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    Chicago Water Taxi

    4.2 (166 reviews)
    Closed 7:30 am - 7:45 pm

    Services - Chicago Water Taxi

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    Chicago Water Taxi view from Ogilvie/Union stop
    Melinda N.

    The Chicago Water Taxi is a great and affordable option to enjoy a scenic boat ride down the Chicago River from Michigan Avenue to Chinatown while taking in the beautiful architecture of the buildings along the river! Highly recommend!

    Kelsey C.

    A great way to see the city and go visit Chinatown. We had a great time and will definitely ride again.

    Mary R.

    Cheap and nice way to get to and from Chinatown. Military rides free! Can't beat that.

    Maronda H.

    Born and raised in Chicago and have never taking a ride on the Chicago Water Taxi. Admission is $10.00 one way per person. The ride to China was just an enjoyable experience. Great views of the city and relaxing. I enjoyed the cool breeze and watching the calm waves in the water.

    Hanna O.

    The Chicago Water Taxi is one of my favorite ways to enjoy the views of the city! Back when I commuted to work, I would use the Water Taxi as my main mode of transportation to and from Ogilvie and Michigan Avenue. It's been years since my commuting days and I was delighted when my sister and I rode it from Michigan Avenue to Chinatown for a day of adventure. I appreciate the convenience, affordability, the kindness of staff, the timeliness and punctuality of the craft's departure/arrival, and the reliability as a means of transportation. Not to mention, the views of the city from the river are so heart-openingly beautiful and stunning!! Whether you're a commuter or just visiting the city, I HIGHLY recommend riding the water taxi, most especially from Michigan Ave to Chinatown!

    Chinatown heading into the city
    Matt J.

    A perfect way to head to Chinatown! The double decker taxi is the best boat. They offer incredible views on the way and back. Easily the cheapest option to Chinatown if you are not on a time frame.

    The Chicago skyline! You'll be in amidst it in another few miles :-)
    Rich S.

    Always a pleasant ride, March through December. When we have company in town, March through December, we take the 8min walk from Chicago's historic Chinatown, north of Cermak and west on 19th, to the Ping Tom Park water-taxi stop for a pleasant $10 scenic cruise downtown. In September 2024 loaded up our cellphones with architecture for some self-guided sight-seeing, and picked a stop near our next touristing plans. This time we stopped near Michigan Av on the north shore of the Chicago River, where there's an elevator up a few steps to street level, for an espresso and some strolling and shopping on Magnificent Mile. If you look closely at the ChicagoWaterTaxi website, you can find a senior, military, disabled, or under-3 discount for the ride :-), and a map of the stops.

    Lynette H.

    What a great afternoon activity!! It's really easy to purchase tickets online! And a more affordable way to get a ride on the river. We do love the Architecture tour, but have done it plenty of times. My daughter and I have taken the taxi from Chinatown to Michigan Ave a few times. She really enjoys it. The staff is really nice and helpful.

    View from water taxi
    Arshad H.

    This water taxi was a fantastic find for exploring the Chicago River. At only $6 a ride (or $10 for an all-day pass!), it's way cheaper than those overpriced architectural tours ($40, yikes!). Plus, you get the same amazing views of the city skyline without the cheesy narration Here's the deal: Stops: Currently operates at 3 stops: Michigan Ave, Ogilvie/Union Station, and Chinatown. Price: $6 per ride or $10 for an all-day pass (super worth it if you're planning on hitting multiple spots). Payment: They only take credit cards, but you can buy tickets online, on the boat, or at the stations. Schedule: Boats run about every 35 minutes during the day (check their website for the exact schedule). No night cruises though. Highly recommend this for anyone visiting Chicago!

    Jane L.

    I took the architecture boat tour on my last visit so this time I decided to take the water taxi to Chinatown. It was perfect! For $10 you get to be out on the water for 30-40 min! In the downtown area there is a lot of shade from the buildings. As you get closer to Chinatown you're exposed to full sun so be prepared or go downstairs. The dock in Chinatown is close to the area with restaurants and shops. It's also very easy to take the red line back up to the Loop. Highly recommend!!! I had a little bit of a hard time finding it. Take the stairs down near Wendella docks 3 and 4.

    Jazmine P.

    I rode the water taxi for the first time this summer and wow!! First off, the views that you get on your ride alone are unmatched. Plus the ride was smooth and a steady pace. I wanted to explore Chinatown for my birthday and I couldn't have picked a better form of transportation. It took us from the riverwalk to Chinatown for only $10, steal of a deal! Can't wait to ride again!

    Samantha K.

    This was a super cool way to go from Chicago to Chinatown! Took about 30 mins. Day passes for the water taxi are 20$ per person You meet by trump tower. The ride was smooth, workers on the ferry boat were pleasant Definitely recommend

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    9 months ago

    Easily located and the view of the river and architecture was amazing. Easy way to china town.

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    11 months ago

    100% recommend paying the $10 bucks for a water taxi. Takes you through the (West loop) went to Chinatown.

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    Ask the Community - Chicago Water Taxi

    How old is "senior" for the senior discount?

    senior is half price one-way ($5) for 65+

    How long a trip on the water taxi? What river is it?

    Chicago Water Taxi operates on the Chicago River, and has one-way routes that last from 10 minutes to 30 minutes.

    View All 3 Questions

    Review Highlights - Chicago Water Taxi

    We had an all day pass and we rode the water taki throughout the downtown area and into China Town for lunch.

