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Best Pub Crawls and Bar Tours in New York City

Updated: March 10, 2024

This post covers the different types of pub, bar, and cocktail tours you can take in New York City.

With over 2,000 drinking establishments in NYC, you should consider joining a tour of the best watering holes led by someone in the know. 

Disclosure: While our recommendations are always unbiased, we may receive a small share of sales through some of the links below at no cost to you. See the full text.


CLASSIC PUB CRAWLS

Keep in mind that the drinking age in New York City is 21, so bring your I.D. such as a passport or driver’s license with you.


New York Pub Crawls

Uncle Sam’s runs pub crawls in three neighborhoods: Hell’s Kitchen, the East Village, and Greenwich Village. 

The two Village tours go to some of Manhattan’s oldest and most storied drinking holes, while the Hell’s Kitchen tour goes to three famous and infamous NYC drinking spots. 

All tours are 3 hours long. You MUST bring an ID with you.

  • Price: $75 per person
  • West Village Crawl – Saturdays at 7:30 pm
  • East Village Crawl – Mondays at 7:30 pm
  • Hell’s Kitchen Crawl- Wednesdays at 7:30 pm
  • Each tour includes 3 drinks (domestic beer or wine)

Purchase tickets or learn more.

NOTE: These pub crawls are not currently available as of March 2024, but you can take their NYC Rooftop Bar Crawl instead!


Crawl Brooklyn

If you're interested in exploring the best bars of Brooklyn, this pub crawl includes skip-the-line entry into several bars and clubs in the Williamsburg neighborhood.

In total, you'll visit 4 of the best hotspots in Brooklyn, including a gastropub and a lounge. Free drinks and discounts are included with the ticket cost.


Take Walks

This company provides a plethora of interesting tours in New York including a Brooklyn Bar tour which covers three excellent locations.

While visiting these historic bars, you'll have an opportunity to try two drinks for free: one beer and one margarita. Needless to say, you can also purchase your own drinks if you want!

Group sizes are kept to a maximum of just 20 guests, ensuring that crowds won't get too big.

  • $30 per person
  • Duration: 1 ½ hours
  • Includes 2 free drinks.
  • Includes stops at Teddy's Bar, Turkey's Nest Tavern, The Shanty, and McCarren Park.
  • Purchase tickets or learn more.
  • Not currently available as of March 2024.

Spirits on FootRudys bar and grill

If you’re looking for a slightly more affordable alternative, this company offers a tour that allows you to choose between either beer, spirits or wine.

While on this outing, you’ll pay as you go and pick the drinks you want while learning about some of the best bars and pubs in New York City!

  • $29 per person
  • Availability: Limited
  • Duration: 2 hours
  • It does not include free drinks.
  • Not currently available as of March 2024.

Purchase tickets or learn more.

TIP: This outing is included with both the New York Sightseeing Pass, allowing you to potentially save 50% or more on admission.


THEME TOURS

The following section will include details about themed bar tours and pub crawls available in New York City.

With services focused on both popular television shows and watering holes where famous authors once went to grab a drink, there are some pretty interesting options to choose from!


Sex and the City: Night OutThe exterior of the White Horse Tavern

This bar tour is essentially a night on the town just like Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte would enjoy on the show. 

Visit four locations from the series, sipping on your girly cocktails in chic spots. You will be shuttled by bus (less wear and tear on your Manolo’s).

  • $66 per person
  • Duration: 3-3.5 hours
  • Availability: Daily
  • Includes Cupcake

Purchase tickets or learn more.

TIP: If you are a SATC die-hard fan, check out our self-guided Sex and the City tour and see where Carrie’s apartment is located!


Literary Pub Crawl 

Offered since 1998, this is the oldest established Greenwich Village drinking tour.

The company has since expanded its services to include additional locales such as Brooklyn, High Line, and Times Square.

The focus is on the many famous authors that drank their way through the Village, such as William Faulkner, Eugene O’Neill, John Steinbeck, and Dylan Thomas.

Not only will you visit some of the places where these authors would grab a drink, but you’ll also learn about how New York City became home to notable artistic and literary movements in America.

  • $45/General Admission | $40/Students, Seniors
  • Times Square: Fridays and Saturdays at 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm
  • Greenwich Village: Fridays & Saturdays at 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm
  • Brooklyn: Saturdays at 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm
  • Bohemian: Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays at 11 am – 1 pm
  • High Line: Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays 11 am – 1 pm
  • Tours do not include free drinks.

US Ghost Adventures

If you're interested in learning some of the haunted history of New York City, this Greenwich Village pub crawl might be right up your alley.

Along the way, you'll see a total of 8 historic sites and 4 pubs while hearing ghost stories about bootleggers, werewolves, creepy puppets and more.

While drinks aren't included, the price is low enough to make up for it!

  • $35 per person
  • Availability: Daily
  • Duration: 2 hours
  • Drinks not included

Purchase tickets or learn more.


