again.

Loved the tour and the tour guides were tons of fun!!! It’s a little more challenging during winter but there are less people to get in your way…:)

As a first timer to NY I was a bit skeptical of taking any kind of tour that I would have to pay for. I am so glad I decided against that! I booked the 2 hour bike tour of Central Park and it was awesome. My tour guide Damien was very knowledgeable about the park and it’s history and he really made it a memorable experience. It was a great insight to this wonderful park and I highly recommend Central Park Sightseeing if you’re planning a trip to this beautiful city!

*****OWNER IS RUDE AND DISRESPECTFUL*****
Owner yelled at my husband and called him a liar for suggesting one of his employees offered us a lesser price the week before then refused to wait while we purchased groupons. The guys a real piece of work. If he treats customers like that I can just imagine how he treats the poor African guys working there. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! $ 50+ for two bikes for two hours is a RIP OFF! Get a groupon and go to the place on 58^th. They have better bikes, are closer to the park and you won’t be treated like DIRT!

No stars if possible. I was discriminated against because I had a Groupon, even though I prefer to patronize those businesses who give deals without a deal, like Hummus place or Clinton street bakery.
I witnessed the young Asian woman tell me no rentals after 3:30 only to leave the location and see someone else ride out on a bike. Amazing… I thought there was a policy. I should also mention that I live in NY and she thought that my hour commute was something I could just do at my leisure… Because we all know the MTA is super prompt. This place is probably mostly for tourist. Anyone else, please avoid this place like the plague.

Gave us the worst service. Took forever to give us bikes and took forever to take our bikes back. That’s how they make their extra charges on your card. Beware of this place. Other bike rental places that won’t do this to you. And they are nasty about it too. Manager was a total scumbag, his name is Jack.

Worst service ever!!! Was allegedly 20 mins late when they took 15 Minutes to get our 4 bikes initially and took another 15 minutes to return!
Lines are too long
Jack the «manager» didn’t service us properly!
Will not be bringing any of my friends from out of town to this disgusting place!!!

Bike Tour Review: I booked the tour through Explorer pass and reservations were made over the phone a day before the bike ride. I can’t say that customer service is exceptional (at the check-​in/​check-​out counter anyway), but I did not find the staff rude either. I have one complain though — they spray Lysol on the helmets. I mean… I don’t know if this will kill lice at all — I am talking a out the drug resistant one. Neither will it make the chin-​straps non-​absorbent to people’s perspiration. So yea, I did take one, but didn’t use it. I suggest you bring your own if you have one. Also, my bike didn’t have a stand which was a tad bit annoying whenever we stopped, so make sure to check for those. There is a basket available for your purse/​murse. Oh, one more thing, pee if you have to before coming here!
If you don’t mind Lysol on used helmets and/​or stand-​less bikes, any complains that you can possibly have about the rude staff will not really matter because what’s going to make or break the bike trip, is… well, the bike tour in itself. I was with a tour group led by Damien (or Damian?) and I had so much fun! He was very friendly, entertaining, and knowledgeable about NY history and real estate surrounding Central Park (which I was more interested in: D). We stopped at beautiful areas of the park and not only did he serve as a tour guide and entertainer, he was our photographer too! I went solo and did not feel out of place at all. Take note that since you are with a group, it is likely that you cannot go at a fast pace as other people will have to be waited on when re-​grouping.
Overall, I would recommend Central Park Sightseeing for the tour but not necessarily the bike rental in itself.

If you’re renting bikes to ride through/​around Central Park, keep in mind you’ll have to walk your bikes three or four blocks through heavy traffic to get to the Park.
Central Park Sightseeing worked for us. It was a good deal and the bikes worked. The staff were not overly friendly, but hey, it’s NY right. Also, be sure to get your driver’s license back before leaving. I almost left after checking our bikes into the store. The person receiving the bike mumbled something to me and only after asking him to repeat his mumbled words did I realize I needed to get my licence back.
Hope this helps.

This was a highlight to our NYC trip! Our tour guide, Joel, was fantastic and gave us a thorough history of the tour stops. The bikes road well and were comfortable. The tour was a lot of stopping but that gave the opportunity for pictures and learning about the stops.
Ashley and the team at the shop were super helpful! The store is small but they have a great system for moving people through.
They have great shirts too! Not a cheesy I love NYC shirt. We bought 2 and went back for another to take as a gift.
We will definitely be back on our next trip to to city. :)

Okay let’s start with this they get a three only because it’s her first time in New York and it was a bike for Stan was our tour guide he was okay he talk really slow you move very slow and we didn’t get much done and we walked her back about half time I’m sad part about it all was that
thank you so much for the tour tho great info and still fun
CASTLE WAS STUPID DONT GO
WASTE OF TIME
WE WALKED TO MYCH
—JUST RENT THE BIKE AND DONT DO THE TOUR —-
Must see the fountain and then go for the ride yourselfh