On our first trip to Rome, we booked our first “hop-on, hop-off” bus adventure. That was a big double-decker bus with an open top and, although it couldn’t get to many of the inner parts of the city, it gave us a good idea of the city’s layout and saved some steps. Since that first experience over a decade ago, Jon and I will occasionally book a hop-on/hop-off bus when our fancy strikes. As we prepared for our Boston trip, I thought it would be a wonderful way to see the city. But I wasn’t sure how feasible it would be for Jon—who is mobility-challenged and uses a folding mobility scooter when we travel. Thankfully, I found Old Town Trolley Tour and they boasted of fully accessible trolleys so that Jon and I could ride around the city in comfort with ease.
Boston is a treasure trove for history lovers with a documented past dating from 1630. You can see many important places from colonial times through the 21st century. A hotbed of revolutionary fervor, there are many important places from the American Revolution in Boston and, of course, the Freedom Trail is a “must-see” for American history enthusiasts. Besides history, Boston boasts amazing food (North End’s Little Italy is a good place to gorge yourself), fabulous sea views, gorgeous art and architecture, sports, culture and much more. With so much to see and do—spread out over the city—the trolley was a great way to navigate the city.
What is the trolley tour like?
The route is about 13 miles long and takes about two hours from start to finish. Depending on when you go, the trolleys generally run daily and come around about every 20 minutes. Throughout your ride, the drivers/guides provide rich commentary about Boston, its history, and its culture. Each time we hopped on, we had a different guide but I noticed that they all had the same basic bullet points for the stops, so they are uniformly trained on the stops and Boston’s history. Between telling histories, stories, tales (some of them tall), the drivers played fun soundbites, which added to the jovial atmosphere. Twice I rode past Cheers bar and both times the guide played the Cheers theme song as we neared the stop. I loved looking out the window to see people on the street smiling from ear to ear when they heard the familiar song. One person even belted out the familiar refrain, “you want to be where everybody knows your name.” She was so filled with joy that I, too, was smiling from broadly.
It was also nice to have such knowledgeable guides to post questions to. They offered suggestions on where to eat and what to see at each stop. And it seemed that no matter how obscure my question, each guide had an answer (and you can imagine that a history professor has some pretty obscure questions). They even helped plan which stop to get off at for a round of sightseeing, so that Jon would have the easiest time getting on and off and wouldn’t have to load on and off too much. I appreciated the degree to which they took care to make sure we were having a great tour—and I saw the same attention being given to each guest.
Where does the trolley go?
For their map, I recommend going to their website, but here is my overview of the addresses for the stops and popular sites at each.
Stops (A=accessible)
- Faneuil Hall (A), 200 Atlantic Ave. (Some attractions: Quincy Market, New England Aquarium, Boston Harbor Cruises)
- Historic North End, 561 Commercial Street, (Some attractions: Paul Revere House, Old North Church, Little Italy)
- USS Constitution (A) located directly in front of Gate #1 at the Charlestown Navy Yard, (Some attractions: Bunker Hill, USS Constitution, Warren Tavern)
- North Station/TD Garden (A) 162 Causeway, (Some attractions: Museum of Science, TD Garden)
- Downtown Crossing/Historic District on 28 State Street, (Some attractions: Old State House, Boston Massacre Site, Kings Chapel, Old South Meeting House)
- Beacon Hill—72 Charles St, (Some attractions: Louisburg Square, Charles Street, Acorn Street)
- Cheers Bar—85 Beacon St. (Some attractions: Gibson House Museum, Boston Public Garden, Boston Commons)
- Prudential Center—40 Dalton St., (Some attractions: Newbury Street, Fenway Park, Massachusetts Historical Center)
- Symphony Hall/Christian Science Plaza (A)—140 Huntington Ave, (Some attractions: View Boston 360, Isabella Gardner Museum, Museum of Fine Arts)
- Copley Place Mall (A)—100 Huntington Ave., (Some attractions: Copley Place, Newbury Street,
- Copley Square/Back Bay (A) across the street from #545 Boylston Street. (Some attractions: Trinity Church, Boston Public Library,
- Old Town Trolley Welcome Center/Theater District (A) 2 Park Plaza, Boylston and Charles St., (Some attractions: the Edgar Allan Poe statue, Boch Center-Wang Theater)
- New State House/Boston Common (A), 30 Beacon at Park Street, (Some attractions: Robert Gould Shaw & 54th Regiment memorial, Park Street Church, Boston Common, Granary Burying Ground, Freedom Trail, Massachusetts State House)
- Boston Tea Party (A), 313 Congress St., (Some attractions: Boston Children’s Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum)
What are the ticket options?
You can book one-day of unlimited hopping on and hopping off or two days. They also have tickets for a “Ghosts and Gravestones” tour (see below for links).
How accessible is the Old Town Trolley Tour?
Jon and I were very impressed with how accessible the trolleys were and how helpful the employees of the Old Town Trolley Tour were. Many of their buses are equipped with lifts. If you can climb a few stairs, then their buses have a storage area for folding wheelchairs/mobility scooters. Their website map clearly shows which stops are accessible and can lower the lift.
Old Town Trolley asks for 24 hours’ notice to ensure they have an accessible trolley waiting for you. We called the day before and let them know what stop we wanted to start at. They had a trolley with lift waiting for us when we got there. We ended up being able to just fold and store our mobility scooter, so the lift wasn’t needed but it was nice to see how attentive and caring they were. Each of our drivers cared about making sure we both had a good time and that we were able to easily get on and off the trolley.
With the hop-on, hop-off option, Jon and I were able to explore all day. There was no hassle. We didn’t have to try to hail a taxi or find public transport and the stops took us all around the city so that we were never far from the best Boston attractions.
If you’re heading to Boston and want to explore the city’s rich history and culture in comfort and ease—with knowledgeable and fun drivers—I suggest Old Town Trolley Tours. We had a blast on our tour. Jon and I rode the whole route together once, stopping off here and there, and then I went back and took the trolley again because I enjoyed it so much. Whether you’re a history buff, a curious traveler, or simply looking for a fun way to see one of America’s most stories cities, you should consider giving the hop-on, hop-off trolley ride a try. It allowed us to explore a good part of the city, from the harbor to Charleston to Beacon Hill to the Back Bay and more, in leisure and comfort. If you would like to book tickets, we have our Viator affiliate links below. Happy travels!
Old Town Hop-On/Hop-Off Trolley Tour: https://www.viator.com/tours/Boston/Boston-Hop-on-Hop-off-Trolley-Tour/d678-5046BOS_OTT?pid=P00161535&mcid=42383&medium=link&medium_version=selector
Ghosts and Gravestones Tour: https://www.viator.com/tours/Boston/Boston-Ghosts-and-Gravestones-Tour/d678-5046BOS_GG?pid=P00161535&mcid=42383&medium=link&medium_version=selector
Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum: https://www.viator.com/tours/Boston/Admission-to-Boston-Tea-Party-Ships-and-Museum/d678-5650TEA?pid=P00161535&mcid=42383&medium=link&medium_version=selector
Top Boston Tours: https://www.viator.com/Boston/d678-ttd?pid=P00161535&mcid=42383&medium=link&medium_version=selector
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