BOSTON · SELF-GUIDED TOURS

Top 15 Self-Guided Tours in Boston

24 tours  ·  from $5

This is the shortlist you would send a friend: 15 self-guided tours worth the money, each with its price, its traveller verdict and the one thing to know before you commit.

Self Guided Classic Freedom Trail Location Aware (GPS) Walking Audio Tour - Downtown Boston: graves, bells, and revolutionary arguments
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Self Guided Classic Freedom Trail Location Aware (GPS) Walking Audio Tour

1.Self Guided Classic Freedom Trail Location Aware (GPS) