Chicago River & Lakefront Boat Tours

100% Recommended!!!Not only it was an awesome experience to navigate the river on an actual Fireman boat, but the staff was super friendly, attentive and knowledgeable of the city and the boat' history itself!We actually decided to go on it because my 3-year-old is a huge fan of firemen, and it was totally worth it. They even had an old water pump for him to play with while navigating.Also, it was raining that day and they are one of the few boats that has a 100% covered area, where you can still enjoy the ride, see the buildings/architecture, while enjoying a coffee or a beer.Best option to go with in Chicago!!

Best tour I've taken in Chicago. What a great tour! Somehow, I had the boat all to myself (it seemed most people booked for later in the afternoon when it would be warmer), and the crew were all really friendly. Cliff was a great tour guide, knowledgeable, great sense of humor, and a good story-teller. He answered all my questions and I learned about Chicago history, the architecture, and about the boat itself. It was the best tour I've taken here and the fact that its all Veteran owned and operated was very cool. I'd definitely take it again and have already recommended it to a friend. Plus, even if you aren't the only passenger, it's still smaller than the other boats we saw on the river for a more intimate experience.

By FAR the best boat tour in Chicago! I used to think “all Chicago River boat tours were the same tour, different boat” and you just hoped to get a good guide ( I’ve done them about 20 times)But finally, I found one that’s truly a “step above”Not only do you learn some history but you’re riding in a piece of it on the Fireboat! The tour is much more intimate and the staff better trained than the other boats, they all clearly love their jobs and are well managed. That’s no easy feat in hospitality ( I work in hotels and it’s so hard to get folks caring this much) Also, the value of this tour with more affordable drinks and better service is just insane. We’ve done the Fireboat 4 times now, and I’ll never do Wendella or one of the “mass producers” again Met the owners, who also “drive” and they were really welcoming and let me daughter take pictures in the captains chair and generally “run roughshod” all over their boat. Pretty sure she got yelled at on Wendella, maybe justifiably lol Overall, this is a 6 star experience, and the care and attention of the captain and crew is incredible, just keeps getting better

Great tour; 2 hours — nice crew and very good tour guide/history story teller. Highly recommended. Picked this company because we went out on Lake Michigan first to see the city landscape and skyline, and then went through the locks to the more standard architecture river tour.

Great experience! Lovely crew with great passion for the city and its history. Very nice way to discover Chicago. I would definitely recommend this more personal experience over the huge boats with hundreds of tourists.

Epic! Lived near Chicago for half of my life, took the Wendella about 50 years ago. Visiting Chicago now and decided to go on a few adventures, this was a wonderful tour. Veteran owned, learned a lot of Chicago history that I didn’t know and rode a true piece of Chicago history. In credible views! Highly recommend!

Weekend in Chicago What a wonderful tour on a piece of Chicago history. The trip and crew were outstanding. The weather cooperated and we learned alot from the narrator.

I am not a leading authority on tours, but this is the best one I have ever taken. This operation is the personification of integrity, knowledge, and customer service.Picture this: My wife and I booked this tour the day before. Because we don’t know the area well, we showed up way early. As we stood alone on the pier, getting lashed by the wind and cold, we grew steadily convinced that this trip was going to be canceled.When co-owner and captain, Ray, approached us I was sure that he was going to inform us that our money had been refunded and that we were welcome to come back some other time. Not at all.Ray welcomed us aboard, introduced us to the entire crew, invited us to warm up with a cup of coffee.Note that this is a boat that routinely packs in over 100 passengers, but now we were the only ones onboard. Soon after taking a table on the wind-protected aft deck, we were introduced to Cliff, our tour guide.Cliff didn’t sit tucked away somewhere using a PA-system; he sat down at the table with us. We then struck up a 90 minute conversation about the boat, its history, Lake Michigan, the Navy Pier, the lock, the Sanitation and Transportation canal, the Great Fire of 1871, the architecture of the great buildings along the river, and much more.Cliff, a native Chicagoan, has lived and studied this city and its lore and history and he’s a great storyteller to boot.All in all, we had the best tour of our lives thanks to the professional and personable crew of the Fire Boat Tour.Don’t miss it!

Best guided tour of my life. This was the best guided tour we have ever taken. Picture this: it’s windy, cold, and raining and my wife and I are the only takers for the Noon Fireboat tour. I’m figuring they will offer to give us our money back and send us on our way. Not at all. Captain and co-owner, Ray, assured us that the tour was on. We were then introduced to the entire crew and then storyteller extraordinaire and tour guide, Cliff, sat down at our table. With hot coffee to warm us up we sat on the wind-protected aft deck and listened to the fascinating history of the Chicago waterfront. Cliff is a native Chicagoan who has a love for Chicago and a deep knowledge of its history and architecture. Well worth it!

Chicago Fireboat trip The trip was great. Good info about buildings, the city and harbor. Old super nice boat with very friendly crew. Worth a trip - you will get a special experience.

Great experience, I learned some interesting facts, plus the guiding man was funny!

Terrific! Wonderful tour on a terrific little vessel with great history. It was a real plus to have small crowd on this tour - some of the other boat tours were PACKED and this had such an easy going vibe and top notch narration.

A great company and tour to take in Chicago, especially for St.Patrick's Day!

Highly recommend taking this tour!! This boat is amazing! Such an intimate way to get to experience Chicago from the river. The history of the boat and the knowledge this team has is unmatched.

If your looking for a great blast from the past experience that's one of a kind you found it. You will be captivated the second you step on this beautiful vessel made in 1936 and you will immediately feel the history and hospitality of the crew members. They serve great alcohol choices at amazing prices. Once aboard dont forget to walk around the vessel and admire the great chicago history you are standing on and take a look at some of the amazing photos of what it used to look like when in operation. Then with us we had the amazing pleasure to meet and converse with the man who knows his city and guide Cliff. He was very welcoming and very knowledgeable of the city and designs chicago has to offer and will most definitely keep you interested with some humor and architectural knowledge. This is and will be as stated on board with i believe was the owner of the ship l. A one of a kind authentic tour you will get nowhere else in chicago and man he was not kidding.

Great experience with Fireboat Tours. Was a beautiful day, a great way to see the city & would certainly use them again in the future!

Great tour, our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. Me and my family got to learn a lot about the places we saw on the trip. The fireboat is a piece of history and art itself, as it was repurposed as a tour boat and works beautifully. There is no gasoline or diesel smell.

MICKEYS 70th It was a perfect fall day and we had an amazing boat ride! First, it is a decommissioned fire boat! Second, the tour not only incorporated history and architecture it also took us through the river locks. I could not have wanted for a better tour. The crew was friendly and did an amazing job! I would go again!