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Tour Boston with the Old Town Trolley Tours

In full disclosure we were given 4 passes to ride the Old Town Trolley by Historic Tours of America. We appreciate their support of Jersey Family Fun’s visit to Boston. As always, all opinions are our own.

 

bostonoldtowntrolley

 

Take a Seat and Enjoy the Views!

By our third day in Boston, we had walked about 12 miles. With a day planned that would bring us a couple of miles from our hotel, it was perfect timing to try out Old Town Trolley Tours. If you’ve ever paid to park in Boston, you understand why! There are a few different trolley tours available in Boston, but from our first day we noticed Old Town Trolley as the most frequent and available. Historic Tours of America, the company behind the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum also runs the Old Town Trolley Tours, so we knew they’d be high quality.

 

With 19 stops and more than 100 points of interest you will have plenty to see, and plenty of reason to stay on for the whole ride. But if you want to use the trolley as a method to get somewhere, that’s okay too! We decided to use the trolley to get us to the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, and then to the Aquarium. If the timing worked and the kids were tired, we could even take the trolley back to our hotel at the end of the day. Operating hours for the trolley are 9 AM – 5 PM (4 PM November – March). Lucky for us, there was a stop at the USS Constitution, right near our hotel, the Residence Inn at Tudor Wharf. We set out to the stop for 9 AM, when the trolleys begin running and within 10 minutes a trolley appeared.

 

Experience “Transportainment”

As soon as we walked onto the trolley, our driver asked where we were from. As we traveled, he did this for everyone and soon the trolley was filled with midwesterners, Australians, a couple from Northern Ireland and a couple from India. Impressive! He introduced himself as Hugo and made conversation, as well as letting us know the rules (keep chatter to a low volume, no standing while the trolley is moving. As we got moving, Hugo narrated our whole ride. His knowledge was impressive as there was just so much to take in.

 

Our trolley was one level, but other Old Town Trolleys have elevated seats. All seats offer a good view, but the better ones are not near the wheelchair entrance (it blocks one side). As we traveled not only did Hugo safely operate the bus and narrate the ride, he kept us informed of the upcoming stop and what was at each stop.

 

Where everybody ...

Where everybody …

 

Old Town Trolley Tours takes riders through multiple Boston neighborhoods. If we had walked and not been on the Old Town Trolley, we wouldn’t have seen Fenway Park, or MIT/Cambridge. The trolley goes over three bridges, emphasizing the importance of the river to Boston. We already knew it was a picturesque city, but the tour reinforced that! We had a beautiful day, so the windows were open. Plastic will cover if weather is bad (as we saw on other days). The entire ride is about 2 hours, depending on traffic. We rode from stops 3 – 16 that took us through the Back Bay, the South End, and all around Boston Common.  The whole ride felt safe and comfortable, and we were happy to take a walking break!

 

One of the river crossings included in the tour

One of the river crossings included in the tour

 

Why Ride With Old Town Trolley Tours?

As said, there are a few trolley companies in Boston. What makes Old Town Trolley Tours the one to choose?

  • There were so many trolleys! Even though we didn’t end up taking the trolley a second time, we saw enough of them that we could.
  • The stops are convenient to where the attractions are. There are 6 stops along the Freedom Trail!
  • If you get the map in advance, it’s a great resource for planning your whole trip. The map shows al major attractions and of course, the trolley stops.
  • Buy online and save! Children under 4 ride free.

 

For more photos from Old Town Trolley see our Facebook Album. Here’s a preview.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153698861920745.1073742396.71658875744&type=3

 

Click over to see the rest of our Family Travel to Boston series for help in planning your Boston vacation.

 

Family Travel toBoston

 

To arrange a feature on your location contact Jennifer Auer, Jersey Family Fun publisher.

In full disclosure we were given 4 passes to ride the Old Town Trolley by Historic Tours of America. We appreciate their support of Jersey Family Fun’s visit to Boston. As always, all opinions are our own.

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