See the historical sights and famous universities of the Boston area on this full-day trip from New York City. After a scenic drive through Connecticut, arrive in Boston, Massachusetts. See top Boston attractions including Harvard University, Trinity Church and the site of the Boston Tea Party. Follow the red-brick Freedom Trail, which leads to important historical locations. You'll learn all about the rich and colorful history of Boston from your informative and engaging guide.
Your full-day tour begins by traveling along the scenic eastern coast of Connecticut 220 miles (354 km) toward Boston, Massachusetts.
Stop at Cambridge to tour world-famous Harvard University. Stroll through Harvard Yard, see the huge Widener Library, and rub the shoe of the statue of John Harvard for good luck. Pass by two other institutions of higher learning — the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Cambridge College.
Next, cross the Charles River into Boston and view the majestic Trinity Church in Copley Square. Then, follow along the 2.5-mile (4-km) Freedom Trail, a mostly brick path that leads to 16 historical sites including Faneuil Hall, the site of the Boston Massacre and Boston Common. Break for lunch (not included) at Quincy Market, where you can sample local favorites such as clam chowder and lobster rolls.
After lunch,head to the site of the infamous Boston Tea Party. Throughout your tour, learn all about Boston's historical legacy and contemporary culture from your knowledgeable guide. In late afternoon, reboard your minivan for the trip back to New York. Your action-packed, 13-hour day trip to Boston concludes with your return to midtown Manhattan.
Very disappointed with this day trip to Boston from NYC._br/_ Very disappointing! Our tour guide was from Japan and educated in China. Her English was not great. She had learnt most of her limited American History off of Wikipedia and basically parroted what she had learnt. The tour spent an unnecessary length of time at Service centres on the way and back. Time wasted could have been spent longer in Boston on the Freedom trail. She spent most the time chatting in Cantonese with the two Chinese customers and skimming over important facts. This tour would be better suited if the guide was American born and educated with a good command of American history and culture. Waste of money and time.
Review by: runfatc, April 2018
Tour Guide is good
Review by: Emma T, January 2018
Great day. A long travel day but good way to experience Boston if you are unable to stay there
Review by: Siew Hoon H, January 2018
Is a very cold day, need to walk a lots but is fun, enjoy the tour
Review by: Sally-Ann G, January 2018
The tour itself was great, but one of the guide was less then. Obviously disinterested, she lay down on the seats and slept, ignoring the guests. The other guide was fantastic. So passionate about his job, and about Boston.
Review by: caoki808, November 2017
Coming from Hawaii with only a sort time in New York we wanted a our that could cover the highlights of New York. We found that with Viator. We are planning another trip and plan to use Viator again for that city. I recommend Viator for their professionalism and organized tours.
Review by: Chi S, November 2017
Our guide Bruno is very professional. I learnt a great deal about American history. The itinery is well planned.
Review by: sylviaporras, November 2017
Manny was awesome!! Every spot he told us to stop and see or stop and eat that was perfect! Although the bus ride is a bit long all the various stops give you resting time. Would definitely recommend this to the other people!
Review by: chuck4664, October 2017
Great tour with lots of information. Tour guide was great. I recommend this tour
Review by: Paul M, October 2017
The organisation is excellent, computers have made the tourist industry so good. It was a long day, and you have to be prepared for a long travel time, a total of 10 hours in this case with a well organised intermissions. The tour guides are excellent, you can't do it with out them. The visit to Boston was good, but not as good as the excursion to Washington.
Review by: Robert C, October 2017
If you have a small window while in NY to visit Boston, then this is the tour for you. We really got a good but very small taste of Boston on this tour. Be prepared though - it's a long day but worth it. The tour guides were very informative and helpful. On this particular tour, there were 2 tour guides, one for English speaking and the other for Spanish and Portuguese speakers. Happy with this tour and I would recommend it.
Review by: Linda G, October 2017
It was great to see Boston, but a long day most of which travelling on a bus. I would definately go back and stay a few days in Boston, nice place.
Review by: JOSE F, October 2017
YOU DONT HAVE TIME ENOUGH TO GO SHOPPING
Review by: astry w, October 2017
Boston is actually a beautiful city however we were unlucky because it was raining all day long. The tour operator decided to kept going even though it was raining. It will be better if the tour operator could provide rain coat for the tour participant. Because we were all soaking wet.
