Ride the Ducks of Seattle

QUACK! Quack! quack! Quack!
Super entertaining and fun the whole time! When my sister suggested it, we thought it was a joke but boy were we wrong. It’s roughly an hour to hour and half tour throughout inner WA on roads and water. One of my all time favorite movie was filmed here «Ten Things I Hate About You».
Our tour guide was witty and hilarious plus moving the crowds in the bus with variety of songs. My mom and aunt knows little English but was moving and signing with everyone else! That’s worth more then five stars!
**Purchase tickets over the phone for guaranteed admission and state which location you preferred. Arrive a bit early to get your desire seats. Enjoy**
**buy quakers from the booth. It’s part of the experience.**
**go to restroom at the pfcheung downstairs before in bus.**
**tipping isn’t necessarily but would be greatly appreciated**

FYI: The time for this is 1 – 1.5 hours. Bring a jacket, since you’ll be on the water!
Begin review…
I’ve seen Ride the Ducks around town a million times and the ride always seemed rambunctious and wild in a cheesy, but good way. «It won’t last,» I thought, as the cynical side of me rolled its beady black eyes. To my surprise, however, the tours stayed full and, like clockwork, every day, literally boat fulls of seemingly pleased people would ride by, cheering and making potentially embarrassing sounds/​dance moves. «OK,» I thought. «There must be something more to this. Something I’m missing.» And, so, I placed the Ride the Ducks tour in the part of my brain that loves cheesy, but fun things like Red Lobster’s Festival of Shrimp or the Washington State Fair.
Finally, the occasion arrived, where I, a «respectable» Seattle-​ite, would finally ride Ride the Ducks! With friends in town, we all boarded our Duck Tour omnibus with pride. Luckily, we had drank beforehand, making the idea of publicly waving our hands in the air seem like a good idea. «WooO!,» we screamed. We were some of the only ones. *sigh* We were then delivered our second piece of bad news: Due to high winds, we’d be detouring away from the Sleepless in Seattle house boat and the park from 10 Things I Hate About You, which in my opinion, are some of the best/​only reasons to go. I suddenly regretted committing an hour and a half to what was clearly Plan B and also vaguely remembered seeing a printed out sign taped to the ticket office saying something about high winds. I wished someone had verbalized this to me ahead of time!
Where was the suspension of dignity, the foray into all that was promised on this Unilocal thread?! Instead, we ended up somewhere in Ballard among rusty industrial boats, our tour guide (any details about said person being redacted, as I don’t want to get anyone in trouble) singing over the mic that we were just winging it and hoped we’d be game for the ride. The guide tried really hard to get people enthused about quacking and dancing, but no one was really feeling it (not to mention our boat was only half full). They were also unable to get the music right (as there are apparently several soundtrack changes that are meant to compliment specific landmarks and jokes) and was awkwardly stumbling through the facts/​script (?) about Seattle (seemingly unable to drive and speak at the same time). It was clear to all of us, the «winging it» part.
When we got off the boat, one of my friends asked me how the experience was.
«Ehhhh,» I replied.
«But it was cool, how chill it was, right?» (This indicates to me that I was the only person who was kinda underwhelmed by the whole thing… so maybe their review would be entirely different from mine?)
«EhhHHhhhhh…» I replied. «Once was enough and now I can say I did it.» For the record, I have been on the Underground Tour THREE (yes, THREE) times. Also, for the record, I think some of the source material for the Underground Tour is incredibly dry, but boy do those tour guides work it. I can’t really say I learned anything new about Seattle. Oh, but I did see the Up house. So there was that. Dangit, Ride the Ducks, I thought I could love you! Why did you have to be such a let down?!
TL;DR: I guess it depends on what your expectations of the tour are, but I believe your experience will be heavily contingent upon whether your boat has rowdy people in it, who your guide is, and how drunk you are. Ride the Ducks is normally good for sightseeing, but without the SLU component, it seems like it’s pretty light on info, so if you’re looking for a real factual/​sightseeing tour, try Argosy Cruises. Also, try not to go towards the end of the day when the chances of having a thin audience are greater.

Cheesy? Yes.
Great time? Yes!
I think this ride is a must, if you are visiting Seattle and haven’t been on it. The guide is very informative and entertaining.
You will learn quite a bit about Seattle in the short 90 minutes of ride.
If you choose to go on it, try to get a seat on the right side (passenger side) of the car/​boat. Most of the view and attractions are shown from that side. Have fun!

I’ve never done one of these tours before and had to drag my husband on this with me. It is super cheesy, filled with dad jokes and silly puns. I loved it. We had ‘Barry’ as a tour guide and he was amazing! It was really great to have a Seattle native as our guide and furthermore, it seemed as if he truly enjoyed his job. My husband and I were laughing more than the kids on board! We passed through all the touristy spots in town but the definite highlight of the trip was going into the water and seeing all the houseboats. If you’re embarrassed easily, don’t go on this and keep being LAME. You’ll never see these people again so enjoy yourselves and let loose!

