Guide prepared - The Harlem tour with the gospel mass was one of the most memorable experiences of my trip to New York. The guide was prepared, passionate and told us enthusiastically about the history and culture of this neighborhood rich in tradition. The most exciting moment was certainly the participation in the gospel mass. The church welcomed us warmly and the music literally overwhelmed us.

A great experience! - The bus tour lasted 4 hours with several stops. The main attraction was the service, which unfortunately we had to leave after just one hour - we are atheists! - but for Central Europeans the interaction and singing were very interesting. Not to mention the Führerin, an elderly, very cultured lady who told about New York in a very vivid, factual and competent manner in easy-to-understand American English. There were about 20 guests from all over the world on the bus. Highly recommended!

Great experience - This was a great experience , our guide was Francesco and he was full of a wealth of information and was very Likeable. He went over and above to accommodate everyone’s needs and desires. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who is considering it

It is worth it - Highly recommended this Harlem tour with our guide Francesco! Thanks to him we immersed ourselves in American black culture, even visiting a touching gospel mass. Francesco is a really smart person, prepared and passionate: he made us discover perfectly this fascinating neighborhood, rich in history and anecdotes."

Beautiful experience - Beautiful tour in Harlem, thanks to our guide Francesco , highly professional person, who accompanied us throughout the tour explaining the whole history of the neighborhood, highly recommended

Gospel Mass. Unique and exciting experience - Beautiful and exciting experience. The beautiful and pleasant tour thanks especially to Francesco, our guide. Friendly, helpful and really prepared. If you attend Mass, let yourself be carried away by music. Thank you for this wonderful experience.

Impressive wonderful experience. - Our guide José knew a lot about the history of the neighborhood. He told interesting backgrounds and through stories he also captivated our children from start to finish. He also took good care of all participants in the subway and when crossing busy intersections.

Arthur is your guide in New York for sure! - Our guide Arthur was very friendly. He picked us up at the door of the hotel, fully adapted to our tourism needs even devoting more time to us than hired. He explained myriad curiosities and made a fun, enjoyable and super diverse route. Thank you very much Arturo, we will always recommend you!!!

Too expensive - The guide did not explain in a captivating way. For example we went back into the church and waited 15 minutes when he could have given explanations. Mass was very long, 1:30. Moreover, he stopped at places to talk but where there was the most noise! So hard to listen to. Short disappointed for the price. It is very rare that I regret a guided tour.

It Was Very Disappointing - To put this mildly, we were very disappointed. This is not an attack on the character of the tour guide. He seemed to be a very nice and likeable guy, so I'd rather try to communicate constructive feedback. Ways to make this tour better: 1) Its a tour of "HARLEM"...maybe starting the tour in Harlem to maximize time walking in Harlem would be a good idea. Didnt understand why we were in Hell's Kitchen and stopping for explanations of statues there...? No where on TripAdvisor does it mention anything about Hell's Kitchen and we were not interested in anything there. But we spent a considerable amount of time there. 2) If you're going to go to a black church in Harlem, there are historic and/or very popular churches in Harlem that would be a much better choice, in my opinion. While we did attend a gospel service, the tourist almost outnumbered the actual members of the church (so much for the "authentic experience"). Was there anything significant about that particular church we attended, other than "the pastor is cool"? The tour guide should know what they believe in the church we're attending and the church's history. We heard other tourists ask questions about the church's belief ....and the explanation was very bad. We are black Christians and grew up in black churches, Trust me when I say...the explanation was VERY bad. 3) Harlem is STEEPED in history and is LEGENDARY...mainly the HARLEM RENAISSANCE and CIVIL RIGHTS. Knowing and sharing the history and talking about the icons of the Harlem renaissance is a MUST for ANY tour of Harlem....or the impact of the Civil Rights movement in Harlem. While the tour guide mentioned this era ....its a tour of HARLEM, what about the legendary jazz artist, blues, and black music that was born here and where they lived? The Renaissance is probably the most significant event that occurred in this community. We expected A LOT more insight surrounding the historical significance of the Renaissance era or Civil Rights. 4) Maybe visit streets, buildings, locations, anywhere icons lived, art studios where the famous people worked, historically black owned banks etc, other than the Apollo theatre. Yes, the Apollo and Slyvia's are significant and iconic and should be included, but these are not the only legendary locations there. The description of this tour is amazing! "An authentic side of Harlem".....YES...WE WANTED THAT!!! No we did not get that. Which leads to the next point.... 5) Maybe consider a tour guide that actually has some type of personal connection to Harlem, its people, and its history. This was just a very regular walk around Harlem with some very basic explanations, by someone who did not seem well versed in Harlem, the renaissance, civil rights, or black churches. If you know absolutely nothing about Harlem, its history or people, then this may be am OK tour for you because this all news to you. But then I wouldnt have call this tour "authentic" or say "experience it like a true insider". My 10 year old, knew more about Harlem than what we were told on the tour, because her 4th grade class covered the Harlem Renaissance, which is why we took the tour in the first place. Harlem has so much more to offer than what was explained to us. Again, the description on TripAdvisor is amazing and is exactly what we wanted, the tour guide was not able to deliver on those expectations. And these are just the highlights of how to make the tour better. Might also want to consider that when youre on a subway train....and you do not have any way of projecting your voice....dont try to explain anything. We heard nothing of what the tour guide was trying to say...because of the noise of the subway, coupled with others talking who were not a part of the tour group. Just ride the train and enjoy observing the diversity of people riding the train with you (if you must get on a train at all) or just start the tour in Harlem. If possible, we would request a refund. What was in the description, versus what we experienced are NOT the same. In our opinion, others that left 5 stars either had a different tour guide, or had no clue about what Harlem is/was and no clue about Christianity or black churches. This tour was so disappointing, that we actually decided to end the tour 30 minutes early to go meet family in the area.