From the historic homes of Beacon Hill to the shores of the Charles River, Boston is a city known for its colonial history and quirky artistic charm. Not a season goes by without catching sight of the famous duck boats of the Boston Duck Tours, giant amphibious vehicles capable of traveling by both land and sea.
Bob Schwartz, Director of Marketing and Sales at Boston Duck Tours, has been with the company since working there part-time in college as a tour guide. Since his start, he has seen Boston Duck boom to where they are now, with the amount of tours and deployed vehicles reaching their maximum allowed cap. “We carry about 615,000 people a year,” says Schwartz, “we’re most popular duck tour in the world.”
Boston Duck is hoping to entice some visitors to earlier in the morning, when they offer their new Early Duck Discount. “We’re trying to find better ways to utilizes different tours that are available,” says Schwartz. When booking online, visitors can save up to $9 when purchasing a ticket for a tour that starts before 10am, making this deal the best way to get the most out of a dollar. Boston Duck also offers savings at other local attractions and eateries around the city. “We have a coupon program,” says Schwarz, “they get a little guide book with attractions and restaurants in the area.”
For those who are repeat customers, each Boston Duck Tour is different depending on what tour guide you are traveling with. “My favorite part of the tour is the crews and the river,” says Schwartz. Each tour conductor, or ConDUCKtour as they as fondly referred to, offers a unique look to the tour. ConDUCKtors give tours in character with their own original tour guide character creations, including Scott Milk?, The Cod Father, Jam Adams, M. T. Buckets, Paul Reverse, and many other colorful characters. Schwartz can share some colorful stories about the duck tours as well. “One year a fraternity was hazing one of their students. They dared one of their brothers to jump off a duck and swim to shore,” says Schwartz.
Not just any city is capable of hosting a duck tour; many have tried to replicate Boston Duck Tour’s success and failed. “Boston is small, compact,” says Schwartz, “you also have the water right there.” Boston Duck Tours has catered to visitors from all over the world as well as their share of local residents who keep coming back to enjoy the glorious views of the city. Summer is their busiest season, but that doesn’t mean that Boston Duck Tours isn’t great in other seasons. “In the fall, people come to go leaf peeping,” says Schwartz, “you see all the trees, red orange, with that city skyline in the background- it’s amazing.”
-By Ettractions Digital Content Editor, SARAH LEITH
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