Guided Speakeasy Walking Tour of New York City
Description
Discover New York City's most secretive speakeasies on this guided, 3-hour, small-group walking tour in Lower Manhattan. Take a friendly stroll to discover NYC's most secretive speakeasies, hidden behind unmarked doors, coffee shops, restaurant kitchens, and more. Skip the lines with reserved tables, sip craft cocktails, and turn back the clock to the roaring 20s while the host details the history of Prohibition and the causes and effects that led to pass and enforce the 18th amendment.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The meeting point for the group is always at a park where there is seating, shade, and water. While the group awaits for all the attendees to arrive, the tour guide will provide some general colonial history of New York City and deliver interesting facts related to the era — like why we say 'bucks' instead of dollars, why 'Houston' is pronounced differently in NYC, and much more. Once the whole group is ready, the tour guide will provide a small introduction about the speakeasy tour and explain how long it is, how many speakeasies will be visited (it's usually six or seven), and at which speakeasy the group will be allowed to grab a drink. The tour guide will also explain where the tour ends, which is always an area with nightlife, bars, clubs, and restaurants — all located in close proximity to subway entrances. On every tour, the first drink is enjoyed at the first speakeasy. In most cases, the group will either skip the line, get a reserved table, or both — but skipping the line is guaranteed. While enjoying a high-quality, internationally recognized, award-winning cocktail, the tour guide will explain about the causes and effects that led to passing the 18th amendment (Prohibition). The guide will not only explain how and why it was passed, but the history of alcohol consumption in the US in general, the history of alcohol taxation, and most importantly, how the US tried to enforce Prohibition. For each drink, spend up to an hour, but in most cases, the group only takes around 40 minutes. Tour guides are obliged to assure that no one feels too rushed to finish their drinks because they are high-quality crafted cocktails that ought to be savored and enjoyed. Some speakeasies will have even Burlesque shows, but all are completely hidden from the exterior. Go through unmarked doors, back alley ways, phone booths, a bank's vault door, behind a psychic shop, through doors indicating 'No Entrance,' 'Emergency exit only' or even through a Five Guys burger joint. Most of the speakeasies are so well hidden that most of our clientele are actually locals struggling to find them, even with the physical address on their phones. At the last stop, the guide will give the option to either stay at the last speakeasy for a third drink or to explore the stimulated and vivid neighborhood where the tour ends, where there is many nightlife establishments, restaurants, clubs, bars, stand up comedy, life music and much more.
Alex's Tours
See the true hidden gems NYC has to offer
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Minimum age is 21 years and bring ID
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- No gym-wear and no fur. Sneakers and jeans are fine.
Reviews(343)
The tour was great and was as it said. Stef was fantastic, very friendly, informative and fun. The bars we visited were full of history and would not have been found had you just walked around New York looking. The cocktail's were equally enique, finding some new flavors and mixes.
Alex knew a lot about the history and cocktails of the area. He was very easy to talk to. Our group was a perfect size just 5 and we were able to sit around a table together to converse easily about prohibition. He made great recommendations for drinks and other places to go. The speakeasies were varied with something for everyone. It was hard to pick a favorite.
Awesome experience highly recommend . The guide was extremely knowledgeable
The host is great!! Very responsive and kind. All the necessary details were communicated well and a contact number was provided if anything was needed.
This is a fun pub crawl with 4 stops and lots of great stories and explanations from the knowledgeable tour guide, Stefan. He really made the experience fun and special
Amazing Tour ! Alex is a very informative historian! Fun Evening !! The tour included three Speakeasy . We did not feel rushed . Alex answered all our questions with enthusiasm!
Tour guide cancelled without notifying us. The bar we were meeting at let us know that the guide would not be coming. Very disappointing to waste our time coming to the meeting point. I understand things happen, but with no notice and no direct message from the tour guide or viator is unacceptable.
Disappointed this was cancelled by the operator. We were only informed 3.5 hours before the start time by email. Reason for cancelling was 2 of the 3 speakeasy bars were closed for private functions!! Surely this would have been known earlier to give us a chance to rearrange our plans. Very annoying that we have wasted an evening in NYC through no fault of our own.
The Guided Speakeasy walking tour of NYC was a great experience! My wife and I had a great time listening to all the stories and learning all kinds of great historical information from our extremely knowledgeable and multi-lingual guide Alex. He is a great guide. Truly great at his craft. All of the speakeasies were awesome! Hidden and obscure, there is no way we would have ever found any of them on our own. We enjoyed it all and each place was very well thought out and planned. They were historic, original and completely unique. We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the tour and would love to have the opportunity to try the experience again. Thanks so much to everyone on the whole operation of this tour who prepared the drinks, your service, and of course Alex for a wonderful experience! 😊 Rob
This was an amazing tour with fantastic curated stops with each stop having a different vibe. Alex was a great host and was a wealth of information. His grasp on history and geography was amazing and he made the night so interesting. The drinks at each location were delicious and the service at each was on point. This was our favorite activity in this trip and would highly recommend it. It makes a great date night, friends outing or solo traveler experience. Thanks for a great night Alex!
