I have read so many great things about this company. Unfortunately, they are not running the free tours in Boston while I'm there on vacation. They offered to give me and my parents a 5 hour tour to the freedom trail and harvard yard for $275. Since they are normally giving free tours and people only give whatever they feel like giving on their regular tours (most people i read on yelp said they gave $10 or $20 tip for a 2 hour tour), whereas we're paying $275 upfront, are we still required to give a tip? If so, how much should I tip?

How many people are you? If 1 or 2 consider Viator.

http://www.viator.com/Boston-tours/H...s/d678-g12-c95

A tip is never required.

However, spending $275 for a tour of the Freedom Trail is crazy when you can do a 90-minute guided tour with the Freedom Trail Foundation for $12 per person. They also offer Smartphone apps, MP3 downloads, audio tours, etc. (We did the MP3 download of the Freedom Walk last summer. It was an excellent full-day tour for us and we enjoyed being able to stop the tour and explore cemeteries, Fanueil Hall, etc. as we liked. You get 5 downloads for $15).

For more info on these various tours, see www.thefreedomtrail.org. For info on the MP3 and audio tours, go to "Shop the Freedom Trail Online Store".

See if Boston by Foot is giving any tours that interest you when you visit. They are excellent and their guides go through a very intensive training.

http://www.bostonbyfoot.org/

Agree that you can do the Freedom Trail yourselves, or with guides, including the Park Service.

There's a red line down the sidewalk to guide you along the Freedom Trail. You can pick up literature (maps, guides)at the kiosk at street level next to the Park Street T station, and guided tours are also run from there.

For Harvard, get on the red line T subway in the Alewife direction. The stop is Harvard. There is a group of students that gives a tour if you want one, or just wander around the Yard and square. The art museum(s) have recently reopened. The glass flowers at the natural history museum are a unique feature.

http://www.nps.gov/bost/planyourvisit/guidedtours.htm

see this site for free talks and walks by the national park service in Boston