Finally, it was November and the FINAL full day of this trip. We actually still have a full week to go, but the nature of the trip will change quite dramatically for the next 6-7 days. Let’s focus on the City in hand before we Jet off early tomorrow for a completely different kind of pace.

Today was full-on Sightseeing as we try and squeeze as much juice out of our 2-Day Go City Chicago Pass as possible. We started the day off with our complimentary breakfast once again in the Ventuex restaurant downstairs. Today we chose some AMAZING French Toast and the irresistible Confit Duck and Waffles. The French toast was huge and came as two large thick fluffy slices of Brioche Loaf served with lashings of jam, roasted pumpkin seeds, and peanut butter. The Duck was super crispy and fell off the bone like all good Confit and came with a huge Waffle drenched in Syrup. An amazing way to kick off the day.

Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour – $54

The first attraction was the Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour. Part Tour, Part transport we love these fun little rides around the City, and while we usually wince at the prices charged, with the pass they always feel great. You get to see the City from a nice vantage point, get an interesting narration, and get transport to and from certain locations and attractions in the City.

The Tours do one large loop and you can hop off at various attractions and then back on to ride along to the next. They are not always the best form of transport and you can end up waiting a while for a bus, but they are pretty regular and as they are literally taking you to the exact locations you want to visit you get a really good tour of the City when used with the Go City Pass.

We planned on using this yesterday as they are great for orientating yourself in the City, but as it snowed we figured we would pass. This was a good choice as despite being pretty frigid today, barely above freezing, it was bright, clear, and gloriously sunny.

The Tour starts off just next to our Hotel by the DuSable Bridge, East Wacker and Michigan. We arrived promptly at 9 but the bus did not immediately show up. We assumed this was due to the off-season and sure enough one arrived eventually. The route starts off following East Wacker Drive along the River before the first stop at The Willis Tower. Here we Hopped off for our Next Attraction.

Skydeck Chicago – $50

The Willis Tower, formally the Sears Tower named after the now-defunct Retail Empire, is essentially the second tallest building in the country, and the tallest observation deck in the Western Hemisphere. It’s a stunning building that towers over the Chicago Skyline in a really imposing manner especially due to the rest of the skyline’s quite low-rise nature.

The Big Bus Tour dropped us right outside and we headed in, sing the Pass to get us straight to the top. The Highest Observation Deck in America offers a seriously stunning view of the City. Lake Michigan was glorious as the Blue waters shimmered under the clear blue skies.

The sun was blazing offering a pretty harsh light, making photography pretty challenging, especially through the reflective windows, the reason we much prefer outdoor decks. But the view from this height was still stunning as you look down on the myriad of towering buildings, still with a smattering of yesterday’s snow. The Views up and down the coast of Lake Michigan are truly inspiring. We love the New York Skyline from Above, but the Chicago Skyline has much more contrast and is overall a more aesthetically pleasing picture.

It seems it’s not enough to simply have a fantastic observation Deck these days, you need a gimmick as well and some of these are pretty poor. The Tilt at the 360 Chicago we visited yesterday is one such poor gimmick. At the Skydeck, this gimmick is the Ledge, and this is MUCH more worthwhile.

While the Tilt is a paid extra, access to the ledge is free, and they have a GREAT system for accessing the Ledge. You simply Queue, and then the agent assigns you a “Ledge”, and you can do as you please for a set amount of time in your own little space. We got exactly 5 minutes of time in the box, with the Agent only coming along to offer to take any photos for us. It’s great to have your own little alone time to make content without any pressure and without anyone watching over you! Once your time is up, if you want more time, you can simply join the back of the queue and have another slot. While we were there the queue was only 3/4 groups deep, so we could have as much time in the Ledge as we pleased. Even on Busy days, it would be well worth the queue for your 5 mins of time “On The Ledge”

What the Ledge is, is basically a Glass box bolted onto the side of the Building. And that’s about it. The glass floor gives way to 1,353 feet of air to the pavement below. This gives you endless possibilities for envy-inducing selfies and photo possibilities. We loved our time in the Box just trying out shots and making “clever” content.

We spent around and hour at the top before heading back down, grabbing a coffee, and hopping back onto the Big Bus to carry on with the tour.

The Next leg was a little tedious. The route here zigzags through downtown Chicago and was a little slow due to traffic. The Guide pointed out several interesting landmarks before the bus finally exited the City Center out onto the Freeway and off towards the Museum Campus. This is why we had wanted to use the tour yesterday as we would have hopped off here but the thought of an open-top bus in the snow was not a pleasant one. Even today, with the sun blazing, it was freezing cold up top, but still really exhilarating.

We didn’t hop off at the Museum Camps other than to grab a few shots of the Shoreline Vista and instead carried on to the Next Stop Navy Pier.

Shoreline Architecture River Cruise – $54.49

At Navy Pier, there are usually many options for shoreline cruises and River Cruises, but due to the adverse weather and late season, most trips were not operating. Infact we were pretty limited to options. In the end, we went with Shoreline Cruises and their Architecture River Crusie. This was only 1.5 hours and runs right u the Chicago River taking in some of the best sights in the City.

The Cruise was not for another 45 minutes so we spent some time just exploring the pier and getting some wonderful views of the City. Returning about 10 minutes before the cruise to ensure a good position on the boat.

The Cruise was really wonderful. We sat right up front near the narrator who regaled us with tales and information about the various buildings that line the waterways. There was some history, some architecture and design talk, and some pop culture such as filming locations. It was a great talk and along with some of the most stunning vistas in the City, we have to recommend this as one of the MUST do’s in the city.

There was a full bar on board, although we resisted, and just relaxed as the boat sailed along. The only downside was the really cold temperatures. This would be much more pleasant a little earlier in the year or around spring. However, it was not as cold as it could have been with the daytime temps now up towards 45°f (8°c).

The Boat finally returned to the pier, offering the final stunning views of the Lakeside Skyline. We hopped off and headed over to the pier’s attraction areas.

Navy Pier Ferris Wheel – $51 ($22)

The Pass includes a ride on the Ferris Wheel and three other rides, valued at a whopping $51. However, due to time constraints and some rides being closed due to the season, we opted to just take a ride on the wheel. So rather than $51 this was worth just $22 each.

The Wheel is the latest Navy Pier Ferris wheel and is built in the location of the only real Ferris Wheel ever built. The Ferris wheel was created here by George Ferris Jr for the 1893 World’s Fair. The Centennial Wheel is a touch smaller than the original but still towers nearly 200ft over Lake Michigan and give stunning views of the City.

You get several laps around the loop in the enclosed cars with incredible views. The light was stunning with the low winter sun colored by a little high altitude cloud, with the lake glowing under the towering skyscrapers.

A really wonderful experience.

From here we got back onto the Bus to head back towards the City Center. We hopped off at the Water Tower in the center of the Magnificent Mile as we wanted to do a touch of shopping and check out the Holy Name Cathedral, featured in the Miricle on 34th Street Movie.

We arrived at a pretty awkward time as the congregation was just arriving for mass so we just popped in and grabbed a couple of photos. A Beautiful church.

Mobsters and Haunted Mysteries of Chicago Walking Tour – $34 – Cancelled

For the Evening we had booked onto the Mobsters and Haunted Mysteries of Chicago Walking Tour which we were really looking forward to, however, we received an E-Mail saying the tour would not be going ahead due to low participant numbers. They offered us the chance to reschedule, but we were leaving tomorrow so this was not an option. Pretty annoying.

And on this low note, we kind of called time on the trip. We grabbed some quick fast food and headed back to the hotel to grab some final drinks with our resort credit at the hotel and then headed back to the room to organize and prepare for the departure tomorrow which would be bright and early.

Go City Chicago All-Inclusive 2-Day Pass – Running Total

• Attractions Today – 4
• Total Attractions – 7
• Attractions Cost – $177
• Running Total – Day 2 of 2: $293.49
• Cost Of Pass – $170

• Savings – $123.49

Honestly, we are pretty disappointed with our savings. Nearly 50% is really nothing to be sniffed at and we should be pretty impressed with this, we certainly saved money and saw a lot more of the City than we would have without the Pass. However, we just know we could have saved more. Some of this was the weather, some due to the fact attractions were slowing down for the season, and some due to time constraints and us doing other things.

We were annoyed the Mobster Walking Tor canceled on us as we could have planned something else, plus, we really wanted to do the tour, and we did not get full value out of the Navy Pier, there were also some fun speed boat tours we wanted to do but were not operating due to the weather and late time of year.

Overall we would have got much better value out of the pass if we had used it during the warmer months, but even so, we got a lot out of it. With Day 1, packing in some amazing Museums and Day 2 being a real sightseeing day. Also, another day would have only cost an extra $30 and we would have saved even more if we had another day in the City to do more.

Still, we had an amazing time with the Pass we saw so much of the City in our 2-day blitz of the sights. The snow was always going to cause issues and we were actually pretty lucky to get a beak on Day 1 to head up the 360 Chicago.

Like always when we use these Passes we feel we got an amazing overall experience. It truly opened up the City and we got to see more and pay less, which is how we normally feel when using a Go City Pass.

Our in-depth review can be found here, along with our Promo Codes so you can save even more!

Walking Total – 15,188 Steps – 7.8 Miles

Because we used the Big Bus Hop On Hop Off bus we saved quite a lot in steps today. The tour took us to all the major spots in the City and kept walking to a minimum.

Next UP! – Wilmington North Carolina!

Tomorrow we hop on a plane and head South. Chasing the sun and the last of the warm weather. We get out of the snow and onto the beach.

Live Blog – Trip Report

<<< Day 14 – Chicago – Sightseeing in the Snow – Halloween Parade

Week 3 – Wilmington North Carolina >>>

We had a really big day planned today. Yesterday had gone really well. It was a big day with lots of moving parts and things that could and maybe should have gone wrong, but they didn’t and we executed our plans to perfection. We arrived in the City Early, navigating to the hotel Rental Center and back flawlessly and overall having a great day getting to see some great parts of the City.

Today, we had less ambitious plans, but they would not quite go as swimmingly, mainly due to one big event that all started as we ate breakfast…

Breakfast Flurries

Breakfast was included in our room stay and we got to eat at the rather fancy Ventuex restaurant on the ground floor looking out over Michigan Avenue. We both picked out three items on the breakfast menu we wanted to try, and as luck would have it we had three days to eat here so would get to try all three. We went for an Eggs Benedict, and a Cheese and Egg Crousant for our first breakfast. Both of which were wonderful.

We had $30 credit each day to use, so that covered pretty much anything on the menu, so as we tucked in, contemplating the day, we started to notice something happening out the window…

We had a lot of plans for today, but most of these looked like going down the drain as it was clear, outside Snow was starting to fall. We had a touch of snow on the way in, but it was more sleet and not settling in any way, but today’s snow was more real.

Look we are not stupid, we know it Snows in Chicago in winter, and we also know it can be cold, very cold, but this was still mid-fall and we were not expecting Snow yet, and nor was anyone else we spoke to. Despite the fact it had been forecast, we kind of thought it would be wet and sleet-like on the way in, but this was white, fluffy proper snow, we just didn’t know yet how much would fall.

We had gone from 90°F a week ago to below zero and snowing, quite a change, and to be honest we were pretty excited! Yes, it would change our plans, but we were really excited to see the City wrapped in a white blanket!

After Breakfast, we ventured out. As the snow was now falling pretty heavily, we decided to take the morning to do some indoor activities, heading over to the Museum Campus to visit the Shedd and the Field Museum. As it was snowing, we decided to walk. It’s not too far and while we could have jumped in an Uber, we wanted to experience the snow as it fell.

We headed through Millenium Park, which was, unfortunately, being heavily renovated, watched the snow fall onto the Cloud Gate, and then down to the Lakefront trail to hike over to the Museum Campus. It was a brisk hike, with the City Skyline dipping in and out of view as the intensity of the snowfall varied.

Shedd Aquarium – $46

We arrived at the Aquarium to find more renovation work going on. The entrance was to the rear and there were a few exhibits not open to the public, such as the Caribbean Reef which is one of the Aquarium’s main exhibits so this was pretty disappointing and one of the negatives of visiting Off-Peak.

The Go City Chicago Pass got us straight in and into a 4-D movie about Sharks. The first port of call was the Ray Touch pool where we got to interact and even feed the friendly Stingrays. We then Headed to the Oceanarium where a Dolphin show was about to Start. Then it was onto the Beluga Whales, Sea Lions, Penguins and Dolphins underwater viewing area. The Oceanarium is really what sets the Shedd apart from its rivals and why it sits at Number 3 on our Top Aquarium List.

We are always a bit torn on seeing Marine Mammals in Captivity, especially Beluga’s. They are truly magnificent, but always feel they would be better off in the Ocean. However, Shedd does some amazing conservation work and the Whales are part of what funds that. It’s a tough call, but as long as the Aquarium does not Aqauire any more Wild Caught animals, and does their best, which they are doing, to keep the Whales happy and entertained we can’t really ask for more. It’s worth noting the Beluga tank IS huge, and there are massive issues with releasing Whales back into the wild as we found out in Iceland.

The rest of the Aquarium is a little less contentious and has a colossal array of aquatic life on Display. The Wild Reef has a large Indo Pacific Coral Reef where younger guests can find both Nemo AND Dory. They also have a large Shark tank with Zera Sharks, Sandbar Sharks, Balck Tip Reef Sharks, and Guitarfish.

The final destination was the Waters Of the World. This is one of the oldest parts of the Aquarium and has a staggering array of creatures. The design is a little bland, just a series of tanks in large hallways, but the amount of specimens is staggering. There really is almost every kind of fish and aquatic creature you can imagine in this display from all kinds of waterways in the world. Giant Snapping Turtles, Sturgeon, Trout, Lamprey, Caimem, Ciclids, Lung Fish Paddlefish, Archerfish, Piranha, Lobsters, Moray Eels, and even Giant Pacific Octopus. it really was crazy just how much was on display.

We are huge Aqaurium fans and we really loved the Shedd, we had already visited the New England Aqaurium on this trip, and the difference was clear as to why the Shedd is in the top three in the country…It might even nip the top spot once the New Carrebean Reef Exhibit opens up next year!

Field Museum – $35

Next on our list of indoor activities was the Field Museum. This is one of the best natural history museums in the world and a huge rival to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. As to which is best, well it really depends as they both have different high and low points. However, the museum is one of the best collections in the world and is definitely worth heading to when in the City. It’s also around a 100-meter walk from the Shedd, so it was very convenient.

The snow had largely passed but the city was still cold, with poor vis so another indoor attraction was perfect.

