Boston Hoho bus & July 4th

I just booked a cruise for next Summer (2019) on the QM2, which will overnight in Boston on July 4th. For what it's worth, I'm familiar with Boston and the T, but my husband has never been. We're city-savvy, but my husband has difficulty walking distances. I was looking at the Hop On Hop Off tours offered by Old Town Trolley Tours. It looks like it has the major attractions covered and the hop-on-hop-off aspect is an appealing alternative to walking or taking the T. Has anyone here had direct experience with them?

• One concern is that the busses may be continually filled, making reboarding a bus difficult, especially on the fourth. (Luckily, since the total space covered is compact, the T and cabs are still an option if we feel stranded)
  
• According to their web page, they extend to Black Falcon Terminal when a ship is in port, and I assume Cunard will offer an excursion. Can you see any reason to pay more by booking with Cunard?
  
• Any other experiences to share?
  

Also, in general, any suggestions of things to see/avoid on July 4th? (I'm already planning on avoiding the Esplanade)

Thanks!

I just booked a cruise for next Summer (2019) on the QM2, which will overnight in Boston on July 4th. For what it's worth, I'm familiar with Boston and the T, but my husband has never been. We're city-savvy, but my husband has difficulty walking distances. I was looking at the Hop On Hop Off tours offered by Old Town Trolley Tours. It looks like it has the major attractions covered and the hop-on-hop-off aspect is an appealing alternative to walking or taking the T. Has anyone here had direct experience with them?

 

• One concern is that the busses may be continually filled, making reboarding a bus difficult, especially on the fourth. (Luckily, since the total space covered is compact, the T and cabs are still an option if we feel stranded)
  
• According to their web page, they extend to Black Falcon Terminal when a ship is in port, and I assume Cunard will offer an excursion. Can you see any reason to pay more by booking with Cunard?
  
• Any other experiences to share?
  

Also, in general, any suggestions of things to see/avoid on July 4th? (I'm already planning on avoiding the Esplanade)

 

Thanks!

I am concerned about the amount of walking your husband might have to do if you hop on and hop off a trolley. How much walking can he actually do? In addition folks have posted about waiting long amounts of time to reboard the Trolley because they were full. There's no way to predict this.

The first thing to do is to find out the details of the Cunard excursion. The Trolley tour offered by many of the cruise lines is actually not a hop on hop off. Instead it is about an hour and 40 minute nonstop tour on the company's Trolley route with pick up and drop off right at the pier.

Old Town Trolley is actually 2 loops. https://www.trolleytours.com/boston/map They run a connector Trolley for stops 17 to 19 to pick up folks in the Seaport District to take them to stop 1 to board the main Trolley loop. Another consideration is the distance you might have to walk from any actual stop to a particular historical site you are interested in. The Boston streets are very narrow and it's simply not possible for these trolleys to either drive by many places and/or stop right in front of them.

Boston is very much a walking city. The Trolley basically gets folks to areas that can then be explored on foot.

If you want to do the Trolley, my advice would be to take a cab or Uber to stop 1 to board the Trolley and just ride the entire route. If anything piques your interest, take a cab or Uber back to see it specifically.

Thanks Carol.

I think the walking would be fine, if broken up. He can walk about 2 blocks before a brief rest up to 6 blocks total before taking a stop. (I think that Cunard shows both a straight tour and a hoho from the same provider).

Thanks for the further detail on their routes. If we DO take it (and I can only imagine how popular it will be on July 4th) - it may be best and take your advice to board at the start and then plan a spot to get off, which is centrally located, but after lots of narration (so if we abandon the tour, it's still been worthwhile). Then plan on walking around to see a couple of things (we'd be more interested in lunch or a break at a historic pub or a north end restaurant than standing in line for a tour of something like the Paul Revere house). Perhaps someplace Haymarket-ish between Faneuil Hall and the North End. And then, if we can't get room on a hoho, we can just cab back. Time for homework. Luckily, I have 14 months!

