This private six-hour tour is tailored to your group’s interests and preferred pace. Guests may choose a broad panoramic overview from the vehicle, select a few longer walking or photo stops, or make frequent brief stops throughout the day. The more time spent outside the vehicle, including meal or shopping stops, the fewer neighborhoods and landmarks can be covered. Your driver-guide will help you prioritize the route at the beginning of the tour.
The Freedom Trail connects many of the historic neighborhoods and landmarks included throughout this customizable tour. Possible downtown highlights include Park Street Church, Granary Burying Ground, King’s Chapel and its historic burying ground, the Boston Latin School site and Benjamin Franklin statue, the Old Corner Bookstore, Old South Meeting House, the Old State House, and the Boston Massacre site. Your driver-guide can help you choose which sections and landmarks to prioritize based on your interests, preferred pace, traffic, parking, and available tour time. A complete visit to all 16 Freedom Trail sites is not guaranteed.
oston Common, Public Garden & Beacon Hill Highlights. Explore Boston Common, the Public Garden, the Massachusetts State House, and the historic streets of Beacon Hill. Possible highlights include Charles Street, Mount Vernon Street, Louisburg Square, and Acorn Street, one of Boston’s most photographed locations. Depending on your interests, traffic, curb access, parking, and available tour time, the area may be enjoyed from the vehicle or with a brief photo or walking stop. Time spent outside the vehicle reduces the number of other areas that can be covered during the six-hour tour.
Back Bay & Copley Square Highlights. Explore Boston’s Back Bay, including Copley Square, Commonwealth Avenue, Newbury Street, Boylston Street, the Boston Public Library, Trinity Church, Old South Church, 200 Clarendon—formerly known as the John Hancock Tower—and the Prudential Center. Depending on opening hours and your group’s interests, you may view these landmarks from outside or spend time visiting selected buildings. The Prudential Tower is home to View Boston, its observation experience overlooking the city. Admission to View Boston and any other ticketed attraction is not included. Any admission fee or requested donation charged by an individual site is paid separately. Time spent inside buildings or attractions counts toward the six-hour tour duration.
Explore the cultural, educational, and medical districts surrounding Back Bay, Fenway, and Longwood. Possible highlights include the Christian Science Plaza, Symphony Hall, Berklee College of Music, Northeastern University, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Harvard Medical School, the Longwood Medical Area, and Fenway Park. The area may be experienced primarily from the vehicle or with selected photo and walking stops, depending on your group’s interests, traffic, parking, and available tour time. Entry to museums, Fenway Park, performance venues, university buildings, and other ticketed locations is not included. Time spent visiting a building or attraction counts toward the six-hour tour duration.
Harvard, Cambridge, Charles River & MIT Highlights. Travel past Boston University and cross the Charles River into Cambridge for a customizable visit to Harvard, MIT, and nearby historic sites. Possible highlights include Harvard Square, Cambridge Common, Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters, Harvard Yard, the John Harvard statue, Harvard Law School, the Harvard Museum of Natural History, and the Harvard Art Museums. Depending on your interests and available time, you may stop for photos, a short walk, coffee, ice cream, snacks, or lunch. Food, drinks, museum admission, and campus tours are not included. The route may continue along the Charles River, where rowing crews are sometimes visible, with scenic views of Boston’s Back Bay skyline, before passing through the MIT area. The exact route and number of stops depend on traffic, parking, campus access, and the remaining tour time. Depending on the selected route, the tour may also pass the Museum of Science at Science Park .
Charlestown, Bunker Hill & USS Constitution. Visit historic Charlestown, with possible stops at the Bunker Hill Monument and the Charlestown Navy Yard, home of USS Constitution and the USS Constitution Museum. Depending on operating hours, security procedures, parking, and your group’s interests, you may explore the sites outside or spend time aboard the ship or inside the museum. Admission to the monument and ship is free; any suggested museum contribution is not included. The number of sites visited depends on the available tour time.