You are welcomed to the Museum by a huge Silverback Gorilla, then two gigantic fighting Elephants, and finally Maximo the Titabasaur. This is all just in the main hall and is quite the introduction.

As part of the Go City Pass, we got entry to one of the Temporary Exhibits and we headed for Blood Suckers, seeing as it was Halloween. This exhibit was quite horrible, filled with all of nature’s nasties. Leeches, Mosquitos, Ticks, Lapreys, Horsefly, and Vampire Bats. We came out quite itchy and freaked out in a good informative kind of way.

Next, we headed to the Egyptian Exhibit and checked out the Mummies. This was very impressive and included large excavated tombs and lots of examples of actual Egyptian Mummies complete with their sarcophagi. A really stunning exhibit, not quite up to the Mets collection in New York, but impressive nonetheless.

Following this we headed to the Animal Halls. These are mindblowing in scope and it feels like they have a specimen for just about every bird mammal and retile on the planet. There are two parts to these halls, the specimen and the Dirama. The specimens are just cabinets filled with different creature specimens whereas the Diaramas put these specimens in realistic environments. It was a wonderful space, but a little confusing and disorientating with just so much on display.

The final part of our trip was always going to be the highlight. The Stunning Griffin Halls Of Evolving Planet…The Fossil Halls.

Unlike the Animal Halls, the Fossil Halls were really easy to navigate. You start at the beginning and walk the path through the halls. This was particularly rewarding as when we say start at the beginning we mean it! the halls are laid out as a timeline of the earth’s evolutionary history. Starting with the oldest fossils and moving forward as the earth evolves. There are notable points along the way that explain the various extinction events and clear dividing lines as life on Earth changes and adapts after the disasters.

Obviously, the Juraasic and Cretatious are the most exciting Epochs with a host of recognizable creatures, stegosaurus, Triceratops, Allosaurus, Bhrachiasaur, and loads more. Then of course there is everyone’s favourite…SUE.

If you only needed one reason to come to the Field Museum SUE is it. This is the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Skeleton ever found. And she is absolutely magnificent. Sue gets a hall and a display all to herself and she really deserves it. Like most kids I have loved T-Rex for pretty much my entire life, Jurasiic park only cemented this love, and getting up close and personal really brings home how incredible these creatures must have been.

Even after Sue, there is more to see in the Fossil halls as we head into the ICE-AGE and see Giant Sloths, Wooly Mammoths and Sabre Tooth Tigers, fans of the Ice-Age films will be very happy here!

Finally, we get to meet Lucy, and find out what the last and current extinction event is! Lucy is one of the earliest examples of a hominin and our early distant cousin. A forerunner of the catastrophe that is currently befalling earth…us!

We really loved the Field Museum but enjoyed the Fossil Halls most of all, they really were well laid out. There was still a lot to see in the Field Museum, but we knew we had peaked and had been museuming all day so we decided to head out and see what else we could do on the Pass.

Serious Snow

However, we hit a problem. Heading outside and the Snow had returned and this time with a Vengence. It was a total White-Out, we didn’t even know where the City was, the whole skyline had been erased by the storm.

There was no way we could hike back in this and we did not want to mess with public transport in a whiteout, so we pulled up the Uber App and summoned a ride. Unfortunately, pretty much the whole of Chicago had done the same and the surge charge was eyewatering with the wait times LONG.

Eventually, our ride arrived, as the snow eased off and we were whisked back to our hotel. From here we decided to get some food. We had not eaten since breakfast and decided to get out of the weather with some time in a restaurant. Sometimes you just want the Familiar and as it was Happy Hour time, we headed to Cheesecake Factory for some cheap and cheerful food.

We ordered a couple of half-price appetizers, Nachos with Spinach Dip and Buffalo Blasts, a couple of cheap cocktails, and a slab of Cheesecake for dessert. We know it’s predictable but we always have a Cheesecake factory at some point on our trips.

After this, we noticed something a little strange on our weather App…the skies were showing clear, and more snow was on the way, but currently clear. We checked the Rain Radar and again, it showed clear…we then headed outside and sure enough, the skies were blue. It was also around 4:30, only an hour or so before Sunset. We had kind of written off the Go City pass for the rest of the day as the weather was just playing havoc with our plans as we had other plans for tonight (Halloween) But we realized something about this weather window…

360 Chicago – $35

The Skies were clear, Sunset was approaching and as it happened we were directly under the John Hancock Building which houses the 360 Chicago Observation Deck, included on the Pass. Before we knew it we were in the elevator and heading for Sunset at the Top…Exciting!

The 360 is a really good Observation Deck offering, predictably, 360-degree views of the City. We were really lucky in timing it this way as once at the top it was still light, with just a touch of colour coming through the sky. In an hour or so we spent at the top, this light faded, the sky burst into color and then darkness fell on the city. We couldn’t have timed this better if we planned!

The deck itself is quite basic. It’s indoors, which is always a drag and the reflections really do not help. It’s also quite small as the John Hancock is not too large of a building. The Unique selling point is also a bit Lame. It’s called tilt and is a movable window that leans you out over the drop. But it’s only 30° and is not that scary and for us, not worth the additional cost.

What is not Lame, is the View. You get a full 360 view of the City and as the Building is a little set back from the main Downtown area you get a really nice removed viewpoint of the Cities Skyline. It also offers great views of the Navy Pier and Lakeside Drive hugging the coastline in both directions. With the amazing light and color of this evening, the added contrast of a layer of snow, and large snowstorms off in the distance. It was an amazing end to the day…

Haunted Halsted

However, this was not the end. As it was Halloween we still had one thing left to do, and like most people in Chicago, there is only one place to be on Halloween Evening, North Halsted for the Haunted Halsted Halloween Parade.

After the 360 we hopped onto the L and headed out to the Halstead Neighborhood. The train was pretty full when we got on, and just got more and more packed as we picked up more and more Revellers.

We arrived at the PArade Route nice and early and managed to get a great spot right on the rail ready for the parade. The weather was cold and the clear skies from the break we now clouding ver and the snow was clearly closing back in.

The parade was shorter than we hoped but the quality of the costumes was really incredible. The participants, all amateur, came through in various waves all separated by Jeeps, also themed and filled with monsters. It was great fun as they threw out candy as they walked the route.

It only took around 30 minutes but we got some great shots and really enjoyed the Halloween fun. This was the end of our Halloween Adventure (but far from the end of our trip), while there was more to come we had finally finished, and we finished strong. Ok, it’s not quite up there with Salem or the Lahaina Halloween party we visited last year in Maui (which is possibly the last EVER), but it was still great fun.

We got a bit of a run on the crowds and headed back to the L to get back into the City Center. The Snow began falling just as the parade passed us, so we got lucky and avoided another coating of the white stuff.

All in all, a memorable day.

Go City Chicago All-Inclusive 2-Day Pass – Running Total

• Attractions Today – 3
• Total Attractions – 3
• Attractions Cost – $116
• Running Total – Day 1 of 2: $116
• Cost Of Pass – $170

• Savings – -$54

A Quick look at how we are doing on the Pass

The pass cost us $170 and today we used a measly $116 worth of attractions.

This is a pretty poor return for us, we normally break even on Day one, but we have so many attractions planned for tomorrow and really plan on making the most of the day. The poor weather today just really stopped us from getting the best of the pass, but tomorrow looks bright and sunny, if a little chilly, and we really plan to cram a lot of fun in!

With or without a Pass we always plan some indoor activities to do during a trip, just in case the weather is bad and we need some fun things to do to escape the rain or snow.

Walking Total – 22,261 Steps – 11.3 Miles

Today was a big day on the feet. Museums are always tough going with a lot of time strolling, and standing which can actually be more painful on the feel than stomping around. We were on the go from early on until very late with almost no let-up and the 11.3 miles we covered was actually mildly disappointing as we really were on the go all day. The hand location of the Hotel and the compact size of the City Center helped us get around the attractions without covering too much distance.

Live Blog – Trip Report

<<< Day 13 – Epic Drive from Sandusky to Chicago – Deep Pan Pizza

Day 15 – Chicago – Bus Tour – Sky Deck – Navy Pier – River Cruise >>>

While we always knew this trip was going to be a big one, it was turning out to be even more epic than we anticipated. Up in the north of the country, things are very far apart, and what looks like a good idea on Paper, can be pretty challenging in practice. With that said there is always one day that will stand out as particularly challenging, where the moving parts never really look like they fit together too well, a day of days, or a Queen stage in Cycling Parlance. Today was that day. This trip had already taken it out of us and today was really going to push the limits of our already tired and fatigued body and mind.

To start off we were going to cram as much Niagra-based fun as we could into as short a time frame as possible. Then we had a date with US Customs and Immigration, followed by an itsy Bitsy 5+ Hour drive, over 280 miles to Cedar Point in Ohio, where we had an Epic Night of Halloween scares awaiting us. We would start out at 8 am and still be going at nearly midnight, 300 miles away, in a different country and 3 different States away.

This is what we LIVE for!

Poor Weather and Pancakes

“What a Difference a Day Makes”

For the last few days, we had had a huge weight hanging over our heads. The forecast for Niagara had been pretty dower. A large band of rain had been threatening to basically wash out our time at the Falls. The Falls had been a big part of this trip and without them, we would probably have cut out a load of driving and just flown to our next stop in Chicago, but getting to the falls was a big part of the trip, so it would have been pretty upsetting if we had only got to see them through rain storms and dull cloudy skies. Luckily the forecast changed at the last minute with the rain delayed, and not showing up until the early hour of the morning.

As the daylight began to build the scene out of our window could not have been more different than yesterday. It was still pretty spectacular, but the stunning blue skies and fall colors were all replaced by a pretty dull and gray palette.

TO cheer us up, we decided to head for Pancakes. We like Ihop, we know it’s a huge chain-branded restaurant, but we don’t get it outside of the States and it’s just a fun cheap(ish) meal. So we like to grab one when it’s convenient, however, this location was pretty different. Not only was it in our Hotel…it was situated at the TOP of the hotel…with Views like this:

With Views like this and Great pancakes, what more could you want for breakfast? After a couple of Pancake Combos (Pancakes with a side of Breakfast) and a good few pours of coffee, we were ready to get the day going.

The weather was still pretty grey and overcast and the wet weather had brought a winter chill in, and the morning was a cooler 50°f (10°c).

Not the Maid of the Mist – Niagara Cruise

The first attraction we wanted to hit was the famous Maid of the Mist Cruise. However, there is one big problem with this, the Maid of the Mist sails from the other side of the river! and while we could have hiked across, it seemed pretty pointless when Hornblower ran a nearly identical cruise from the Canadian side.

We booked our tickets online (CA$33.5) directly from Hornblower/City Experiences and headed over to the first boat of the day. We were a little late to board and didn’t get a very good spot on the vessel with the crowds gathering at the bow, however, we have a top tip here: Don’t worry about it. You will be able to stand wherever you want…

The cruise got underway shortly after boarding. This is a very short cruise simply taking you up the river, to the base of the falls. You are only on the water for 10-15 mins, but these are all highlight minutes. The views are stunning and getting this close to the falls is seriously invigorating. The power of the water is stunning and can be felt in your chest as it pounds over the falls.

The boat heads right to the base of the falls, where the “mist” drenched the boat and its occupants. Almost the whole ride there is a steady drizzle but as you reach the base of the falls, into the horseshoe, the blast hits you. The direct spray from the falls really comes out of nowhere and hits the deck like a cold wet explosion. You go from peaceful and serene to stunning soggy startledness in a moment. And at this point, around half of the tourists packed onto the bow of the boat, run.

They did not count on a sudden blast of ice-cold spray being blasted in their faces and despite their complementary ponchos, the conditions were just too much. This leaves plenty of room up front if you are willing to brave the worst of the conditions.

After experiencing the power and majesty of the fall right up close the vessel does a U-turn and lets the current take it back down to the dock. It’s a really short trip but absolutely essential, but yeah you do get pretty wet, despite the poncho.

As we headed back up the cliff face to the promenade, we noticed something quite amazing, the Gray Cloudy weather seemed to be largely dissipating, leaving nothing but blue skies and sunshine. it was still really cool, but absolutely beautiful.

Journey Behind The Falls

The next attraction we planned was the Jurney Behind the Falls. This was at the far end of the Promenade so we made our way back slowly now taking in the glorious weather and stunning views. Due to the wind direction, the Spay was largely heading over the other side of the falls and no longer creating a perpetual downpour on the promenade.

We had also pre-booked tickets for the Journey and walked straight into the elevators down to the Tunnels. If you don’t know the Journey behind the falls takes you down to some subterranean tunnels that give you access to the base of the falls. There is a large viewing deck giving great vires of the falls and the valley bottom, and there are two viewing windows offering an incredible view of the “BACK SIDE OF WATER!” Disney Jokes apart these portals were a bit rubbish. You really could not see much, the brightness outside meant the contrast was so bright you could not see anything really and the overall effect didn’t feel in keeping with the real power of the falls.

The Outdoor deck was worth it alone and we were pretty happy we had paid to come down here.

Not Rainbow Bridge – Back In The USA (Peace Bridge)

Finally, at around lunchtime we had done all we planned and had a long drive ahead of us so decided to hit the road. Trusting Google Maps to navigate us safely we hopped into the car and headed back across the Rainbow Bridge, however for whatever reason Google calculated, the Rainbow Bridge would not be the quickest and instead kept us in Canada a little longer.

We left Niagara via the West and hopped onto the Queen Elizabeth Way for 20 or so miles of pleasant driving before hitting Peace Bridge just outside Buffalo where we would attempt the Border crossing. We already had our ESTA in place, filled in the Electronic I-94 form, and paid the request fee ($12).

The border crossing was pretty slow, however we had anticipated it would take a while. The annoying thing was the queues were not very long, it’s just there was a lengthy delay for each car. This naturally didn’t bode too well for us. However once at the booth, which took us around 45mins, the agent asked us very little. He checked the passports, which obviously showed Valid Esta and I-94 on his system and he just checked where we had been and what we were doing before waving us through. He actually looked a little confused at the extent of our trip and wanted us gone before we explained any more confusing elements of our travel plans.

Overall a process we were dreading went through like a breeze. Getting into Canada could not have been easier and we had no real issues at all getting back into the States. So We highly recommend heading to the Canadian Side to see the best of the falls!

Lakeshore Drive – 270+ Miles

After passing through Buffalo, we found ourselves on the shoreline of Lake Erie. We had two choices here, follow the I-90 all the way to Cleveland and the Sandusky, or follow the smaller and slower route 20/5 which follows the coast more closely. There were two main differences between these two routes. One, the I-90 was a lot faster, over 45 minutes quicker (at least) but it would be pretty dull and had Tolls. Route 5 was slower, but it was free and would show us a little more of the scenery and pass through a few nice towns and villages.

