NYC Rat Tours in Chinatown with Kenny Bollwerk

Following the Rats Through Chinatown's Trash and Alleyways

You walk through Chinatown's alleys and backstreets with Kenny Bollwerk for 90 minutes, learning how restaurant design, trash systems, and building infrastructure shape rat behavior and urban wildlife patterns. The tour includes rat stickers and postcards, and covers both what the city is doing about rodents and what gaps remain in the strategy. It's part comedy, part infrastructure lesson, and entirely focused on the grimy realities of living in a dense city.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Chinatown's urban rat world

• Meet Rat Daddy guide
• Walk through alleyways and side streets
• Learn about urban wildlife and rat behavior
• Discover restaurant infrastructure and trash ecosystems
• Understand environmental factors affecting rats
• Explore food waste and sanitation impact
• Observe human behavior influence on rats

The experience

Someone's pointing at a gap between a restaurant's back door and the pavement, then crouching to peer into the shadows. It's Kenny Bollwerk, the person behind Rat Tok, and he's about to spend the next 90 minutes walking you through Chinatown's backstreets to show you exactly where and why New York City's rats actually live. The tour isn't what you'd expect. It's not a nature walk or a pest control lecture. It's more like a comedy show that happens to be about rodents, mixed with real urban infrastructure knowledge and a genuine curiosity about how the city actually works.

The walk moves through alleys, side streets, and the kind of corridors most tourists never notice. Kenny points out how restaurant design, trash schedules, and building gaps create the conditions rats need to survive in dense neighborhoods. You'll learn why certain blocks have more activity than others, what the city is actually doing about the problem, and what still isn't working. The commentary is sharp and funny. He's built a massive following online by making this stuff genuinely interesting instead of gross. Along the way you get rat stickers and postcards, which sounds small until you're actually holding them and realizing you just spent an hour and a half learning about urban rodent ecosystems from someone who's made it his thing.

Chinatown is the setting because the neighborhood's density, restaurant concentration, and infrastructure make it the most active zone in the city. The tour covers the real mechanics of how food waste, building design, and sanitation all feed into where rats congregate. It's the kind of detail you don't get from a standard city tour, and it sticks with you, not because it's shocking, but because it actually explains something about how New York works that you'd never thought to ask about.

What’s included

Your 90-minute walking tour includes entry, Kenny Bollwerk's live commentary on rat behavior and urban infrastructure, rat stickers, and rat postcards. The tour covers Chinatown's alleys and side streets, and explores how restaurant design, trash systems, and building gaps shape where rats live in the city.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day except Monday and WednesdayDepartures at 17:30, 19:45, 20:30 and 21:45Last departure this season: 31 Dec

AgesAdult (18 to 59 years) · Senior (60 and older) · Youth (13 to 17 years) · Child (under 13)

GroupUp to 15

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 3 days ago

Good to know

Moderate physical effortWheelchair accessibleStroller-friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearbyNot recommended during pregnancyNot recommended with heart problemsNot recommended with back problems

Operated by NYC RAT WALKING TOURS

Is this one for you?This works for anyone curious about how cities actually function beneath the surface: locals who've never thought to ask why rats congregate where they do, tourists looking for something completely different from the standard tour circuit, and anyone who finds the intersection of urban design and animal behavior genuinely interesting.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (13 to 17 years); Child (under 13).

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

How long is the NYC rat tour?

The tour runs 90 minutes and covers Chinatown's alleys, side streets, and high-traffic corridors on foot.

Who leads the rat tour?

Kenny Bollwerk, the social media creator and founder of Rat Tok, leads the walking tour himself.

What's included in the tour?

Entry to the tour, Kenny's commentary on rat behavior and city infrastructure, rat stickers, and rat postcards.

Where does the tour take place?

The tour is based in Chinatown, New York City, and walks through alleys, side streets, and restaurant corridors in that neighborhood.

Is the tour wheelchair accessible?

Yes, the tour is wheelchair accessible. Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller, and service animals are allowed.

What will I learn on the rat tour?

You'll learn how food waste, building design, sanitation schedules, and human behavior influence where rats live and thrive in the city, plus what NYC is doing to address the rodent problem.

Do I need to be in good physical shape for this tour?

The tour involves 90 minutes of walking through city streets and alleys. Moderate physical fitness is recommended. It's not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries or poor cardiovascular health.