I got the 72 hour tour, and I was lucky enough to have Candace everyday! She was amazing, great…read morestories and insight from a local, sharing city tips and personal recommendations. I had some other drivers but I was so happy when she picked me up. Give this woman a raise!

Since this was the first time I had ever been to Chicago, this was a must on my 10-day vacation. I…read morewas with my niece who had been here many times before but she never got to spend time playing tourist like I was. I was so impressed at our driver/tour guide's knowledge of the most intricate details of the city of Chicago. We sat on the top of the double-decker bus, which gave us a great overview of everything we saw along the way, even the Canada Geese who were taking a break along the waterway. What was the most impressive was how much green space had been created amongst all the buildings and that older buildings had been preserved so that the city wasn't just tall, glass and steel buildings dominated the skyline. On my next visit, I'll have to see some of the highlights separately, but in the meantime, The Big Bus made it easy to start my bucket list.

Had a great time and the information was good. The sound out of the ear buds was not good at timesread more

Looking for something new and different to do on Black Friday we took…read morethe Holiday lights tour this year. We have a tremendous driver, he was a lot of fun and really made the night. The tour goes the Christkindlmarket market at Wrigley and then the zoolights at Lincoln park zoo. I wish we got to see more lights around the city, but I don't know how that would work. It was allot of fun anyway. we got to spend a good amount of time at each stop. In between on the drive our driver told some great stores, some history and sang Christmas carols. A fun thing to do even if your not a tourist but a local like us. Make be a new family tradition.

The crime tour had a lot of stories about some very interesting people. It was a hot day (91+…read moredegrees and humid), and the A/C was woefully inadequate for a full bus. Our host was a young woman who knew her stuff. She never stopped talking unnecessarily, and was a speaker who kept your interest. At the start, she read off a bunch of rules that made her seem unfriendly. The tour seemed a bit rushed to me. I can also understand how some passengers would, if given more time, delay the tour an extra half hour. I wished we could have spent a little more time at the locations

Great tour! Our…read moreguide, Katie, was funny, friendly, and knew so many cool (and creepy) facts about Chicago's crime history. We hit everything from Al Capone and the Chicago Outfit to the Tylenol Killer and the crazy history of Streeterville. Loved hearing about speakeasies like The Bad Apple, the Rock n' Roll McDonald's drama, and wild stories like Johann Hoch and H.H. Holmes. Highly recommend if you love true crime with a side of Chicago history!

I was on party bus duty for my daughter's recent high school dance. I priced out a few companies…read morewith party buses and 312 Limo was the most reasonable price. To be honest it was still a little expensive considering they were driving from Wilmette to Northfield to Glencoe, but less than the other: $840 for a 3 hour minimum for a party bus of 28. We also didn't need it for the entire 3 hours, but the options I found were either one way or 3-4 hour minimums so this was the best deal. I found their communication to be stellar both via email and text. The bus driver was on time and the kids had no trouble locating the party bus when they came out of the dance and I've heard it was one of many party busses. A few of my daughter's friends hopped on for the way home and commented that this bus was way nicer than the one they took to the dance from another company. Overall, it was a success. The parents could have easily driven these kids ourselves, but the party bus elevated the experience and the kids all seemed to enjoy the VIP treatment.

I have used The 312 Limo company two years in a row for the Hinsdale Kitchen Walk and they never…read moredisappoint. They are always a little bit early, which is appreciate to load coolers, and snacks and the service is always top notch! They are my go to limo company for events, and I can't wait to work with them again in 2027.

Candace is the best driver and tour guide. She made our ride entertaining and fun. She puts her…read morewhole heart in her job. She new passenger by name. We had trivia questions and prizes.

This company did not provide the services I paid for due to employees who have no idea what they…read moreare doing. if I could give zero I would. Specifically, I ONLY went back to Dubai to go to the Louvre in Abu Dhabi because it was not open on my first trip. I selected the tour that provided this and it was all set up for Sunday. Without asking me someone changed my tour ( I did not consent to this change) to Monday'; the museum is not open on Mondays. i was told this was a mistake but since I only went to see this museum this was a MONUMENTAL MISTAKE. I took off work, paid for their services and flew to Dubai for a specific reason. I did not get to see the museum, not because it was a holiday or it was under maintence but because some employee had no idea what they were doing. When I complained and asked for a partial refund since I did not get what I paid for, I was offered a free trip to Abu Dhabi when I come back to Dubai. This is unacceptable since i have no intention of returning to Dubai any time soon or know if I ever will. This is a very large company and while mistakes happen, the cost for me should not be so high. They screwed up a trip I carefully set up for my purpose due to incompetence and then refuse to accept responsibility. Be very careful in choosing this company for dream vacations because they could get messed up and then they will do nothing about it

This was probably one of the best tours I've been on, and my fiancé (who has very high standards…read moreabout these things) agrees. We booked a tour for Saturday at 2 pm. There were some technical difficulties and the TV system on the bus ended up not working. Mr. Frank Calabrese Jr was very professional and good-humored about the situation. He offered everyone on the bus the opportunity to come back free of charge so that we may have the full experience with the photos he had been intending to show us. He proceeded to do the tour without the presentation, which honestly was great in itself. He is a very good story-teller, and had a great narrative. He had notes with him but only referenced them a few times to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything. Everything was super authentic and off the cuff. I loved that we went around Chicago and we were able to get glimpses of how the city was like in the 60s-90s. What made this tour so great was that these stories were first-hand. It didn't come from someone who spent hours studying the history; this was his real life. He was very genuine about his experiences, and his anecdote about his kids at the very end of the tour made me tear up a bit. He even invited us to stay for happy hour at the Chop House to have a drink with him to talk. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone, regardless of whether you know the mob history or not. I personally didn't know too much, and still was captivated by his stories. He does have a book (which I definitely intend to read) and a movie in the works!

