I have lived in the Boston area for almost 14 years, and in all that time here, I have never gone on the Boston Duck Tours –  until today that is.  We have family in town from Wilmington, DE and Baltimore, MD, and what a better way to show them Boston than to take them on the Boston Duck Tours, which is basically a tour of downtown Boston – and parts of Cambridge and Charlestown too – on a “DUCK,” a World War II amphibious landing vehicle that travels on land and water.  The DUCK, or more accurately the military acronym DUKW, has the following designations:

• D is for designed in 1942
• U is for utility amphibious cargo carrying vehicle
• K signifies front wheel drive
• W signifies double rear axle drive

The fleet of vehicles includes both World War II archives and modern replicas, which can hold more people and are much more currently manufactured – all good.  The Boston Duck Tour is called one of “Freedom, Fun and Firsts.”  Freedom as Boston is where our fight for freedom first began in the 1770s, Fun because you are on an amphibious vehicle traveling the streets and waters of Boston, and Firsts because Boston is the city that is famous for many firsts, including the first public school, Boston Latin (1635), and the first subway (1897).   Adult tickets are $32, and children are $22 (with some variations on rates depending on ages and quantity of adults and children), and the tours are roughly 80 minutes and leave every 30 minutes.

We boarded our DUCK, which was the “Longfellow Bridget” pictured above, at the Prudential Center, and our tour guide was Captain Mack.  Here we are just before boarding the vehicle.  I’ve also included a photo of my daughter driving the vehicle on the Charles.  My niece and nephew drove the boat as well.  We learned so many interesting and fun facts about the history of Boston and Boston in general.  I would recommend the tour to anyone who is visiting Boston – and even those, like me, who have lived here for years and never stepped foot on a DUCK.

Have you ever been on the Boston Duck Tours?  Did you love it as much as we did?  I can’t wait to hear…..