TopDog Tours

What TopDog Tours does

TopDog Tours (TopDogTours, Inc.) is a private, direct-to-consumer walking-tour operator headquartered in New York City that sells guided small-group and private tours across four North American cities: New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Toronto. The company operates more than 20 distinct tour products spanning core landmark itineraries (Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island, One-Day NYC Highlights), neighborhood food and culture tours (SoHo/Chinatown/Little Italy, North End Boston, South Philly Italian Market), specialty themed tours (Marvel & DC Superheroes, Ghosts of Greenwich Village, Christmas Holiday, True Crime, Historic Pub Crawl), and fully customizable private itineraries priced from $280 to $630 per adult.

The business has no proprietary technology platform; bookings and payments run on FareHarbor, the website is instrumented with Google Analytics, and tours are distributed through a multi-channel mix that includes direct website bookings and third-party marketplaces Viator, GetYourGuide, Go City Pass, and NY Pass. Pricing is per-ticket unit pricing: adults pay $25-$57 for group tours and $70-$315 for private tours, with Boston baseline products priced at $35, holiday small-group tours at $28, and a premium $990 Private Sail of New York Harbor product offered in partnership with Atlantic Yachting.

The company is independently owned, with owner Patrick Kelly also serving as a guide, and operates with a disclosed headcount of 7 employees (tour guides are likely engaged as contractors). Revenue is generated exclusively through tour ticket sales to individual leisure travelers, with no enterprise or B2B contracts. The company has accumulated nine years of consistent TripAdvisor recognition (2012, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) along with Viator 2017, GetYourGuide 2020, and Luxury Travel Guide 2016 awards, and press features in Travel + Leisure and US News Travel.

Name

TopDog Tours

Legal name

TopDogTours, Inc.

Website

https://topdogtours.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

TopDog Tours is a private, direct-to-consumer walking-tour operator offering small-group and private guided tours across New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Toronto, selling per-ticket experiences to leisure travelers via its website and third-party marketplaces.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Walking Tour Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Tour Operators (56152), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (48721)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Walking City Tours (Highlights & Orientation) (THAJAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Museum & Landmark Guided Tours (Skip-the-line/Docent-led) (THAJAAAC), Neighborhood & Local Life Tours (Communities & Hidden Gems) (THAJAAAJ), Night Tours (Illuminations, Ghost & Legends) (THAJAAAH), History, Heritage & Museum-Focused Study Tours (THAKAGAN)

Keywords

• Guided walking tours
• Small group tours
• City sightseeing tours
• Private tour services
• Food and culture tours

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Walking Tour Tickets: Revenue generated from selling tickets to guided walking tours including small group tours and private tours across multiple cities including New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Toronto. Prices vary by tour type, duration, and group size.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

TopDog Tours operates small group and private guided walking tours across New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Toronto. Its portfolio includes "Must See" landmark tours (Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island), Food & Culture neighborhood tours, Specialty themed tours (Marvel & DC Superheroes, Ghosts of Greenwich Village, Christmas Holiday, True Crime, Pub Crawl), and fully Custom Walking Tours priced from $25 to $315 per adult.

Product overview

TopDog Tours is a multi-city walking tour operator offering small group and private guided tours across New York City, Toronto, Philadelphia, and Boston. The product portfolio spans core "Must See" landmark tours (Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island), Food & Culture neighborhood tours (SoHo/Chinatown/Little Italy, North End Boston), Specialty tours (Marvel & DC Superheroes, Ghosts of Greenwich Village, Christmas Holiday, True Crime, Pub Crawl, Sailing), and fully Custom Walking Tours. Tours are booked via FareHarbor and distributed through third-party platforms including Viator, TripAdvisor, GetYourGuide, Go City Pass, and NY Pass. Pricing ranges from $25–$74 for group tours and $70–$315 for private tours per adult, with custom full-day tours priced from $280 to $630 per adult.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Tour "Must See" NYC walking tour visiting the Statue of Liberty grounds and Ellis Island Museum of American Immigration, with ferry transportation and expert guide narration. Offered as small group or private tour for tourists visiting New York City.
• NYC Food & Culture Tours Neighborhood, history, and cuisine-focused walking tours covering diverse NYC areas such as SoHo, Chinatown, and Little Italy, incorporating food tastings and cultural site visits for tourists seeking authentic local food and culture experiences.
• Marvel & DC Superheroes of New York Tour Specialty walking tour exploring comic book history, superhero movie filming locations, and publisher landmarks in Midtown East NYC. Available in English and Spanish on Wednesday and Saturday.
• New York Christmas Holiday Tour Seasonal specialty tour running November through December showcasing NYC holiday sites including Rockefeller Center, Radio City, and holiday markets. Featured by Travel + Leisure. Available as small group ($28 adults) or private tour ($80 adults).
• Ghosts of Greenwich Village Tour Year-round ghost and paranormal tour visiting reportedly haunted sites including former graveyards, historic buildings, and haunted bars and speakeasies in Greenwich Village. Runs nightly 8-10 PM.
• Broadway Theatre District Walking Tour Walking tour of Broadway's theatre district covering historic venues, backstage history, and Broadway production lore for visitors interested in theatre and entertainment history.
• Greenwich Village Walking Tours History-focused walking tours of Greenwich Village covering the neighborhood's cultural, political, and social history, with a nighttime variant offered.
• Chelsea Market, High Line & Meatpacking District Tour Walking tour of Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood covering the elevated High Line park, Chelsea Market, and the Meatpacking District.
• Historic Downtown & 9/11 Memorial Tour Walking tour of Lower Manhattan's historic sites and the 9/11 Memorial, covering downtown NYC history.
• Tastes of the Lower East Side Tour Food and culture walking tour of the Lower East Side featuring tastings and neighborhood history.
• One-Day NYC Highlights Walking Tour Comprehensive full-day walking tour covering major NYC landmarks and attractions for visitors with limited time in the city.
• New York News, Media & Broadcast Tour Specialty tour covering NYC's media and broadcast landmarks including the Daily News Building and news outlets.
• Private All-Access Downtown Tour Private guided walking tour of Lower Manhattan's major attractions with comprehensive access for guests seeking a VIP small group or private experience.
• Private Sail of New York Harbor Exclusive 2-hour private sailing excursion on New York Harbor provided in partnership with Atlantic Yachting. Covers up to 6 guests at $990 total. Departs Pier 25 with views of Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Manhattan skyline.
• Custom Walking Tours (NYC) Customisable private walking tours lasting 4-9 hours, priced from $280 to $630 per adult, with hotel pickup. Guests choose destinations including Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building, Central Park, and Statue of Liberty.
• Toronto Walking Tours Small group and private walking tours in Toronto covering Downtown, Kensington Market & Chinatown, Corktown & Distillery District, and the Underground PATH system. Minimum 2 guests required.
• Philadelphia Walking Tours Small group and private walking tours in Philadelphia including Movie & Television Tour, South Philly Italian Market Tour, Street Art Tour, and Food & Cheesesteak Tour. Available through Go City Pass.
• Boston Walking Tours Small group and private walking tours in Boston including North End Little Italy Tour ($35 adults), Historic Pub Crawl Tour ($35 adults, 21+), Harbor Walk & Seafood Tour ($35-$135 with food), and Beacon Hill True Crime Tour ($35 adults). Available through Go City Pass.
• North End Boston's "Little Italy" Tour Food and culture walking tour of Boston's North End "Little Italy" covering Hanover Street food stops, historic sites including Paul Revere's home, and the Old North Church. Group tour at $35 adults, $26 children 5-12.
• Boston Historic Pub Crawl Tour Evening historical bar crawl of Boston covering 4+ historic pubs and breweries with focus on American history. Adults 21+ only. Daily at 6:30 PM at $35 per adult.
• Beacon Hill True Crime Tour Evening true crime walking tour of Boston's Beacon Hill covering criminal history and notorious events. Not recommended for guests under 12. Daily at 7 PM at $35 adults.
• Boston Harbor Walk & Seafood Tour Food and waterfront walking tour of Boston Harbor featuring seafood tastings. Available as no-food option ($35 adults) or with food ($135 adults/children). Daily at 1 PM.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Atlantic YachtingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 September 2024TopDogTours partnered with Atlantic Yachting to offer exclusive Private Sails of New York Harbor. This partnership provides a 2-hour VIP sailing experience for up to 6 people at $990, offering views of Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Downtown Manhattan, and Jersey City from the water.
• FareHarborcoreTechnology or IntegrationTopDogTours uses FareHarbor as their booking platform integration for handling all bookings and payments. This is a critical operational partnership for tour scheduling and payment processing.
• Go City PasscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGo City Pass includes TopDog Tours as an accepted tour provider in their pass programs, allowing pass holders to book TopDog Tours experiences.
• NY PasscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNY Pass includes TopDog Tours as an accepted tour provider, enabling pass holders to experience TopDog Tours offerings.
• ViatorcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorViator marketplace distributes TopDog Tours tours and awarded them the Viator 2017 Award for tour excellence.
• GetYourGuidecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGetYourGuide marketplace distributes TopDog Tours tours and recognized them with the GetYourGuide 2020 Recommended Walking Tour award.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Walks: Walks (formerly Walks of Italy/New York) is a direct competitor offering small-group and private walking tours in major cities including Rome, Paris, London, and NYC with similar pricing and premium positioning.
• Context Travel: Context Travel operates small-group, expert-led walking tours across global cities, closely mirroring TopDog's small-group/private model and scholar-guide value proposition.
• Urban Adventures: Urban Adventures is a multi-city walking tour brand offering small-group themed tours in dozens of global cities, directly comparable to TopDog's multi-city specialty and private-tour mix.
• Free Tours by Foot: Free Tours by Foot runs tip-based and paid walking tours across US cities including NYC, Boston, and Philadelphia, competing head-to-head with TopDog on the same routes and price points.
• Take Walks: Take Walks specializes in small-group and private walking tours primarily in NYC, Rome, and Paris with a similar small-group/private/portal product structure.
• Foods of NY Tours: Foods of NY Tours operates food-focused walking tours in NYC neighborhoods, directly competing with TopDog's SoHo/Chinatown/Little Italy and food & culture tour offerings.
• Strawberry Tours: Strawberry Tours runs free and paid walking tours in major US and European cities including NYC, competing on price-sensitive group-tour demand.

Broad incumbents

• Big Bus Tours: Big Bus Tours is a large, established sightseeing operator offering hop-on-hop-off bus tours in NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, and Toronto, overlapping with TopDog on sightseeing demand but via a different transport modality.

Others

• Viator: Viator is a Tripadvisor-owned OTA marketplace that distributes TopDog's tours; it is a key channel partner and indirect competitor by promoting rival operators on the same platform.
• GetYourGuide: GetYourGuide is a major global tours and activities marketplace that lists TopDog's offerings and competes for end-customer bookings across the same walking-tour category.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/topdogtours
• Facebookfacebook.com/pg/topdogtoursnyc/reviews
• Instagraminstagram.com/topdogtoursnyc
• TikToktiktok.com/@topdogtoursnyc?lang=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TopDog Tours