Frequently Asked Questions
To keep all parties together we now automatically assign seats when you purchase your tickets. Our ticketing system assigns Guest’s seats so they are automatically grouped together. Upon arrival, please check in with a Boston Duck Tours representative.
Boston Duck Tours has 3 ticket booth locations.
The Museum of Science ticket booth is located on the right hand side of the front entrance of the Museum of Science. Our ticket booth that looks like a mini DUCK. Specifically “Miss Emma Science”.
The New England Aquarium ticket booth is located outside the New England Aquarium, right next to the Simons Theatre. This booth also looks like a mini DUCK. Specifically “Annie Aquarium”.
The Prudential Center ticket booth is located at 53 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02116. This booth also looks like a mini DUCK. Specifically “Liberty Teresa”
Our New England Aquarium departure location is the closest to Black Falcon Cruise Terminal. You can take an Uber or taxi to any of our departure locations or catch a ride on the Silver Line bus to South station which will connect you to our subway system. The New England Aquarium departure location is a short walk from South Station, the Museum of Science is at Science Park station off the Green Line and the Prudential Center location is easily accessible from Copley station off the Green Line.
Directions to the New England Aquarium departure location from Black Falcon Cruise Terminal
By taxi
By public transportation
Directions to the Museum of Science departure location from Black Falcon Cruise Terminal
By taxi
By public transportation
Directions to the Prudential Center departure location from Black Falcon Cruise Terminal
By taxi
By public transportation
Yes, gift cards can be purchased online in any denomination by clicking here.
We take advance telephone reservations for groups of 20 or more, based upon availability (excluding children under 3 from original count). You can make your group reservation by calling us at 617-450-0068.
We suggest that you call as early as possible to increase your chances of getting the date, location and time you want, as some dates are sold out months in advance. If you have fewer than 20 people, you may also purchase tickets over the phone. (Please note that there is a $3.50 per ticket convenience fee for tickets purchased over the phone.) Otherwise, you may purchase our ticket booths at the Prudential Center, Museum of Science, or The New England Aquarium ticket booths.
Prudential Center, Museum of Science and New England Aquarium Ticket booths open 30 minutes before the first tour. All tickets are sold based upon availability for specific departure dates, times and locations, are non-refundable and may not be exchanged. Tickets may be purchased starting 30 days in advance. On weekends and during the summer season, tickets often sell out by noon, so we suggest you buy your tickets as early in the day as possible. Tours depart rain or shine.
You may purchase tickets over the Internet 30 days in advance of a particular tour date.
No, you may print your e-ticket or simply present the ticket on your mobile device if you do not have a printer readily available. Either form is perfectly acceptable.
All tours are approximately an hour and 20 minutes in length. An hour on land and 20 minutes in the water. Tour times may vary from time to time due to traffic patterns and construction.
Absolutely! We have wheelchair accessible DUCKS from all 3 of our departure locations. If you are booking online you MUST call us at 617-450-0068 and tell us you have a guest that needs to stay in their wheelchair as we need to pull 3 extra seats to fit the wheelchair in the DUCK. If booking in person ensure you tell our Guest Service Representative that you have someone in a wheelchair so we can also pull the 3 extra seats. Each Duck in our fleet is equipped to have up to two wheelchairs strapped onto the back deck. Wheelchairs are boarded first along with one guest in your party. Other guests in your party will board in the order in which they arrived and where they are in the line. Guests also have the option of transferring into one of our seats. We will gladly set up the wheelchair lift to assist those guests who are not in a wheelchair, but are unable to climb stairs.
No. The tour is approximately 80-minutes without stops along the route. Tour times may vary due to traffic patterns and construction.
All tickets are sold based on availability for specific departure time and location, are non-refundable and may not be exchanged. If Mother Nature precludes us from offering the water portion of our tour, half the ticket price will be refunded upon request.
Gratuities are certainly appreciated for a job well done at the discretion of the guest. All groups of 20 or more and private Duck charters will include an automatic 10% Staff/Gratuity Fee* which can be returned to the group if the tour is unsatisfactory. All student groups of 20 or more will have a 5% Staff/Gratuity Fee* added to their tour.