In the end, we thought we would try and get a Toll-Free day. We were hit with Tolls yesterday and would not be able to avoid them on the last leg to Chicago, so we Hugged the coastline on Route 5 and took the longer prettier route.

This worked really well as not only was it much more picturesque, but we also passed through the Seneca Nation Tribe lands and were able to make use of their Tax Exemption to get the Cheapest gas on the entire trip!

We also saw quite a lot of Wildlife on this leg of the trip. To be honest there had not been much in the way of wildlife this trip. It was quite a disappointment. But along this section of road, we saw quite a lot in the way of Wild Deer. Overall it was a very pretty drive, even if they could cover what had returned and progress felt very slow, especially when we joined the back of a very long line of cars stuck behind someone who had no intention of going over 40mph, a bit of an issue with still 150+miles to go!

At the Pennsylvanian border, the I-90 reverts back to Toll-Free, so at this point, we headed back to the Interstate and began making much better progress. It was less scenic but we were moving much faster. We passed through Cleveland and then on to the smaller city of Sandusky.

Cedar Point Express

This stop was about halfway to the final destination of Chicago, but we were not stopping randomly. Sandusky is the home of Cedar Point, possibly the best Theme Park in the country in terms of Thrill Rides. It was currently hosting the last of its Halloweekends and we were here to have some terrifying spooky fun!

We had booked to Stay in the Cedar Point Express Hotel, one of Cedar Point’s own properties which comes with a few perks over staying in a local Motel. It was not overly expensive anyway, only around $150 a night, and came with FREE parking and early entry into the park. We did not need Early entry today as the park opened hours ago, but we were hitting the park tomorrow so that would come in handy then.

As we were arriving at the Hotel, it dawned on us, that maybe we were not that into Early Entry Tomorrow. The trip had been pretty exhausting. Today had been a huge day to top it off, and not even close to over, and the thought of getting up early for a savage day in Cedar Point was not overly exciting us. At this point we decided to check tomorrow’s opening hours and were both DELIGHTED to read it was 11 am, meaning we could have a Lie-in AND hit the park early. Phew.

But before that, we had to check into the Cear Point Express. The Hotel is not on the Actual Point but is a mere 5-minute drive away and offers free parking at both the park and the Hotel. So it is still really convenient. The Breakers Hotel and CAbins all look amazing, and are within walking distance of the park, but are probably better suited to the summer months as it was pretty bleak out on Lake Erie this late in October.

Our room at the Cedar Point Express was pretty much as expected. This is your typical Roadside Chain Motel-type place. Comfy beds, neutral tones workman-like fixtures and furnishing, and just about everything you need, but very little else. There were splashes of Cedar Point throughout with imagery of the park and the rides and we have to be honest it was a lot LARGER than we expected. But overall it was pretty standard, just enough, and a nice spot to spend the next few days.

After settling in a while we headed to the park. However, we were a little low on options for dinner. Honestly, the food at Cedar Point is not great and the dining options at this end of town were pretty sparse we were going to be so busy with the Haunted Houses and Scare Zones, that we didn’t want to waste time getting overriced garbage Themepark food…With a McDonald’s across the road, we caved and went for the cheapest easiest fastest option.

Halloweekends – Cedar Point

The Whole area around the Hotel, which was pretty much the main route to the park was really quiet, with the thick grey skies, howling winds and near-deserted feel the whole area had a post-apocalyptic feel to it. However as we drove the short drive over the Causeway, we definitely found the people.

Even before getting near the entrance to the parking lot the traffic queues formed. And they were long and slow moving. 45 minutes later we were in visual range of the gates and it was a sea of cars. In the end, the agents simply opened the parking lots up and allowed people to flood in with no charge. We got directed to the overspill carpark and got a spot right at the back, quiet where all the cars behind us were planning on going we had no idea.

This meant a long hike in the cold windy night to the park entrance. We were hoping to get in a little early to get the lay of the land and maybe a couple of rides, but there was no chance.

As you would expect the park was absolutely rammed. This was the last FULL night of the Halloweekend this year and it seemed the whole of the Midwest had showed up. We do not do well with queues and every attraction seemed to have a +1hr queue attached.

We started our night at the very back of the park under the shadow of Steel Vengenge with the Blood Bath (Haunted Maze). We then headed through Cut Throat Cove (Scare Zone) to the Freak Show (Haunted Maze). These three gave us a good introduction to what to expect from the Event and overall it wasn’t that great.

The Haunted Mazes, of which there are 5, were well-themed but quite short and there was a real lack of Monsters inside. We got very few scares and there was no opportunity to let the Maze Reset. A near-constant flow of people meant the Monsters never really came out of nowhere which is where the real scares are to be found.

The Scare Zones we also a letdown. These were again well-themed and while there were a ton of monsters and they did a great of freaking you out, they were always in very specific and defined areas and there were so many people around it was just a walking procession with some creepy guys in costumes.

So our initial impressions were not great. Things didn’t improve when after just over an hour and a half we went to our 4th planned attraction, Corn Stalkers (Scare Zone), and found the queue Closed due to Capacity. It never re-opened and we didn’t get to visit what was reviewed as the best Attraction at this weekend.

Tombstone Territory (Scare Zone) was not really a Scare Zone, it was just a themed area with a few Monsters, Likewise, the Clownz Death Metal Tour (Scare Zone), although there was a cool band there. The Blood Of The Bayou (Scare Zone) was pretty terrible. It was essentially a huge queue that never really went anywhere. We spent nearly an hour getting in and out of it, found about 5 monsters in some creepy-themed areas, and then had to queue to leave!

The Queue for Midnight (Haunted Maze) was showing for well over an hour and we just couldn’t face it. We took the time to visit Slaughter House (Haunted Maze) which was fantastically themed but still lacking monsters and Jump Scares. The last Maze we tried was The Haunting: Eerie Estate (Haunted Maze) which again was lacking in the scare department.

Overall we found the layout, execution, and overall imagining of the event to be hugely lacking. Last Halloween we visited the West Coast and the likes of Knotts Scary Farm blew the Cedar Point Halloweekend right out of the water. It didn’t help this was the last night and it was crazy busy, but we don’t think it would have been much better on a much quieter evening. It just lacked the impact and spectacle of the West Coast Events.

You might have noticed we didn’t actually do any rides. This is not because we didn’t want to, but the focus was on The Halloweekend Event…Tomorrow would be all about Rides. So we headed back to the car, which was parked almost a mile from the gate, and then headed back to the comfort of the Hotel.

The Weather was pretty wild and even more cold and bad weather was forecast for tomorrow and it was even possible we would have a washout. Fingers crossed for some good weather, as we felt we had come a long way for Cedar Point, but the outlook was pretty grim.

Walking Total – 24,615 Steps – 12.7 Miles

We had spent over 6 hours of today sitting down in a car, but we clocked up one of our biggest days on our feet. nearly a half marathon! This was partly due to the large amount of walking we had done at Niagara (hard to believe that was even the same day!) and partly the huge stomp we had put out around Cedar Point. The fact it was 1km+ from the car to the gate did not help, but it seemed everything we did today required quite a bit of walking.

Live Blog – Trip Report

<<< Day 10 – Rhinebeck – Catskill Mountains – Niagara Falls

Day 12 – Cedar Point – Rollercoasters and Rain! >>>

Today is the day we finally start racking up the Road Miles of this trip. For a road trip it’s been fairly road-free up until now, with us only picking up the hire car yesterday, and only taking a short drive to Salem…today we will crank out over 230Miles as we follow the Mohawk Trail to Upstate New York as we indulge in a little Celebrity Stalking.

Breakfast at the Salem Inn

For the first time on this trip, Breakfast was included at our Hotel. It was also a really nice breakfast served in their small downstairs restaurant. It was a typical Buffet-style affair, with Toasted fruit Cinnamon Bread, pastries, and Cerrial and Fruit, along with some Hot items cooked fresly for you to order.

Following this we packed up our things and decided to hit the road early. We considered spending some more time in Salem, but we hit it pretty hard yesterday and most shops stay open late and have pretty late opening times, so we decided to get moving and spend more time in our destination for today.

Leaving Salem

The next main stop on our trip was to be Niagara Falls and we could have headed straight there in one hard push. But instead, we wanted to take it easier and break the trip up with a Stop. This meant seeing a lot more of Rural New England and spending a lot more time on the road. We were certainly not taking a direct route and in fact, backtracking quite a bit, adding a good 2-3 hours onto the overall journey.

We had chosen to overnight in the Upstate Town of Rhinebeck. Not really the most intermediate town and actually quite a bit out of our way. But there are certain Hollywood connections we wanted to check out and Kate has been wanting to visit this quaint little town for a while. So despite the added journey time, we added this in as a stop.

Even with this additional Milage, we were not even planning on taking the fastest route on each leg either, instead taking a more scenic route that would avoid much Freeway driving and instead take us up into the mountains, through forests, and the small towns of upstate New York and Massachusetts.

Route 2 – Mohawk Trail

Heading out of Boston we soon picked up State Highway 2 – Also known as George W Stanton Hihway, before turning into the Mohawk Trail as the route follows an old  Indian trail once it rises up into the Hoosac and Taconic Mountain Ranges

The first section of the trail was fairly dull, There were splashes of the Fall Foliage we had come to see and several quaint little towns but little to make us stop other than the odd snarl up at a couple of construction sites. The first time the scenery really ratcheted up was at Turner Falls. Here we found a nice pull-out at a boat ramp and took in the stunning lakeside setting.

From here the scenery just got better and better. At Shelbourne Falls the Road picks up the Deerfield River and follows this right up into the mountains, later following the Cold River tributary. The fall colors and stunning scenery made this a really special drive passing through quaint little towns and villages some only a few houses large.

The weather was perfect for road-tripping. The Skies were clear and Blue with just a touch of cloud and the temperatures were unseasonably warm, ranging from 60°f (16°c) in the morning up to around 70°f (21°c) in the mountains. (21°c)

We were a little late in the year for Leaf Peeping, many trees had already shed their autumn foliage, but there was still bags of color in the Canpopies and this late autumnal scene really shone with deep hues of red and burnt orange, with the occasions steal grey from the trees that had fully dropped their leaves.

Wigwam Western Summit – Florida

As we approached the summit of the Hoosac range we felt a little lost as we appeared to be in Florida! No sign of Dinsyworld though just huge sweeping vistas from the Blue Vista Motor Lodge.

On the other side of the mountain, we pulled in at Wigwam Western Sumit. This is a cute little cafe and Shop situated right at the western edge of the range with stunning views out over North Adams and Williamstown. Dubbed America’s Switzerland by we think the owners of the Cafe and no one else, it was a really beautiful spot.

We pulled in a grabbed a Coffee and a Massive Blueberry Scone handbaked on the premises. The coffee was excellent with pure Maple Syrup added for sweetness and taste. It was a wonderful little stp and helped revitalise us ready for the next push on to Rhinebeck. We love stumbling on little gems like this and it’s all part of the Roadtrip experience.

We then descended down the mountains and into the really pretty town of North Adams and then Wilimastown. The streets are lined with splendid Churches and turn-of-the-century European-style architecture.

It was here we left the Mowhawk trail and started picking up larger roads and eventually headed out of Massachusetts and back into New York State before joining the Taconic State Parkway and fast-tracking to the next stop.

The scenery on this leg of the journey was less stunning than in the mountains but the easy driving and fall colors made this a very relaxed and enjoyable drive as we caught up on a few Podcasts.

Rhinebeck

Around 3 pm we arrived at our final stop for the day. The small Upstate town of Rhinebeck. Why had we chosen this particular stop, out of all the hundreds of other little towns along the route and one that was really pretty far out of our way? Well, the town has a few Hollywood connections and we just wanted to check it out.

This innocuous little town has become the home of some Big celebrities, most notably Paul Rudd, Geofrery Dean Morgan, and Hillary Burton. We Both love Paul Rudd, I am a huge Walking Dead Fan and was hoping to meet Lucille, and of course, Kate is a huge fan of One Tree Hill, and Staring Hillary Burton. More on this later in the trip!

Beekman Arms

The first stop was to check in to the Hotel for the evening and we had chosen the Historic Beekman Arms. This is the oldest continuously running Hotel in the Country. It has had some very famous Guests including George Washington, Fraklin D Rosevelt, Bill Clinton, and a host of Celebrities including Oprah, Bill Murray, and even BORAT! There is a host of ghosts that inhabit the building, although they did not show themselves to us, and overall it is just a fascinating old establishment and we couldn’t miss the opportunity to stay there.

Our room was spacious and well-appointed. we booked the Townsend House King and it was on the ground level at the back of the Hotel. The furniture was less vintage and more antique but the room was spotless and the linin perfectly modern and super comfortable. There was a separate Storage room, and super cute writing desk, a fireplace, an ancient TV (while we love the antique furniture and decor, we would prefer the tech to be modern), tea and coffee facilities, and most importantly, complimentary New York Cream Sherry!

The room was not cheap but was such a special establishment we could not resist. They did throw in a free breakfast and despite the high cost of $300 a night, we were very happy with our historic room at the Beekman Arms.

Stalking and Dinner

After settling into the hotel for a while we headed out to explore Rhinebeck.

We had been planning this part of the trip for a while and had both developed images of the town in our minds. Cool crisp Autumn air and bundled up as we explored the quaint little main street. What neither of us expected was 85°f (30°C) temperatures and a return of Summer. We had packed some warm-weather clothes as we were heading south later in the trip but we did not expect to be unpacking the shorts just yet. It was very odd, and would definitely not last. But we headed out to enjoy the last drops of a very late Indian Summer.

The first stop was Samuels Sweets shop. This is an old-timy sweet shop that’s been in the center of Rhinebeck for decades but recently looked set to close due to the retirement of the longstanding owner. Nobody else seemed willing to take on the challenge until a group of three Celebrities with strong social media followings took up the reigns to save the shop. Yep as we already mentioned this is Paul Rudd, Geofretyy Dean Morgan, and Hillary Burton’s Sweet Shop Now. This is one of the reasons we wanted to visit after seeing all their delicious produce online.

We bought a few sweet treats and a coffee and had a nice afternoon treat in the glorious autumn sunshine. We then explored the town a little. Kate is going to a Hilary Burton book signing later on in the trip so stopped by the local book shop to pick up a (pre-signed) copy and we hit the liquor store for some evening tipples, sidcovering the Joy of Peanut Butter Whiskey for the first time!

To Be honest this was about the extent of our Celebrity Stalking as we did not want to intrude on their actual homes or anything like that. We just hoped we might bump into them on the off chance but this was not to be. so instead we hunted out some dinner.