Historic North End, Italian Heritage & Revolutionary Sites. Explore Boston’s historic North End, often described as the city’s Little Italy. This lively neighborhood is known for Italian restaurants, cafés, bakeries, pastry shops, and traditional summer feasts. Possible highlights include Old North Church, Paul Revere Mall, the Paul Revere House, Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, and Hanover Street favorites such as Mike’s Pastry and Modern Pastry. Depending on your interests and available time, you may enjoy a short walk, photo stop, coffee, pastry, snack, or meal. Food, beverages, and admission to ticketed historic sites are not included. The exact route and number of stops depend on traffic, parking, crowds, local events, and remaining tour time.
Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market & Boston Waterfront. Explore the area around Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, where Boston’s history, shopping, dining, civic landmarks, and waterfront come together. Possible highlights include Boston City Hall and City Hall Plaza, Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, the Rose Kennedy Greenway, the New England Aquarium exterior, and sections of the Boston Harborwalk. Depending on your interests and available time, you may stop for photos, browse the market, enjoy a short waterfront walk, or purchase coffee, snacks, or lunch. Food, beverages, shopping, aquarium admission, and other ticketed attractions are not included. The exact route and time spent in the area depend on traffic, parking, crowds, events, and the remaining tour time.
Seaport District, Fan Pier & Cruise Port. Drive through Boston’s modern Seaport District, with possible views of the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, Boston Children's Museum, Fan Pier, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston Fish Pier, Seaport Boulevard, the cruise port, and the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Depending on traffic, parking, and your group’s interests, a brief waterfront photo stop may be possible at Fan Pier or another accessible location. Museum admission, attraction tickets, food, and beverages are not included. Cruise-port access and the exact route may vary because of security restrictions, ship activity, road closures, and local events.
Boston Theater District & Chinatown. Explore Boston’s Chinatown and neighboring Theater District, known for Asian restaurants, historic architecture, performing arts, and illuminated theater marquees. Possible highlights include the Paramount Center, Citizens Opera House, Emerson College, Emerson Colonial Theatre, Cutler Majestic Theatre, Wang Theatre, and Shubert Theatre. Depending on your interests and available time, the area may be enjoyed from the vehicle or with a short walk, photo stop, or meal break in Chinatown. Food, beverages, performance tickets, and theater admission are not included. The exact route depends on traffic, events, parking, and remaining tour time.
Sam is hands-down the best guide we’ve ever had. He went completely out of his way to make sure we had a great time, even adjusting the itinerary on the fly to suit our interests. He knows all the 'hidden gems' away from the tourist crowds and felt more like a local friend than a tour guide. Our trip wouldn't have been the same without him!
Wonderful tour of the city. Great informative tour with a leisurely vibe. Our driver was friendly, professional and informative. Exceptional tour!
Josh was fantastic and very friendly. Extremely knowledgeable about Boston history. We all had fun and enjoyed his company. We where very glad that we booked this trip.
There were six of us in the van and my son, and I sat the back row. When the A/C was on, we could not hear anything the tour guide, Curtis was saying, and we mentioned it multiple times and it seemed like he was unfamiliar with the vehicle because he couldn’t figure out how to turn down the A/C to a point at which we could hear so then he would turn it off and then we would get too hot and then turn it back on and then we couldn’t hear again and his voice never really got any louder so it was difficult to know what we were seeing. We told him that we liked history, but I didn’t expect him to go as in depth as he did, which maybe would’ve been better for a lecture hall than a city tour highlighting sites of historical significance, with a brief synopsis. Curtis was an incredibly nice gentleman, but it got rather frustrating to circle a block multiple times on several occasions & not have a clue why. A vehicle needs some sort of microphone system so that his voice projects all the way to the back.
Great experience. Very informative and knowledgeable driver. We highly recommend him. Also very friendly.
