As a fun way to get from Shedd Aquarium to Navy Pier, Ben bought us tickets to take the water taxi. It was a beautiful day out, nice breezes and a first for us both this time with a different view of the city. We sat on top of course and enjoyed the sun, the views and the ride over. It is something that should be done at least once but I do still want to do the tours that take you down into the city too, those views looks amazing too! read more

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Fantastic tours, highly recommended. Arch tour is the best. Must do when in Chicago. I loved it.

We took this tour on 18 June 2024 at 7 pm. Awesome architectural tour of Chicago, my family and I were very impressed with the architecture's of the buildings. I recommend this cruise for any 1st timers to Chicago. read more

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Victor was 10 out of 10 amazing tour guide! Knowledge, engaging, witty, and funny! The architecture tour was 90 minutes of magic. Loved sitting front row to take in the sights and all of Victor and his binder of picture. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Even in the rain, it was still a great tour. Tour guide knew their stuff and everyone else on deck was friendly and helpful.

This past weekend, I did the Chicago Architecture River Cruise with a friend who was visiting from New York. The weather was in 50s so we got extremely lucky being out on the cruise. We boarded the cruise from Michigan Avenue. It's right next to the Apple Store. This was probably the best and most informative touristy thing that I made my friend do during his stay here. Our tour guide, Jeremy was very knowledgeable and provided a lot of information on the buildings in downtown, overall culture and history of city while making it fun. Being a Chicago local, I got the chance to learn some great things about the architecture and design of the all the new buildings in the town. The tour was 1 hour long and it started right on time. They do have a bar and bathroom downstairs (on the boat we were on). Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who wants to explore Chicago and want to learn more about the city's great architecture. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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This was my second time on a shoreline cruise but I felt like this one was really nice! Victor was our guide and incredibly knowledgeable and had some fun facts and personal opinions that kept it funny and engaging! We did the 4:30 PM departure and it was perfect as we saw the city come to life with all its lights. A really nice activity even if you don't know a lot about architecture. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Sunset from the cruise - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great River architecture tour, all the skyscrapers are in the loop. Amazing sunny day with city views. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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It's five minute water taxi to Navy pier from Michigan Avenue is so convenient but like everything prices have gone up. $10 for a one-way five minute trip but at least we had the water experience. Staff is friendly but a little late to open the gate and we weren't sure if we'd miss it. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The tour was very informative about the history & architect of the city. Juan was our tour guide & he was great! read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We paid $30 per person for the water taxi, not the tour, for an all day unlimited ride pass. The boats dock every half hour at Navy Pier, Michigan Avenue, and Union Station. We took the train so this was a great relaxing option instead of fighting Chicago traffic! The sights along the way were a great bonus. read more

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This was a very cool way of getting around. We had the taxi day pass, which allowed us to bounce to a decent number of places. They have a large fleet operation going. They are a good company to go with. read more

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I did the architecture tour using this company and it was such a great time! We had Jim who was our tour guide and he was super cool and really knowledgeable on the history and architecture of Chicago. The staff is super nice and accommodating to all of the individuals. Their boat also had a full bar as well as a covered area if you do not want to be sitting in the sun. I would highly suggest using this company for any sightseeing on the river. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great tour! Brook kept everyone entertained and had lots of fun stories. Learned a lot, thank you!

Awesome tour. Loved Sadie and her delivery. What a pro! If you're coming to Chicago, I definitely recommend this tour!

Elliot brings architecture to life! Fascinating facts with a sense of humor. I enjoyed the scenery while Elliot engaged our tour with fun facts, charm and a real sense of pride in calling Chicago his home. A must do tour.... Elliot a marvelous guide! read more

Brooke was a great tour guide! She was very well spoken and on point the whole time. I learned so much. I had a spicy Bloody Mary aboard and it was really good ($11) I have no complaints about this tour read more

Kegan was our tour guide. The whole experience was very informative and interesting. Questions were encouraged and the staff was very friendly. The boat was ver clean and offered comfortable seating. I left recommending the tour to multiple friends. read more

