DC Ducks Tour

After an exhausting long weekend of hanging out, drinking and sightseeing we decided a duck tour would be a nice send off before catching our flight. It was a good choice. While you don’t really get very close to any monuments/​museums/​gov buildings, you can still get a nice view of a few of them as you ride by. Going into the water was fun and it gives a different perspective of DC. We were a group of four adults but had as much fun as families with children. Highly recommended.

This tour is amazing! Captain Steve was awesome and very entertaining! We got to see and learn a lot about the city that we didn’t know before. The kids were interested in the information Capt. Steve was giving us and even go to drive the duck when it was in the water! There aren’t enough good things to say about DC Duck Tour and Capt. Steve! I can’t wait to do this again!!!

Although we live near DC about a year, it was very refreshing to take this tour.
It gave us a lot of insights and histories in DC and also gave us some views from angles which need me never seen before.
For example looking at Pentagon from a nearby pond or seeing a plane take off right near the runaway.
Guide was a very pleasant he had a lot of humor is too.
We really enjoyed it!

I’ve been on the DC Duck tour twice, it’s a great way for touring the nation’s Capitol district. From the city district to the Mall to the Potomac River, DC Ducks offers a unique perspective. If you have little kids, the duck operator will let them steer the vehicle in the river. I’ve gone on other duck tours in other cities, but the DC Duck tour is definitely a must see! Recommend for anyone that wants to tour the District of Columbia!

Terrible experience. Never use this company. Rude and condescending staff. Spend your money elsewhere. We were looking forward to this experience, but were very dissappointed.

We had a terrible experience on today’s 12 pm B duck! Misinformed (twice) about where the bus would be picking us up, no sympathy from the staff, had to run with a toddler, and boarded to discover that there weren’t enough seats, so my 3-​year old sat in my lap for 1.5 hrs even though I paid $ 29 for her ticket! What should have been an enjoyable tour (captain Salim was okay) wasn’t enjoyable because I was so upset. We’ve done these tours in Seattle, Austin, etc and nothing like this has ever happened. It’s especially unbelievable that not one DC Duck representative even said «Sorry» — not before, not after, and we’ve talked to at least 5 (even called customer service).

Captain Steve was a great and personable guide. It was kid friendly (ages 5, 3, &1). The tour overall was great. My one issue was paying $ 39 for a 1 year old. The general guidance is if the child utilizes a seat, however, there was no guidance that I found on the website.

Our guide was knowledgable, informative and friendly. This tour moves fairly quickly through the city and a little more leisurely through the water when the kids are even allowed to steer the duwk! Fun for all!

The DC Duck Tour is a must-​do in D.C. simply because, well, it’s a bus that turns into a boat! An amphibious bus! What more could you want in life?
Our tour guide drove us through part of D.C., showing us the Capitol, Senate Office Buildings, and views of some of the memorials. His explanations were clear and pretty informative. He then drove right into the Potomac. While this is supposed to be the highlight of the tour, the roar of the engine during the boat was so loud and overpowering that I couldn’t hear anything our guide said for the rest of the water portion of the trip. There also wasn’t too much to see while we were in the water, besides a very distant view of the backside of the Pentagon.
The highlight of the trip was stopping by a point in the Potomac to watch planes fly right above us. A few Boeings made very smooth landings right above our eyes, which was a really awesome experience. We then were given these «quackers,» duck whistles that we had to blow every time we passed by a group of people. While obnoxious, I have to admit it was pretty fun.
Overall, a cool concept and novelty tour that you have to try if you’re in the area.

What a great experience! Our Captain was Captain Gorm. He was fun and knowledgeable and let riders drive the boat in the water. Such a great experience! Highly recommended!

This is a very cool tour! The vehicle is amphibious so part of the tour is done on the Potomac River. Captain Salim was very entertaining and informative. He did a great job! Definitely take this tour if you find yourself in DC.

As Seattle residents, we weren’t too put off by the rainy weather on the day we had reservations for the DC Ducks tour. We were quite pleased to have ponchos handed to us as we boarded though! The Captain was knowledgeable and amusing. The kids enjoyed getting to drive the «Fastest truck on the water». This was my 3^rd Duck Tour (I’ve been on the Ducks in Seattle and San Francisco as well) and it definitely offered a unique view of many attractions. I recommend the Duck Tours for visitors and residents in every city that offers them!