Private driver is your guide to the city and sights. He will take you wherever you want to go, it’s your time. Sam was our driver for our party of four, and his experience and knowledge throughout Boston ride was terrific.
The driver was on time and takes good pictures. He parks as close to the different sites as possible and recommends the must see places.
My husband and I traveled to Boston via train with our sisters the weekend of August 22. One of our activities was a four hour private tour of Boston. We had a fantastic time with our guide/driver, Sam! Sam was very professional and knowledgeable and arrived at our hotel at the designated time. He also allowed us to get out of the vehicle to take photos numerous times. I definitely recommend this particular tour of beautiful Boston, MA! It’s an experience we’ll never forget. Thanks again, Sam!
It was very pleasant and comfortable especially for elderly family members It helped that our tour guide was a Boston local for 35 years and knew the city very well
Our guide Sam was personable, knowledgeable and very accommodating for our large group, plus luggage. We had six passengers and 7 carry on size bags as well as 7 backpacks/underseat duffels. We had more than enough room for everything. Sam took us all over Boston/copley square, commons, beacon hill, back bay, bunker hill, uss constitution, Harvard, Boston university, Cambridge, theater district, financial district, harbor and more. He had a multitude of historical and current facts to share. Sam recommended a great place for lunch. We couldn’t have asked for anything better to fill our time between cruise disembarking and our late flight. We will use Sam again when we come back to Boston.
Family of four - driving tour was a great way to see the city in cold weather and Sam was a fantastic host. He was very knowledgeable on each area of town and the girls especially appreciated seeing the famous schools and learning about the history of the sites. Thank you!!
Seeing sights such as Harvard and MIT plus the shopping area around Prudential Centre was enjoyable. Boston is an attractive city that is well kept. Driver though an affable individual had little knowledge to impart on the city.
The driver was a driver. He g as be very information on Boston’s historic sites. We looked up the info on Google. He was a driver not a tour guide.
The driver arrived on schedule, was helpful with the luggage into vehicle. Was personable, very knowledgeable of the city, took great effort to show us as much as possible, Harvard and other important highlights. I would recommend him to friends or future visits to the city.
Loved hearing about the history of the city while relaxing in comfort. Got to see many different places and could stop and get out whenever we wanted.
Great tour! The driver was amazing and super knowledgeable about the history of the city. He was also patient - my mom is disabled and he was patient and careful.
Our tour with Sam was terrific; he cheerfully accommodated our desire to personalize our tour. He is an excellent driver and had a cooler of water to keep us chill on a hot 4th of July.He kept our group (aged 8 to 80) entertained with historical facts and anecdotes. My grandson and his parents wanted to visit MIT so Sam dropped them off there, took the rest of us to Harvard Square then swung around to pick up the MIT group. At our request he added a stop at Fenway Park and Bunker Hill to the itinerary. Finally, at our request, he dropped us off at the Union Oyster House for a late lunch (but don't go there unless you have a reservation)! Bottom line - Sam rocks!
This is an updated review: The driver was considerate but arrived over 30 minutes late with no courtesy call that he would be late. I had to reach out to him to discover where he was. The company did not contact me to tell me how late he was going to be until he was already 31 minutes late. He did not modify his planned trip to better accommodate our needs (the reason we booked a private guide tour). He answered the phone repeatedly while driving, even stopping his descriptions mid-sentence to take a call. During the last third of the trip, he was constantly texting while driving and describing the city to us. I did not always feel safe riding with him while he was texting and driving. I would not recommend spending money on this private tour, at least not without agreed-upon parameters and reasonable price reductions based on unmet, mutually agreed-upon expectations. After reaching out to the company, I am grateful that they offered a partial refund of the tour and explained how they were addressing the issues. I would be confident working with them on a future tour.