Incredible experience! The architecture tour was a very pleasant experience with lots of great facts and info. Brooke, our guide, was very knowledgeable and did a fantastic job telling about the history and architecture of the buildings on the Chicago River. She was super fun and kept the trip lively and super interesting. Overall, 10/10 would recommend! read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We rode the rental bikes to Navy Pier for lunch and it was just too hot and traffic-y to ride them back... so, YEAH WATER TAXI!!!! (You can dock theDivvy rental bikes basically anywhere around town so we ditched them here) For only $6 that water taxi took me right back to Michigan Avenue, more than halfway back to my hotel and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride! On a sunny day, the water is beautiful and it allows for a view of the city not accessible any other way. The best part of this company is that they have employees in matching shirts, near red umbrellas, canvassing the sidewalk to help you. (Meaning, no standing in a long ticket line just to ask a question about their stops or also made it easy to spot the boat/boarding area after you bought your ticket at the kiosk. The walk to the taxi is a few minutes, so don't stand near the kiosk until boarding time or you will miss the boat. (But it leaves every 15 minutes so not a crisis of you do) read more

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Sassy and Sexy* *as misheard by our friend over dinner. Learned so much and enjoyed the tour. The tour guide knew so much and was funny in his presentation. Even my uncultured friend enjoyed the tour. Would recommend stopping in Ghirardelli right before for a snack on the tour! read more

Josh was an amazing tour guide. He had a ton of knowledge and was entertaining without being corny. This was my third time on a Chicago architecture tour and I still learned something new. He was also very kind to our sassy puppy. If you get a chance to go on a tour with Josh consider yourself lucky! read more

Perfect transportation to get from the Shedd aquarium to the Navy pier to Michigan Avenue. The 15 minute journey enabled us to experience Lake Michigan and see some nice views of the city. Organized and on schedule, I recommend this for a quick trip. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

After visiting the Museum Campus, I needed to go to Navy Pier for lunch, options.. bus, cab or walk along the lakefront. The best option was the water taxi. The taxi service is $7 for adults and it takes about 10 minutes from the campus to Navy Pier. Another great way to see the city from from the lake. Did I mention, there is a bar on the boat? They serve beer, wine, soda and water. The prices are very reasonable. I would recommend anyone to take the water taxi. There are three different routes you can take. So sit back and relax. read more

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Taxi, taxi. Like water, Taxi's? How about conjoining them? Yup, that's cool! Well at least in the water months it's cool! When the wife I visited Chi-town over the summer were found ourselves at Shedds Aquarium and wanted to go to the pier. Well not being from the area we were a bit lost on the idea of travel and how to expedite it. So we walked out of Shedd went down by the dock and what do ya know, there is a boat. I thought "hey this could be cool". So I asked the guy at the counter the fare for the Navy Pier. I'll state it was well worth the price. Not only did it expedite us to the Pier, but it was different and non-stop! When we go there again, we'll definitely us the Water Taxi again! read more

What a great way to see the city and get around! We walked to the Navy Pier from Millennium Park then took the water taxi back. Best idea ever! The prices were great and the views were gorgeous! read more

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Kathy had our back! We missed our previous time slot and she was so.helpful in getting us fitted for the next tour! She stands out because she is genuinely happy to help the customer. She loves what she does and it showed!!! Not to mention our tour guide! What an amazing time we had! Celebrating our friends birthday and the crew, captain and tour could and have been better!! read more

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************* REVIEW 148 **************** Who would have thought Water Taxi can be so much fun? After 8 years I had been coming to Chi Town, this is 1 of the most simple fun that I ever had & didn't cost much. I got to see some of the most beautiful sights of Chicago for this cheap, seriously. Lake Service between Navy Pier to Shedd Aquarium, Buckingham Fountain. $7 for adult & $4 for kids. River service between Navy Pier & Wells/Wacker, also connecting to Michigan Avenue. $5 for adult & $3 for kids. read more

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Mainly used for transportation, but this quick trip gives you a great view of the amazing Chicago skyline at a fraction of the cost of any official tour ($8 per person). Highlights: - Length: ~15 ride was long enough for kids to get a fun little boat ride - View: nice to see the Chicago skyline and navy pier far enough away to get the panoramic effect, but close enough to see some detail - Better than other options: taxis can take forever with Chicago traffic and the walk from navy pier area to the aquarium can take a while Lowlights: - No mobile friendly website: makes it a lot harder than it needs to be to order tickets online I'd take it again if I needed speedy transport or wanted a short water ride. read more

