Our Reviews

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!!!

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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!

Fire in boat tour We had a fantastic experience. Tour guide had excellent knowledge and had a nice way when he was telling the stories. The fire boat itself was a novel experience.

Very knowledgeable and fun experience. Of course not cheap like everything in big cities like Chicago, but you get quite a lot offered in regards to architecture and background information. snacks and drinks are also available to buy.

Thank you for such an enjoyable couple of hours. The staff were fantastic. Very informative commentary, would recommend this cruise to everyone. Stu and Rosie - from Australia

What a fantastic day!! Cliff made the tour so enjoyable. Great way to spend two hours in the city. Highly recommend take the tour. Best way to see the city!!

Highly recommend! We had a wonderful time on this adventure! It was a small and more intimate experience vs the other river boat cruises that looked like a herd of people were on them. Cliff was wonderful and full of interesting facts about the city and the history behind the buildings. I highly recommend this tour of Chicago!

Great tour in an historic fireboat with a friendly crew. The crew was friendly and welcoming. The tour had the great combination of Chicago architecture and history. Cliff was an outstanding tour guide. Highly recommend!

A great tour We thoroughly enjoyed our small group tour on the Fireboat. Our guide was very knowledgeable and witty. Very relaxed adventure. Thank you.

First time doing a sunset tour and we could not have asked for a better experience. The Captain and his crew were very knowledgeable about the boat and its history.Would definitely recommend this to anyone that would like to know more about the history of Chicago as well as the Fred A. Busse.We will be back for more tours and rides in the future!

Beautiful Day! My birthday celebration! WOW!!! What a beautiful day on a Boat with such incredible history! So beautifully restored! Our crew kept us safe despite big waves- the views were incredible and Chris our guide was funny and informative! Disappointed that there are no fire hoses spraying water but the lake tossed some waves so we got sprinkled with water! Thank you for the tour!

I did a lot of research to find a smaller boat that mixed Chicago history with some architecture. Also during my research, I found some boats started in or included part of the lake so you get a view of the skyline and a ride through the lock between the river and lake. And then - on top of all that - a ride on a real, retired Chicago fire boat?! Honestly, it was a great afternoon with Cliff and the Captains and the crew. Highly recommended by all 5 of us!

Amazing Tour I hope you get as beautiful a day as I did, it was such a wonderful experience! My family has gone on other architecture tours, but swore this one was the best. Cliff gave wonderful backstory to the city, the boat, and the amazing buildings on the river-with humor! The entire crew was incredibly approachable for questions, and the drinks made by Manny were well enjoyed. Starting out on the lake was super cool, and the tour wasn't crowded at all. I booked online, showed up early, and boarding was a breeze!Don't forget to admire the pictures in the cabin!

Great tour and well narrated. Many tours are either river or lake but not too many do bothGet a great architectural tour plus a view of Navy Pier and surrounding area. Very cool and worth the 2 hours. Highly recommend

Very fun time. The whole crew is friendly and knowledgeable on the architecture and history. Highly recommended.

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!

Fire boats are just as cool as fire trucks. 5 star tour AUSTIN was an amazing tour guide. He delivered the history and information in a fun and humorous way. With so many options for these tours being a volunteer firefighter i of course had to chose this one. I liked that it started in the lake and not in the river , Cool boat with cool memorabilia . Manny at the bar was great. This boat wasn't overly crowded which was nice. Some other boats are packed like sardines. I was hoping for a bit more fire storys but it was in fact an architectural tour. If you are in town go down and support these guys.

Lieber Austin, danke für die tolle Tour mit vielen Infos zur Historie der Stadt, Anekdoten und Witzen!

We had a wonderful time on this tour. The crew was very friendly and helpful. Our guide, Cliff, was great. He was informative and funny. It was very interesting to pass through the lock. We are glad we did this tour.

Don’t miss this tour. It’s small, informative, and great information about the city while riding Well worth your time for a unique view and education about the city. The tour was extremely informative about Chicago’s architecture and history. You get a tremendous view of the city while riding on a historic fireboat. As a former firefighter, this was a real treat. The narration, Captain, and crew were top notch.

Super cool fireboat. the guide, Austin, was super funny and told a lot of interesting facts. My 12 year old loved all.

Book the 5pm tour Wow what a tour. These guys are incredible they really enjoy doing tours and have so much awesome information to put out. The boat was so clean and had tons of the fire boats history on it. Although since I was running a marathon two days after when I did my tour I didn’t enjoy the full bar but it was stocked to the max with anything to keep your thirst in check. The kids on board got little fire hats and got to play with pump sprayers which I thought was very cool. I had never been to Chicago or even knew to much about the history esp of the river but you leave knowing a ton. I recommend the 5pm tour. One the way back as the sunsets the views are amazing. It’s also nice to support a very well run veterans company.

