Duck Tours, Boston

The Duck Touris a unique way to get around Boston. As you can see on the map on the left, you will see most of the downtown area, especially because these WWII amphibious vehicles also splash into Charles River. You have to be in a good mood, because it can be a bit annoying to say 'quack, quack' all the time (you have to!), but it can be a lot of fun!

If you wish to take an informative, fun, child-friendly tour of downtown Boston, be sure to take a Duck Tour. These vehicles, which navigate both the city streets and "that dirty water" of the River Charles, are driven by perky tour guides who will answer any questions you like about the historical city. Some tours provide entertaining duck whistles, which make an amusing quacking sound that the Guides ask you to make when passing another Duck Boat. Sometimes, you may even be invited to drive the boat in the water near the end of the tour. I personally went on one of these during a field trip to the Science Museum, also an interesting destination, and it was one of the finest experiences of my traveling career.
Enjoy Boston!

The Duck Tours are a great way to see Boston and Cambridge from the water, and from the road. Using converted WW2-era amphibious troop transports, the Duck Tour takes you out onto the Charles River, and then on the road into downtown Boston. All the while, the driver/tour guide is giving you history and stories of what you're seeing, and also encouraging all of the passengers to say "Quack! Quack!" from time to time. It's a fun time!

These bizarre-looking tour vehicles really make a big splash in Boston for both tourists and the locals. They aptly call them, what else? 'Duck Boats'. This is a great way to save your feet some blisters after following the red painted line on the Freedom Trail's sidewalks that often change from cobbled to brick to cement and then back again, and the tour guides really love 'quacking up' their audience with plenty of ducky humor. The 'Bears' you see riding inside this one, are some of our famous Boston Bruins hockey players.
These amphibious boat-cars are even more fun than they look and shouldn't be missed. Kids love 'em, too!

The Ducks are amphibious vehicles used by the US army during World War II, especially in Normandy. They can transport 32 persons by the streets and on the river.
The tour lasts 1:20 including 20 mn on the Charles River.
When the driver (the captain) orders the passengers say "coin- coin" (houps !)

My 17 year old grandson said this was the highlight of our trip. We walked to the Museum of Science to take the tour. The museum is awesome also and if you have enough time, it is a must see.
The tours are $27.00 for adults. You sit in a large amphibious tank and head out to the streets of Boston. Our tour guide named Tim Burr (he has a story about that name) had us all quaking like ducks during the ride. It goes through Boston and is the best sightseeing tour around. Going into the water of the Charles River was the most exciting.

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It does sound cheesey and it took me at least 3 visits but I eventually did a Duck Tour and it was Fun !

I was the only non-american on the boat.
The tour guide was great, very witty and informative really got everyone involved.

The tours book out really early so I would advise you to go on line and book your tickets, tickets are realised 5 days in advance. Also do go early to try and get a seat at the window

Only bad thing is that you are always moving withthe traffic so there is no time to take nice pics of the sights until you get into the water and then you get some lovely pics of the skyline.

Another bad thing is if you have a lot of kids on your tour as they generally have those annoying like plastic things you blow to get a quack noise. The kid on my tour wouldn't stop blowing it that sometimes I couldn't hear the guide. He was even doing it in people's ears

Well, we all have to be a tourist sometimes!!!
I thought this was going to be terribly cheesy but in the end I quite enjoyed the trip and the childish jokes of the driver were not too aweful. The tour enables you to see aspects of Boston, like the River Charles and the Boston scenery from the River Charlesand the driver/guides do have a reasonably good knowledge of the history of the small bit of the city that you are shown.
In the end I think the tour is worth the money but it is not cheap.

Duck boat tours are a lot of fun and, in my opinion, necessary for the first timer to Boston. You get to go on this big, bad army... thing that drives you through the streets of Boston and then takes you into the dirty Charles. Sometimes the operator lets you drive it while youre in the water. I got to chase a sailboat.
They are pretty expensive ($20) so it is a one-time only thing usually, even though they try to make you come back again by having the tour guides have different personalities (Pirates, puritans, etc)

Although it may seem like a lame, touristy thing to do, I have to admit I thought it was great. You get a nice tour of the city guided by an informative and entertaining driver. The historical information and little-known facts about Boston's history that was provided along the tour made the trip for me. Everyone I have recommended this to has loved it.