Boston Duck boat tour and the Hop on Hop off Trolley Tour, okay to do both?

[swdke]

Was wondering about doing both the Boston Duck boat tour and the Hop on Hop off Trolley Tour.  Any one done the same?  Took much overlap?  Thanks 

[1025cruise]

The Duck boat tour is great to get an idea of sites. For the Hop on Hop off, are you planning to do that, or just do the circuit?

[princeton123211]

7 hours ago, swdke said:

Was wondering about doing both the Boston Duck boat tour and the Hop on Hop off Trolley Tour.  Any one done the same?  Took much overlap?

I would say thats accurate about too much overlap, at least in the core of the downtown area. The HoHo tour will take you out to Charlestown Navy Yard/Bunker Hill as well as down into the Seaport area that the Duck Tour doesn't. The Duck Tour spends this time in the water between Boston and Cambridge. 

 

If you can live without the novelty of doing the Duck Tour, the Hoho tour will help you cover more ground and actually get off and see things. If you do the Duck Tour, use the time before or afterwards to just walk some of the Freedom Trail and touch up a few sites you won't get to see. 

 

Really no wrong answer but both of them together is a bit overkill. 

[BklynBoy8]

We did the Duck in Halifax and was not thrilled and did not attract us to do it somewhere else.

[Turtles06]

Anyone considering a Duck Boat tour, wherever it may be, should first take a look at the safety issues. 

[Ashland]

We've done the HoHo off from near the cruise port in Boston. At the end we hopped off at the Quincy Market area and after visiting there for some yummy food we caught the HoHo off back to the ship. We had such an amazing driver actually no one hopped off either until the end.

[Nitemare]

Duck boat does the water plus part of the land that the HOHO does.  You get all the land parts on the HOHO.

 

Duck boat safety has been greatly improved over the past few years with the introduction of a separate guide and driver, instead of one person trying to do everything, distracting from safety

[KATHYMAC68]

I love the trolley tour. You can make it a whole day as opposed to the Duck Boat.

Great stops in the trolley too.

Boston Tea Party Museum

New England Aquarium

Little Italy 

USS Constitution

Quincy Market

Boston Common

I go every year and it never gets old.

[bren61]

Can we get tickets for the HOHO when we get off the ship or is it cheaper to get them on line before hand?

[Ashland]

3 hours ago, bren61 said:

Can we get tickets for the HOHO when we get off the ship or is it cheaper to get them on line before hand?

Easy to walk to the HOHO ticket booth right by where your ship docks and buy your ticket.

Pricing we found wasn't worth the difference just in case we changed our mind or the weather was bad. Do what works out best for you.

[bren61]

8 hours ago, Ashland said:

Easy to walk to the HOHO ticket booth right by where your ship docks and buy your ticket.

Pricing we found wasn't worth the difference just in case we changed our mind or the weather was bad. Do what works out best for you.

Thanks, I think that's what we'll do also so we won't be locked in, never know what the day is going to bring.

[cwms]

Quick question, if we do the HOHO, and we hop off at any stop,  how long before the next bus comes along to hop back on?

[Ashland]

2 hours ago, cwms said:

Quick question, if we do the HOHO, and we hop off at any stop,  how long before the next bus comes along to hop back on?

Not long but that can and does vary by location. We had such an amazing driver/guide no one hopped off ours as we all wanted to do the round trip with him but most everyone got off just before the last stop back at the port which was Faneuil Hall. Just amazing food in the Market area. 

[KATHYMAC68]

How does everyone get to the waterfront from the ship? I’m hearing it’s about 2 miles away.

[BklynBoy8]

2 minutes ago, KATHYMAC68 said:

How does everyone get to the waterfront from the ship? I’m hearing it’s about 2 miles away.

 

If you are at the Black Falcon Terminal, there should be shuttle buses located at the Terminal entrance.

[KATHYMAC68]

3 minutes ago, BklynBoy8 said:

 

If you are at the Black Falcon Terminal, there should be shuttle buses located at the Terminal entrance.

RCI has a shore excursion which is just a transfer from the ship to the waterfront. They are charging over $50 for this!

[BklynBoy8]

1 minute ago, KATHYMAC68 said:

RCI has a shore excursion which is just a transfer from the ship to the waterfront. They are charging over $50 for this!

 

We are on Cunard and they never charged 50.......it was not designated as a shore excursion neither but shuttle. I would research this. Sounds funny.

 

50 for shuttle?

[KATHYMAC68]

I’m sure the shuttle is different. So that’s good to know. This is the shore excursion they are offering. Who would pay this when they offer a shuttle?? Lol

[BklynBoy8]

5 minutes ago, KATHYMAC68 said:

I’m sure the shuttle is different. So that’s good to know. This is the shore excursion they are offering. Who would pay this when they offer a shuttle?? Lol

 

Sorry you got me.....different from what we experienced. 

[KATHYMAC68]

6 minutes ago, BklynBoy8 said:

 

Sorry you got me.....different from what we experienced. 

I’m hoping they have that shuttle you mentioned. Was it through the cruise line or the port? Did you have to book it or was it just there when you got off the ship?

[BklynBoy8]

2 hours ago, KATHYMAC68 said:

I’m hoping they have that shuttle you mentioned. Was it through the cruise line or the port? Did you have to book it or was it just there when you got off the ship?

 

Could book it early but had a table in the terminal. It was not part of the line. It was announced in the Daily Programme of the ship.

 

I mean this sounds like an excursion since it is 4 hours long but you're on your own which confuses me.

 

But hope there is a SHUTTLE only available for you. Boston is a Fun City with a lot of activity and a lot to see. Pls do your research to enjoy the whole experience. 

[cwms]

On 8/16/2022 at 2:37 AM, Ashland said:

Easy to walk to the HOHO ticket booth right by where your ship docks and buy your ticket.

Pricing we found wasn't worth the difference just in case we changed our mind or the weather was bad. Do what works out best for you.

Ok, so the ticket booth is close by, but what about the first (closest) hop on spot.

[luckyinpa]

On 7/9/2022 at 12:16 PM, KATHYMAC68 said:

I love the trolley tour. You can make it a whole day as opposed to the Duck Boat.

Great stops in the trolley too.

Boston Tea Party Museum

New England Aquarium

Little Italy 

USS Constitution

Quincy Market

Boston Common

I go every year and it never gets old.

 

is this the service you are talking about. just started research and didnt know if there's more than one HOHO or this is it . thanks

 

also curious the approximate wait times for the trolley . we are going on a monday which of course means normal business traffic as well. 

 

https://www.trolleytours.com/boston/hop-on-hop-off

Edited August 29, 2022 by luckyinpa

[luckyinpa]

this is why i'm confused about which hoho to take lol

 

https://www.cityviewtrolleys.com/

 

also i see something called gocity that for 69 bucks includes many attractions plus the trolley

[KATHYMAC68]

38 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

this is why i'm confused about which hoho to take lol

 

https://www.cityviewtrolleys.com/

 

also i see something called gocity that for 69 bucks includes many attractions plus the trolley

I use the Go City card every time I’m in Boston. Even for the 1 days it’s worth it. You can go to the aquarium, take the hoho trolley ride, visit the uss constitution, take a boat ride all in one day for that price. And if you have AAA they offer a discount!