Review by: Leigh M, October 2017
Long day but great trip, enjoyed Harvard and Boston city.
Review by: Jessica S, September 2017
This tour was a small overview of Boston which was ideal for me as I had never been there before. I enjoyed walking through Harvard University grounds but was disappointed that I did not get to see the Law School however, I understand that you can't see everything. Perhaps a request could be entered and majority wins for what to see on the campus. When completing the Boston Freedom Trail, it was on this part of the tour that I learned about the history of the area. The guide was great, he made sure he was at the locations and time that he said he would be and offered advice about where to buy cheaper items.
Review by: Paul B, August 2017
Very informative and fun! Richard was extremely knowledgeable and kept us interested all the time!
Review by: Ismail k, August 2017
Trip was great with 2 guides and 2 drivers
Review by: Marcelo S, August 2017
All things went wrong on this trip. First, we did not go in a bus with wi-fi, but in a uncomfortable mini-bus without this facility. The guide was in a constant hurry, not giving time to enjoy must of the places. The worst came after freedom trial. The guide gave free time and combined an encounter near the market. The place was crowded, and the guide only used a black umbrela to be noticed... I could not find him nor the minibus. I had to buy a train ticket to New York, since I had to rely on the wi-fi and there were none on the minibus. It was my worst experience in an excursion.
Review by: Zeina S, August 2017
Amazing. A must for everyone.
Review by: April Lou G, June 2017
Best Day trip I have booked so far! We missed visiting Harvard Yard because it was suddenly closed to the public. However, Joseph was able to turn it around by giving us a lot of fun info about the sites we visited.
Review by: HAZEL L, May 2017
Good tour too, however the tour was too big and the switch between spanish and english was annoying, they should have separate guides for each language
Review by: nicol_maureen, May 2017
Such a good day. Everything about it was great. An early start but well worth it. Splitting the people into groups with individual guides worked really well. Loved going to Harvard, never expected it to be such a fantastic experience. Amazing trip.
Review by: Terrance P, April 2017
A lot of sitting on a bus but the product when you get there is great. Boston was always a place we wanted to visit due to the recommendation of friends. This trip gives you an appetiser for what a wonderful city has to see.
Review by: Shayne, April 2017
A long day with a lot to take in but well worth it. Our guide was very informative throughout the day.
Review by: Susan M, April 2017
This is a great whistle stop tour to allow you to see what delights Boston has to offer. We took this tour while spending a week in NYC and it was worth the early start. There is a huge amount packed in to the day and the guides are extremely well read in all aspects of the city. We were lucky to enough have a glorious day to take this tour and it really showed off this beautiful city to its best.
Review by: Mrs_Inma, March 2017
Really enjoyed Boston. Wanted to spend a lot longer there instead of just a day trip. Most definitely a place to revisit.
Review by: Heather-Anne W, March 2017
Very disappointing. Guide did not have enough in depth knowledge to make the visit memorable. Itinerary not great, better choices of venues to see and learn about, and too much time in the boring over-rated Quincy market which is not a market but a mass of 'fast food' stalls, which one does not need when one is on a historical visit. More places of interest need to be included with entrances to some.
Review by: aimee-lee16, February 2017
This trip was really good and worth taking a day out of NYC trip to do. Tour guide was very informative. Only down side was the distance, it took 5 hours to get there but overall trip was enjoyable.
Review by: kbertrand, January 2017
We had a great day, saw heaps and had enough time to enjoy the sights!
Review by: Kerry M, November 2016
There was a multilingual group of tourists and several guides to accommodate them. Our guide spoke English and German. We spent more than an expected amount of time at Harvard which I liked but not as much time on the Freedom Trail, which I didn't like. Overall, though considering that we got to see many things and it is a far drive I have to say that I had a great experience.
Review by: lawmaloles, November 2016
We have a great time. Nice weather and Boston is awesome!
Review by: Sally M, November 2016
The tour was good but Boston really needs more than a day. Our guide was good, but there was a lot packed into the day so he was only able to give a little bit of information about each aspect.
Review by: Inga M, November 2016
It was amazing day. A little bit rainy, and our guide Jonathan has warned us about it and has advised to take umbrellas or ponchos before the jorney. Tour was very informarive, interesting. Our guide told about places, historical and fun facts. He told not only about Boston, Harvard University, we listened histories about US states, NY,famous people, about places, traditions where we had lunch. We had in our group hispanic tourists and Jonathan also spoke in Spanish for them! The bus had free wi-fi. I hightly recommend this tour.