    Mentioned in 15 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Chicago Architecture Center

    Chicago Architecture Center

    (815 reviews)

    The Loop

    chicago architecture center boat tour on the "the first lady" was well done. very rainy day but a…read morechoice of remaining upstairs out in the open, where we were given a big umbrella which was nice, or some of our group went downstairs out of the rain. liz our docent was so knowledgable and informing, 11 out of 10 for her.

    If you're in Chiago you have to do the Architecture tour at least once. If you're in Chicago…read moreduring the Summer as I was you can seek sanctuary in the air conditioned lower level. I wish the audio was a little bit louder on that level due to the sound of the fans and people talking. If you like my reviews, consider "following" my profile for reviews all across the SF Bay Area . Why "follow" someone? It causes the person you follow's reviews to tier to top when you pull up a business. I find this very handy when researching venues. Rod's Review grading scale explained. Essentially I personally base it on the likelihood of a return visit and I try to be stingy with 5 star reviews since they should be "special" in my eyes. Price/Value also play a role obviously but there are $ and $$$$ littered across my grading scale. 5 stars - "I'll go out of my way" (approx 6 % of my reviews) 4 stars- "If I was in the area I'd go here and would recommend", (approx 38% of my reviews) 3 stars "Maybe if was nearby", (approx 37% of my reviews) 2 stars -"Would likely not return, Only if you want to go", (approx 16% of my reviews) 1 star -"No thanks, even if I was hungry", (approx. 3 % of my reviews)

    Wendella Tours & Cruises - Chicago River Architecture Tour

    Wendella Tours & Cruises

    (1.6k reviews)

    Near North Side

    When you arrive the signs are very clear. We almost got looped in with the wrong time and the…read moreemployees were very helpful in ensuring we made it to the right boat! A side note there is a Peet's coffee right above this that you can stop in for a snack. They also have a full bar and snacks available for purchase on the boat which was a surprise to me! The bathrooms on board are super clean as well. Now, the best part was Scott! Our tour was engaging, fun, and very informative. You can barely feel yourself moving which is wild! I got a ton of great photos and learned so much about the city. I would do this exact tour again it was so fun. They do have lots of options to choose from!

    I never write reviews, but the experience with Wendella Tours was bizarre and made me angry. AVOID…read moreTHIS TOUR GROUP. Me and my partner scheduled a 90-minute architecture tour for 06/24/2025 at 8:30PM (Total $90 for two tickets). We arrived early and while waiting, we received an email at 7:56PM saying there was an issue with their boat and they had to cancel the tour. We went down to the ticketing office and spoke with the employee. He explained there was an issue with their boat and it was impossible to refund our tickets at his ticketing office. He advised me that we could call the main office number and ask for a refund and then shrugged saying he wasn't sure if they would be able to. The employee stated he could reschedule us to 8:45PM (a firework tour - not what we wanted) or 9:00PM for the architecture tour. I advised him we would be fine with shifting our plans to 9:00PM. He printed me and my partner our tickets and we stepped aside to wait for an hour. We looked at the tickets and noticed that the 9:00PM tour was printed as only 45-minutes long, not the 90-minutes originally purchased. I went back up to the ticketing office and inquired about the discrepancy and asked for a refund on the difference, as the 45-minute tour was only $28 per ticket (Total $56 for two tickets). The employee again said he couldn't refund us for the difference. At this point I was upset because literally, what do you mean you can't refund the difference? After me being persistent (and a different employee also saying no refunds), they finally admitted they actually COULD refund me there, and then issued me a refund / receipt saying my card would be credited for the original amount in 2 - 5 days. I left completely confused by the interaction. How are YOU going to cancel on me, and then say "Oh no refunds" *shrug*. Umm you didn't provide the service I purchased... I would urge you to use literally any other architecture tour group.

    Chicago River Boat Architecture Tours - Our boat

    Chicago River Boat Architecture Tours

    (285 reviews)

    Near North Side

    Highly recommend!…read more Easy to book online. Came in early June, 12:00pm reservation. I had booked a tour a year before but had to cancel last minute due to illness and they refunded me 100% the day before. Line started 30 minutes before the departure time so get there early if you want a specific spot. Chairs on top as well as some benches on the side. Seating area downstairs, bar, and complimentary water, lemonade, coffee/ tea. Nice bathrooms on board. Ed was an amazing tour guide, very knowledgeable and Chicago local who knows his history of the city!! Informative and funny! *Note: This is the only tour I've been on so I have nothing to compare it too. Some of the other tours looked bigger, I would probably try another one next time just to compare.

    Chicago riverboat architectural historical tour on main branch of river. Time to cruise…read more Nonstop 90 minutes. Talk about the architectural sky scraper wonders. foremost. Mind blowing enormously tall. Alot of humor and details on rental price @$400,000 a year. Famous people like Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey lived here. Willis seats tower 100 stories tall 1,052 in the Windy City Sky! It's the tallest! there are 37 drawbridges on the main branch river. That's all the facts in my head could remember. The river is alive! The buildings taller than Sequoia redwood trees or Oregon Douglas Fir. Glass, concrete and steel in assorted shapes - seemingly alive like a living tree. I feel the energy of the river and the buildings standing tall. Worth the moolah.

    Chicago Water Taxi - boatcharters - Updated July 2026

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