Fun and Informative! Great Experience! Super informative the the views are beautiful! The guide was great and very funny! Learned a lot about Chicago and the added experience of the fire boat and fire history was great!I liked that there were tables and you could get a beer and enjoy the ride.

Very informative tour! We were impressed with the wealth of information. Also, it was fun to be on a historic fire boat. Great 2 hour trip on the lake and river.

Hello y'all, I do not know the owner or any of the crew. My wife and I took a river tour last weekend on their decommissioned fire tug. The dock was easy to get to, and it is in a nice area of the riverfront. It's easy to find, look for moored white and blue ship. It is huge, and the only one you can not miss it. Walk past it on the same pier and you will see the red fire tug. There is also a crewman that is at the entrance of the pier before the tour starts hawking rides. The tug is a fine ship and very well maintained. The skipper is also the owner. he saved it from some other company up north and brought it back to her old post on the river. Her sister ship is still in service as quarters for the crew of the new city fire tug. They have a covered foul weather/sun deck with seating at the stern, and open seating on the bow by the old deck gun. They play awesome tunes and have a full service bar in the old crew quarters. There are two very good heads (bathrooms) . the ship rides very well and it's not over crowded like the other tour boats, its like your uncle is the fire boat captain and you caught a ride on his boat. They also serve beer and snacks etc. It is a veteran owned local company. She is berthed by a sailing club, there were a bunch of people learning to sail in little boats on Lake Michigan when we went through, which was kinda cool to watch as you motored to the mouth of the river. This tour was reasonable priced and to be honest y'all, when is the next time you will have a chance to ride a fire boat? They also like patches too for you folks into patches.... They have them all over the inside of the boat. Even though its old, the boat runs strong, a crewman told me they overhauled it before putting back into service as a tour boat. Everything appears to be well maintained. The guide was funny and new a lot about the buildings, I learned a bunch of Chicago waterfront history. The views of the lake and skyline were on point. and there was plenty of room to walk around if you needed to change angles etc. This is not a traditional tour boat that crams people in like cattle. There is plenty of space. It is the closest most people will get to crewing a work boat. The only thing missing was those homemade, midwest firehouse sloppy joe sandwiches on a potato bun, wrapped in butcher paper, to go with the old style. And a WORKING deck gun, that would be very very cool to let it rip when your out on the lake part of the cruise. I am making this a new tradition when I have to come to Chicago. It is a nice way to spend a few hours. The bartender is very cool too. To the crew; Y'all have a fine little boat, keep up the good work. I am letting all my coworkers know about your tour. My wife's family is about to become regulars too.

Loved this tour! This is the second time I've taken this cruise. The first time I went with a friend; this time I brought my five grandkids. (Ages 8 -19) I wanted them to have the experience of going through the lock. They enjoyed the boat itself as much as they liked the cruise; it's really comfortable as well as being a piece of history. Every member of the crew made us feel welcome, and the tour guide did a great job.

Austin was great!

Great time! Super knowledgeable tour guide, and friendly bartender! I took my friend on the tour for her birthday. She absolutely loved it as did I. The boat was not crowded. The tour guide did a great job explaining everything to us. It was about a 2 hour trip which I thought was perfect. I liked that you could set outside or inside and still see everything. The history of the boat was just as cool as the history of the city. The bartender was super friendly and knowledgeable as he liked to chat with you when you came up to get a drink or snack. I highly recomend this tour as it was a super unique was to explore the city.

Amazing tour!!! Very nice people, good information about chicago and the river and a terrific beer only for this boat!!! If i comeback to Chicago i will repeat this tour no doubt!!!

Chicago Fireboat Tour is a Quality Experience We had an excellent experience on this tour. Staff was super friendly, particularly Captain Ron & Cliff. Cliff did a superb job of describing not only the architecture but also of teaching us about the history of Chicago. His style is engaging and he clearly has an excellent sense of humor. And his singing wasn’t half bad. Highly recommend for 5 and up.

Went here for a corporate event and it was incredible! Austin is an amazing tour guide and is so funny and informative! Highly recommend!

Was visiting Chicago again and decided to hop on tour with friends. It was amazing, I just was surprised that there were not a lot of people. It definitely worth every penny. And sunset skyline was amazing. Definitely recommend.

Great experience Amazing! Everyone is very friendly and the tour information was interesting to an adult and a child. We loved the experience of being able to go through the lock from the river to the lake.

Best tour ever Best Chicago tour by far. Excellent tour guide (Cliff), amazing views and learned so much about the city. Will definitely go again!

Best Chicago Boat Tour Took our 81 year mom for her birthday with the whole family. Great views from the lake and river. The tour was full of so much Chicago history not just architecture. Use spot hero to get close cheap parking. Have been on several river tours and this was the best!