Ride the Ducks Tour vs. Bow Tie Tours

Old City Philadelphia is a part of town absolutely saturated with history. Just a casual walk through it will take you past ten or so plaques explaining the stories behind these old brick buildings. Here Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and John Adams got drunk after signing it. In other words, Philly is a great place to take a tour, but make sure you take the right one—otherwise you may find yourself quacking through the streets of Philadelphia. This is due to Ride the Ducks, a touring company that takes visitors on a bus ride through the historic district and then down into the Delaware River. The land­to­water gimmick has gotten Ride the Ducks a lot of success throughout the country, but comes with a great price: $29 a ticket and a duck whistle for you and all your kids. And if you think the adults don’t blow them too, you’re wrong. They do—constantly.

Instead, check out Bow Tie Tours, a local walking tour run exclusively by passionate Philadelphia historians. Founded by a man who is a history enthusiast by day and a lawyer by night, Bow Tie Tours takes you through Philadelphia to learn about the strange lives of the people who founded this nation. The tour guides are extremely knowledgeable and open to any questions—they cover everything from the basics to the latest historic discoveries about Washington’s mysterious relations with his slaves. At $20 for adults and $12 for kids, you can either take the “Independence Tour” and learn about the founders of America, or take the “Slave Tour” and learn about how the founders of America betrayed both their fellow Americans and their values in search of a kind of false liberty. Or, of course, you could get a duck whistle.