There is a good restaurant attached to the Hotel, but we were not feeling this, the menu was a little old-school for us and we wanted something a little cheaper. In the end, we decided on Fosters Coach House, an old-school saloon-type place, serving simple American food and some good beers.

We were seated outdoors, something we didn’t expect in late November in upstate New York, and basked in the evening warmth, it was very odd but very enjoyable. After a few drinks and some Excellent sandwiches (Classic Reuben and Chicken Parmesan), we retired to the comforts of the inn and relaxed for the evening enjoying the in-room Sherry, Peanut butter Whiskey and the archaic TV.

Tomorrow will be a BIG day. We have a huge drive to another country, some epic scenery en route, before exploring one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. So it pays to have a pretty relaxed afternoon and evening this side of that trip.

Walking Total – 6,015 Steps – 3.2 Miles

Most of the day was spent in the car so a really light day on the feet!

Live Blog – Trip Report

<<< Day 8 – Halloween in Salam – What to do in Salem at Halloween?

Day 10 – Catskills to Niagara >>>

Just a quick re-cap, We are embarking on a road trip up the East Coast of the United States and today is the 8th day of this trip after hitting New York and then Boston it’s time to move on.

Day 8 was the one we had both been looking forward to. We don’t really need a REASON to do these trips, but we tend to have a theme and a main purpose, a goal if you like. And everything else is planned around that purpose. For this trip, it was spending Halloween on the East Coast.

Last year we did Halloween on the West Coast, and it was EPIC! However, whenever you think of Halloween, images of New England come more to mind. White Picket fences, decorated with pumpkins, while black cats and witches prowl in the shadows it’s the stuff of childhood dreams and Hollywood incarnations.

Of course, when thinking of New England Halloween locations, and those perfect iconic scenes, there is one place that will ALWAYS jump out more than any other. Salem.

Home of the Witch Trials, setting of umpteen Hollywood Films and TV Shows with Halloween themes, and the picture-perfect New England Halloween town. We both had this as the highlight of the trip and were so excited to actually get to Salem. It’s really not too far from Boston and there are several attractions in the Town that are covered by the Go City Pass, so we just needed to get over there and start exploring. But first, we needed to get to the Airport!

It would be madness to fly to Salem, a little over 20 miles away, but we got the best price on the hire car renting from Logan Airport, so we hopped into an Uber to head over to the rental center to pick up our car.

Hire Car Pick up

This is a Road Trip…however apart from a few Uber rides, we have not actually done much road-tripping! We flew into NYC and used public transport, and then got the train to Boston, where again we utilized the public transport system. But today, finally, we get a car.

While our automotive part of this trip is delayed…we will be making up for it in the next few days as we embark on an epic journey over 1000 miles through mountains, forests, great lakes, and even into Canada as we head upstate New York and deep into the Midwest. Make sure you are subscribed to the Channel so you can follow along.

We had just rented a basic medium SUV, with plenty of room but nothing special, and got a good price with AVIS for 7 days as we headed one-way right across the country. The Mitsubishi Outlander was a little basic, and a touch beat-up, but gave good mileage and was perfect for our cross-country slog.

Salem

The drive to Salem was nice and easy, a single highway just passing through the Massachusetts suburbs on a glorious Fall morning. We arrived in Salem with a really strong feeling of Halloween. New York had been dressed pretty well for Halloween, but Boston had been really uninterested, however, Salem was full-on embracing it. We had been warned often in Boston that Salem would be CRazy on the last few days before Halloween, but on arrival, things were pretty quiet. We arrived shortly after 9 am so had a full day to explore. We got right on to hunting out some filming locations from our favorite Halloween Film…

Hocus Pocus

While many scenes of the film were shot in the main part of town, most of the iconic locations are just out of town so we headed there first before returning to the centre to check in to the Hotel. We had brought along our Own Binx in the way of a Loungefly backpack and were really excited about getting out and seeing some of the Movie Sites!

Salem Pioneer Village

The first point of call was Salems Pioneer Village. This is the first location of the Movie, but we did not plan it that way. The Pioneer Village is a replica of the kind of dwellings the first Pilgrims to the country set up as their homes as they established colonies in the new world. It was also the kind of village where the hysteria of the witch trials first began.

The Village was also used as the opening location in Hocus Pocus where the Sanderson sisters first run Amok and get banished to their cabin in the woods. Thackery Bink’s home is located here along with most of the scenes shot in the village. Unfortunate the Witches Cabin was shot on a Sound Stage in LA.

Despite being so close to Halloween the Village operates a weekend-only opening policy and was closed today, which was very annoying. But we headed along to see what we could see over the fences. We got an ok view and could grab some shots.

4 Ocean Avenue (Max and Dani’s House)

The next stop was Max and Dani’s house. This is the new home of the family as they move to Salem and only really appears briefly, apart from the indoor shots, but is still an Iconic location. This is a PRIVATE residence and the owners do not mind respectful visitors.

The road at this time of year is CLOSED to non-residential traffic. so we parked up respectfully a little distance away and walked down. The VERY clear road closure signs didn’t seem to be so clear to everyone at least one car while we were there ignored them and drove down to the house. Sat outside with their engine running while taking photos. We even questioned them on it and they proclaimed “Oh we didn’t think that applied to US!” Ok, guys who did you think it applied to, the Tooth Fairy?!

We took a few photos, only used our quiet indoor voices, stayed entirely on public property then moved along. The short walk down Ocean Av was really fun as the houses were really dressed up for the season with some really good spooky displays!

Old Burial Hill Cemetery

The final out-of-town stop was the Old Burial Hill Cemetary. We considered not visiting this location as it’s a fair way out of town and is only briefly if importantly, featured in the film. However, we decided to make the trek and we were very happy we did. If nothing more it was such a gorgeous location.

The Old cemetery sits atop a hill situated on the Marblehead peninsular and offers stunning views of the area. The fall colors were in full effect and the temperatures were an unseasonal 70 degrees and would top 80 later in the day, and we just enjoyed the area, the bonus Halloween houses… we even ended up on Elm Street!

As a filming location, this is where Max meets Ice and Jay and has his shoes stolen. It’s a short scene, but important, and it’s a really fun one to hunt out even though we could not quite find the exact angle at which the scene was shot.

Salem Inn

We were still a little early for Check-in, but we decided to head to the hotel to check out the parking situation and see if we could leave our luggage while we explored downtown Salem. Upon arrival, we were greeted with a warm welcome and told our room was ready and we could go ahead and check-in. We are only staying a night and after seeing our room, the property, and the warm welcome we wished we were staying a little longer. That’s the issue with these sorts of trips where we do SO much, we need to stay on the move and keep plowing on and packing things in.

Our room was pretty Vintage, but it had a real charm about it and was flooded with natural light and space, two things we seemed to have been lacking so far on our accommodation for this trip. The only problem was the strange door to a weird cupboard that felt a little ominous, more on this later…

After dumping our stuff, we geared up and headed out to explore Salem itself.

The Witch House

What you will find over and over again when reading about our trips is we value one thing in accommodation more than ANYTHING else…Location. And the Salem Inn is basically perfect. Slap bang in the missle and literally steps from two Iconic Salem locations, first, the Witch House.

This is the only structure in Salem still standing that was actually related to the Witch Trials, making this a very iconic location. It is an incredibly well-preserved building and dates right back to 1642, maybe earlier, and was the home of Jonathan Corwin one of the Judges who sent 19 innocent women to the Gallows

You can pay to go in and visit the Museum, but we were happy just viewing from the outside.

Ropes Mansion (Alison’s House)

Next Stop was the Ropes Mansion, another Hocus Pocus Location and the home of the Character Alison. The mansion is a real stunner and is heavily decorated for the season. Again there are garden tours but we just wanted a look and planned to come back when the sun had gone down.

Salem Town Center

Both these sites were right next to our hotel, but the center of Salem was a bit further away, still only 250m thought to the Town Center. This was heavily in the Halloween spirit with Characters wandering around posing for photographs (they do expect a tip however) all the Witchy shops fully decorated in the Halloween regalia, and various pop-up attractions here just for the Halloween season. The Town really embraces its Spooky heritage.

Just walking through the center was great fun, but it was time to head to our first attraction on the Boston Go City pass. We had one day left on our pass and it covers several attractions in the Salem area.

Peabody Museum – $20 (Closed)

Annoyingly the first Attraction we planned to hit was closed. We were getting a little frustrated that so many attractions were just shut down on random days in this part of the world. We are used to 24/7 sightseeing and had kind of assumed this would be the case most here, especially at Halloween. But this is not the case and we missed out on this one, and lost $20 of value on the pass.

The Witch Museum – $17.50

We had much more luck at the Witch Museum. This needed pre-booking and was only bookable on the morning off and we made sure we were up bright and early to snag the booking. But we ended up booking 1:45 and had planned to spend the time beforehand in the Peabody Museum. As this was not possible we had some time to kill, so grabbed some lunch at the Village Tavern, before heading over to the Common for some more sightseeing and hunting out another Hocus Pocus Filming Location.

Phillips Elementary School Building

This was the setting for the High School scenes in the film. It is no longer a school but just a large old brick building on the side of the common.

After Lunch and exploring this part of the town we headed back to the Witch Museum. The Museum is an interesting exhibit, Unfortunately, they have a very strict NO FILMING policy, which meant we were not able to get any inside footage.

The Museum opened in 1972 and its main exhibit has remained exactly the same for over 50 years. So do not expect too much in terms of technology. The main presentation takes place in a large very dark hall. The lights go out and a series of Diarahmas are illuminated in sequence around the upper edges of the room. An ominously voiced narrator tells the story of the trials as these Sets light up.

The detail of the various models is pretty impressive as the lifesize sets depict key moments of the Events that took place. It’s really quite creepy mainly as it’s so static with the manikins just staring lifelessly back at you.

It’s one of those things that really, is quite awful, but it’s just SO iconic and totally a part of Vsinting Salem.

There is a newer additional presentation afterwards about how witches are portrayed in Hollywood and the media and how that’s evolved over time, it was pretty interesting, but overall the Main Presentation is why you are here.

Real Pirates Salem – $18.50

After the Museum we continued our exploration of the Town, heading to the bottom end of the town and visiting the Real Pirates exhibition. This tells the tale of an actual Pirate Ship that was found just off the coast.

The Exhibit has several artifacts recovered from the wreck along with exhibits and recreations of life aboard a real Pirate ship that used to operate in the waters of the East Coast.

The highlight for us was actually seeing REAL pieces of eight and the opportunity to actually touch some real Pirate Booty…pretty cool!

House of the Seven Gables – $6.00

The last attraction we visited was the House of the Seven Gables. This is the closest you are going to get to the Sanderson Sister’s House. This was the inspiration, but unfortunately, the actual house was built on a soundstage, making this a must-see.

Unfortunately, you have to pay to see the house properly. You can scab a basic view from the road down the side, and we saw a few people doing just that, but to see the house properly there is a charge. It’s only $6 but feels a bit steep to look at a house. You can pat more for a tour or entry to the interiors, but we just wanted a look and were really happy the pass covered it.

The house is stunning and the grounds beautiful, so we spent some time enjoying the peace.

This was the last attraction on the pass so let’s do a little summing up on our overall pass experience. We had the pass for 3 Days’

Wine Hour at the Salem Inn – Burning the Place Down!

After the house, we worked our way back to the Hotel. Taking in one last Filming location.

Old Town Hall Halloween Party

This is the location of the Halloween party where the Sanderson Sisters Bewitch the Townsfolk with their hypnotic Number, “I put a spell on You“, again just a quick snap, and off we go, but we return to this later tonight as it is supposed to be pretty haunted.

We arrived back at the Hotel just in time for Wine Hour…only things went south pretty quickly. We went to our room, just as the Fire Alarm went off! A quick evacuation and we were out on th street waiting for Salems Fire Department …hoping it was a false alarm.

Seconds later the trucks arrived and the Fire Fighters bravely entered the Hotel to shut the alarms up. It was indeed a false alarm and it was all over in a matter of moments and we were off to Wine Hour after the brief moments of excitement!

What is Wine Hour…well it’s an hour …with wine… sounds good. Honestly, we didn’t know the hotel provided this when we booked and it was a welcome surprise, but essentially for one hour a day the hotel just gives you free pours of wine, as many as you like. We took full advantage of this and sunk a few glasses while we relaxed in the courtyard of this historic hotel.

We headed back to our room afterwards only to find the door to the creepy cupboard was open. We have both been sure this was closed but it was open upon our return. We ensured it was shut and then headed out for dinner.

Rockafellas Restaurant

The Bartender at wine hour had pointed us in the right location for dinner and we took her advice and ended up at Rocerfellas.

This was a nice Bar and Grill type restaurant that offered standard American dishes all done really well. We had a Buffalo Chicken Flatbread and a Balck and Blue Burger along with a few drinks to get us ready for the fantastic night we had planned in Salem.

Salem Ghost Tour – Black Cate Shoppe – $25.00 (Not on the Pass)

With so many strange and spooky goings on in Salem there really is only one thing to do in the evening and that is a Ghost Tour. There is a lot of competition in Salem for ghost tours and in October, in particular, there are hundreds of tours going on every night. We chose to go with one of the market leaders and our top tip for Ghost Tors in Salem, the Black Cat Shoppe, mainly because we are just a little obsessed with Black Cats.

The tour started at 8 pm sharp with the meeting point just across from the Shoppe at the Bewitched Statue. Our guide was dressed in a fantastic Halloween outfit something of a cross between a witch and a Pirate which is perfect for Salem.

The tour takes you around some of Salam’s most haunted and interesting sites while the tour guide regales you with tales of the undead and unfortunate. Murders, mysteries, ghosts, witches, and even Magigians, all feature as the guide takes you around the town center.

You are encouraged to take as many photos as you like but to keep filming to a minimum so we just grabbed a few short clips and lots of photos. Photos seem to work best as there is a higher chance of something showing up later on…although we could find no real anomalies in our photos.

The tour was really fun, although not quite as good as our last Ghost Hunting tour in San Francisco. The Town was just too busy with too much going on and this seemed to disturb the spirits.

We don’t take these tours too seriously and they are a lot of fun if treated as such, and this was especially so here where the busy streets meant there was very little in the way of spookiness. As ever the most interesting part is the history lessons that go with the tours as the guide sheds a light on the grisly past of one of the county’s oldest settlements.

The tour wrapped up on the back streets of the Town near a cemetery but the guide ensured we all made it back to familiar territory. It was now quite late and we headed back to our hotel. Where once again, the Creepy cupboard door was open…

…It would be an interesting night’s sleep in the almost certainly haunted room!

