Duck Tour, yes or no?
 

We have almost 1 1/2 days in Boston. Should we do the Duck Tour? I also want to walk Newbury Street, North End, Acorn street,Harvard and maybe check out the Isabella Stewart Museum?
Does it sound like we have enought time for a tour, and how long is the Duck Tour?

My recollection is the duck tours are about 90 minutes - their web page
www.bostonducktours.com -
has a great FAQ section and will help you choose which location to get it from

It can be a fun introduction to the city.
You can order tix , I think 5 dys ahead -
or take your chances when here -

some people like to do it first thing on arrival - don't know what time you arrive -so it's hard to say what you can fit in - what is a 1/2 dy to you? do you arrive in Boston and to your hotel and ready to hit the streets at noon? one? two?

that would help to know that -

Also, yes try to do the ISGardner Museum, it is a wonderful Boston gem - depending on how detailed you like to do your museum tours, it could take you anywhere from 1 hour to 4, but I find most people are happy with 2 hrs to enjoy the inside, outside, courtyard and gift shop -
also a lovely cafe for lunch depending on the time of day you end up there.

You can take the T from most places and it is a short walk down the street to the museum

North End, you could have dinner there and arrive a bit early to walk around that area

If you did on your full day: early Duck Tour (say 9am or so) - then to Isabella Steward Gardner, walking Newbury St area, a quick rest if you wanted and then out again to North End to walk and have dinner; 1/2 day you could do something else.

i enjoyed the duck tour and it gave me a good idea of how far things were away. i did it first thing and this allowed me to figure out some of my walking times.

I've been on the Duck Tour with relatives visiting town. They loved it.

Beware though of a knock-off company trying to use a similar name. They were calling themselves SuperDuck tours, but a court injunction forced them to change their name. Whatever they changed it to, they're still trying to siphon business from the Original Duck Tours.

Most of the people here seem to like the Boston Duck Tour. I had previously done the one at Branson (loved it!), and was disapointed by the Boston Ducks.

Keith

I live here in Boston and wstill think the Duck Tours are worthwhile. You zip around getting various tidbits of information, plus a short cruise in the Charles. make your reservations in advance.

The suggested day in a previous post sounds excellent. Hope for good weather. If the sun is out, you will have a great time, even if it's chilly.

I haven't done the duck tour but have taken the trolley tour. The trolley tours offer a continuous loop around the city, stopping at most of the areas/attractions. The best part of all is that you can get on and off all day at the stops of your choice. So you can get off the trolley, tour the site of your choice, then get back on another trolley. It provides you with both a tour, and transportation.
There are a few different trolley companies. We used the Old Town Trolley and really enjoyed it.

If you want to take your time and slowly enjoy the places you mentioned, skip the duck tour and just stroll the streets of the Back Bay, North End and Harvard Square. I enjoy the Fogg Art Museum in Harvard Square as much as the Gardner Museum.

Unless you have children, (pre-teen and younger) I suggest the Old Town Trolley Tour. You can hop on and off all day, and even get a 2nd day for a reduced price. To do the entire city from beginning to end takes about 2 hours, and I think there are 18 different stops. The only thing it doesn't do is go in the water!

I live in a (distant) suburb of Boston, and my only Duck Tour experience was with an out of town guest. Maybe my reaction is colored by the fact that I am semi-familiar with Boston, but I thought it was pretty skippable.

Yes, the Boston Duck Tour is a lot of fun and provides a great overview of the city. Take it on your 1st day.

I went to Boston and had not planned on doing the duck tour. But I got a 'Go Boston Card' and it was one of the atractions available on the card. I thought it was great! It (the card) also allowed me to go to museums, the trolley, as well as as using it for the boat to Cape Cod. Don't know if it's worth your while since you're not there very long, but it's available at www.gobostoncard.com

Ok, I'll definitely look into the duck tour. The trolley tour sounds interesting too. Thanks for your help!