Best Segway Tours in Chicago

The Windy City, as Chicago is also known, has many stories, streets and sites worth exploring. However, many tourists miss out on this experience due to lack of time. Walking for hours doesn't seem like a good plan when you're only on holiday for a few days, so one of the things to do in Chicago is a Segway tour.

If you have never ridden a segway and you think it's difficult to handle, let me give you good news, it's the easiest thing in the world! Your guide will always tell you what to do at the beginning of the tour. After a mini lesson, you'll be able to glide like an expert along Michigan Avenue, near Chicago's lakefront and many other sites.

Are you looking for a different experience in Chicago? If so, I invite you to take this 2 hour and 30 minute Segway tour around Chicago's lakefront. The whole experience will be with a small group and a certified local guide. This person will tell you interesting and historical details about all the sites you'll see in the Windy City.

You will start your day by meeting your group on Michigan Avenue. I recommend you arrive on time, as the first few minutes of this activity are important. You will receive instructions on how to use a Segway properly, and the guide will explain the dynamics of the tour.

As you make your way through the tour you will see Grant Park, the Field Museum, Buckingham Fountain, Shedd Aquarium, Soldier Field and the Adler Planetarium. Please note that you will only pass in front of these sites. The idea of this tour is to avoid the long walk and make the walk shorter and more fun.

Details of interest

• Price: approximately €75.
• Duration: about 2 hour and 30 minutes.
• Advantages of this option: with this Segway tour you can see the city in a short time and avoid long walks in the sun, or being cooped up in a tour bus without getting fresh air.
• Disadvantages of this option: The tour only passes through the sites mentioned above and does not include entrance to any attractions.

Are you a sunset lover? If this is your case, then I invite you to enjoy a segway tour to admire the sunset of the Windy City. This experience lasts an average of 1 hour and 30 minutes and costs approximately €60. You will be accompanied at all times by your guide and a small group of people like yourself.

The meeting time with your group is usually around 4 or 5 pm. After your guide has given you your helmet and explained the use of the vehicle, you will start the tour. You will start by gliding along Chicago's lakefront in Millennium Park.

This tour will give you an outside view of attractions and s ights such as the Shedd Aquarium and Buckingham Fountain. You'll also see Soldier Field, the Field Museum (one of the largest natural history museums in the world) and the Adler Planetarium. All this while the sky is tinged with the beautiful colours of sunset, the perfect time to take pictures.

Interesting details

• Price: approximately €60.
• Duration: about 1 hour and 30 hours.
• Advantages of this option: as it is a sunset tour, you will be able to see a different side of the city. It is a very relaxing plan that you can complement with a night-time activity.
• Disadvantages of this option: the tour is quite simple and only stands out for being done at sunset, so it can be a bit incomplete.

If you are travelling to Chicago in the summer, I recommend taking this tour. During the evening you can walk along the lakefront and finish by watching the fireworks display. In addition to happening on the 4th of July, on Saturdays throughout the summer at 9pm you can watch the fireworks display at Navy Pier.

Before watching the light show, your guide will take you and your group on a glide along the lakeshore. This will give you a night-time view of the city. You will usually be accompanied by a minimum of 9 people, which ensures that the guide can answer your questions and you will have a personalised tour after a short training session. When the tour starts you will glide into Grant Park. Enjoy the quiet, nocturnal atmosphere as you pass Buckingham Fountain. There you can stop to take some pictures.

You'll also tour Chicago's lakefront and museum campus. If you wish, the next day you could take a cruise on the lake and continue to enjoy the wonders of this city. Finally, you'll head to the Navy to see its light show.

Details of interest

• Price: approximately 80 €.
• Duration: about 2 hours.
• Advantages of this option: in addition to seeing part of the city, you can see a light show at the end, a detail that other tours do not offer.
• Disadvantages of this option: you only have the chance to enjoy it during the summer. But don't worry, there are plenty of things to do in Chicago in winter if that's the time of year you plan to travel.

Want a slightly different experience? If you like scary, suspenseful and ghostly stories, this is the tour designed for you, so you should put it on your list of things to do in Chicago at night. For around two hours you'll ride a segway through the streets of Chicago that are home to spooky stories. The average cost of this tour is €75.

The tour will begin, as always, with your guide giving you directions to the segway. When the whole group is ready, you'll head out into the night to explore Chicago's history. You'll pass State Street and Dearborn Street, where the Iroquois Theatre used to be and where a fire occurred that claimed around 600 lives in 1903.

Another important stop is the S.S. Eastland Memorial, a small part of the city near the Chicago River that commemorates the lives lost in the Eastland Disaster of 1915. Around 800 people died in this tragedy and its history is somewhat linked to that of the Titanic. Your guide will tell you the real story and many of the myths surrounding this tragic event.

