My family of five booked a last minute trip to Boston. I sent an email the Thursday morning before the weekend and Boston Private Tours was able to set us up with a private driver for that very next day. David picked us up early at 7am in a clean Lexus SUV and took us on a tour of Boston, Salem and Gloucester. He was knowledgeable and really great with our three young kids, even telling my six year old a new story every time she asked for one. And most important, he was a safe driver. If you book with Boston Private Tours, be sure to ask for David. read more

We did a 6 hour private tour with Declan and he was awesome!!! Super knowledgeable and easy going! Cannot say enough good things about him and Michelle who I booked the trip with, money well spent and highly recommended if you are looking for a custom tour of the Boston area! read more

In late June 2024, our family of 3 visited Boston for the first time. We wanted to tour some of the major sites, but did not want the typical group tours. We found Boston Private Tours and Michelle was able to help book us 3 days worth of tours with our tour guide David. He was very down to earth and as he and my wife had educational backgrounds, there were so many more things to talk about. On the first day, we drove through Boston, we did a walking tour of Harvard (where he once worked) and then went on to Concord and Lexington where we also walked around. We got to see the Old North Bridge (the "shot heard around the world") where David brought to life those first days of the Revolutionary War. On the second day, we went to the South Shore region to visit Plymouth and surrounding areas. We saw the actual Plymouth Rock (see photo) and a replica of the Mayflower. Again, David just brought history back to life (who knew you had to turn water into beer in order to have something to drink to make the crossing). We would never have known about or seen the National Monument to the Forefathers (where you could overlook Plymouth). On the third day, David took us to the North Shore where we toured Gloucester, Rockport, and Salem (think the Witch Trials). Again, he took us to see things we would never have seen like Hammond Castle in Gloucester or the Paper House (made entirely of paper) in Rockport. It was just a great, personalized experience where you did not have to compete with other tourists. If we ever go back, we would definitely want to use Boston Private Tours again and hope to have David as our Guide. read more

Boston Private Tours - Tours Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

What a fantastic way to see Boston and its surrounding historic towns! I am already suffering withdrawals from what I can honestly say was one of the best trips ever ! made possible by the tour provided by our guide David who took us back in time recounting the American revolution as we entered each historic town Private Tours are definitely the way to go! The six hours went way too fast but we saw so much more than I would have imagined or would ever been able to do on our own . I definitely recommend seeing Boston this way because you get to go down streets and see areas not accessible with giant tour buses. I will definitely be bringing family and friends up and doing this again! Thank you sooo much!! read more

My husband and I are visiting from California and wanted a tour of Boston. I made arrangements ahead of our trip and we were met this morning by Dave who was a wealth of knowledge. The beauty of this tour is that we could go see what we wanted to see. We went to the public market, Harvard, USS Constitution, Paul revere's house and so much more. Now we know where we want to go spend more time and Dave gave us some great recommendations for restaurants. Would do this tour again in a heartbeat! read more

I recently traveled to Boston with my family (myself, husband, children 8&10). Each summer we visit a major American city, this year's visit to Boston focused on exploring the city's history. Unfortunately, prior to our departure, I sustained an injury that required me to be on crutches for the trip - not so conducive to exploring Boston's historical sights. Fortunately, a web search turned up Boston Private Tours. Bill, the owner of and primary tour guide for Boston Private Tours, responded quickly and thoroughly to my inquiry. In no time at all, our tour was scheduled. On the appointed morning, Bill and his son picked us up at our hotel in their comfortable van. We spent the next seven hours together, exploring Boston, Charlestown, Cambridge, Concord, Lexington, and Walden Pond. Bill is an amazing fount of information. He kept us all engaged with a stream of stories and information and props from his seemingly bottomless attache' case, with information on time periods from well before the Revolutionary War to current events. Any question we asked, he could address with rich detail. At several points of interest, we got out and explored, many, many more, we drove by. Because were were in a private passenger vehicle, Bill could take us places most tours cannot go. The day was broken up with a lunch stop at a lovely historic inn with good food. Bill organized a perfect tour for our group, accommodating my disability, the children's limited attention spans, and my and my husband's interest in lots of historical detail. I get the sense that he has the depth and range to highly customize tours. I hope to return soon for Bill's architectural tour of the area. read more

