I celebrated my bday on Memorial Day and we were shocked to find the city mostly empty…read more I was determined to be on the water for the big day and called the sister company to book a captain and boat but was told I'd have to give 48hrs to procure a captain for a private tour. They directed me to a Chicago Cycleboats public tour instead. I was skeptical about this kind of boat. Would there be a lot of people? Were the bikes plus size friendly? But I was happy that we could bring our own food and drink. I had a hunch we might be the only people on the boat and I WAS RIGHT. My festive party of 5 had the whole boat to ourselves. In the end I got a private tour for a fraction of the price!! Better yet, the seats and cycles were fat friendly and comfortable. When folks get tired of paddling, the captain just flicks the electric on and the boat continues on. Monica was an outstanding captain. She let us do our thing, made sure we were safe, and had interesting stories to tell us about her boating career. Champagne, charcuterie, music, and a riverboat. A perfect way to spend a warm Chicago day!

My group of friends I booked one of the Friday night public tours and enjoyed our trip out on the…read moreboat. We really lucked out and ended up having the whole boat to ourselves. I think it is a fun activity to do with a group of friends or family members. The 90 minutes really flew by.

Great first time kayaking! The views were breathtaking and the staff member was very informative…read moreand kind to us. I will be doing this regularly. It's a great way to explore downtown Chicago and connect with yourself.

First, it says when booking that it will be two hours. The start time is 8:15. So I told my…read morebabysitter an end time based off of that. The day of the tour we get a text saying it will be three hours. That meant we had to scramble to see if our babysitter could stay at least an hour longer. Second, they put a green light on each kayak on each so it can be seen at night on the river (we did the fireworks tour). I am not exaggerating when I say half of the kayaks on the tour lights were out on the way to the fireworks. That made me feel unsafe and anxious. It also made it more difficult to figure out who our tour guides were because at least two tour guides' lights went out as well. Third, they directed us to "park" (not sure how else to put it) for the fireworks in a spot that the other kayak tour groups seemed to very clearly know was to be avoided because a giant boat was going to dock there. This resulted in our group being yelled at by another kayaking group that we should leave for our own safety because a boat was going to dock there. Then the boat was descending upon us and we had to play kayak-frogger across the river in a mad dash at the last minute while the giant boat honked and played sirens because we were in its way. Again, felt very unsafe. For a person looking for a a casual, fun kayaking experience, this whole thing was too stressful. Would not recommend. Other kayaking places we saw on the water seemed more organized and safety-conscious.

First time kayaking. The staffs were very friendly. Explained the safety features in detail. Walked…read moreus thru the route. Gave tips as well on where are the best spots, which direction to go, how to manage the flow, how to avoid the boats. Happily took pictures for our group. The kayaks were in good condition and so was the life jackets. A must try and gotta to experience it with REI team!

Great experience today at REI rentals! My friend found out…read moreabout this place and we had to check it out! We went on a Friday and I recommend that day as the staff said Saturdays get busy. Staff Naomi walked us through techniques before getting in the kayak. They provide dry bags. Please note no lockers so I wouldn't bring a full size backpack. Tips: water shoes or shoeless, clothes that you don't mind getting wet, and a change of clothes. They helped us into the water but not getting out.

I went on a boat tour with my friends through this company and let me just say they have…read moreoutstanding customer service! We had a great time sailing along the lake. They gave us the chance to connect our phones so we can listen to our own music. We brought some snacks and drinks on board. They were very thorough with their safety guidelines. We knew where everything was in case of an emergency. The views of the city we saw were incredible. I can't ask for a better boat company than Chicago Pedal Boats! 5 Stars all around! They deserve that and more!

We absolutely loved it. They let us hook up our music to Bluetooth, BYOB, saw some great views…read more Captains are great company. Would do it again!

Included everything to make sure everything was perfect and easy going. All the girls from the…read morebachelorette party wish to go back! Thank you for making everything enjoyable for everyone!

Booked Captain Tom's Penalty Box for my boyfriend's Birthday! Sent out information on Tom's website…read moreand Tom got back at me the next day. Whenever I have questions I'll just text Tom and he usually replies pretty quick. We scheduled the cruise at 3 but we didn't get to the harbor until almost 4 due to traffic. Tom is very understanding. We brought some food and drinks and Tom has a cooler with ice ready on the boat. Started off with a Chicago river cruise. My boyfriend got a bit sea sick when we were cruising on the lake... what can I say, freaking Chicago wind, but the river cruise is calm and nice. Caption Tom is patient to explain all the functions of the boat (wow two engines) and other interesting facts about Michigan Lake and Chicago river. We got caught in the rain for a bit but lucky the boat has a roof and we brought cards. When we got back on the lake the sun came out again so we stayed a while for a little lake front swim party... kinda funny since my boyfriend can't swim. Tom eventually find a rope to tie to his life vest so he had fun. Finished off the cruise at around 8 as we planed. Great day! Highly recommended!

We have sailed with Captain Rick several times - once with 2 other couples we did not know and once…read morewith a full boat of 6 friends. Both experiences were great! Would highly recommend and we always check his schedule early on in the summer as dates can book up!

My friends and I sailed with Rick S. A couple of times so far this summer. We had a fantastic time…read moreboth times, in very different conditions. Rick is an accomplished sailor, great sense of humor and has lots of fun facts about the city, sailing, and music. We will definitely do it again!

We called last minute and the Captain dropped his plans and came back to boat to take us out. What…read morean amazing trip, we caught our limit of lake trout and there were some TOADS in there. The biggest one was 35 inches and man was it fat, felt like pulling in a massive log...so fun. The Captain was spectacular, he cleaned all of the fish and bagged them for us to take home. Great conversation, a wonderful experience, would totally go again. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I want to both thank and commend Captain Gintas of Angler Charters ( Angler-Charters.com ) for a…read morewonderful fishing / camaraderie experience last Tuesday morning. We all caught our limit of LARGE coho Salmon during our trip....and had an absolute blast doing so. At one point four of us had fish on simultaneously! Landed 'em all. How cool is that? I'm not new to fishing, and I asked Captain why we were using some different lures than last year. It all has to do with water conditions, depth of fish etc. He then rattles off the different lures on 5-6 of the rods we were using without even thinking about it.....he knows his stuff! You don't become a repeat customer unless you enjoy your first experience. Right? We had a great time last year...so we decided to book with Captain Gintas again. Glad we did and we'll be back! Rich M

Captain Guy Lopez will put you on the fish. He loves all kinds of fishing and will do whatever it…read moretakes for a successful outing. We went out on June 6, 2026 and limited out on Lake Trout, Steelhead and Cohos. Do not hesitate to book a trip on Lake Michigan with Captain Lopez. You will have a new friend after your first outing. His rates are reasonable and his equipment is top notch. Dave Henschel