Tomorrow we really hit the road and start properly piling the miles onto the clock. We have 1000+ miles to do over the next few days as we move back into New York Stae, Head Upstate through the Valleys and mountains of the Catskills, up to Buffalo and into Canada to see the Falls, then traverse the edge of the Great lakes stopping off at Cedar Point for Halloween Horror, before ending the trip in Chicago.

City New York All Inclusive 3-Day Pass – Running Total

• Attractions Today – 3
• Total Attractions – 10
• Attractions Cost – $42
• Running Total – Day 1 of 3: $275
• Cost Of Pass – $139

• Savings – $136

The pass has been excellent. We really felt it opened up Boston in a way we would not have found without it. We did 10 attractions in total and based most of our time around it, although we still got to see a lot of the City as well.

It was great to have a few attractions included in Salem as this was always going to be part of our visit to New England.

Overall we saved a whopping $136 … however we used a 10% discount code so our actual savings were EVEN higher, with the Pass only costing $125.10 and the savings a huge $150!

If you are heading to Boston we highly recommend the Pass as it really did make the trip so much better and we had almost no issues with it. Annoyingly a lot of the attractions we wanted to visit were closed…but that would have been the case without a pass!

Walking Total – 21,015 Steps – 10.2 Miles

We were back to some pretty big step counts today. We did a lot of driving, but we were on the go from 7 am right through until 11 pm so clocked up some steady miles. We finally get a nice and easy day tomorrow as we spend a lot of time in the car.

Live Blog – Trip Report

<<< Day 7 – USS Constitution – View Boston – Harvard

Day 9 – Salem to Rhinebeck – Fall Foliage Leaf Peeping >>>

Today is our second full day in Boston and a full week since we started. It’s the second day with our 3-Day Boston Go City Pass and we planned another great day seeing the sights of Boston.

Unfortunately, today did not go quite to plan and we did not get quite as much use out of the pass as we wanted. We had already made a profit yesterday, so it’s not the end of the world, and we still have tomorrow.

The day started as pretty much a Re-Run of yesterday as we hopped onto our Tourist Trolly. We chose the Harbor Side Inn for its location and it’s hard to think of a better-located hotel for things we had planned. The trolly stop was literally right outside, so we just headed out and hopped on.

Boston is pretty small as far as cities go and lots of the City can be seen on foot, but having the trolly just helps you join the dots and you get a fun and informative guide. The pass grants you a 2-day trolly pass, and we redeemed that yesterday so our total starts off the same as we had for our first attraction.

USS Constitution Museum – $15

Yesterday we passed the Constitution on the Trolly tour but the museum is closed on Mondays. The tour guide told us yesterday it would be open on Tuesdays so we made the plan to visit today…however, this was the first weekend of the winter schedule and it was to be closed on Tuesdays from now on as well! A real bummer.

The good news is this only applied to the vessel itself, the Museum which is part of the pass and has a $15 entry was open. We did our best to get a look at the iconic vessel docked up in the harbor but as the exhibition was closed we were not able to board her, which is free to do when open. Instead, we headed across to the Museum to learn a little about the history of old Ironsides.

And to be honest it’s a good job we did as we really didn’t know much about the vessel. But the museum does a really good job of informing you how the vessel went about doing what very few Navys ever managed and actually inflicted defeats on the Royal Navy, achieving such emotional status that it was constantly saved from the scrap yard and is still a commissioned vessel in the US Navy, not that it would be much good nowadays, but it’s purely symbolic.

The upstairs of the Museum is devoted to telling the story of the lives of the Crewmen of a vessel of this era and what drove them to sign up and commit to this life of hardship. It’s a really fun and interactive look at life at sea in the Independence era.

The museum was really fun and we enjoyed our time there but were still a bit upset about not getting aboard the Constitution. We will just have to come back.

Lunch and Shopping District

After the Museum we went back on our trolly and headed back across the river into old Boston, this time staying on the Trolly right the way to Boston Common, giving us a bit more time listening to the Guide, which was very interesting.

From here we headed out away from the Downtown and Beacon Hill area of Boston and into Back Bay to explore the luxury shopping district of New Bury Street. This was primarily for window shopping as the luxury brands of Tiffany, Channel, Cartier, and Bvlgari are a bit above our price point.

We carried on down the street to the more reasonable end of the shopping district but mainly with the aim of grabbing some lunch, it had been a whole day in Boston without having any lobster, we we hunted out a Lobster Roll to keep the craving at bay, in the end choosing the fairly chainy Luke Lobster, but the roll was packed with meat and really delicious.

With Lunch sorted and hunger kept at bay, we headed to, what would end up being, our last attraction on the Pass for today. View Boston.

View Boston – $40

View Boston is the Only observation deck in Boston situated atop the second tallest building in the City, The Prudential Tower. View Boston is a brand new attraction, only opening in 2023, it’s a re-working of the original Observation deck that has been part of the tower since its opening in the ’60s

This pass got us instant entry and we headed straight up.

The new deck is very impressive, with a multi-level approach. The main deck is enclosed, but there is also an outdoor section, with alfresco dining and bar, and a restaurant level with some great views as you dine. There are loads of interactive displays and models showing you exactly what you are looking at.

The views themselves are splendid as well. While the actual views of Boston are a little obscured due to the position of the John Hancock Tower, the tallest tower in Boston, you still get great views of the Common, MIT, Harvard, Fenway Park, and the general area.

On certain days you are going to get some really impressive flybys of aircraft coming into Logan, but today the approach was wrong.

We spent a good while exploring the deck and really taking in the views of the City. A great addition to the Pass.

Harvard

The next location we wanted to explore was Harvard, and there is a walking tour available on the pass, but we were not able to arrange a tour for the times we wanted, so were unable to use the Pass here. This was pretty disappointing, as we really wanted to check out the Campus.

It’s really important to not be a slave to the Pass. We could have at this point gone and done another attraction on the Pass, there were several things we would have enjoyed, Fenway Park, The Museum of Science, The Museum of Fine Arts, or any of the many other attractions. This would have helped give us the feeling of really getting the best out of the Pass…

…But it wouldn’t have got us to Harvard, which is what we really wanted. So rather than sacrifice an activity we really wanted, we just hopped into a car and headed to the university ourselves for a little DIY exploring!

It meant we only clocked up two attractions today and only extended our savings a little bit, but we were well into the green and still had a fair bit planned for tomorrow.

Exploring Harvard was AMAZING. As well as being a famous Uni Campus it’s also basically a film set. Kate is a die-hard Legally Blonde fan and was stoked to be finally at Harvard…” like it’s hard!” and I too loved seeing the famous sights and location of the famous campus.

Honestly, we really wish we had got on a Tour as for large parts we didn’t really know what we were looking at, or where anything was. We wasted a lot of time hunting things out, but eventually got to find everywhere we wanted. It was a real blast on a lovely warm fall afternoon.

We headed back after a long time exploring and headed back to the hotel to recover.

Irish Bar and Karaoke Happy Hour

The final thing to tick off on our Boston adventure was an Irish bar. The City has a huge Irish population and it would be rude not to grab a pint of Guinness and some classic Pub Grub while here. We scanned the internet for the best Irish pub in the City, but in the end, Location trumped the reviews as we headed to the Black Rose, as it was LITERALLY 100ft from the Hotel door! Not that the Black Rose got BAD reviews.

This was an old-school classic Irish Pub, with old-fashioned wooden paneling, Irish Decor, and a large bar with Draft ales. These sorts of pubs are ten a penny back in the UK and we felt right at home. We had a couple of pints of Guinness, again something that is very usual back home but feels a little alien in the States.

For food, we had some excellent wings, not very Irish but excellent, and bangers and mash for the main. This was ok, but really it was just a couple of sausages and some mash, which was fine but a little overpriced for what they were. There was some live music and the atmosphere was excellent.

After a while, we decided to move on and have a little exploration. We didn’t get far until we saw a sign for an all-night happy hour with 2-for-1 cocktails at Sissy K’s right next door, so headed in to snap up some cheap drinks. This often works out really well for us and this was no exception with great service and decent drinks all night.

There was a Karaoke going on and while we didn’t partake we enjoyed watching the fairly dubious acts and having great fun for a while. It was clearly a very popular Local place and was really busy for a Tuesday night!

We had a huge day tomorrow and an early start so we only stayed for a while before heading back to get some sleep ready for tomorrow.

City New York All Inclusive 3-Day Pass – Running Total – Day 2

• Attractions Today – 2
• Total Attractions – 7
• Attractions Cost – $55
• Running Total – Day 1 of 3: $233
• Cost Of Pass – $139

• Savings – $94

Today’s Savings were really disappointing. The lack of the Harvard Tour and the time we spent at the university instead just meant we didn’t maximize the pass. But we did do what we wanted to do and extended the savings to $94. Which is pretty good really, and with tomorrow still to go we know we will end up getting a lot of value from the pass, as always.

Walking Total – 13,099 Steps – 6.7 Miles

With the trolley pass being valid for two days meant we didn’t really do much walking at all today. Most of the walking was done exploring Harvard, and even the evening was spent close to the hotel so we had a really easy day.

Live Blog – Trip Report

<<< Day 6 Boston -Boston -Trolley Tour, The Freedom Trail, Harbor Cruise, and the New England Aquarium

Day 8 – Salem – Halloween >>>

The Las Vegas strip looks pretty incredible from any location, be it on the strip itself, your high-level hotel room, the High Roller, or even a distant view of the skyline. But for the ULTIMATE view, you have to take to the air. Soaring over the Las Vegas strip is real Bucket list stuff, and as such, it’s important to get it right so we take a look at all the Best helicopter tours in Las Vegas, Which tours to take, and Who to fly with. We can assure you this is an experience you will never forget as you soar over the dazzling bright lights of Las Vegas!

Flight Routes and experiences

There are 3 main experiences available from Las Vegas, each company will have several variants and additions of these but they all boil down to 3 main flight paths. We will take a look at these before diving into the different operators.

Vegas Strip Helicopter Tours

This is the basic and cheapest option, ranging from $80-$120 and 12-15 mins in duration. Most of these are night-time flights to get the full effect of the strip, while some companies offer Daytime trips we find the strip is just so much more spectacular at night.

The Trips are pretty simple, Take off from Harry Reid International, head up the strip, take in the bright lights of Las Vegas, and Past the Stratosphere for a close look. Loop around Downtown Las Vegas and head back down the strip to the Heliport.

The whole thing takes about 12-15mins but you get to see pretty much all of Vegas, the strip is not huge and even at the reduced airspeeds the choppers fly, there really isn’t much else to see.

The experience is a typical Vegas Cheap Thrill. Get up, take it all in, and back down to earth, with a lighter wallet, all before you know it. But we don’t mean this as a bad thing. These trips are for many the absolute highlight of their Vegas trip. Vegas at night is like nothing on earth and seeing it from the air is a real lifetime experience.

There are some inherent downsides to this tour, however, and it is not easily remedied. Vegas is the home of Gambling, but we “bet” you didn’t think you would be gambling when you booked your Helicopter tour! The problem is the Las Vegas Airspace is insanely busy, with 50+ helicopters doing tours of the strip every hour, along with constant arrivals and departures from Harry Reid International, plus 2 other airports and a USAF Base all within a ten-mile radius, it is seriously busy up there.

So the FAA keeps Helicopter traffic simple. Any of the Las Vegas Strip Tours ALL take the same route. It does not matter which company you choose. They all head the same way. From the airport, they head north with the strip on the left-hand side of the Chopper. At Downtown Vegas it’s a 180° turn and back down the opposite side of the strip, again with the strip to the left.

See the problem? With the EC130 Helicopter layout, anyone in the front or back Left Seats is going to have a heck of a view. Those stuck in the Rear right-hand seats, well it’s pretty sh$$y! It is not as bad as you may fear, the Rear seats are elevated (Stadium Seating) above the front so you can see over the Pilot and front-seat passengers, but it’s not as cool and clear as from the front. You still get a great view of the Strip, but there is that nagging feeling of being shortchanged. You know you are just not getting as good an experience as the other guests!

The Seat selection is also “Random”. The operators will tell you, Over and Over, that the selection is based on weights and balances assigned by the computer. This is rubbish. On our last outing the Pilot said: “You two in the front“, to a nice couple we were flying with, “and one other in the front?” With my camera in hand, I jumped at that. “And the other 3 in the back, however, you like!” Weights and Balances… Yeah right.

This is a cover as they KNOW they are short-changing couples or groups by stuffing them in the worst seats, They KNOW people are going to kick back and as such use the weight and balances computer argument. Sorry, but as a Private Pilot, it doesn’t wash. The Choppers can easily handle any load configuration any set group of people is going to throw at them. Come on; these are multi-million$ Aircraft with a 1000hp Turbojet engine, Do you think they can’t handle a fat (or skinny) kid sitting in the wrong place?!

There are a few ways around this, Maverick Private Hire is almost the same price as 4x passengers. If there are 4 or more of you just hire the whole Chopper! Sundance and Pallipan let you reserve the front seats for $25 each, it’s a bit of a con, but if you want great seats guaranteed it’s the only way. YOU CANNOT CHOOSE between right and left in the rear!

Grand Canyon Helicopter Tours

With the Grand Canyon Tours, the seat position is less important. Front seats are better, as you get the pilot’s eye view, but really in an EC130 there is little to worry about, the rear seat view is mindblowing. As the Canyon rears up on both sides the view is staggering, although any strip flyover will be subject to the same restrictions as the stip-only tours.

Grand Canyon Helicopter tours are the top-end tours and the ones we all aspire to, there can be nothing more magical than flying down into the Grand Canyon, Celebrating with Champagne, and then soaring back to Las Vegas. These tours are serious bucket list experiences, but they come at a cost!

Prices start at $550 (from Las Vegas) and for this, you get a flight over some incredible terrain, a landing inside the West Rim, a Plastic cup of California Champagne, and some basic snacks (think crisps, maybe a sandwich!) and finally a flight back and over the strip.

When put like that it may sound pretty unappealing, but the landscape is one of utter beauty. The Desert that surrounds las Vegas has a real rugged appeal, backed by towering mountains, once aloft it really is beautiful. Vegas itself from the air is like nothing on earth and the stunning blueness of Lake Mead and the fiery reds of the valley of fire contrast starkly with the endless beiges of the desert. It is a wonderful place to take a helicopter flight. Then there is the Canyon itself.

The West Rim is where most Helicopter tours will take you. This is one of the most beautiful and stunning canyons on earth, however, it actually falls well short of another location. Namely the South Rim of the grand canyon! This part of the Canyon just cannot hold a candle to its bigger sister but the south rim lies 280 miles away from Las Vegas and is not practical for a helicopter flight from Las Vegas (see below for some tour ideas). So what you get from Vegas is the West Rim.

