Review – Boston Gliders Segway Adventures
As a fun, different way of seeing a city, Nick booked us on a 2 hour segway tour with the Boston Gliders Segway Adventures company. Our tour was on a Tuesday, and starts at 10am. Cost was $85 per rider.
We arrived about 5 mins beforehand – and was told that we need to fill out forms and watch an instructional video. She said we should have came 15 mins prior to do all this. We complaint that we were never told this. Lots of confusion at that point – she didn’t know who took our order or what was told, or even whether the person had took our payment over the phone. She said she’ll try to figure it all out, and we should proceed downstairs to watch a video.
short 8 mins later, we were back out getting the basic instruction on how to operate a segway. the instructor walks beside you the entire down the street to make sure you are ok. I was a bit shaky at first, but got the hang of it by the end of the street. it’s quite easy. you lean forward to accelerate and move forward, lean backwards to slow down and stop and tilt it left and right to turn. the Segway is self balanced and you really don’t have to worry about anything else.
So on with our tour. we met our tour guide. got our audio equipment plugged in so that we can hear him on the road, got our safety helmet on. It’s supposed to be a group tour, but luckily we were the only ones to sign up for a 2 hour segway at that time, so it turned out to be a private tour!
He brought us through the freedom trail – lots of sites to see. monuments, waterfront, Boston center where the bruins play, Charleston etc. You definitely cover a lot of ground on the segway.
The historical nature of the tour was a bit lacking though – he gave a few dates and pointed at several things of interest, but not as much as you may expect in a guided tour.
The problem was that half way through our 2 hour tour (which started at 10:45am), our tour guide said that he must return by 12pm as he has another group. we really didn’t have any other choice. We enjoyed what’s left of our tour and got back.
We did complain when we returned to the manager. He was reasonable and charged us for an hour instead. We also recommended that the message be given loud and clear to all new riders – that they should come 20-30 mins prior to the start of the tour.
Overall, the experience was fun and enjoyable. Lots of people on foot was staring at us and smiling as we pass. Some even asks about the segway ride. I heard the Duck Tour gives a lot more historical facts – but we still enjoyed the uniqueness of the segway. The Boston Gliders was okay, they provided everything you need, definitely not a bad way to see a city.