I know Boston is a walking city. I'd LOVE to be able to take him on a walking tour of the Freedom Trail. We just need to find a good mix to enjoy the spirit of Boston without resorting to one of the dreaded "panoramic bus tours."

Thanks again,

Mark

Sounds like a plan. The trolleys may not be overrun on July 4, which is a Thur in 2019. I was in Boston on July 4, 2016 (Sunday) with DH, DD, and 3 DGD's and we didn't have any problems or feel overwhelmed by crowds. Many locals will go to the Cape or spend the day camped out for the Pops concert. As far as I can tell there is no big Harbor event with Tall Ships that would draw folks into the city. We saw the Queen Mary at the pier.

You may wish to look into Duck Boat tour. People love them and saves lots of walking

Boston is a very walkable city with so much to see and do. Take a tour on USS Consgt itution...,, "Old ironsides" . The oldest commissioned war ship in the world. She just underwent a big renovation and is open for tours.

A real treat to see her under sail in Boston harbor. They turn her regularly to be sure she weathers evenly.

So much history here.

Sounds like a plan. The trolleys may not be overrun on July 4, which is a Thur in 2019. I was in Boston on July 4, 2016 (Sunday) with DH, DD, and 3 DGD's and we didn't have any problems or feel overwhelmed by crowds. Many locals will go to the Cape or spend the day camped out for the Pops concert. As far as I can tell there is no big Harbor event with Tall Ships that would draw folks into the city. We saw the Queen Mary at the pier.

Although there is no Tall Ships festival in port that day, every year the week of the 4th is Boston Harborfest https://www.bostonharborfest.com/ Don’t think of this as a bad thing. It means that there will be many more events to choose from around the Waterfront. They have the schedule online. You’ll have to wait on the 2919 schedule, but many events will be the same. I second the Duck Tour idea for anyone who is mobility impaired. You will get to see many sights from land and water, including all the hubbub on the Charles River. The Esplenade itself if a spot to be avoided for sure, but also the Cambridge side of the river will be congested, too. Take care with time to return to the ship. It may take longer than expected to get back to the ship.

Boston is a very walkable city with so much to see and do. Take a tour on USS Consgt itution...,, "Old ironsides" . The oldest commissioned war ship in the world. She just underwent a big renovation and is open for tours.

 

A real treat to see her under sail in Boston harbor. They turn her regularly to be sure she weathers evenly.

 

So much history here.

July 4th is the day they turn the Constitution around, so that will happen but I do not know what time (although noon is kind of ringing a bell). There is a ferry that leaves from the Seaport and goes to Rowe’s Wharf and then transfer to go to Charlestown Navy Yard where Old Ironsides (the Constitution) is berthed. The website says that water taxis leave from Black Falcon Terminal (where your ship will be docked) but the website isn’t real clear. The docking spot they show in the Seaport I think would be a hike from the ship to the Institute of Contemporary Art. http://www.bostonharborcruises.com/water-taxi/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItcvlr8fs2gIVFuDICh0u5wRNEAAYASAAEgJ4uPD_BwE#water-taxi-stops If you look on their map, you see the Freedom Trail marked in red. Even if you just sail over to Rowe’s Wharf, lots of cool things are nearby. Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market are favorite spots, the North End and Old North Church are right there, and if you walk the Freedom Trail from Faneuil Hall, head toward the Boston Common and Boston Public Gardens. You will pass many historic sites, including the graveyard where Paul Revere, John Hancock and “Mother Goose” are buried. Take a ride on the peaceful swan boats in the garden. The water shuttle is a great way to see Boston from the ocean, too.

We took the hop-on hop-off bus from just outside the cruise terminal and it worked out very well indeed. In addition to hitting the downtown attractions, it had stops at Fenway Park, Harvard, MIT and other attractions north of the river. We also took the harbor cruise, which was included in the 24 hour fare. Very nice.

https://cruiseports.ca/america/boston.html