From above it is still incredibly vast, a giant scar carved into the earth and as you descend down into the canyon the sheer walls rise up and devour you. From the landing sites at the banks of the Colorado River, we can assure you, that thoughts about this being a lesser canyon will be far from your mind!

If you are looking for that ultimate Vegas Experience, one to share with your loved one and build memories that will last a Lifetime there is little better than a Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour, We know they are costly but this is proper Bucket list stuff and you do get quite a bit for your money.

Red Rock Canyon Helicopter Tours

The Red Rock Canyon flights sit somewhere in between the two. A bit more costly than a Vegas Strip flight and not quite as spectacularly as the Grand Canyon. If you want the Grand Canyon but looking to save money this is a poor substitute and will always feel like settling. But in reality, it is a unique and fun experience, less touristy than the Grand Canyon, you get to see one of Las Vegas’s very special rock formations and overlook Vegas for a place very few get to see. Combined with a flight down the strip after dark.

This is more for people wanting an upgraded experience from the Vegas Strip Tour, this gives you Vegas, Vegas, and More Vegas, the view from the canyon landing sights is seriously special, and watching Vegas come alive a night is unforgettable.

Options

Most operators will offer a host of options, such as Meal deals, Shows, and other add-ons. On the whole, these are not always great value and you really are paying for the convenience.

We normally book separately if we want a Helicopter, Dinner, and a Show as we find doing our own thing gives us the freedom to really just do exactly as we want. Why be limited to the show and restaurants they are offering when you have ALL of Vegas to choose from?

One exception to this is the Skywalk add-ons to the Grand Canyon Tours. This will include two landings, Top and bottom, and access to the Skywalk Attraction and usually lunch.

This gives you a really all-inclusive experience of the West Rim, you can get out and explore the canyon from the top, and walk along the glass floor of the Skywalk. It is not entirely necessary as quite frankly after viewing the Canyon from a chopper, any other view is a letdown really. But if you want to tick EVERY box this is a good option.

Best Las Vegas Helicopter Tour Operators

There is a good choice of operators, which helps keep competition healthy and prices low. The flights are all very similar as they are restricted by the FAA and clearance from Harry Reid Tower, Las Vegas’s airspace is VERY busy. The main differences are cost, the type of helicopter used, and any added extras.

The Other differentiation is the base, the big operators all fly out of Harry Reid International’s heliports, but there are some smaller operators who fly from North Las Vegas Airport.

Harry Reid International Airport

The Big three all fly out of Harry Reid International Airport. This has a distinct advantage that you are on the strip right away, as soon as you lift off you are at the golden towers of the Mandalay Bay, and the entire flight time is over the strip. This can lead to shorter flights, but you get the whole strip, all of the time. From North Las Vegas there is a little flight time to get to the strip, and they miss a bit out to avoid the heavy congestion around McCarran.

The Home bases are bigger and glitzier, and the fleets are generally newer top-end helicopters, The Airport is much easier to get to from most strip hotels and the companies often offer free pick-up from most locations.

Maverick Helicopters #1

These are the big boys in Las Vegas. Their fleet is huge and their home terminal is a shiny modern complex that processes customers in a fast and efficient way. Expect a glass of champagne upon arrival and free hotel pick-up from anywhere on the strip.

The Fly Exclusively in the EC/HC 130 Eco-Star helicopters which are modern Aircraft with impeccable safety records, perfect for tourist flights. They sit 4 across the back and 2 to 3 in the front with the Pilot. The windows are large and even the worst seat still gets a good view, although you may feel hard done by if you are right in the back-right seat!

The company is very professional and provides an efficient and well-oiled service, although it can feel a little cold and a bit impersonal seeing as you are one of many customers they will be flying that day!

Best Flight Experiences from Maverick

• Las Vegas Strip Tour – $104 per person
• Las Vegas Strip Tour – Private Flight – $498 up to 6 people!
• WindDancer – Grand Canyon – $ 469 per person ($499 Sunset)

The Vegas Strip tour is a basic flight up and down the strip, it is nothing fancy but the spectacular Vegas Strip at night is more than enough and this certainly feels pretty magical. If there are 4 or more of you in the group then the private Flight ensures you have the chopper to yourself and will get the best seats!

The WindDancer Tour is Mavericks Grand Canyon Experience. This flight takes you out via Hoover Dam and Lake mead to Mavericks private landing site inside the west rim, where light snacks and a “glass” of champagne are served.

Maverick’s Landing site is not the best of the bunch, it is quite high above the river so doesn’t feel quite as inside as others, but the views down the canyon are still utterly mindblowing

After leaving, you fly through the canyon a short way before heading back over the Valley of Fire. The final part of the trip takes the standard pass over the strip. If you take the Sunset option the flight back with be during sunset with incredibly beautiful colors and the Vegas stip coming alive in all its nighttime glory!

Book Direct at Maverick Helicopters Today!

NOTE – You can get the Maverick Las Vegas Strip Night Tour as part of the Las Vegas Go Pass, saving quite a large amount of money when combined with other Las Vegas Attractions. Read the Full Review here.

Grand Canyon South tours with Maverick Helicopters

The West Rim is a truly incredible place, however, it is NOT the best part of the Canyon. The South rim is even more stunning, and its scale is hard to fathom, up to 18 miles wide, a mile deep, and filled with colors of unthinkable beauty. The problem is the South Rim and the Grand Canyon National Park are a LONG way from Vegas, too far for a helicopter, and 5+ hour 560+ mile journey by Coach or Car.

Maverick will take you there however, they offer 2 options, a light aircraft flight to Grand Canyon National Park Airport, then a helicopter tour over the canyon (Grand Canyon Dream @ $544), or if you make your own way to the park you can just do the helicopter tour (Canyon Spirit @ $299). These are Expensive Tours but you will not be disappointed!

Experience airplane, helicopter, and foot sightseeing tours at the Grand Canyon. Book Today!

Sundance Las Vegas Helicopter Tours – Closed

Sundance has permanently Closed its Tour operations and is no longer offering Las Vegas Helicopter Tours!

Papillion Helicopters

Papillion is one of the oldest operators flying out of Las Vegas, They also operate out of Boulder Airport, a short drive from Las Vegas, or with free Limo pickup, this will add a good two hours to any trip so make sure you know where you are flying from.

Papillon is best known for its Grand Canyon Tours and this is where they shine. Their Base is one of the largest at McCarran (shared with Atlantic Aviation) and can process a large number of people, and can feel a little like a cattle market.

Best Flight Experiences from Papillion

• Las Vegas Strip Night Flight – $99 per person
• Golden Eagle with Vegas Strip – $378.99 per person
• Grand Celebration with Las Vegas Strip – $448.99 per person ($474 Sunset)

Papillion’s Landing site in the Cayon is the best of the bunch, it is much lower than the others and has stunning views up and down the canyon along with the quartermaster tributary. Being so low the Canyon walls really tower above you and you get a real feeling of the incredible scale of the Canyon.

watch out for trips from Boulder City, they are considerably cheaper but you miss out on the Las Vegas Strip and instead require a 50-mile round trip by car, limo, or bus. We much prefer flying out of Vegas, but if you only want to experience the canyon and want to save a few $ these are a good choice.

The Golden Eagle With Las Vegas trip is a purely airborne experience. Jump in the Chopper, fly to the canyon, and take a look at the incredible wonder by air only, for many landing inside the canyon is all part of the experience but seeing it from the air is the main course really and this option saves time and money!

Book Now Direct from Papillion

Helicopter Tours from North Las Vegas Airport

A little outside of the main strip area is Las Vegas North Airport. This is a very different place to McCarren. There are no big terminals, no large rental car places, and no Jumbo Jets taking off and landing every five minutes. The place is in fact eerily quiet most of the time.

This makes it a fantastic place for air operations such as Helicopter tours, Private Jets, and Light Aircraft. We recently booked our own light Aircraft from here and flew ourselves over the Grand Canyon!

Don’t expect the glitz and glamour of the large terminals the McCarran operators fly out of, instead, everything is low-key and a little more relaxed, they also tend to use older helicopters, but this is not always a bad thing (the Robison 44 is an incredible aircraft!)

These tours tend to be a little more personal and a little longer in duration, mainly as you need to get to and from the strip,

5 Star Grand Canyon Helicopter Tours

Flying the older AS350 A-Star Helicopters 5 Star Helicopters offer some of the cheapest tours in Las Vegas. The A-Star is a fantastic helicopter and is a real workhorse with billions of safe flying hours the world over, We would not hesitate for a second to board one, the truth is it is not as good a touring helicopter as the newer more expensive Eco-Star (EC-150). The only issue is the seating is more cramped and basic and the windows are smaller providing less panoramic views than the Eco-Star.

This is the trade-off for lower prices. We also find 5 Stars tours to be a little longer and take their time a bit more with less of a “pack-em-in” feel.

The whole operation has a slightly more budget feel to it, but we find this leads to a more personal and friendly approach, far less corporate than the big Players at McCarran.

On the whole, the offering is very similar to the big players, just a little cheaper, and rougher around the edges. But when you are soaring over the GC are you really going to notice how big the windows are?

5 Star also fly out of Boulder so make sure you know where you are flying from, Boulder is a fair drive from Vegas

• Las Vegas Helicopter Night Strip Tour – $149
• Grand Canyon Floor Landing Helicopter Tour – $429

Skyline Helicopter Tours

Skyline is a completely different operation from the rest. For a start, they operate Robinson R44 Helicopters. These are lightweight 4-seat aircraft (meaning everyone gets a window seat) that generally Fly lower and slower than the bigger turbojet aircraft.

They only really offer Strip tours or Red Rack Canyon tours as the GC is a pretty long flight for these smaller aircraft and the incredibly high fees the Reservation charge make it unfeasible.

With only 3 seats you are usually on your own or can ensure a private flight for only $35. They also offer Doors off flights which are one hell of a rush.

We recently flew with Skyline and they are a really nice company to fly with and their doors-off tour is incredible!

• Las Vegas Strip tour with Skyline Helicopters

702 Helicopters

702 Helicopters is a similar operation to Skyline, offering tours in the 4-seat R44 Helicopters. Their website and operation are quite basic but the tours are fun and inexpensive.

Private Strip Tour over Las Vegas – $297.00

FlyNYON Las Vegas

FlyNYON is one of our favorite operators in North America. Their New York Doors off Tours are like nothing on earth. For the last few years, they operated Las Vegas/ Red Rock Canyon Tours but have ceased operation in the area. We will keep an eye out for their return as Covid restrictions lift and bring you more details

Safety

Helicopter tours get a bad rep in some internet travel forums and message boards. The truth is there have been crashes during some Tourist helicopter operations, and some during Las Vegas and Grand Canyon tours.

Flight operations of this nature do carry an inherent risk. We wish we could say they didn’t but the truth is a lot can go wrong and when it does the results can be disastrous.

However, the safety procedures, maintenance, and precautions put in place by the FAA and the Aircraft operators mitigate nearly every possible scenario. The chances of being involved in an accident while taking a Las Vegas Helicopter tour are infinitely slim, you are far more likely to hit a jackpot in the casino and we all know that isn’t going to happen. These operators fly hundreds of tours every day the vast majority without incident, it’s just those one-in-a-million events that attract a lot of headlines!

Fear Of Flying

Despite the amazing safety precautions and records of the operators, some people are just scared of flying. Some people are scared of heights and some are only scared of flying in small aircraft, which they often don’t know until they get to the chopper door. All the reasoning in the world will not help. These Phobias are often irrational but very real to the sufferer. You can tell someone scared of spiders, that they can’t hurt them but that does not make them any less scary.

For people with a fear of heights, Helicopters are usually fine. Height is a strange thing but to feel the fear of falling you usually have to be stood on something solid. It is strange how being in an aircraft just doesn’t affect the brain the same as being on a tall building.

If you have a real fear of flying, then this is less perception-based and more a fear of knowing what you are doing. The stress and anxiety this causes will likely make a flight very un-enjoyable.

The Helicopter Platform is actually one of the least fear-provoking methods of air travel. The aircraft’s ability to hover negates the need for the runway wind-up, this makes many nervous as the perception of speed is very real. With the helicopter ascending nearly vertically into the sky, it feels more like a floating platform than flying, it’s not certain but some who are scared of flying can be fine on a helicopter.

If you are one of those who doesn’t know your fear until you hit the door, then you have to rely on the goodwill of the companies. They will not force you into the air as a scared person on the ground getting a refund is better than a full-blown panic attack in the air.

Essentially we find unless you know you have a severe phobia of flying or are generally a very nervous person who is not keen on new experiences we think fears should not stop most people. Not overthinking things is key, focus on the jaw-dropping sights you are being rewarded with and try and forget the mechanics of what is going on. Trust in your supremely trained piolet and the incredible levels of precautions the flight operators take.

Have Your Say

Have you been on a Las Vegas helicopter tour? Let us know your thoughts, who did you fly with what tour did you take, what bits did you like, and which bits were you less excited about? Let us know what you have to say in the comments below. And if you have any questions just fire away.

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on Day 6 we awoke nice and refreshed in Boston. We were in no real rush to get the day started so had a pretty chilled morning before getting ready to get the sightseeing started. We had a 3-Day Boston Go City Pass to help us get the best out of the City and we will keep you updated on how that works out.

After a few coffees and a little time updating family and friends on our whereabouts, we headed out to activate the pass and use our first attraction. The 3-Day pass allows unlimited attractions so we planned to really rack them up today and hopefully break even on the first day with the Pass costing us only $139 (actually we paid $125 due to our discount code)

CityView Hop On Hop Off Trolley: 2-day Ticket – $78

The first redemption was a CityView Hop On Hop Off Trolley: 2-day Ticket. These Trolly Tours are a great way to get around the City. With Hop on Hop Off privileges for two full days. With stops all over the City and located at most of the attractions, you would want to visit the Trolleys add fantastic value to the pass, with a $78 value.

Along with handy transport around the City, you also get an engaging tour guide to help familiarise you with the City and point out interesting locations and attractions as you go. They are very touristy but really handy and a lot of fun with great views out of the open air windows of the City.

The first attraction we headed to was closed…the USS Constitution! So we planned on heading back tomorrow. Instead jumping off on the Freedom Trail to check out some historic locations from the Independence Era.

Old State House and Old South Meeting House – $15

First up was the old State House. This has a $15 entry but this gets you into this location and the Old South Meeting House. These are both pivotal locations for the Revolution and tell the story of the independence movement.

we found around Boston, that there is a really strong anti-British sentiment, which we hope by now is largely lighthearted, But it was a theme that carried on throughout the whole trip with the Bostonians never missing an opportunity to rag on us Brits…it’s a good job we have thick skins!