Review by: Vania P, October 2016
It was a cold and rainy day, but the tour guides made the tour wonderful. I truly learned a lot and had a great time. We made the best of it, and I still got my pictures.
Review by: Pauline M, September 2016
The trip was very comfortable and the tour guide was helpful although he talked a little too much about the financial side of living in New York/attending Harvard. Harvard was very impressive but I liked the Freedom Trail best and the Quincy Market. Beautiful old-style houses both in Cambridge and the city of Boston. History in the making!
Review by: Gaynor A. R, September 2016
The tour was good and the guide was lovely however it was just too long. We went on a Friday and apparently the traffic on a Friday in and out of Boston is very heavy. We left at 7am and got back at 10pm. Boston itself is a beautiful city.
Review by: Alison M, September 2016
Very informative and a great place to visit to get out of New York for the day. The trip instelf was great, would highly recommend. My bus was only a 1/4 full so lots of space and not too noisy. Stopped at all the places I wanted to see on the way and in Boston itself. The only negative comment I have is our guide Eddie, whilst very informative and factual, I didn't find him overly friendly and he didn't smile. As a tour guide, you need to completely engage with your tourists and this will make or break your enjoyment of the trip. Whilst he gave great information and was very thorough, there was no personal connection with any of the tourists on the bus except his fellow Italians at the front of the bus I was told not to at the front as I wasn't italian yet two Australian girls were told to sit anywhere they liked?? who he translated everything he was saying to us, back to them. Great for the Italians but a little impersonal to everyone else. I felt that he was 'in the office' on another tour like every other day. Unfortunately because of this the star rating dropped to 3 but the tour itself I would put at a 4.
Review by: Vincent D, September 2016
Eddie was a great host._br/_ He provided a great information from start to finish.
Review by: Ada Francesca C, September 2016
I was very excited to take this tour with my friend as we were interested to hear more about the history of Boston Tea Party, Freedom Trail etc. but unfortunately the tour guide was rubbish and completely rushed through the entire tour. He barely gave us any historical or notable information, it was just really unfortunate. I have done other tours with the same company but this was just very rushed, we spent more time at the rest stations rather than the sights. The tourguide was not passionate and seemed just concerned about get back to New York. My friend was trying to ask him a question about the history and he completely brushed her off because he wanted to cross the street so quickly. At the end of the tour he had the audacity to tell us how much each of us should tip. I like to tip when I have had a great experience, this guide needs to be changed. The drivers however, we just outstanding, very friendly, safe and always had a smile on thier faces. I tipped for them.
Review by: Kristin C, September 2016
Great one day trip! Great tour guide!
Review by: Marcos K, August 2016
Very nice tour!!!!!
Review by: Fatima R, August 2016
There was a lot to see and learn in this tour - our tour guide was amazing, Jonathan, very informative.
Review by: Laurel I, July 2016
I had been to Boston on my own last summer, so I saw alot of what we went to already. I love Boston so this is a great tour for those who are interested in our country's history. Long bus ride though. Not so bad going but coming back to NYC seemed to take forever. They do put a movie in for the passengers to watch which does help the time go by quicker.
Review by: Stefan B, July 2016
this tour was 100 perfect, the tour guide was profesional
Review by: Bonny G, July 2016
Disappointed in this tour. It describes that you will walk the entire Freedom Trail, but we did not!!! Too much wasted time at Harvard. Didn and #39;t get to see Paul Reveres house or the Old North Church...my two must see places!!! Only minutes allowed at the site of the Boston Tea Party.
Review by: James V, July 2016
Great tour. Beuatiful Boston .
Review by: Jose R S, June 2016
This tour was excellent. Our guide was very informative and knowledgeable. The drivers were professional and drove very carefully. Despite of some drizzle the tour went on without any disruptions. Boston is very beautiful with so much history. My wife and I had fun and a pleasant trip. We highly recommend this tour to everyone.
Review by: Stephanie B, June 2016
Fantastic day out, plenty of opportunity to see Boston. Loved touring through Harvard University
Review by: elainelovescoffee, May 2016
It was a good tour . I expected to have 2 hours to ourselves. We ended up with 80minutes. I wanted to see a different park but time didn't allow. Informative host. Really pushed hard about tips for themselves which they really didn't need to do. We all know Americans need and deserve the tips.