Henry gave us a flexible and interesting introduction to the various sections of the City. We were already somewhat familiar and still enjoyed his introduction
Sam Soares, our guide and driver was very friendly, courteous, professional, knowledgeable. He was very mindful of our time and comfort. We had forgotten our water bottle with was special to our friend in the car, he took the time from his personal family time to come back to our hotel to return it back to us. This was very much appreciated by our friend who left the water bottle in the car. Thank you so much Sam!!!
Our guide was very knowledgeable and our tour was very enjoyable. He adapted the tour great to our interests and the weather. We drove the end of the freedom trail, visited the USS Constitution, Charlestown, MIT, Harvard and even Fenway Park. Very smooth and perfect
Our tour guide provided a great Boston overview. The car was comfortable and our guide was very knowledgeable. We got to customize the tour to the places we wanted to highlight, stop and spend more time at certain places.
We chose this over the much cheaper Boston Hop-On Hop-Off trolley tours thinking we would enjoy the more personal experience and all the details & info that would be shared with us while touring Boston for the first time. We were so disappointed with our tour guide, Henry. He spoke in a whisper that we could barely hear, especially those seated in the second row of the vehicle. While he did take us around town, he omitted some of the very things we had hoped to see such as Chinatown gates. We saw the infamous Mike's Pastry shop only from the corner as he turned in the opposite direction. He mentioned Paul Revere's house as we were almost completely past it. No historical details were given or a chance for a photo. He talked more about the age of the buildings we passed and the much-needed repair of Boston streets more than anything else. We only made stops at Harvard and at the USS Constitution. Otherwise, everything was a quick pass-by. Some were mentioned too late to even photograph. Very little historical info was shared along the way. We had to ask. His Mercedes SUV was comfortable and clean. The tour company itself may be a good one, but Henry was definitely not the tour guide we had hoped for. We learned more about Boston from our Uber drivers than from Henry. Very disappointing, especially after paying $634 for the private tour. So when booking this expensive private tour, be sure Henry is not your guide.
I was in Boston for a very short ti;me and this was my time to see the city it was worth every dime. loved it
Tour was really good and our driver/tour guide was knowledgeable and did an excellent job. The only reason we can’t rate 5 stars is our tour was late. Had confirmation for 10:00 am, after 15 minutes we had to contact Viator and they asked us to contact the provider. The latter said they had an “issue with their system”. Nevertheless, provider arranged to have our tour at 11:00 am. It wasn’t what we wanted but the tour was good and met our expectations. Of course, we had to rearrange our lunch reservations but as a whole would recommend the tour.
Is was an Ok tour. Driver was super nice but no personality or enthusiasm when giving us the history of Boston. We had kids ages 9-18 and they were bored. As adults we became bored after the repetition of ‘ this building is … “. We would of rather hit the highlights and been able to walk around and eat or take pics ! Not what I expected!
Great experience , learned a lot!! Good info, a lot of history and got to visit many places along the way.
This tour was fantastic…the only downside was it rained our entire tour. No one’s fault. We were definitely given the option to get out, but it was so cold we opted to stay in. I can’t remember our tour guides name, but he was phenomenal! He was originally from Brazil, but had lived in Boston for over 30 years and was an expert in Boston’s history. Thank you again for everything! Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
The tour guide was super knowledgeable and all around a good guide. The problem was that I paid $600 to be driven around the city for a few of hours seeing everything from inside a van. Do the freedom trail, it was amazing and free.
We had an excellent history and view of Boston. Definitely recommend Sam as a tour guide. We had a great diverse tour. Never knew there were so many Universities in Boston.
Fantastic tour of all Boston. Everything wonderful about the Freedom Trail was seen and brought to life by Sam’s narration. We drove by all the best cultural, medical and educational sites. I am so surprised to have seen so much in 4 hours. Loved it!!!!!
Sam was an amazing guide. Excellent host and very knowledgeable. If we come back we would definitely use Sam.
So great having a private guide all to ourselves. We got picked up/dropped off right at our hotel. It was so convenient. Our guide was very knowledgeable and our tour was custom designed to see just what we wanted to see. We highly recommend this tour as one of the best ways to see an overall view of Boston.