Chicago, although a beautiful city, has been the centre of gangster networks. Even the Outfit, an Italian-American organised crime syndicate is based in Chicago, Illinois. For a time there was a series of murders in the city because of this network. Your guide will tell you the details of these chilling, movie-like stories.

Details of interest

• Price: approximately 76 €.
• Duration: about 2 hours.
• Advantages of this option: with this tour you have the opportunity to learn things you would never have known about if you took a normal tour.
• Disadvantages of this option: Being a night tour, you may be overcome with fear as you listen to stories of real events that happened in Chicago

Traveller Tip

This type of tour is best done during the month of October. Although you can do it any time of the year, Halloween is the scariest time of the year, making every story your guide tells you feel more real.

If you are planning a trip to Chicago in December, I recommend adding this tour to your list of things to do in Chicago at Christmas. Your guide will take you around all the best Christmas decorations in the city. Riding a segway and for around 2 hours and approximately €70, you'll soak up the Christmas spirit in Chicago.

You'll start your tour at Millennium Park, where you'll see many visitors ice skating under the reflection of the Beanstalk, Chicago's Christmas tree. You'll also circle around Buckingham Fountain and pass by The Art Institute of Chicago to take pictures next to the iconic Christmas-decorated lions at the entrance. Afterwards, stroll down Michigan Avenue and take in all the shop windows and shops decorated with Christmas lights.

In Daley Plaza, located in the Daley Center, the German Christkindlmarket is organised year after year. There you can stop with your group, get off your Segway and explore the food stalls. If you wish, you can buy sweets, drinks or souvenirs from this place. This is definitely one of the things to do in Chicago in December.

After about 15 minutes at this market, it will be time to return to the starting point with the rest of the group.

Details of interest

• Price: approximately 75 €.
• Duration: about 2 hours.
• Advantages of this option: in addition to seeing the city's decorations, you get to see some of the German culture at the last stop of the tour.
• Disadvantages of this option: it is a tour that can only be done during December.

Booking a Chicago Segway tour is not complicated. You can usually find them with a quick Google search. If you want to make the most of your time, I invite you to take a look at this list of Chicago tours and choose the one you like best.

Usually all you have to do is click the buy or book button, then confirm the date and time you want. You will quickly receive confirmation from the website. Please note that some tours only run during specific months of the year.

As you may have noticed, the average duration of a Segway tour is 2 hours. This time is quite convenient if you are coming to tour Chicago in less than two days as it allows you to do more things during the day. In addition, you spend much less time compared to walking tours.

During those two hours you can listen to multiple stories told by your guide, ask questions and see many sites. Some of them you may not even have thought of before you go on a tour like this. Thanks to the vehicle you will be able to see many more sites than on other tours.

A Segway tour is one of the things you can do with kids in Chicago. However, keep in mind that the child must be at least 12 years old and weigh at least 45 kilos. Only in this way will it be safe for them to ride a segway. On the other hand, pregnant women are not allowed to take this tour. This is a precautionary measure to maintain women's health.

If you are travelling with older adults who cannot walk for many hours, but can stand up, this may be a good idea. On a Segway, you can enjoy the great outdoors and see all the sights. Not only your parents or grandparents can benefit from these tours, anyone with reduced mobility can use the segway.

For these tours I advise you to always check the weather before you set off. If there is a bad forecast such as heavy rain or snow, it is likely that the tour will be cancelled. However, if it will only be cold, I advise you to bring a good waterproof coat to keep you warm. Don't forget gloves and a hat.

If you are travelling in summer, never forget your sunscreen, as well as comfortable clothing. No matter what time of year you do this trek, don't forget to wear comfortable shoes. These will help you to be more steady on your segway and to be able to ride more freely.

On any guided tour the main advantage is that your guide knows the way better than you do. This person is certified to tell you stories about the city and take you on the most popular trails. He or she can even point out places you didn't know existed, and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

If you go on your own, you probably won't pass many interesting places. In addition, you will waste time checking addresses on Google Maps. If you take a Segway tour, you won't have to worry about that.

The main attraction of a Segway tour is that you don't have to walk long distances. If you go on a walking tour you will have to invest more time as you will need to stop and rest. If you don't have time for that, the best option is a Segway tour. With the time you have left over in the day you can visit museums and other attractions in the city.

Most of the classic tours take place on Chicago sightseeing buses. While these are a good way to see the city, they keep you away from the sights and attractions, giving you little opportunity to interact with the city.

On a Segway you can be part of Chicago, the "best big city" in the United States, according to Condé Nast Traveler magazine. Parking and getting off a Segway requires less time and space than a bus. Plus, you get to feel the fresh city air without having to walk and sweat.

If you like exclusive experiences, then you'll want to opt for a Segway tour. Most tours are done in small groups of minimum 8 and maximum 10 people. This makes the guide's job easier and it's much better for you because you can ask all the questions you want.