Chicago River & Lakefront Boat Tours

How did I just learn about this tour this year? It will become a yearly tradition. It was so much fun. The crew was fantastic, Santa was great, the holiday tunes set the mood, and the views were phenomenal. It was cold, but the hot chocolate helped.

An absolute stellar crew of down to earth Chicagoans. We boarded the 7pm fireworks cruise, had a beautiful ride down the river before returning just in time for the fireworks. Cocktails on board were 10/10 and loved the little museum on board.

Fun for the whole family!! We did the santa boat ride and had a great time! Super friendly staff. Will definitely do again. Highly recommend

The guide was very friendly and had tons of knowledge. The bar tender was nice and helpful also. Very fun and informative ride

Great experience Great experience. Friendly and informative staff. Small bar onboard and was surprised at how many things we learned and how relaxing it is.

A ride on the Fred A. Busse Fireboat is a MUST for anyone who lives in or visits Chicago! The Boat: A ride on a decommissioned fireboat is a super cool experience. It's spacious, there is a bar with drinks and snacks, and it's basically a museum on the water.The Tour: Holy History Bat Man! My father has lived in Chicago for most of his life and was amazed at how much he didn't know. The tour guide was flawless. He explained everything in detail and truly made it fun.The Staff: Friendly, professional, considerate (my father is older and blind in one eye so they told us we could get on first to make sure he got situated comfortably), and just a pleasure to be around.We can't say enough good things about this tour! Thank you for a fantastic experience!

La mejor opción El recorrido extra en el lago le agrega el plus de skylines maravillosas. El guía es muy bueno y cuenta anécdotas interesantes y valiosas. Ampliamente recomendable.

Definitely “ a must do “ There were 3 of us. This was a great experience. It is a smaller boat. Very well operated, maintained and had a great narrator on board. We sat in the front area for most of the tour, beautiful day though chilly. This is for anyone wanting to feel the drop in Lochs and hear current & historical information on the buildings along the Lake. Fun excursion

MUST DO ! What an awesome tour. Bathrooms, beverages, room to move around. This was like a private tour. Forget the big boats. THIS is where its at. So friendly and knowledgeable. Be the tour group everyone else is looking at.

Loved getting to see Chicago by water on this floating museum of a boat! Cliff our docent was very knowledgeable, and Magic Manny poured em strong. REALLY appreciate that they held the boat for us as we navigated downtown parking and streets with the same name but some are upper or lower. Getting to start and end on the lake meant going through the river lock which was a first time for everyone in my group and the timing of our tour (4pm) meant we came back as the sun was setting on the city, truly a charming experience. Highly recommend!!!!

Best Architectural Tour I'm so glad we got to go on the Chicago Fireboat cruise! The whole crew was so welcoming and the fact that they held the boat for us (we were 6 minutes late) gave them an immediate 5 stars but the experience alone warranted the full 5 as well. Going from the lake, through the locks and into the river then back again was super cool and a first for everyone in our party. We did the 4pm tour so we got to see the sunset at the end which was so gorgeous! Highly recommend!!!

Úžasné!

We were treated to an almost private tour in early September. The tour guide was so knowledgeable and our teenagers were really engaged the whole time. This is a great way to see the architecture of Chicago and to learn about the history of the city.

THE BEST RIVER CRUISE!!! Outstanding boat, comfortable, many amenities, including a bar, restrooms, clean, outstanding tour, guide, and staff. We were lucky enough to have Cliff on board who is extremely knowledgeable and was clear and concise regarding every interesting building. His knowledge and presentation surpassed my expectations. Overall, the two hours flew by. I was in desperate need of a C charger for my phone and the bartender Manny graciously plugged it in for me so I could improve the battery and take pictures along the way! I cannot compliment the staff, the boat or the overall tour. It was all incredible.

Fireboat “41” Fred Busse, is the best way to cruise the river. Learned so much, and your cooler on a fireboat. Amazing! From the minute you arrive you’re welcomed aboard, quaint little bar and snacks to not being overcrowded. The experience was one of the best I had in Chicago. It’s a must if you wanna do a river cruise. And who doesn’t wanna cruise on a real fireboat that actually put out fires in Chicago.

A great tour with great people! Cliff was our host and was a wealth of knowledge, friendly, and made the tour great! The other tour boats look massive, very crowded and not so enjoyable. Our time on the Chicago Fireboat Tour was great and would definitely recommend over those big tour companies!

perfect way to end our stay Awesome tour! Great guides, cool boat, small group of passengers (small boat), and a lot of information shared about the history of Chicago and the river and the buildings along it. Only thing I would change - it was a bit hard to hear the tour guide (sat mostly in the bow outside, and the wind made it hard to hear, when we moved inside there were a lot of loud families and again, couldn't hear well). Otherwise, well worth every penny and would highly recommend to everyone!

Sehr liebevolle geführte Tour auf dem schönsten Boot der Gegend! Sehr liebevoll durchgeführte Tour durch den Hafen und die Kanäle von Chicago. Feuerwehrleute sollten unbedingt Patches mitbringen. Es sind schon einige auf dem Boot vorhanden. Fühlt sich nicht nach Massenabfertigung an. Auch das Boot ist super schön hergerichtet. Ich würde die Tour jederzeit weiterempfehlen!