boston hop on & off tours

[jackie101]

Looking to take the family off 6 (4 kids 10,9, and 7yr old twins) to Boston for a few days over April vacation. Last yr we went to NY and did the double decker bus and loved it. Anyone have any good recommendations for Boston?

 

[MM27]

While they are not hop on and off tours, I took my niece on the Duck Tour in Boston last summer and she loved it. She's 5.

I've also done the red trolley which does an on/off type of thing. I think you can get a two day pass and get on and off all you want. It was convenient because you get background information and can decide on the things you want to do that are extra.

 

[Joe'sgirl]

The Duck tour is great, you see several sites on land and then you get in the water. If available do a Fenway Park tour, even if you aren't into sports the place is amazing. Museum of Science is also great for the kids. The Aquarium is okay too, a little small but plenty to see. Like shopping? Check out Fanueil Hall, Downtown Crossing and Newbury street. Visit Cheers! Durgin Park is interesting too, staff is 'rude' on purpose. Been awhile since I have been there though so can't speak to whether the food is good.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

I second the Duck Tours (though, is your vacation the 18th-22nd? I know alot of places have that off this year because of Easter. I think the Duck TOurs are only on weekends- other than MA vaca week which is those dates. Wasn't sure if you were in MA or not.) FYI, it goes in the Charles River, not the harbor. As said, it is not on/off but you could go back and walk to most sites.

The nice thing about Boston is the Freedom Trail (literally a red line to follow on the sidewalk) takes you to most of the major sites. I think it might be 3 miles long, it's a reasonable walk even for kids. (Lots of stops on the way!) The USS Constitution is (free!) is a hit with all ages of kids. My son was convinced it was a pirate ship when he was younger.

We've also done Old Town Trolley a couple times (which is hop on/off).

FYI, too if you didn't know, Boston Marathon is Monday the 18th (and the Sox are home!), parts of the city will be nutty.

 

[juliebean]

We went to Boston last April and we did the trolley and the duck and the aquarium and so many other places - we bought Go Boston cards for ~$100 a piece for several days. Everything in the city was included (the duck was 1/2 - still expensive, but more doable), including 2 days of the trolley. We used it for both the tour and to shorten the walking between some museums and sights. Paul Revere's house and the Old State Museum were both cool. It also included Plimouth Plantation, which is really interesting. It's not the budget way to do Boston, but the Go card made the most of our week!

The new visitor center at Lexington is both free and has a moving show about the battle. Have fun - it's such a beautiful and interesting city!

 

[3boymthr]

If as PP mentioned you are on vacation the 18th to 22nd be prepared it will be very very crowded where-ever you go the entire week as all the schools in Massachusetts will be closed. Also be aware that the 18th is Patriot's Day which is a holiday here in Massachusetts. Not just schools but many businesses/banks are closed as well (even the post office closes). In addition to extra crowds because of the holiday travel around Boston and the surrounding area will be difficult on this day for several reasons:

There are parades and re-enactments of Paul Revere's ride and the subsequent battle in Lexington and Concord.

It is the day they run the Boston Marathon. There are road closures from Hopkinton to downtown Boston. People come from all over the world to run in this race and the crowds reflect that.

The Redsox will be playing at home in the only Major League game the entire season that starts before 12 PM. If you plan on touring Fenway do not plan on doing it this day. They will be away from Tuesday on.

That said there are some great things to see and do around Boston. I highly recommend the freedom trail. We walked that in a day on Labor Day last year. We did Minuteman National Park the day before. If you do the Freedom trail you will hit Fanueil Hall as part of your tour.

The Boston Children's Museum is amazing as is the aquarium, and the Science Museum.

Take part of a day and drive down to Quincy and see the John Adams Homestead. The JFK Library is in South Boston but this is not as interesting for kids.

One of our favorite activities as a family is to hike/stroll the Arnold Arboretum. The variety of trees in amazing and in late April many of the trees will be in bloom. There is no parking lot for this but free on street parking is available.

Castle Island in South Boston is a great way to visit a civil war era fort and see the airplanes land at Logan Airport.

Take a tour of the harbor on a boat and stop at George's Island. Very cool civil war era fort.

Though I've never been on one I'm told by my kids that the duck tours are amazing. Our fifth grade goes on one every year as a field trip.

If you are there the week of the 18th and want to get out of the city and away from the crowds I'd recommend either Sturbridge Village or Plymouth.

 

[JennSaint]

If you are looking for a get on & off type tour look for the Beantown Trolley. All the hotels will have their brochure.

 

[KBoopaloo]

I'd recommend Old Town Trolley or the SuperTour Trolley. SuperTours has a combo ticket that also gives you a Duck Boat ride. They have their own fleet of duck boats, they are not affiliated with the ones that leave from the Museum of Science or the Prudential.

I actually work along the Freedom Trail and while Monday the 18th will be busy along the Marathon route, near Fenway Park and out in Lexington and Concord, the sites along the Freedom Trail tend to be less busy that day since so many of the visitors are off doing all that Patriot's Day stuff.