The State House acts as a Museum and while the building itself is an attraction it’s filled with exhibits and displays explaining how the whole revolution went down. It’s very interesting and insightful even though we were on the wrong side…

The second site on this attraction was the Old South Meeting House, another historical location and well worth seeing, this is where the plans for the revolution were cooked up. We had a bit of a heart attack when editing these photos as there appear to be ghosts of people from the past appearing in the images…but we realized these were perspex cut-outs that were part of the display.

The Value here is only $15 for two attractions, so it’s not saving us huge amounts, but the truth is, without the pass, we probably would have skipped these. The pass can feel like a key to the City, and having the pass means we don’t overthink things. We were really glad we got to see the insides of these locations but know, when faced with someone asking for money, we would have balked. So the pass really helps you see a location to its fullest.

This is also true of our next location The Kings Chapel

Kings Chapel – $5

Another historic location, that we would probably have skipped if we had been charged entry. It was only $5, but still, the desire to see the inside was probably less than the $5 in our pockets, but we are really glad we got to go in. It’s not the most beautiful church, and not overly relevant to the Revolutionary tale. but it was really nice to see inside.

Breakfast/Lunch – Beantown Pub

It was a round this time we realized we had not really eaten anything. And hunted out a late breakfast/lunch spot, ending up in the Beantown Pub, a historic pub serving American classics, known for its Boston Beans. We were still on breakfast so skipped the beans for a more traditional breakfast, which was really good.

More Freedom Trail Sites, Boston Common, Cheers Pub, Goodwill Hunting, and Ted Bench

We then headed out and explored the sites on the Freedom Trail, such as the Park Street Church, Massachusetts State House, Potato Famine Memorial, and the Various Graveyards and burial grounds before heading onto Boston Common.

The day was now stunningly clear and unseasonably war, around the 70degree mark, that 20-21 in celsius, and the common was wonderful to just explore and walk around. The Squirrels were out in force collecting up their winter stashes and there were even some hawks lurking in the trees hoping for a meal!

There were also the telltale signs of modern America as a portion of the park was largely taken over by homeless people, something that is ever-present in just about every US city we have visited.

We headed over the common and across into the Public Gardens, these are a little more manicured and very pretty, unfortunately someone seemed to have stolen the ponds, as they were doing extensive maintenance, a theme that seemed to follow us this whole trip, everywhere seemed to be having work done.

We hunted out the Ted and Robin Williams benches, and then across the Street to the Cheers Pub, which was incredibly busy, over an hour wait for a table and crawling with 60-something boomers who seemed intent on photobombing any shots we took! We are not huge Cheers fans, we are from a different generation, so left them to it and hopped back onto our trolley, heading over to the Boston Tea Party Museum.

Boston Tea Party Museum

The Museum is not on the pass and while we wanted to visit the museum, the show timings were not really working out, having just missed the last show and having a bit of a wait for the next show.

The Museum take the shape of a reconstuction of the events of that fateful day as the rebels took action if the form of violent protest and destruction of the Crowns property. We always feel a little sad about the loss of such a large amount of tea! The Ships on display, the Elenor and Beavor are only reconstructions and not actual relecs of the event, infact the only real artifact is one of the recovered crates that the tea was dumped overboard in.

Instead of waiting it out for the next show, we just admired the ship from afar and headed back to Long Wharf to catch our next Attraction on the City Pass

Historic Sightseeing Cruise – $46

The Historic Sightseeing Cruise was enough to put us in the green for the pass, and it was only 2 pm!

To use the Pass for the Cruise you need to head first to the Ticket office, to book either the next available cruise or choose a time later in the day. As it happened the next available was about 5 minutes away and we hoped straight on. We had not been planning on doing the cruise today as otherwise we would have booked on earlier in the day, but happy circumstance meant we could do it now.

during the summer or busy months, you are very unlikely to be able to book on so easily as the tours do fill up quickly. Your best bet is to head to the ticket booth and scan the pass as early as you can.

Due to us being pretty late to arrive there was limited room on the uper deck, but we got some great seats on the almost deserted Bow of the vessel.

The Hornblower Cruse takes you out into the Boston harbor and takes a close look at the stunning and ever-changing Boston waterfront. You get a detailed explanation of what is a Pier, a Dock, and a wharf, as the misuse of these terms seems rampant and really annoys the Narrator, and No One else.

The Tour takes you past the old and heavily modernised harbour district, The Container Dock, Fort Independence, and then out into the main Harbour with a little light-hearted British bashing.

The cruise takes a really close-up look at Logan Airport with incoming jets skimming overhead.

The second part of the cruise takes you down past east Boston, with its heritage ships and of course The USS Constitution.

It was a lovely cruise out of the clean waters of Boston harbor, a little cloud had formed replacing the stunning blue skies of the morning, but it was still clear and bright. We always think one of the best ways to see a lcation, eseciall a coastal loaction, is from the water. The vessel offered a full bar, but we refrained as we still had some sightseeing to do.

New England Aquarium – $34

After the cruise we headed, just across the wharf to our final attraction of the day the New England Aquarium.

We love Aqauriums and we will be visiting 2 of the best in the country over the next few days with the first being the New England Aquarium.

This is a fairly a-typical Aquarium with a strange layout. There is only one main tank and the whole aquarium is centered around the Main circular tank.

The pass got us straight in with no issues. The first attraction you come to is the Shark and Ray touch pool which is really fun with the friendly rays happy to come for a stroke. We then headed to the disappointing Shark Exhibit that does not actually have any sharks, apart from a couple of cat sharks so we left and headed to the main exhibit

We arrived at the perfect time as a trainer came out to feed the penguins. The penguins are super cute and we loved watching them eat their fishes. The Penguin habitat is around the edge of the main tank on the lower level.

After that we headed out to see the Sea Lions, who are really playful but a bit stinky and very noisy! Then it was time to check out the main attraction.

The centerpiece of the Aquarium is the 200,000-gallon Giant Ocean Tank. This huge cylindrical tank sits in the center of the aquarium and is filled with warm tropical seawater, coral, and thousands of marine animals.

There is a spiral walkway that meanders up to the top of the tank with various exhibits on the various floors as you go.

We love this design as it allows you to marvel at the amazing main display while taking in all the smaller, yet still interesting creatures on display.

The main tank is filled with a huge array of fish, from small sharks, rays, Snapper, Filefish, various jacks, Lookdowns, and even a selection of Sea turtles. There is so much to see in there from small reef fish to huge Permit fish.

The top of the tank is open and we were really lucky to get there just as three huge Sea Turtles came up for air, giving us quite a show.

North End / Italian Quarter / Little Italy

This was a perfect end to a pretty hectic day and we headed back to the hotel for a rest before dinner.

All we had heard about all day was the amazing Italian food that was on offer in the Italian Quarter at North End, and as we had only had one meal all day, it was time to head out and check it out. We love Italian food and more so live American Italian. It’s not as refined as real Italian food, but has bags of flavor and always great portions and we were really hungry.

We just headed to little Italy and picked a spot that looked good. We ended up in Antico Forno, one of the first places we liked the look of, but only after wandering around for quite a while. Here we gorged on huge piles of Lingine Fruit de Mer and an epic Four Cheese Pizza all fired in a Brick oven.

A great end to our first day in Boston.

Our first day with the pass had gone excellently and we had already saved $39 and had ticked off quite a few of our planned attractions…with still two days to go on the Pass. We will Pick this up again Tommorrow

Go City New York All Inclusive 3-Day Pass – Running Total

Get 10% Off your Boston Go City Pass

• Attractions Today – 5
• Total Attractions – 5
• Attractions Cost – $
• Running Total – Day 1 of 3: $178
• Cost Of Pass – $139

• Savings – $39

Walking Total – 18,491 Steps – 8.9 Miles

With the Trolly at our Disposal we did not spend too long on our feet, however we still clocked up an impressive 8.9miles and 18,000+ steps making our feet pretty sore but the close of play.

Live Blog – Trip Report

<<< Day 5 – New York City – Boston on the AMTRAK Railway

Day 7 – >>>

Our trip to New York had been a whistle-stop tour. We have visited the City so many times and only really included it in this trip as it offers the best transatlantic route options. However we scarcely need a reason to visit the Big Apple, so were happy to head in and tear up the City as usual. But the real trip was starting today as we headed away from this City to another one…Boston. From there we will head up to Salem before driving halfway across the country, Upstate New York, Buffalo, Niagara Falls(Canada), Cedar Point, and finally Chicago.

NYC – Boston on the Amtrak Regional line.

We had a lot planned along the way and were really excited to get going. For our first hop, we were using the Amtrak. We really love using the Amrak to get around, especially in and out of New York. The main advantage is it’s so convenient. The line from New York to Boston starts and ends right in the heart of both Cities. There is no schlep over to the airport, no expensive Ubers, No baggage restrictions, and no security. You just nip to the station and hop on. We did the same last year when heading to Washington from New York.

The ticket cost was $32 each all-in and we were on the Regional line which is a bit slower than the Acela train but a third of the cost. The trip takes around 4.5 hours and you get a large comfy seat aboard the train in a 2×2 format. Compared to flying there is so much space, with tons of leg room and the seat was really comfy.

With the Train due at 9 am, we had a bit of an early start. The clear weather that turned up yesterday had continued into today and we felt a little sad leaving the City on such a glorious day. We headed straight to the Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station which has been recently renovated. The hall is just a little too far to walk with heavy cases, but felt a little too close to Uber, but needs must.

Arriving at the hall we found getting something to eat a little trickey. There were a couple of coffee shops but we wanted something a little more adventurous, but most of the dining options were more lunch and dinner, and most were not even open until then. In the end, we found a Bagel Shop that was extremely expensive, but really good and we got some super stuffed bagels for around $12-13 each.

The newly renovated hall is really impressive but the system is a little chaotic. The trains arrive on an unknown platform which is only announced 5-10 mins before boarding. This leaves people watching the boards like a hawk unsure which platform to queue up at. When the Platform number finally pops up there is a mad dash to the platform for the first come first served seating and luggage space. Just before our number came up, some local passengers seemed to second guess the platform and started queuing up at one particular platform, hoping they knew something no one else did we joined in and right enough the platform was annoyed getting us ahead in the queue.

The guard scanned our tickets and we proceeded down to board the train, easily getting some nice seats with a good window view and a free Luggage rack. After 10 minutes at the platform as others behind us boarded not always with as much luck, we pulled out of the station right in time.

We were a little unsure of the route the train would take and a little unsure which side to go for. We gambled on the right-hand side and in minutes were disappointed as excellent views of the City appeared on the left…However, this was the only disappointment as for the rest of the Journey we had hit the jackpot.

The line runs right up the New England Coastline and offers stunning views out over the Long Island Sound. With the leaves turning a stunning orange and bathed with beautiful Fall sunshine the whole way, it was a seriously pretty train journey. Relaxing in our large comfy seats it really is hard to see why so many people opt for the hassle and stress of air travel for short journeys such as this. We are pretty sure door-to-door the train is faster, and it’s so much more relaxing and the scenery really was stunning. We spent over half the journey just looking out the window before eventually loading up the tablet to watch a few episodes of our favorite current TV Show…and no I am not being coy, I literally forgot what we watched!

There is a dining car on the train which amounts to little more than a snack shop. You can get sandwuched drinks and snacks from here but do not expect them to be cheap. You can get wine and beer though which is nice. We brought along our own snacks and also finished the bagels we brought from the Station.

After a few relaxed hours meandering along the New England Coastline through Connecticut, Rhode Island, and then Massachusetts, we finally arrived in Boston. We departed at the South station which was just a short 10-minute walk to our Hotel.

Harborside Inn

The Inn had been a bit of a bargain, around $170 a night, and really central to everything we wanted to see and do in Boston. We checked in a little early, which was no issue, and headed up to our room. It was quite small but well-appointed. The only issue was the lack of natural light. We were given an interior room and it looked out onto an atrium that was almost perpetually at twilight. This made us think it was light when dark and dark when light, it was a little confusing to a still jet-lagged body clock. However, we did not plan on spending much time in the room.

As such we headed straight out and down to the Harborside.

Boston Harborwalk

At this point, we were still pronouncing harbor as 99% of the English-speaking world does, but soon enough the temptation to rattle off  “Haabah”, as any good Bostonite would say, would start to take hold!

The Harborfront has recently been renovated and now has a continuous walkway, over 47 miles long along the entire Harborfront, known as the harborwalk. While we would love to walk this, 48 miles was just a little too much for our first day in Boston, but the beauty of the walk is you can just dip in and out of it and walk the bits you like. So we headed down to the water and just wandered along taking in the sea air.

Two things stuck us immediately, first, how clean the water was. It was a translucent shimmering green and clear of any murk, scum, trash, or anything. Having spent the last few days in New York, it was a striking contrast. I can’t say I have ever considered going for a swim in the Hudson or the East River, the Boston water was clean and inviting. I managed to resist, not sure how warm it would be in Late October, but it was really nice to see such wonderful clean water.

The second thing was the come-down. New York is a huge System Shock. We come from a pretty rural location, and even in our big Cities, it’s not like New York. There are people everywhere and everyone is ANGRY. Walking around New York is a bit like a long continuous fight. It takes a while to get into that mode, and it takes a while to get out of it. As we started exploring Boston it felt a little like New York and the tension and aggression were still in us, ready to barge people out of the way if they slowed down for even a second… but this was really not the way of life in Boston.

Everything was slower, calmer, and friendlier. It was lovely, but it took a while to get that New York out of us and just relax.

After walking a few miles down the Waterfront we realised we had not got very far in terms of distance away from the hotel. Tracing the various wharves as they head out into the harbor means while you walk quite far, you make very little progress as the crow flies. We were only just in Little Italy and decided at this point to head into the Old Quarter of the City in search of Lobster.

I had scouted out Reds Fish Market in the Old Boston Market, so we headed there to see what was on offer. In season they have Live Tanks and will boil the lobster whole for you. But it was pretty quiet and they had no Live Lobsters and were just offering very expensive Lobster Rolls so we decided to skip. We looked around the Market Halls which has a modern upmarket Farmers market vibe, and then headed back towards our hotel via the old narrow streets of the Irish Quarter. These cobbled old streets and historic pubs are better normal for us but it’s rare to see something so old in the States!

Legal Seafoods – Lobster

Back at the hotel after an enjoyable exploratory walk, we headed to a seafood restaurant right down by Long Wharf about 100m from the hotel. That had been a long walk to end u right where we began.