CRAFT BEER AND BREWERY TOURS

In this section we provide details about some of the best tours covering craft beer and breweries in New York City, Brooklyn, and Long Island, including information about prices, activities included and more.


New York Beer and Brewery Tour

This company has three tours to meet different budgets and interests. In all cases, you will learn a lot about craft beers of New York and visit some historic sights. 

  • The Signature Tour: includes beer tastings, food, and transportation by luxury minibus.
  • The Express Tour: includes beer tastings, food, and transportation by luxury minibus.
  • Brooklyn Beer & Sightseeing Tour: visit Brooklyn Heights, Williamsburg, Bushwick, and more while enjoying craft beer tastings.

Dog-Friendly Brewery Tour

Bring your dog along on this fun and pet-friendly brewery tour in New York City. Throughout the tour, you’ll sample 3 different beers from one of the breweries visited.

A donation will also be made to the local dog rescue!

  • Price: $59 per person
  • When: Fri, Sat & Sun at 7 pm
  • Duration: Approximately 3 hours long
  • Includes 3 beer tastings and multiple different breweries.
  • Tour no longer available as of March 2024

Purchase tickets or learn more.


Brewed in Brooklyn Tour

Tour a working brewery, learn about the brewery’s history, including stories and details of how Brooklyn was once home to 48 breweries which dwindled to zero in the 1970s and is now on the upswing once again. 

Enjoy a pizza with your beer as well!

  • Price: $99 per person
  • When: Thursday - Sunday
  • Duration: Approximately 3 ½ hours long
  • Includes samples and a pizza lunch.

Purchase tickets or learn more.


COCKTAIL AND SPEAKEASY TOURS

This section includes a variety of tours that cover either cocktails or speakeasies in New York City, covering details such as activities or drinks included, ticket prices and more.


Speakeasy Tours

Cocktails

This 3-hour, small-group walking tour leads you straight to six or seven of the most secretive ‘speakeasies’, hidden behind unmarked doors, coffee shops, restaurant kitchens, and more. 

The tours are offered in four different neighborhoods where actual speakeasies existed during Prohibition– Lower Manhattan, the Lower East Side, the East Village, and the West Village.  

  • Price: $35 per person
  • When: Daily (except Mon)
  • Duration: 3 hours
  • Cocktails not included.

Purchase tickets or learn more.


NiteTables Experiences

This company also offers well-rated speakeasy pub crawls in New York City which cover some of the most notable locations from the prohibition era.

You can expect the tour to last 3 hours, and they offer multiple outings per day at 4:30 pm, 6:30 pm, and 7:30 pm.

  • Price: $36 per person
  • When: Daily
  • Duration: 3 hours
  • Drinks not included

Purchase tickets or learn more.


Sir Paddy Tours

If you're looking for a speakeasy pub crawl that includes drinks, this is an excellent alternative to some of the other options on our list.

This tour includes 3 free drinks and it covers some of the most notable speakeasies of the prohibition era in New York City.

  • Price: $65 per person
  • When: Mondays and Wednesdays
  • Duration: 3 hours
  • 3 Drinks included for free
  • Not currently available as of March 2024

Purchase tickets or learn more.


New York City Craft Cocktail Tour

This really is a night out on the town at exclusive bars, including speakeasies, micro-distilleries and more. You are accompanied by a professional host and you’ll receive 3 free cocktails along the way. 

Discover some of the best and most innovative bars in the East Village while learning about how NYC became one of the most innovative cities for craft cocktails.

  • Price: $89 per person
  • When: Daily at 6 pm
  • Duration: 2 ½ hours
  • 3 cocktails included.
  • Not currently available as of March 2024.

Purchase tickets or learn more.


WINE TOURS

If you’re more interested in wine, these tours will cover some of the best places to find your favorite drink in NYC. This section provides details about ticket prices, activities included and other information to consider.


Pair Wine Tours

This company currently provides a small-group tour in the Lower East Side which includes 6 different wine tasting opportunities and assorted small bites.

Along the way, you'll visit two popular New York restaurants and get discounts on full bottles at a local wine shop.


City Wine Tours 

Nearly as rude as not tipping your server would be producing a list of drinking tours without at least one for those that are goofy over good grapes. 

City Wine Tours offers two different tours, one in SoHo and one in the West Village. Tours visit two restaurants with food and wine pairings and are led by a wine ambassador.

  • Price: $95 per person
  • When: Saturdays at 3 pm
  • Duration: 2 hours
  • Includes 4 glasses of wine per person.
  • Includes appetizers and small plates.
  • Not currently available as of March 2024.

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About The Author

Stephen Pickhardt

Stephen is the CEO of Free Tours by Foot and has overseen the transformation of a local walking tour company into a global tour community and traveler’s advice platform. He has personally led thousands of group tours in the US and Europe, and is an expert in trip planning and sightseeing, with a focus on budget travelers. Stephen has been published and featured in dozens of publications including The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Yahoo, Washington.org, and more.
Updated: March 10th, 2024
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