Chicago River & Lakefront Boat Tours

On a Vintage 1937 Fireboat

The Chicago Fireboat Tour Experience

Our historical & architectural tours take guests from our dock in DuSable Harbor, through the Chicago locks onto the Chicago river, navigating the same waterways where our vessel once fought fires and provided emergency assistance.

Our tours are family friendly (except for the 21+ Booze Cruise) and provide a relaxing, comfortable experience for guests of all ages.

In addition to our guided architectural and historical river tours, we offer one of the most unique venues in Chicago for a private charter or special event.

Cruise On An Actual Piece Of Chicago History

Celebrating 90 Years On The Water

Our flagship vessel is the Fred A. Busse, a retired fireboat that served the Chicago Fire Department for 44 years, from 1937 until 1981. At the time it was built was the largest diesel powered Fireboat in the world.

While on the cruise, expert tour guides highlight Chicago’s world famous architecture, the maritime history that helped shape the city into what it has become today, plus unique historical facts about fires our boat fought decades ago.

Date built: 1936
In Municipal Service: 1937 to 1981
Gross Tons: 99
Length: 90 feet
Capacity: 127 passengers

Over 400 Five Star Google Reviews

Great experience The staff were friendly and very knowledgeable about the city , the fire boat and provided an interesting tour.
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Venture05553912144 8/04/2026

Don't miss this tour boat This was such a great tour on the water, you see so much more of Chicago doing this ride. Very cool ,experience, if you dont do this one you've missed the boat,lol ..
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Tommy N. 8/04/2026

Amazing way to see the city This was an amazing tour and the perfect way for us to end our trip to Chicago! The guide was a great storyteller and we learned a lot about the history of Chicago. It was so cool to see the city from the river. Highly recommend! 10/10
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Colleen K. 8/03/2026
Great way to see Chicago! Excellent way to spend an afternoon in Chicago. We thoroughly enjoyed our guide, Cliff. He was very knowledgeable but made the tour interesting with his delivery and the stories he told. The boat was also perfect. It was relatively small compared to some of the boat tours in the city. We only had about 15-20 people on the boat. We all had seats but could stand up to get a better view or walk around very easily. We would definitely recommend this activity for anyone coming to the windy city.
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Jean041468 8/03/2026

Great tour! Great tour! The guide, Cliff, was amazing.
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Sue H. 8/02/2026

Absolut Empfehlenswert! Ein super Erlebnis für jeden, der Chicago besucht. Man bekommt wirklich viel und verständlich erklärt. Ein sehr sehr guter Guide! Super tolles Erlebnis! Danke!!!!
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Sandro B. 8/01/2026
Personalized experience on a historical vessel Uncrowded vs the “cattle boat” tour experience and so cool to be on a historical vessel that is part of Chicago history. Highly recommend. Great bar service and conversations with the crew. Support our veterans and choose this tour!
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Elk B. 8/01/2026

Awesome experience. Highly recommend
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Mike S. 7/31/2026

Made me love Chicago We had a wonderful time and the guide was delightful. Highly reccomend
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Gina V. 7/31/2026
Must Do! Awesome. Very fun and informative. I highly recommend.
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Mike S. 7/31/2026

What a great tour! The staff were incredible, knowledgeable and very friendly! We learned a lot in the relative short time on the tour and couldn’t be happier with how great it was. Will definitely book again!
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Aaron V. 7/30/2026

Perfect day on the water Awesome for a family. Great views and history to learn along the way. They pack a ton into the 2 hour cruise. so cool to be able to cruise along the lake and go up the river.
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Matt L. 7/30/2026
Authentic Chicago fire boat tour We went with 7 girlfriends on this epic adventure during a rain storm. It was an exciting experience with a crew who knew what they were doing . Captain was professional and informative , it was an absolute must do experience , best of all the tour boats in Chicago if you like authenticity and history. We did manage to have some fun too, thx to the crew!
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Adriana V. 7/29/2026

Fun fireboat frolic Great tour!! Very cool tour on historic fire boat. You get to go through the lock from the lake to the river very interesting experience. Guide was very informative.
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Janice T. 7/26/2026

Must do!!! This was an awesome cruise!!! We have two sons that are firefighters and they would’ve absolutely loved this. What excellent guides and so friendly!! Loved all the knowledge and how the boat is set up. Seeing the architecture from this view is amazing!! Would definitely recommend and will be back if we’re in the area again. Great job crew!!!
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FellowTraveler424410 7/26/2026
Great tour and “dad jokes” as a bonus I typically don’t write reviews, but Chicago Fireboat Tours deserves one! After seeing the large tour boats on the water, I’m happy that we picked the smaller fireboat. The best part was absolutely the tour guide. He was fabulous! His knowledge and “dad jokes” were informative and entertaining. I would recommend this tour operator above all of the others.
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TravelBug 7/26/2026

Best tour of Chicago ever The tour was great! I learned so much about Chicago and the views from the boat were spectacular. I would highly recommend this tour. You will not regret it.
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Johnny W. 7/25/2026

A Fun Look at History Friendly crew and knowledgeable guide. As well as Fun. I would love to return again with friends.
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Lori M. 7/23/2026

Our Chicago Boat Tours

All tours are based on seasonal availability. Depending on the time of year, there may not be tickets on sale for a tour yet. Please contact us if you would like to know when a specific tour will go on sale again if you do not see tickets for sale.

Our Story

Founded in 2019, Chicago Fireboat Tours is a veteran owned and operated business. We conduct historical & architectural tours, cruises and private charters on Lake Michigan and the Chicago River.