This is only my second duck tour, but I was really impressed!
It was surprisingly easy to get tickets (tip: they sell them inside union station or online) and the tour left right on time.
Our guide was pretty funny and did a nice job of combining history and fun. The best part was stopping by gravely point and watching the planes fly right over us, so cool! Second best part was obviously getting duck whistles and being obnoxious at everyone that passed by.
Definitely recommend, and if you live in the DC area, remember to get a hometown pass for priced tickets!

Our captain was fabulous. He was funny, personable, and knew a lot of trivia about the city and our government. I learned several interesting little tidbits during his tour, despite sitting in the back (because there was a speaker installed close to my seat).
While winding through the traffic that was busier than usual (due to several blocks being closed for the Global Citizen concert), he was able to fill the time with stories and anecdotes that were relevant and amusing.
The best part of the tour was going into the Potomac, which afforded views of the city that aren’t usually accessible. The captain allowed the kids (and many adults) to steer the boat (under his supervision of course) and get pictures behind the wheel.
All in all, while it is expensive, there is a discount Hometown Pass if you are local, so our (local) friends split the bill with us. Thanks to Piper for clarifying this process (please see her comment below).
Overall, it was worth it, and a great time was had by children and adults alike.

N’étant pas un énorme fan des bus tours, je dois avouer que c’est quand même un bon moyen de découvrir une ville en 2 heures.
D.C. Ducks est un moyen super original de découvrir la ville de Washington D.C. car on s’installe sur un des véhicules amphibies de l’époque de la seconde guerre mondiale. Ils ont été réhabilités pour faire des visites de la ville sur la route et sur l’eau.
Rien que pour l’expérience du véhicule amphibie, ça vaut vraiment le détour!

This is the second time that I, a local resident, have gone on the DC Duck tour. Both times it was fun, informative, and very professional. It’s obvious the tour guides enjoy their jobs and that usually means they’re working for a decent company.
We took my brother on it this time. He was visiting from California with my Mom. My brother is a 48 year old man with autism and tends to be nervous in crowds or in unfamiliar situations. He LOVED the tour and listened to everything Captain Kent said and even smiled sometimes (rare).
We had a little trouble hearing the Captain at times because we were sitting in the very back seats by the engine, but what we did hear was clever and truly interesting history of our home town.

Captain Franklin was great. Learned so much more than if we would have walked around on our own. Can’t wait to visit DC again.

Skip the Ducks — take a Hop On-​Hop Off bus. We saw them everywhere and wished we had taken one. Instead of historic information about local buildings and neighborhoods, too many personal stories from the driver about his uncle’s-cousin’s-third nephew being from England. He tried to be funny, but it was corny, at best. Everything he DID say about D.C. was somehow related to himself.
Particularly disappointing was the portion on the Potomac. We thought there would be excellent views of D.C. from the river but, unfortunately, all we saw was the «back side» of the Pentagon from a distance and had a plane take off from Reagan National right over our heads. Captain wasted time letting kids drive the Duck, which was merely a photo-​op for parents — can you say wanna bigger tip?
Worst thing — he passed out the duck quackers when we got back on land and then encouraged everyone to quack loudly at people on street corners or on cell phones. That activity consumed the remainder of the tour. We both had headaches by the time we returned to Union Station.
Skip the Ducks — do a land tour instead.

My parents were visiting from out of town, and I, an Arlington resident, know absolutely squat about the district. I thought this would be a nice way to see it from both the land and water, and it was exactly that. Captain Steve was a fun and entertaining tour guide, and even invited the kids (and some adults, myself included), to drive the Duck once we got out on the Potomac! The tour was packed with history and neat info about the monuments and buildings in DC, and was interesting for guests of all ages. I highly recommend this tour if you want a little of everything in 90 minutes.

Came to DC for the first time and wanted to tour the city so we decided to take the DC Ducks Tour. So glad we did because we learned so much more about the city and was able to see all the important museums, memorials and etc. If you’ve never been on a Ducks tour you should definitely give it a try. It’s a 90 minute tour with half being on land and the other half on water. Great for adults and kids!

I love these DUCK TOURS!
This one was so great. Capt. Bucky was our guide and did a wonderful job.
It was a cold April afternoon and the cherry blossoms were not out yet. But the tour itself was great. Very informative and amusing.
*If you have kids, I would recommend sitting closer to the front. We were in the back row and once we got into the water the motor was really loud.
*If it is at all cool outside, bring a jacket or a blanket. It gets windy and chilly out on the water.
My kids loved it and my son got to steer the boat for a little bit. AND their favorite part was getting the Duck quakers!
***If you have friends that live locally, they can go on for free with you! ***
Check the website for more info.