I'm a huge fan of true crime and Chicago history, so I'm surprised to say that this was my first…read morecrime tour ever. But everything happens for a reason, and it seems that reason was that I was meant to wait until the perfect one came along -- that, my friends, happened to be the Family Secrets Tour. I met Mr. Calabrese Jr. weeks ago when he presented some of his intriguing life stories at an event at Chicago Chop House, and I knew that evening that I had to book and experience the real deal, aka his bus tours. My friend and I booked a tour for a Friday afternoon recently that started at 2pm, and though there was a bit of a delay because our bus's TV monitors weren't working, Mr. Calabrese Jr. smoothly filled the time with some behind-the-scenes stories he said he usually doesn't share on the tour. I was hooked immediately. To be honest, before this tour, I had no idea the stories his family was involved in were so high-profile (I even talked to my family afterward, and they ALL knew every detail and were mad I didn't invite them! Sorry family!). But even while he showed us news clips, a lot of photos, and told all of his stories, he remained modest, which made the entire experience endearing. Mr. Calabrese Jr. is super charismatic and a great storyteller, and you can tell he genuinely loves telling his story and showing everyone around the neighborhoods where he grew up, and where big moments happened in history to people who were in "the life." I truly enjoyed this tour and I recommend it for anyone who wants an real, honest, non-theatrical recap of Chicago's mob history. The Family Secrets Tour is engaging and delightful. Thank you so much for captivating us, Frank! Can't wait to bring my family along some time!

The Barrel Run provided an exceptional experience. For my sister's 40th birthday, we arranged a…read moreprivate Prohibition Tour, which proved to be truly remarkable. Our tour guide, David, was an outstanding narrator whose extensive knowledge offered many new insights, even for those in our large group who reside in the Chicago area. Furthermore, Denise, who served as the primary point of contact for scheduling, was excellent; her communication was consistently thorough. I highly recommend The Barrel Run for anyone seeking a unique and memorable event.

If you're a craft beer fan this tour should be on your list of things to do if you're visiting…read moreChicago. You get to visit 3 breweries/brew pubs. I believe at least one of them you get a tour of, Revolution brewery was the one we got to tour. Our guide Ted was awesome, he gave us some history on the places we were going to visit along with some local Chicago history during the ride. The location were kept a surprise ahead of time so we didn't know where we were going until we got there. They do have a rotation of different breweries they tour so if you decided to go again you could possibly explore some new spots the next time around. The coolest part about the tour is the bus itself, just checkout the pictures. The seating layout makes for great interaction with the rest of the people on the tour. I happened to find out about The Barrel Run when I was looking up Chicago tours on YouTube & came across some video a couple named kovACTION made about 3 months ago. Right after watching that I knew I had to fit this in my schedule when I was in town.

My husband and I have lived in Chicago for over 20 years but we still like to do tourist-y things…read more We took the tour yesterday (7/3/26) with Winnie Westside as our guide. We had a little hiccup at the very beginning with a malfunctioning bus door, but Winnie and our driver handled it with grace and humor and soon we were on our way. The tour covers a lot of ground and I heard a lot of out-of-town visitors happily exclaiming about the cool Chicago facts and sights they were learning about. I had a renewed appreciation for the city I've come to love as our driver expertly shuttled us all around town. On such a hot day I think everyone appreciated not having to leave the bus, and having a guide in costume and in character really makes it more fun. I used to take this tour with all of my out-of-town visitors years ago when it was two guys and a school bus painted black, and I've taken it periodically since they expanded. I'm happy to say it's still as great as ever, and I'll definitely keep this tour in mind when people come visit me this summer.

Marie was a wonderful host! We loved her. She did a great job and was very educational and funny…read more I learned a lot. My dad and I had a lot of fun. The bus was easy to get to. The raffle was a nice touch. Ps - she said her mom reads these. HI MOM!!

I walk through CTA Kedzie area often whether it be walking to the fitness center (Breakthrough…read moreFamilyPlex) or catching the CTA train itself. From what I have noticed it is actually safe, but that does not mean that I would not keep alert while in it even as an African American. CTA Kedzie is one of the high traffic areas in East Garfield Park due to everyone coming in-and-out, and also because of the liqa sto (One Eleven Food & Liquors) being posted about 100 meters from the station. I'm crossing my fingers that 'One Eleven Food & Liquors' gets torn down and becomes the parking lot for 'The Hatchery' once 'The Hatchery' has been completed, but that's a whole different topic. However, if you have ever been to this area you will understand what type of traffic it brings. The worst you will encounter in this area are drunks, druggies and drug dealers which stems from the liqa sto being a hit, but other than that it is just people trying to carry out their day whether that be going to school, work, or home via the train or bus. At night the traffic calms down, but that does not mean you stop being alert because it is pretty dark in this area once you get off that train and exit the CTA stop itself. Thomas G

This stop deserves some credit for being located, through no decision of itself, in one of the most…read moreforlorn, dangerous looking corners of hotspot-city. However, it's not any of these things. It's a great stop in the midst of a neighborhood of people trying to do the best they can with that they were given. It is a crossroads of kids coming from and going to school, with a few restaurants thrown in the mix. It's actually a very safe area and there is a Garfield Outdoor Market on the south-eastern corner of the street on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings that has great produce. It's in the location of the soon-to-be-built "Hatchery", which is a food service small business incubator that has some very substantial community resource behind it.