I cannot believe I am having to resort to an internet fight with the owner of this company. Contrary to what is insinuated in his comment, I received one and only one message from him three days ago (approximately eight months after I wrote my original review, mind you). As I have other matters to attend to in my life, I had not yet had an opportunity to respond. First, it is possible for two people to have two differing opinions of an experience. My mother-in-law obviously had a different opinion of this experience than my husband and myself. And I acknowledged in my original review that I felt guilty giving them a low rating because "our guide did a great job of sharing history and local knowledge . . . ." Second, I was in the car when my mother-in-law received the phone call from the guide informing us that there would be no van. I can say from first-hand experience that my mother-in-law was NOT pleased to receive that call. But again, as stated in my initial review, we were left with a Hobson's choice at that point. We had all traveled from out of state for a brief weekend in Boston, and this tour formed the bulk of our plans. Third, to the extent we received an extra hour, I submit that this merely made up for the roughly 45 minutes spent waiting for the guide to reach the meeting place after she had to deal with the no-van issue at the rental location, figuring out whether we could squeeze six people into the SUV, and deciding whether it would work to fit us for the duration of the tour. And as a side note, I don't know that offering a bonus hour cramping six passengers into an SUV is really the best option in the way of a "discount." Fourth, I still do not understand what could have prevented the company from seeking to rent a van elsewhere the morning that this problem arose. (And again, the e-mail my mother-in-law received---I still have a copy of it---contained TWO pictures of a silver van, leading all of us to believe that this company actually owned a van, not that they had to rely on renting vehicles.) This tour for July was booked in June, specifically requesting a tour by van. And to the extent that the owner has commented that the guides own their own vehicles, that raises more valid questions about the way this was handled: (1) Why would he pair a tour group that specifically requests a van with a guide who does not own a van? (2) Do any of the guides actually own the van that was pictured in the e-mail that described the tour we would receive? If so, why not allow our tour guide to borrow that van? My point in the original review was that just because you are told you will receive a tour by van does NOT guarantee that you will because, again, it appears that the company does not actually own a van. Bill, I am sorry if you are offended by my review. As stated before, we enjoyed our time with the guide. But as one of two passengers who rode without a seatbelt, only halfway seated in the backseat during the entire tour (which was honestly a scary position to be in at times), I was not completely satisfied. read more

Called this morning and talked to Bill, the owner , about doing a few hour tour for the day. He had David, his tour guide call me back in 10 minutes . We were only going to have a small bit of time for a tour and Bill set us up with David, one of his tour guides. David came to our hotel with in 30 minutes and we were off. What a nice and knowledgeable guy . We went for three hours and we did not stop. David was so good and helpful, not only with the tours but telling us some of the good spots to eat and go for the last three days of our stay. I never meet Bill but he runs a first class operation. Thanks Gary Bonanno Louisiana read more

I went to take this Boston tour at the behest of my significant other while we were in town, thinking I was going to have a dull day as I'd never had much interest in history. Wow, how wrong I was. I was blown away by the tour, the history given, the humor and humanity given to the details. What a great time learning about Boston, highly recommended. read more

I don't write reviews very often but Boston Private Tours was wonderful. Coming from Minnesota, we really wanted to make the most of this trip since we don't get to the area often. We were treated to a comfortable, easy ride in the company's van. Years ago we tried to tour Boston on our own and never saw a fraction of what we saw on this tour. Not only was this a far more comfortable (and less tiring) way to go, we learned so much from Dave, our guide! He was so knowledgeable, engaging and fun. He knew and shared so much more about the historic stops than you could learn from on-site tours. We were allowed and encouraged to see as much as we wanted to. We opted out of a couple of stops that did not interest us as much. It was truly a personal tour! This tour made our trip and we now feel like we have a glimpse into the real Boston area- not just what we read over and over in history books. We did not have a lot of time in the Boston area and this was the absolute best way to tour the area. We would recommend this company to anyone who wants to see the sights and be entertained and educated at the same time. read more