5 Best Chicago Segway Tours

The Windy City, as Chicago is also known, hides many stories, streets and places that are 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 on holiday for just a few days, so one of the things you should do in Chicago is take a Segway tour.

If you've never ridden a Segway and think it's difficult to handle, let me give you some 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 gliding like an expert along Michigan Avenue, near the shore of Lake Chicago, and many other places.

Are you looking for a different experience in Chicago? If so, I invite you to take this 2.5-hour Segway tour to explore the Chicago lakefront. You will enjoy the entire experience with a small group and a certified local guide. They will tell you interesting facts and historical details about all the sites you will see in the Windy City.

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

As you progress through the tour, you will see Grant Park, the Field Museum, Buckingham Fountain, the Shedd Aquarium, Soldier Field, and the Adler Planetarium. Keep in mind that you will only pass by these sites. The idea of this tour is to avoid long walks and make the tour shorter and more fun.

Details of interest

• Price: approximately £65.
• Duration: approximately 2 hours 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 stuck on a tour bus without fresh air.
• Disadvantages of this option: the tour only passes by the sites mentioned and does not include admission to any attractions.

Are you a lover of sunsets? If so, then I invite you to enjoy a Segway tour to admire the sunset in the Windy City. This experience lasts an average of 1 hour and 30 minutes and costs approximately £50. You will be accompanied at all times by your guide and a small group of people like you.

You will usually meet your group at around 4 or 5 pm. After your guide has given you your helmet and explained how to use the vehicle, you will begin the tour. You will start by gliding along the shore of Lake Chicago in Millennium Park.

This tour will allow you to see attractions and places of interest such as the Shedd Aquarium and Buckingham Fountain from outside. You will 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 photographs.

Details of interest

• Price: approximately £50.
• Duration: approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.
• Advantages of this option: as it is a sunset tour, you will 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 because it takes place at sunset, so it may feel a little incomplete.

If you're travelling to Chicago in the summer, I recommend taking this tour. During the night, you can ride along the lakefront and finish off by watching the fireworks display. In addition to the 4th of July, every Saturday throughout the summer at 9 p.m., you can watch the fireworks display at Navy Pier.

Before seeing the light show, your guide will take you and your group to glide along the lakefront. This will give you a night-time view of the city. You will usually be accompanied by a minimum of nine people, which ensures that the guide can answer your questions and give you a personalised tour.

The tour will take place after you have received a short training session. When the tour begins, you will glide to Grant Park. Enjoy the peaceful night-time atmosphere as you pass by Buckingham Fountain. There you can stop to take some photographs.

You will also tour the shores of Lake Chicago and the museum campus. If you wish, the next day you can take a cruise on the lake and continue enjoying the wonders of this city. Finally, you will approach the Navy to see its light show.

Details of interest

• Price: approximately £70.
• Duration: around 2 hours.
• Advantages of this option: in addition to seeing part of the city, you can watch a light show at the end, something that other tours do not offer.
• Disadvantages of this option: you can only enjoy it during the summer. But don't worry, there are plenty of things to do in Chicago in winter if that's when you're planning to travel.

Want a slightly different experience? If you like scary stories, suspense and ghosts, this is the tour for you, so be sure to add it to 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 some spine-chilling stories. The average cost of this tour is £75.

The tour will begin, as always, with instructions from your guide on how to ride the Segway. When the whole group is ready, you'll set off into the night to explore Chicago's history. You will pass State Street and Dearborn Street, where the Iroquois Theatre used to stand, which was destroyed by fire in 1903, claiming around 600 lives.

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 story 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 due to this network. Your guide will tell you the details of these chilling stories that seem straight out of a film.

Details of interest

• Price: approximately £66.
• Duration: around 2 hours.
• Advantages of this option: with this tour, you have the opportunity to learn things you would never have found out on a normal tour.
• Disadvantages of this option: as it is a night-time tour, you may find yourself feeling a little scared as you listen to stories of real events that took place in Chicago.

Traveller Tip

These types of tours are much better when taken during the month of October. Although you can do it at any time of year, on the eve of Halloween the atmosphere is more terrifying, making every story your guide tells you feel more real.

If you are planning to travel 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 to all the places with the best Christmas decorations in the city. Riding a Segway for around 2 hours and for approximately £60, you'll soak up the Christmas spirit in Chicago.

You'll start the tour in Millennium Park, where you'll see lots of visitors ice skating under the reflection of the Bean, Chicago's Christmas tree. You can also circle Buckingham Fountain and pass by The Art Institute of Chicago to take photos next to the iconic lions at the entrance, decorated for Christmas. Afterwards, you can glide down Michigan Avenue and look at all the shop windows and stores decorated with Christmas lights.

In Daley Plaza, located in the Daley Center, the German market Christkindlmarket is organised every year. There, you can stop with your group, hop 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 you must 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 £65.
• Duration: around 2 hours.
• Advantages of this option: in addition to seeing the city's decorations, you can learn about German culture at the last stop of the tour.
• Disadvantages of this option: this tour is only available during December.

Booking a Segway tour of Chicago is easy. You can usually find them by doing a quick Google search. If you want to save time, check out this list of tours in Chicago and choose the one you like best.

All you have to do is click on the purchase or book button, then confirm the date and time you want. You will quickly receive confirmation from the website. Keep in mind that some tours only run during specific months of the year.

Duration of a Segway tour in Chicago

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

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

A Segway tour is one of the things you can do with children in Chicago. However, please note that children must be over 12 years old and weigh at least 45 kilos. This is the only way to ensure their safety on a Segway. Furthermore, pregnant women are not allowed on this tour. This is a precautionary measure to protect the health of women.

If you are travelling with older adults who cannot walk for long periods of time but can stand, this may be a good idea. On a Segway, you can enjoy the outdoors and see all the tourist attractions. 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 conditions before leaving. If there is a bad forecast, such as heavy rain or snow, the tour is likely to be cancelled. However, if it is only going to be cold, I recommend bringing 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 and wear comfortable clothing. No matter what time of year you take this tour, don't forget to wear comfortable shoes. These will help you stay steady on your Segway and drive 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 along the most popular routes. They can even point out places you didn't know existed and give you some pleasant surprises.

If you go on your own, you probably won't see many interesting places. Plus, you'll waste time checking directions on Google Maps. If you take a Segway tour, you won't have to worry about that.

The biggest attraction of Segway tours is that they save you from long walks. If you take a walking tour, you'll need to invest more time as you'll need to stop to rest. If you don't have time for that, a Segway tour is the best option. With the time you save, you can visit museums and other attractions in the city.

Most classic tours in Chicago are done on tourist buses. Although these are a good option for getting to know the city, they keep you a bit far from the attractions and sites, giving you few opportunities 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 takes less time and space than a bus. Plus, you can enjoy the fresh air of the city without having to walk and sweat.

If you like exclusive experiences, then a Segway tour is the way to go. Most tours are done in small groups of at least 8 and at most 10 people. This makes the guide's job easier and is much better for you because you can ask any questions you want.