Chicago River & Lakefront Boat Tours

Fun experience! Wanted to finally do a Chicago boat tour. There are so many to choose from. After doing much research we narrowed it down to the fireboat and one other. The fireboat is smaller/less people, historical as you are on an actual fireboat that was in service there from late 30s until early 80. They also gave you great info on the architecture, and history during the tour without drawling on about too much. The whole crew were great. Bar tender was a hoot and made a pretty good Bloody Mary. We also got a free picture from them in front of the boat. It was a great experience and so glad we did it and also so glad we picked the fireboat!!

Great Experience! Loved everything about this trip. It is such a great way to learn interesting facts about Chicago architecture/history and see parts of the City. Highly recommended.

A little more than an average architecture tour So much fun. The tour guide was funny, clear and knowledgeable. It is an easy boat for all ages. The tour guide talked about why the flag has 4 stars to secrets of some of the buildings we passed to how the lock worked and the work the boat did in the fires. Not just architecture. The crew were very nice. Plenty of shade and seating. And air conditioning! Worth the $$. I had my first tour canceled due to the weather. The woman I spoke to was awesome and made sure I got on another tour that worked for me. Hubby was a little sad I didn’t schedule a traditional architecture tour but right away he was happy I did.

Highly recommended!! Loved this trip!! The guide was super knowledgeable and we loved the music, too!! Thank you!

Best historical tour of Lake and Chicago River You must take this unique lake and river tour on the Fireboat! Plenty of seating and open area for viewing. This is a boat with quite a history. And our guide, Cliff was so full of knowledge about the Fire boats, Chicago and architectural history and design. Definitely our favorite day of touring, and fun to watch going through the locks connecting the lake to the river itself. Absolutely recommend!

Great time had by all! My adult children and I enjoyed a fun and informative afternoon tour on this beautiful boat for our Mother’s Day celebration. The staff were friendly, funny and very informative.

I am an architect and Cliff knew his stuff The smaller boat was much preferred to the larger boats we saw on the river. The best part of the tour was Cliff the Guide. He was energetic, informative, knowledgeable and delivered at just the right pace. Loved all of his insider stories.

Unique historical experience! This was a one of kind experience in a historic fireboat. Much better than the crowded, larger tours, and the tour guide had a great sense of humor. My coworkers and I were impressed and want to come back for the sunset tour. Definitely recommend!

This is the best architecture boat tour in Chicago. The guide Cliff is very knowledgeable, easily understood, and very personable. One gets a unique perspective of the Chicago skyline from the lakefront and then then from the Chicago river after passing through the logs. The boat is intimate, the bar is well stocked and the atmosphere is quite friendly

This is an excellent tour .Very friendly , fun , & professional crew.The Captain of the vessel is a well seasoned & smooth operator.They are proud of what they do & it shows.Very warm , welcoming & knowledgeable.Roughly 2hrs from check in to disembarking.I am not a touristy guy but this is The Sweet Spot of local flavor without being overbearing.It's also one of the Lesser crowded of things to do.I write this hoping it doesn't change but they deserve the acknowledgement & i hope it grows .Thank you for an informative & fun experience.......They do have a nice selection both non and alcoholic beverages on board for everyone to enjoy.

Best tour in the city. Best tour taken! So much history! Our crew was exceptional. Cliff & Mike were the best guide's. Would highly recommend this tour.

Look for the big red boat! The entire crew was helpful and accommodating. Our tour guide Cliff was excellent — knowledgeable and friendly. Taking a historical tour on a historic Chicago fireboat was really special. We thoroughly enjoyed our time on the water.

Cliff was an amazing guide and extremely knowledgeable. Highly recommend!!!

Outing Fun, interesting. A good presentation

Absolutely thrilled we ended up booking this tour. Did some research and decided this one sounded the best and oh was it!!! Loved everything about this tour. The boat was fantastic and came with so much history of its own and character. The captains and staff on the boat were brilliant. So informative and knowledgeable. But delivered in a way that you wanted to know more and also with incredible humour and fun. Cliff was our tour guide and I’m so glad. I’m not sure you can get any better. I thought I’d like this tour but I absolutely loved it. The information was so interesting and I left knowing so much more than I imagined I would.The tour itself is fantastic. What an incredibly beautiful city Chicago is and you wouldn’t know it just from the streets. You must see it from the water. This tour included the lake as well as the river which was rare and great.Went by so quickly as it was so great. And enjoyable. It’s not jam packed like other boats are and we’re. This was so much more personal and intimate and I wouldn’t have wanted to do it any other way. Cliff you were fantastic and we were so privileged meeting you and learning from you today. And it’s owned and operated by veterans too which we thought was great. Thank you for a brilliant day out on the water. - John and Eleni.

Was a fantastic tour, very fun and educational- highly recommend!!

Chicago fireboat river tour This was a fantastic experience and having the history of the fireboat added even more to it. It felt like a personal tour, being more intimate than the larger boats. There’s a bar onboard too. The skipper and crew were terrific and Captain Cliff was extremely knowledgeable and quite the entertainer. The city from the river is awesome. We highly recommend it. Thanks again. John and Eleni

Excellent! This was a fabulous experience! My mom and I took the tour in the afternoon on a beautiful Sunday. It was interesting, fun, and very informative. We could not originally find the location of where the boat took off, so we missed it by about five minutes. I called the number provided and they rebooked us from the noon tour to the three pm tour, no questions asked. I can’t wait for more friends and family to visit, so I can take them on the tour again!