Legal Seafoods is a legend in Boston and has been serving up Lobster, Oysters, and all kinds of seafood for over 70 years. While we visited they had an Oyster festival with half-price local oysters. We love Oysters but to be honest we did not know there was so much to them. Our incredibly eccentric server walked us through the menu and we ordered a half dozen of varying varieties. It really was amazing the huge differences between the different varieties even though they all came from within a few miles of the restaurant.

We then went on to split a bowl of chowder and a conversation about Metric and Imperial measurements the Server was completely blown away by the fact we Brits really just mix and match between the two … Distance in miles. Measurements, Millimeters. Height, Feet, and Inches. Some foods in Grams some in lbs, body weight is in Stones…Bottled Drinks ml, but beer and milk are in Pints…honestly, we just make it up! At least when America REFUSED to go metric, they stuck to the guns, We just half-arsed it.

Anyway, the Chowder was amazing and came in a 10oz bowl (hence the conversation) with some excellent Bread Rolls. This was followed, as per recommendation from our server, the Lobster Mac and Cheese! This was quite unlike any Lobster Mac and Cheese we have had and features a WHOLE lobster, smothered in Creamy Cheesey Pasta goodness!

After the meal, it was back to the Hotel. While we had not really done a lot today, the early start and the long train ride meant we were pretty tired so we just had a relaxed evening back at the hotel getting ready and planning for the next couple of days.

Walking Total – 11,590 Steps – 4.9 Miles

Despite spending all of the morning sitting on a train we still clocked up a good amount of steps, mainly from out hike around the Harborwalk. This was not a big day on our feet but we had already got a few of them in the bag and a lot more coming up.

Live Blog – Trip Report

<<< Day 4 – Rise NY – Boozy Brunch – One World Observation Deck – Brooklyn and Dumbo – The Ride – Top Of The Rock

Day 6 – Boston -Trolley Tour, The Freedom Trail, Harbor Cruise, and the New England Aquarium >>>

After yesterday’s washout weather, we were hoping for a miracle today and that the deluge would recede, but upon waking, nothing could be further from the truth and the rain was continuing to pour. Our plans were in tatters we just hoped the weather would crack at some point and the sun would finally come out… there was a potential break forecast…but it was touch and go.

Rise NYC – $42

To pass the time before the rain passed we had a few ideas, we started off with the new Rise NYC attraction which was literally the street down from us. This is something we have not done before, however we have had similar experiences all over the states, Vegas, San Francisco, and of Course Disneyland where these flight simulator rides started with Soarin’.

Rise NYC is essentially one of these Flight Simulator rides but with a little extra sprinkled on. It starts off with a Video presentation, narrated by Jeff Goldblum, and then there is a short museum-style experience, showcasing the City. It’s not amazing but it’s quite fun and we spent 10-15 mins exploring.

Finally, you enter the ride experience. You board the ride Vehicle, which is then lifted into the air and spins around placing you inside the theater projection Dome. With your feet dangling you are taken on a tour of NYC from the air. It’s a lot of fun.

New York’s incredible style is perfect for this kind of ride, chock full of epic landmarks and tall structures for the glider to soar over and drop down from. It’s not as advanced as the Disney version with much more limited up-and-down motion and more reliance on shaking for motion which was pretty weak. There are a few bursts of scent and the odd water effect. It’s good but obviously a lot Cheaper than the ultra-high-end Disney sims.

At $42 per person, this would be an expensive attraction and not really worth the cost. A family of 4 costing well over $150! That is a big outlay for attraction that took us 45 minutes. Of course, being on the pass helped soothe this a little as it felt like an added bonus!

After Rise NYC, we headed back towards the Rockefeller Center to get our tickets swapped out for tonight. We had booked to go up this morning as the weather had previously shown a short break, but this changed and it was a total wash-out. Once you have a timed ticket, the Top of the Rock happily swap it out as many times as you like, so we booked a late-night visit tonight.

Brunch – $59 (Non-Pass)

After this, we had Brunch reservations. When the weather doesn’t play ball, it’s best to hit the drink and an all-you-can-eat Brunch is the perfect solution. While not overly synonymous with New York, we decided to hit the highly rated Maya, a Mexican restaurant over on 2nd Av, that offered All-you-can-eat food AND drink. Most Brunch options offer unlimited booze but limit you to one Entree. The Maya offer very small plates, but in an unlimited number meaning you can try almost the whole menu.

And it was really good. They started us off with Tuna Crevche Chips and Dips. We literally had one of everything we wanted from Shrimp enchiladas, Port Tacos, Cheese Quesadillas, Short Rib enchiladas, Maya Hotdogs, and Salmon, and finished off with Mini Waffles and Churros. It was pretty epic and we left Stuffed.

But let’s not forget the Boozy side of this, for $59 you get unlimited food and drinks (it’s $49 if you just want food) a $59 meal tab in New York is pretty phenomenal value, but when the food is this good and drinks are unlimited it’s staggering value. We started with a Bloody Mary and Maya Mimosa before switching to Classic Margaritas for the rest of the meal, we had at least 4 drinks each, and at New York prices that would have been over $59 in most places alone! The Margs were really good too.

We left a little tipsy, very full, and perfectly satisfied with our rainy Saturday Morning activities…but the Restaurant served up one final treat while we were dining…SUN!

One World Observation Deck – $47

With the clouds magically parting and the sun coming out we jumped onto the subway and fired off to the World Trade Center. No visit to New York is complete without visiting the Memorial. We had done the Museum again recently and while we keep going, it’s not something we want to do every trip…it’s pretty hard emotionally, but the Memorial is a must. This event is woven into the very fabric of the City now.

We took a look around the Memorial, which is always sobering, and a little annoying watching people snapping happy smiley Seflies at what is essentially a burial site! Afterward, we headed to the symbol of victory over those who tried to destroy our way of life, the Freedom Tower, now glistening resplendently in the sunshine.

We headed into the Observation Deck entrance knowing you cannot always get an instant ticket to go to the top with a Go City Pass, when busy you get the next available which can be a few hours away. However, you can either pay to upgrade, unlike Top Of The Rock or just come back later at your allotted ticket time. There is no way to do this online beforehand so it’s a bit of a gamble, but there is a lot to do in this area and we planned on going to Brooklyn so figured we would see what time the return ticket was and then head over to Brooklyn and come back at our ticket time.

In this case, the next available was now. so we grabbed the tickets via the new and super easy-to-use Automated kiosks, scanning the passes as we went, and then straight down to the Elevators to the top.

The ride to the top is a fun one with a video showing the Evolution of the City from marshland and forest to what it is today, with a bit of an emotional lump near the end as the Twin Towers disappear! You then enter the theater of forever, and without any spoilers, this is our favorite element of any observation deck out there!

We did not have VIP tickets so we did not get the Digital Tour devices, they offered us the chance to rent them, but honestly we would pay NOT to have them, a real pain in the bum when looking around the deck.

The Observation deck was really quiet, we think people had not anticipated the rain clearing this quickly. and we had a really nice time wandering around taking in the stunning views. The one thing we don’t like about the One World Observation deck is the glass. The reflections are really bad, especially in bright sunlight, there is so much that can bounce back and ruin a shot or a view. There were some really nice angles we found but we just couldn’t get a shot due to reflections. We also really struggled with contrast, with the bright lights outside not allowing us to get a bright enough inside shot while not being blown out outside.

It’s a strange deck really is should be so good, but the indoor nature and the endless reflections just take the shine off it a little. Even a small outdoor space would really help elevate the experience.

We considered heading up to the Amazing Bar but decided as we had spent the whole morning downing Margs, we would get on with our day rather than spend more time drinking.

Brooklyn, Dumbo, and Brooklyn Bridge – Free

The next stop on our trip was to be Brooklyn. No trip to New York is complete without heading across the river to take in probably the best view in the City. We hopped onto the Subway and headed across to Dumbo.

Heading into Dumbo we fought with the crowds to try and get the ultimate composition of the Empire State Building in the arch of the Manhatten Bridge. It’s a great shot, but very much an Instagram vs reality shot as there are tourists everywhere!

From here we headed down to Pebble Beach, with amazing views of the downtown skyline and Brooklyn Bridge. We followed the river along to the Brooklyn Bridge Park – Pier1 which offers simply stunning views of the skyline. This is our favorite view in the city and never ceases to take our breaths away.

From here we decided the best way to get back into Manhattan was walking and the only way to walk was the Brooklyn Bridge. This is a seriously iconic hike and offers amazing views of the City, The East River, the Statue of Liberty, and the throngs of tourists that line the bridge. It’s also one of the cheapest places in the City to buy souvenirs, especially on the Brooklyn side as not everyone makes it the whole way across so there are more tourists and higher prices on the Manhattan side.

It’s a really fun walk and really unlike any other walk on the planet as you are just treated to endless views of the stunning skyline and bridge architecture. It’s highly recommended.

The Ride – $79

Back in Manhattan, we had time to head back to the Hotel to freshen up before heading out to our final attraction of the trip, The Ride.

The Ride is a seriously touristy thing to do but it’s a lot of fun and despite having been on the attraction several times we still have a laugh with the cast and crew as they take us on a short tour of the City. There is no doubt that is very corner and touristic so anyone looking for an authentic New York experience, whatever that means, is probably not going to like the Ride, but it’s a lot of fun and a light-hearted way to see some of the City.

This is one of those attractions where if we had to pay the full entry price there is no way we could justify it, but on the pass, it seems more of a bargain!

If you do not know the Ride is basically a Guided tour on a Modified bus that has horizontal stadium seating looking out of panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows. It’s like you are at the cinema, only the screen is a window looking out into New York. As you drive around, you are guided by two tour guides who provide commentary and skits about the various locations in the City, this is often hilarious and their ability to pad, when the bus is inevitably stuck in traffic, is seriously impressive.

At various points along the journey, you are witness to a selection of Street Acts. These are Rappers, Singers, Ballerinas, Dancers, and various acts that pop up “spontaneously” on the street. One of the highlights of this is seeing the various passers-by’s faces as someone starts performing right in front of them on the street.

it really is a lot of fun and if you are just looking for a fun experience and to see a few sights in the City it’s a great tour.

Halal Guys

After the Ride, we ignored the advice of the guides and headed out to get some “Street Meat”! Some of the Hotdog Carts in the City have become tourist attractions in their own right and far from the basic Hotdogs they now sell every possible kind of food a certain kind of cart has really caught on, in no small part thanks to Iron Man. These are the Swarma Carts of the Halal Guys and Adel’s Famous Halal Food along with various others who have transformed the Hotdog Cart Scnene in the City. Queues of over an hour are regular occurrences and there is fierce debate about who was first and which is best…

…Our advice is to try both Hala Gys and Adels and see which you prefer as really there is no better or worse, just preference. We love both but head to the Halal Guys as the queues are just a little shorter. We have to credit both carts with the fact that they have barely hiked their prices. With the internet fame that has come to them could probably double their prices but have remained pretty competitive with a Regular Platter (which is pretty huge) costing $11 and a Wrap costing $8, where else can you get that value in New York?

The food is also amazing, but trust them when they tell you the red sauce is spicy…it’s really spicy!

Top Of The Rock – Paid for on Day 1 ($43)

With our stomachs filled with Shwarma, we headed off for the final attraction of the Day, the Pass, and even this trip to New York. This was paid for by the pass on the first day, so we are not counting the cost again in the run-down below, but we still needed to fit it in and this was the last opportunity, but it was a great one.

Before heading up we spent a little time in and around the ice-skating rink enjoying the Plaza and watching the good and not-so-good skaters perform ticks and slide around on their bums!

The Night was seriously clear. The morning rain had cleared the air really nicely and now we had stunning crystal-clear views out over the City. The Rock had been manic on the day we first visited but now, late at night, it was pretty quiet. However, there were some pretty slow queues heading up to the top. This was partially because so few people had gone up over the last few days due to the rain.

At the top, it was nice and quiet and we think the Center is limiting access to keep it fairly nice at the summit. Based on the queues we thought it would be manic, but there was hardly anyone up there which was nice.

The evening was peaceful and serene and the view out over midtown is truly stunning. On the other side of the building, the view over the park is now largely obscured by Billionaires Row, but it’s still nice, but the view over the Empire State, the Summit, and Downtown Manhattan is unbeatable.

We love the Top of The Rock as it is the ONLY deck that offers full, unobscured views of the City. Every other deck has glass, or fences, or something in the way. This is to stop people falling it dropping things off the edge, but the Top Of The Rock has a unique layout. The bottom deck indeed has glass separating you from the drop. But the upper deck is smaller, so the edge only drops down as far as the lower level. If you fell, you would only probably bust your ankle. so instead of a glass or wire fence, there is a waist-high wall, this means when you look out over the City it’s just air in front of you. It’s really hard to express how much better that is.

You feel the rush of the wind, can hear the hubbub of the City and your photos have zero reflections. We can sit up here for hours just looking out over one of the most stunning cityscapes in the world.

Compared to the Tacky Summit, the Top Of The Rock is timeless and magical. You can avoid the Selfie takers and crowds of people more impressed with shiny reflections than the city you came to look at. We know many disagree, and the summit is highly rated, but for us, nothing beats the cerebral sensation of actually looking over the best city in the world!

After taking around 10 billion images, to go with the 40 billion we already have the cold was starting to bite after all this is an outdoor deck at high altitude in late Fall, it was a touch nippy! So we said our final goodbyes and headed down, and back to the hotel, after picking up some supplies for tomorrow.

This was our last night and we were heading out of the City Tomorrow, but do not worry, our trip is only just beginning and we have a lot of cool, Halloweenie stuff planned!

Go City New York All Inclusive 3-Day Pass – Running Total

• Attractions Today – 3
• Total Attractions – 10
• Attractions Cost – $168
• Running Total – Day 3 of 3: $489
• Cost Of Pass – $249

• Savings – $240

The final day of the Pass and we had saved an incredible amount of money! Despite not being able to use the Pass as we had first planned due to the weather we still got amazing value from it. Over $240 savings from the pass making around 50% saving on all our attractions.

We also did not chase the pass too hard and instead fitted in a lot of fun free activities, and lots of dining, and even a few early nights and late starts. We did not use the pass to define our trip instead, we built our plans around the attractions on the pass and made sure we did as much as we really wanted to do.

We did a few things we would not have done without the pass, some we really enjoyed some were not so great, but that’s one of the advantages of the pass, you really can try things safely in the knowledge they are not really costing you anything but time.

Read our Full Review HERE

And if you want to save even more, take a look at our Discount Codes HERE

Walking Total – 25,147 Steps – 12.1 Miles

Today we had a really solid day on the feet. It started easy but we really closed some significant miles up around Brooklyn and the Bridge Walk. Overall it felt really great to get back to the Hotel and get off our feet!

Live Blog – Trip Report

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