Travel without Leaving Boston

 

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Some of the biggest exoduses that travelers experience occur during the frigid wintery months, when vacationers decide to pack a suitcase and exchange single digit temperatures and blizzards for the warmth and sun of the southern hemisphere. Now that spring has sprung, temperatures are heating up and your vacation days have dwindled, you may think your leisure time has come to an end.

But fear not, because as a lover of both travel and the wonderful city of Boston, there are plenty of destinations and tours located inBeantown that offer up interesting and entertaining afternoon adventures for anyone, both free and paid. Check out some of the best and most entertaining things inside Boston below.

Free Activities and Tours

Sam Adams Brewery

In 1985, Sam Adams debuted the Boston Lager that has since made a lasting impression on not only Boston, but the country. The Boston Lager is now its trademark. Fast forward to today, and you can tour the brewery that crafts over 50 unique and delicious varieties of beer every year.

The tour is technically free (but donations are suggested), which earned it a spot under the “free” section of this post. The tour, which lasts about an hour and departs every 45 minutes or so covers the history of Sam Adams, the brewing process and ingredients, and allows for tourists to take a taste of the malts.

For more info on the Sam Adams Brewery tours, click here.

Downeast Cider House

Keeping in line with the brewery tour theme so far, Downeast Cider House offers tours on Saturdays and Sundays. The cider house features an array of both year-round and seasonal ciders, all of which are made with freshly picked apples.  Each tour is completely free and offers tasting of the freshly brewed and aged ciders.

For more info on the Downeast Cider House tours, click here.

The Murder on Beacon Hill

If you don’t have time for a guided tour of a brewery or like living your life by less rigid time constraints, consider logging onto the App Store and download a free copy of “Walking Cinema, The Murder on Beacon Hill.”

Back in 1849, a gentleman by the name of Dr. George Parkman went missing in Boston. After portions of his body were recovered, the ensuing investigation and trial took the area by storm. Now you can relive the investigation surrounding Parkman’s story through the wonders of modern technology. This tour is completed by your own accord, guided not by a guide, but by the app itself, which takes you throughout the city to find real clues and meet real people.

Without giving too much away, you can read more about the app and the Parkman murder here.

Paid (but low-cost) Activities and Tours

The Hahvahd Tour

The Ivy League University that boasts an acceptance rate of just over 5 percent annually has made it a little easier to learn more about the University without a perfect SAT score. The Hahvahd Tour is an adventure led by current students with an entertaining and theatrical twist to keep visitors interested while they learn. It’s almost like they know a thing or two about learning over there.

The tour itself is under $10 and is available to book online. For more information and to book a spot to learn about Harvard’s history, culture and alumni, click here.

Taza Chocolate Tour

You’ve never taken a tour in Boston that was so delicious. These hour-long tours are offered seven days a week and, of course, offer free samples along with your ticket. Though the production schedule changes day-to-day, the chocolate guides on the Taza Chocolate tour are on a mission to provide you with free chocolate samples and information on the machine and chocolate production process.

Taza also offers a tour geared specifically towards children 10 and under that focuses less on the educational aspects of chocolatiering and more on the chocolate itself.

For more information on Taza Chocolate’s tours click here.

Harpoon Brewery

All roads inevitably lead back to beer, and what better a place to conclude this post with than the Harpoon Brewery? The tours, which run seven days a week, include beer sampling. Though they can’t be bought in advance, the tickets cost just $5 each.

At the end of the tour, visitors are encouraged to visit the Beer Hall, where they’ll find a wide variety of beers on tap and freshly baked pretzels available for purchase. Can’t stick around? Grab a growler to go and enjoy freshly-brewed Harpoon beer in 64 ounces of pure glory.

For more information on touring the Harpoon Brewery, click here.

Though not everyone is as stricken with the urge to travel as I am, not everyone needs to be. Both lovers of adventure and lovers of Boston can enjoy the great breweries, walking tours and educational field trips that a vacation has to offer, without needing to buy a plane ticket.