Unfortunately due to scheduling challenges, it is not possible for individuals to request a particular ConDUCKtor or Duck. Groups may be able to request a specific ConDUCKtor with enough advanced notice. You would need to give at least one month notice.
While we do splash into the Charles River, you will not get wet. You may, however, get a light spray on the River depending upon the direction and strength of the wind.
You can use your email confirmation as your ticket and go directly to our Duck Stop boarding area. If you have any questions, you should still go directly to the Duck Stop and a Guest Service Representative will assist you.
The water portion is approximately 20 minutes of the 80-minute tour. Tour times may vary due to traffic patterns and construction.
No, insurance regulations do not allow alcohol on board the Duck. Boston Duck Tours reserves the right to refuse boarding of or terminate the tour for any guest that appears to be intoxicated.
Yes, you are required to get a ticket for any child under 3. The discounted price is $10.99.
Only service animals are permitted on the tour.
Although the Ducks are heated and may be enclosed, you should dress appropriately for the weather on the day of the tour. It is often breezy on the Charles River.
It is up to the Driver or ConDUCKtor to determine if he/she will allow guests to steer the Duck on the Charles River.
Yes, a Guest Service Representative will take your stroller for you during the tour and return it once the tour has ended.
The $2 per ticket fee is a Convenience Charge for tickets purchased on our website in advance. Since we only accept advance reservations for groups of 20 or more, this allows individual guests to reserve tickets for a specific departure location, on a specific day and for a specific time. It can save someone from driving into town, parking and standing in line to purchase tickets based upon what is available at that time. Of course there is always the option of buying in person, without the service charge, either 30 days in advance or on the day of the tour.
Boston Duck Tours has invested in providing the best experience in Boston for visitors far and wide with its new GPS activated foreign language app that guests can download and use on tour. The app breaks down the language barrier, providing imagery as well as narration in languages including Spanish, German, Mandarin, French, Japanese, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean and Cantonese on all tours. Please bring your own headphones.
The Prudential Center, the Museum of Science and the New England Aquarium ticket booth open 30 minutes before the first tour and close after the last tour departs.
Boston Duck Tours runs rain or shine. However, we may be forced to cancel either the water portion or the entire tour itself under severe weather conditions. If Boston Duck Tours is unable to provide the water portion of the tour, guests will receive a 50% refund. If Boston Duck Tours is forced to cancel the entire tour, guests will receive a full refund. Cancellations are done at the discretion of the Dispatcher based on the current weather conditions at the time of the tour.
The CCF is not a tax, it is a Convention Center Fee that the state of Massachusetts charges all land and water based sightseeing tours of Boston. Unfortunately no entity may be exempt from this fee as it is not a tax, but a surcharge.
We are required by the United States Coast Guard to count every guest on board whether it’s a 10 year old child or a 10 day old baby. Although the infant would be on a lap, we are unable to sell the seat that the infant would be purchasing because our total number of guests on board can’t go over our approved limit.
* Gratuity/Staff Fee: At Boston Duck Tours, our wonderful Cast and Crew work hard to give you The Ride of Your Life! To that end, they all play a part in the process. From the initial booking with your sales representative, to ticket sellers and dispatchers, to the boarding process by our guest service representatives, and of course the tour performed by our ConDUCKtor (narrator), and your driver, among others, our Cast and Crew work as a team offering the most popular amphibious tour in the world. This charge is split up at (1) 75% for ConDUCKtors/narrators (gratuity), and (2) the remaining 25% is divided among other Cast and Crew (who may or may not be defined as service employees personnel under applicable law, and to the extent such Cast and Crew are not so defined as service employees, the portion of the charge they receive would constitute a non-gratuity staff fee, and does not represent a tip or service charge for wait staff employees, service employees, or service bartenders), including your driver, in general proportion to the services they provide as determined in the sole discretion of Boston Duck Tours.
