Old Town Trolley tour Boston?

Oh yes, I would do it again. We had great fun and saw a part of Canada we had not seen before. :)

(y) That's great! But I meant the trolley in Boston! :confused:

(y) That's great! But I meant the trolley in Boston! :confused:

OH.. Yes. Provided I had more time in Boston the second time around.

Just got back. I should have listened to the poor reviews for Old Town Trolley Tours on TripAdvisor! We got the first trolley from the pier (0900), then had to change to the regular tour bus. We got off at the Boston Commons and walked part of the Freedom trail, including stopping for lunch, but I got nervous about getting back to the ship in time (4PM), so we attempted to reboard at the State House stop for Boston Commons. We waited for over an hour as trolley after trolley passed us by as they were completely full. There were a number of people waiting with us. At least 7 trolleys went by before one stopped and enough people got off that we could get on. We didn't risk getting off again. The driver on our first trolley was, I guess, showing off his "southie" upbringing, and cursed and yelled and cut off other cars and buses all along the route. There was a lot of construction going on downtown as well, which added to delays. Would not do this again.

I can echo Splinter....I meant to come here to give advice on this tour. We were in Boston on a gorgeous, warm sunny day. (9/25) Waited on a long line, got on one bus, transferred to another, etc. I went to college about 1/2 hour from Boston and spent many Saturdays taking train in and was anxious to see it again. I was glad we went, BUT we stayed ON the bus. Just to sightsee and I really wish he had spent more time at places. Like Fenway Park. Being a big NY Yankee fan, I was looking forward to seeing that but he just drove right by. He DID drive slowly, but still....and we DID stop at many of the pick up stops and there were a # of people who had been waiting for a long time and driver had to tell them that bus was full. He DID call other buses to inform them of people waiting. Splinter, I remember one woman saying she had waited over an hour....Anyway, I think if you were to want a tour of Boston, the HOHO is fine. Not great, just fine. If you want to go to specific places, walk around, etc, find some other mode of transportation. I was happy I went, enjoyed it for the most part, but did not think it was worth the price. I felt sorry for those who made plans to see specific sites and areas and then spent most of their time waiting for transportation.

I wonder if they run fewer buses in the fall. We were there in late August and did not have this problem. Plenty of buses and plenty of seats.

^^^ That's a possibility. And/or more people STAYED on the bus vs. hopping on and hopping off! :confused:

This sounds really cool, but I know my mom would get really flustered and frustrated if she had to wait for an hour or more for a trolley. We are going to get in to Boston the Friday before our cruise which leaves on Sunday. Do you think it might not be so bad on a Saturday? If not, maybe we can just do the tour without getting off.

Just got back. I should have listened to the poor reviews for Old Town Trolley Tours on TripAdvisor! We got the first trolley from the pier (0900), then had to change to the regular tour bus. We got off at the Boston Commons and walked part of the Freedom trail, including stopping for lunch, but I got nervous about getting back to the ship in time (4PM), so we attempted to reboard at the State House stop for Boston Commons. We waited for over an hour as trolley after trolley passed us by as they were completely full. There were a number of people waiting with us. At least 7 trolleys went by before one stopped and enough people got off that we could get on. We didn't risk getting off again. The driver on our first trolley was, I guess, showing off his "southie" upbringing, and cursed and yelled and cut off other cars and buses all along the route. There was a lot of construction going on downtown as well, which added to delays. Would not do this again.

That was my experience in the fall too. In fact, our trolley was one of the first ones and we never got off because there were crowds waiting at pretty much every stop. They did say (and I verified once I finally got off) that they stopped selling tickets by 10.30am. But we ended up using the underground to go back to a couple of places we wanted to see. Next time I will do something on my own and forget the HOHO trolley.

Hi all,

We will be in Boston on a Saturday in May. We are planning on taking a cab from the ship to the Freedom Trail then walking the trail and then taking a cab back to the ship. Does that sound ok? Anyone have an idea of the cost of the cab? Concerned that the hop-on will be busy and they stop running at 5 pm. Suggestions welcomed!

Hi all,

We will be in Boston on a Saturday in May. We are planning on taking a cab from the ship to the Freedom Trail then walking the trail and then taking a cab back to the ship. Does that sound ok? Anyone have an idea of the cost of the cab? Concerned that the hop-on will be busy and they stop running at 5 pm. Suggestions welcomed!

Yes, the HOHO runs more trolleys in the peak season, but there are more people looking to use it as well. I don't recommend it to anyone, particularly on a cruise port day, as you will spend all of your limited time waiting on a trolley.

My suggestion, and I know Carol (138 East) says this as well, is to take a cab all the way to the end of the Trail, at the Constitution in the Charlestown Navy Yard. This will run $25-35 depending on traffic. This also gets you on to the Constitution before most of the crowd. Then walk the trail back, stopping as you go for whatever interests you, skipping the others, have lunch in the North End (avoid most of the Quincy Market restaurants unless you want fast food in Faneuil Hall), and if you get all the way back to the Common, a cab back to the Terminal would be about $15-20.

Yes, the HOHO runs more trolleys in the peak season, but there are more people looking to use it as well. I don't recommend it to anyone, particularly on a cruise port day, as you will spend all of your limited time waiting on a trolley.

 

My suggestion, and I know Carol (138 East) says this as well, is to take a cab all the way to the end of the Trail, at the Constitution in the Charlestown Navy Yard. This will run $25-35 depending on traffic. This also gets you on to the Constitution before most of the crowd. Then walk the trail back, stopping as you go for whatever interests you, skipping the others, have lunch in the North End (avoid most of the Quincy Market restaurants unless you want fast food in Faneuil Hall), and if you get all the way back to the Common, a cab back to the Terminal would be about $15-20.

Thanks so much for the information. It really helps. I am assuming there are plenty of taxis at the port? Probably a stupid question!!! Lol

Thanks so much for the information. It really helps. I am assuming there are plenty of taxis at the port? Probably a stupid question!!! Lol

When a ship is in, there will be plenty.

Yes, the HOHO runs more trolleys in the peak season, but there are more people looking to use it as well. I don't recommend it to anyone, particularly on a cruise port day, as you will spend all of your limited time waiting on a trolley.

 

My suggestion, and I know Carol (138 East) says this as well, is to take a cab all the way to the end of the Trail, at the Constitution in the Charlestown Navy Yard. This will run $25-35 depending on traffic. This also gets you on to the Constitution before most of the crowd. Then walk the trail back, stopping as you go for whatever interests you, skipping the others, have lunch in the North End (avoid most of the Quincy Market restaurants unless you want fast food in Faneuil Hall), and if you get all the way back to the Common, a cab back to the Terminal would be about $15-20.

That's pretty much what I did in Sep when a friend had a port day on the Anthem. We took a cab to the Constitution for $25 (long route - a bit high), then the MBTA water taxi to Long Wharf ($3.50)(much better than the walking route and nice view of the upper harbor skyline), walked through Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market, and walked the Trail backwards to the Boston Common. Took the Red Line ($2.75) at Park St two stops to South Station where helped my friend transfer to the Silver Line SL2 bus back to Black Falcon and then took the Red Line the other way back to my car.