We had planned to take a competing cruise (not the water taxi, actually) at 4:30 p.m. but when we arrived (around 4 p.m.) they were sold out. Due to our schedule, we did not have the flexibility to reserve far in advance, so initially we were disappointed. We sat on a stone wall along the river and noted a couple of competing tours across the way. We opted to walk over the bridge and check them out. Shoreline had a ticket booth up at street level (on the weekend, at least) and offered a slightly shorter cruise (75 vs. 90 minutes) at a cheaper price. We went for it. Our cruise started at 4:45 p.m. at the dock just to the east of Michigan Ave. We boarded the boat and took seats along the port side of the boat. The guide was engaging and offered a constant stream of commentary on the buildings we were passing. The tour progressed westward to the Y-intersection. It then went a bit north and doubled back a bit south of the Y. We ended up passing the docking point out towards Navy Pier and back. In all, everyone really enjoyed the tour. You don't have to be either an architecture or a history buff to like it, but either will help. If the weather is nice, this is an excellent way to enjoy a bit of time on the river! Note: the boat offers bar services, though we didn't take advantage of them (only because the line was too long). read more

The staff at Shoreline could not have been nicer. Everyone from the ticket salesman to the captain were friendly. The boat was clean and had both covered and uncovered seating on their two decks. There is a small bar on board selling snacks and drinks. During the tours, an audio recording plays and details facts about the Chicago water ways. Tip- stop at the information/ security desk at the front of Navy Pier as they often have $2 off coupons for Shoreline. read more

We took water taxi from museum to Michigan Ave via navy pier. That was great transportation with reasonable price. We took 75 mins Chicago river architecture cruise.too. It was amazing but if you don't have time for that you should try water taxi! read more

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Shoreline water Taxi is fun, easy to use, and offers beautiful views of the city. The ticketing staff and boat staff were friendly, helpful and accommodating. Our group of 15 included three people using wheelchairs and the crew were not phased. They helped the chair users safely up and down the boarding ramps. Very kind and I especially wanted to mention Christian who helped make out day extra special. Thank you!! read more

I have a client at 401 N Michigan Ave and I never miss an opportunity to take a water taxi there. I've been taking Shoreline water taxi for years, but just today considered looking them up on Yelp. I have no qualms with the company. Reliable service down the Chicago River. And of course you should take this route if it's on your way instead of standard taxi or Uber/Lyft. It's like a ten minute vacation. Well, maybe bypass if you're in a serious hurry. I structure my life so I'm rarely in a hurry. Part of me wishes it ran year-round, but absence makes the heart grow founder and the river ices up, duh. So take advantage of it while it does run. Note: this review covers the water taxi, which is different from the architectural tour (which is also great). The water taxi takes you from point A to point B along the Chicago River with merely your wonderment as a distraction. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - If ya gotta commute, enjoy the ride - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Did the 75 minute Architectural Tour. It meanders around the Chicago River (Canal?) as your tour guide describes various buildings that you are passing by, their history, lore, style, etcetera. They have a full bar on board, so you can have an adult beverage or two (or three). Not a bad way to spend a little over an hour on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and you learn a little Chicago history too. read more

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Inexpensive way to get a wonderful view of the city and get where you need to be. We went from navy pier to museum campus for $10

Nick you are amazing! Articulate, funny, knowledge. Highly recommend taking this beautiful view of Chicago read more

Beautiful tour! Would highly recommend for anyone. Kid friendly, great tour guide, beautiful views. We loved this architecture tour. I would take a sweater since it can get chilly. Drinks on the bottom read more

The ride itself was fine, it was the attitude of the staff that was questionable. My folks and I decided to take the water taxi from the Field Museum over to Navy Pier. As we were buying our tickets, my dad put a twenty on the counter to pay the girl and it flew off the counter into the water in front of us. Not her fault, of course, this is the Windy City, after all. Here is the annoying part. The girl said, "Quick, if you can see it in the water one of the guys can try to get it with his net." So the guy waddles over, oh so slowly, and says, loudly, "That dude is probably a lawyer or something, what is a twenty to him?" This comment was so rude and tasteless that I almost lost my composure. Fortunately the girl, maybe realizing what a jackass her co-worker just was, offered the ride to us for free. And that was the only positive part of this experience. read more

Errand to run on the dreaded Navy Pier. And I only have an hour to do it. Do I rent a bike? Walk to the #29 and bus it? Let's go one step better. Water taxi!! This is a perfect alternative for getting to Navy Pier. No train runs close and the buses are a ways off. So I step out of my place of employment and hop right on. The water taxi leaves every 20 minutes from in front of the Shedd Aquarium and Navy Pier (there's two running at once at all times). I believe the cost for adults is $7. For Museum Campus employees it's FREE! (psst! Joe!) So when I have a 10 minute errand to run at Navy Pier, this is my own personal taxi. Cheap, great scenery and the whole ride takes 10-15 minutes depending on how choppy the water is. Another one of Chicago's gems. read more