Best HOHO in Boston

We are cruising on the Dawn to NE in 2016 - looking at spending a day in Boston prior to the cruise.

I have been looking at various options and am narrowing things down to seeing the most of historical Boston using a HOHO - the problem is there are several to choose from. All are similar in price, route, and general offerings. But from the reviews on trip advisor, the one I thought I would like has the worst reviews mainly from the frequency of stops - which is a big deal for using a HOHO system.

Does time of year make a difference? Time of day? weekday vs weekend?

We don't have much control over them as we will traveling in late Sept on a weekday (Thur) and have only one full day (thur).

There are three of us so we are not a large group but we are two 60 yr olds and 1 80 yr old.

Any inputs or suggestions will be appreciated - we are still in the very early planning stages right now - still over a year to go. :D:mad:

Can you tell us which trolleys you are considering? IMO the trip advisor reviews are probably a good benchmark of overall experience rather than one person's individual experience.

I give a lot of Boston advice, but I've never been on a Hoho trolley. However, over the years I have done the duck tour, Faneuil Hall, the Aquarium, the Museum of Science, the Children's Museum, Kennedy Library, Harvard Square, harbor cruises, walked portions of the Freedom Trail, and been a DIY tourist for a port day on the Brilliance, so there are many things I can comment on from experience.

We are cruising on the Dawn to NE in 2016 - looking at spending a day in Boston prior to the cruise.

 

I have been looking at various options and am narrowing things down to seeing the most of historical Boston using a HOHO - the problem is there are several to choose from. All are similar in price, route, and general offerings. But from the reviews on trip advisor, the one I thought I would like has the worst reviews mainly from the frequency of stops - which is a big deal for using a HOHO system.

 

Does time of year make a difference? Time of day? weekday vs weekend?

 

We don't have much control over them as we will traveling in late Sept on a weekday (Thur) and have only one full day (thur).

 

There are three of us so we are not a large group but we are two 60 yr olds and 1 80 yr old.

 

Any inputs or suggestions will be appreciated - we are still in the very early planning stages right now - still over a year to go. :D:mad:

Your other thread said you were looking at Beantown Trolley and that you have at least two of you with mobility issues. Are you sure that grandma will be able to get on and off the trolley with a fused ankle? Maybe just getting on the trolley and staying on for the loop is the best bet.

I haven't used Beantown Trolley but I had family who did and they had no issues with it.

With all the medical issues you listed in that other thread, I would suggest identifying what sites are the most important to see on your visit and limit your walking to a centralized area. Be prepared to be walking on brick surfaces or cobblestones.

You are right - I found Beantown trolley and based on Grey Lines reputation and the fact that they will pick us up at our hotel. Since then I did more looking at reviews and found that most of them said they had problems with the HOHO and long waits for being picked up and rude drivers. They also had the highest amount of low scores on Trip Advisor. I guess because of this I am simply having second thoughts about my plans - better to have them now then after I pluck down and $$.

Since then I have looked at City View, Old Town and the Duck and Trolley tours. All have higher ave scores on Trip Advisor and way more rave reviews.

Old Town put a one and two day suggested tour and the one day plan seems to fit the things we want to see.

Perhaps I overstated our problems - my MIL has been living with a fused ankle for many decades and gets around fine she went on our last AK cruise and had no problems walking around the ports and getting in and out of boats. We just want to minimize the chances of having her over do before we even start the cruise (she is very stubborn and will not tell us if she is hurting). My DW has no major issues - she did break her ankle several years ago and has a plate. But she could do the whole walk if she had to. As for me, I can still do 2mi in 1/2 hr as part of my exercise program and do so several times a week. So on our own we could probably walk the whole trail - we were just looking for an alternative. I just want to choose the best one and need some help doing so.

And yes, perhaps I will also re-think the hotel options as well.

Does anyone know whether the Beantown Trolley has a stop near the cruise port?

Thanks

Beantown's stop 15 is at the Seaport Hotel - a few blocks from the cruise terminal.

The Old Town Trolley has a route that goes to the terminal when ships are in port.