This was awesome. My entire family enjoyed it husband and I and 3 kids 6,9 and 18. It was a bit chilly so a light sweater is good to bring along. Seating is tight so sit with someone you like :). It’s loud so if you don’t like loud and playing along for fun don’t bother going. We loved it. It was fun captain Dan T. Was great kept us entertained and informed. Great tour. Price was high but I think it was worth it. Get the quackers kids liked those a lot and some adults. We just moved to the area so it was fun to go explore it without having to do the driving.

I’ve taken the tour 3 times with out of town guests and everyone had a blast! The captains are very energetic and have fun stories about Seattle history. It’s a great way for visitors to see the big sights in Seattle quickly and get out on the water. I usually get seasick on boats but haven’t had any issues with the Duck Tour. For people with families, this is a great tour for kids and the drivers are careful to make their jokes family-​friendly.
My advice is to buy your tickets online ahead of time in the summer since they sell out quickly on nice days. The quacker whistle is an added charge and optional. Also, make sure you use the restroom before you go since the tour is about 90 minutes without any stops. The closest public restrooms are at the top of Westlake Mall. The Westlake tour is right next to a Starbucks and Zara if you need something to occupy your time before it departs. Have fun!

First of all, I thought our driver was excellent and really easygoing. We went on this really because we thought our 9 year old boy would enjoy it. He did but I’m giving it 2 stars because of the lady who almost ruined it for us.
We came on the 10:30am duck ride. There was a lady taking photos and after taking ours told us we could go on the boat. Then after a few minutes later another lady working for the duck tours comes onboard and asks if there was anyone who didn’t get their tickets ripped. I told her we still had the print out of the duck tour without it being ripped. She accuses us of stealthily getting on the boat without being told to. Wait a minute lady. I told her there was a lady who let us through and there was another family on the boat. I didn’t want to make a scene but what a terrible way and mood to give the customers before taking off.
Well, we tried to enjoy the rest of the trip but after paying an overpriced tour I still didn’t appreciate the horrible customer service from the lady. Please do better.

Duck Tours are one of our favorite experiences this visit to Seattle. Bob Frapples was our tour guide, and was more energetic than a herd of 3-​year-​olds. He had our group laughing, dancing, and participating throughout the tour. The excursion on the water was just as much fun as on land, and the interesting stories were educational as well as entertaining. This will definitely be something we do again next time we visit.

Overall, the Ducks were underwhelming. I think being the local in the group aided in this feeling.
I’d still say to give it a shot if you’re thinking about it.
The tickets are super easy to order online ahead of time. The prices are fair especially considering that you get to see a ton of the city, bypassing the traffic, and it’s an easy sell as an activity to try to your friends and family coming into town!
You can start at the space needle and head out. Or if you want to hit up Westlake Center for some shopping you can hop on a Duck right outside of Starbucks, and make your way through Belltown. Which is very Seattle haha!
The drivers are impressive with their enthusiasm and willingness to go great lengths for a laugh :)
I rode with my parents and friends on a tour with «Jimi Hattricks» a young guy who killed it! He was able to engage the only child on the tour while still making all us grown ups smile too. To this day I still wave at the Ducks driving by in Belltown by my work. It’s a unique part of our tourism.
It was a good time in the end, nothing to write home about. But absolutely worth writing a good review about and insisting that if you are on the fence about the ducks, lean more towards trying it before you miss out.

I’ve been on different tour guide buses before, but this tour was the most fun I’ve ever had. The driver was funny and informative and played all kinds of music to go along with his jokes! The best part is you get a land and water tour on the same vehicle! Highly recommend this tour if you are in Seattle!

I’m too old to be an angsty teenager but I act like it when encouraged to do touristy things especially in my own city. When family/​friends come to Seattle, I typically opt to take them to bars with views and museums and offer my own snarky city history.
When my 9 year old cousin visited for a short period of time, however, I was at a loss. I have no idea what kids like (and WA state law means no outdoor patio bars for us!) so I found myself taking him downtown to Ride the Ducks. Yes, me, a Seattleite who frequently scoffs at people quacking while I wait for my bus, I subjected myself to this.
It’s certainly geared more towards kids than adults because each tour has a lot of kids on board. The narration/​history is not the most thorough or cerebral tour of Seattle.
The captain had a silly sense humor and played corny songs, encouraged us to sing along and encouraged quacking with a quacker. And because when I joke around I tend to make lots of puns and sound like a middle aged dad, my Daria-​face adjusted into a smile at some points. The singing along and the quacking did make me want to dig a hole in the vehicle I could hide in but my cousin was so happy I decided to grow up, act like an adult (albeit a pained one) and I just dealt with it.
Useful to know:
–There are no bathrooms on board. Go pee before you get on!
–In addition to the cost, you do have to think about parking. There are slight variations to time because it does take regular streets where there might be some traffic. If you’re going to park on the street, account to be on the boat for longer than the 90 minute tour time. If you have time, take the bus. This location is super close to the Westlake Tunnel station (north-​south buses) and to the 4^th & Pine stop (where a bunch of buses from Capitol Hill go).
–The steps to the vehicle are narrow and a little precarious. Those with limitations might have a hard time. I couldn’t help but research if they could accommodate the disabled and at this time, they do not. Additionally, like a school bus, there are no seatbelts.
–They have a canopy for rainy days but the vehicle isn’t sealed so you might still get wet. We got splashed on slightly when we were in the water. (But let’s get real, it’s just water)