Sam was terrific as guide! 4 hours was just right! The Van was perfect for the tour. We have been very pleased with our Viator experiences in NYC and France!
Sam is a gentleman, and obviously loves history. When I reached out to they replied immediately. This was important to me, as I’m not a seasoned traveler, and was taking an 89 year old on a tour of Boston!
Historical background provided by the guide as we traveled from site to site was interesting. We were able to stop at the locations we wanted to see in more depth than from a vehicle. The vehicle wss very roomy and comfortable.
The best ever tour. Five in our party with luggage. Sam was our tour guide. Car was spacious and comfortable. Sam really knows his stuff. Learned so much. Dropped us off at the cruise port. Took 6 other tours on our cruise and we all agreed that Sam’s tour of Boston was the best. Thanks Sam
I was traveling to Boston for my daughter's graduation with a party of seven (7), This tour was a huge part of the itinerary. I scheduled the tour weeks in advance. The company canceled the tour at the last minute, less than 24 hours notice without any explanation. Because of the numerous graduations in the area coupled with the holiday weekend, it was impossible to schedule another tour during the same time frame. Ironically, had I canceled with less than 24 hours notice, I would have been on the hook for the cost of the tour. Please do not book and risk an 11th hour cancellation!!!
Sam, is an incredible tour guide and what appears to be a Boston expert. While he never said it, you can tell he loves this town and enjoys sharing his knowledge. Well worth the $.
Sam was great. The tour was very informative and interesting. We covered most sites at Boston and Cambridge. Some areas were not reachable due to the marathon, but Sam took us to other beautiful places we were not planning to see. The car was super clean, modern and comfortable. We had a wonderful time. Definitely recommended, specially if you don't have too much time to see Boston and you want to see and learn as much as possible.
We had a great day with Sam. He knows so much about the history of Boston and the surrounding area. We covered more ground in four hours on the tour than we ever could have on our own. He will also stop and take pictures for you, let you eat lunch, etc. Highly recommend.
We really enjoyed our tour!! Sam was very knowledgeable about Boston!! I would highly recommend this company. Thank you!!!
This is the best way to see the most of Boston in 4 hours. There were 6 in our group - my wife and I with 4 teenagers one being Brazilian. Sam is the man and speaks Portuguese. He gave us details in 2 languages. He picked us up at our hotel and brought us back. Highly Recommended!! Voce é o cara! Muito Obrigado!!
I liked that the tour was customizable. Loved the historical Boston, Lexington, and Concord. Our driver, Sam, was knowledgeable and very personable. I would highly recommend him!
Sam was a fantastic tour guide. Couldn’t ask for more. He customized and made recommendations that we’re spot on.
Thank you so much for the fabulous tour. We sure learned a lot and enjoyed our time!! Thank you! We enjoyed the explanation of so much history.
This was a wonderful tour and so worth the money. We saw so much and our guide was so knowledgeable. It would have taken us a whole week to see all he showed us. He knew all types of things we would have never known had we did this our self.
We were on a sentimental journey to Boston where we had both attended college more than 50 years ago. My husband had prepared a list of special (to us) places we wanted to visit including our colleges, and places we lived, worked, and frequented for food and fun. Sam was personable, knowledgeable, and patient and we thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent with him. We were surprised by the way Boston had changed after “The Big Dig” and enjoyed Sam’s telling about its construction and the cost overruns and political wrangling that accompanied it. He had many interesting stories to share about Boston’s traditional historical sites. We thoroughly enjoyed our custom tour and highly recommend Sam and The Boston Preferred Car Service
Was okay. Driver was genial but he seemed to be doing trip on auto-pilot. Was not a memorable day. Every other Viator trip we’ve done we’ve had more fun. Disappointing for the price.
Sam was great and we saw so much. We got a great overview of the history of Boston as well as the history of the colleges in Boston
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