I was excited to do this tour but it was very disappointing. Here is why:
1. The music was way too loud. I’ve been to a few concerts in my day and this would match any noise level I had in my youth. It was so loud that I had to put on headphones just to block some of the noise.
2. I agree with the reviewer who said that the driver (Matt Adore) was more interested in having us wave at people on the sidewalk than actually telling us much about Seattle. There was so much we could’ve learned about the city in the time of the tour but we didn’t.
3. Seeing the house boats from the river was fun. It was the highlight of the tour and unfortunately lasted only about 20 minutes. We spent a lot of time in traffic, which is not the drivers fault, but I was wondering why they didn’t have alternate routes knowing how bad the congestion was that day.
I would not recommend the Ducks. If I had to do it all over again I think I would have been better off grabbing my guidebook and going on a self guided tour.

Ride the Ducks of Seattle is a way to learn some history about Seattle. This is my first time in any city that I did this tour. Our tour guide was very energetic, fun, and comical with his corny jokes. I think the ride was about 1 hr — 1.5 hr long and it does go both on land and sea. The vehicle does not stop at any landmarks so you need to take all your pictures in the vehicle. They drive pretty fast on the streets while giving you a little history about the area. They like to crank up the volume on the music that they play so everyone on the street can hear. The driver tries to get everyone involved so prepared to be embarrassed. Main thing is you will have fun on this tour.

I rode the Duck twice now, once with my mom and once with my hubby while visiting Seattle 4 years apart. The duck experience is still loud and obnoxious but it is unique in Seattle and you get to ride an amphibian vehicle and see The house in Sleepless in Seattle… The reason I was on the tour.
The land tour portion is almost useless as the driver gets distracted often and makes you yell things out at strangers on the streets or at random Starbucks. Not much «guiding» here.
It’s still worth thirty some odd dollars to ride the Duck if you are a tourists, but adjust your expectations accordingly.

We have gone on the duck tour before and took our son on this tour because we thought it was interesting and entertaining. Ben d rulz was not a guide I would recommend. He was not as energetic he acted like he was going through the motions and that was it. He skips things that the troll in Fremont. He lack the personality that I would rate as you should ask for him if you go on the tour. I would say don’t get him if you can pick.
The other person slowed down and allowed us to take photos. He just zipped on by. If you haven’t been on one I guess it would have been fine but he makes comments like can you imagine going 10 of these a day. They make us sing the song…
Just not the experience I recommend with Ben d rulz

Had Captain Ben. Ben D Rulz. Great tour and way to explore Seattle! You see the first car wash, some cool house boats and the market. You pass Olympic Statue park plus more.

I have lived here for over ten years and never made it here. So friends were visiting and they wanted to do it. These things are really not my cup of tea, I would rather tour Seattle myself. Anyhow what a blast I would even do it again although on a warmer day. Captain Dan was a riot, all of the staff was very nice and actually learned a little more about this great city. So skip the needle and the very long weekend line, book reservations for the Duck on a warm day and have a very good time.

An overpriced yet awesome way to get to know this great city a little better.
Do not attend if you have a headache or a fear of overly energetic people, because that is what you are getting on this tour.
Good to try at least once. Have a cocktail or two before hand and it’s even more fun, but keep in mind that there are no bathrooms aboard these boat/​buses.
Wish they didn’t constantly drive by my window. Slowly learning to hate these cheery tourists.
Overall this tour is just ducky.

A super fun overview tour of the Seattle area. Lots of fun from both the lake and the land. Kids under 12 and the over 30 crowd will LOVE this tour! It’s fun, informative and high energy. It gives you a great overview of the city and provides some good information about Seattle.
I loved seeing the famous Seattle houseboats — including the one from Sleepless in Seattle and GasWorks Park. We drove through the market and all the way to the pioneer square and of course we hit everything in between. The tour guide is entertaining and funny. A great way to spend 90 minutes in Seattle.

After seeing the duck tours pass me numerous times and looking at all the passengers with their huge grins singing along to silly songs, I thought I’d see what this tour was all about.
This tour takes you on land and water, and I took some amazing shots of Seattle’s legendary houseboats. I’ve lived here for 4 years and even though the tour is light hearted, silly and fun, I walked away feeling like I actually learned quite a bit about this beautiful city.
Fun and educational — What more could you want?!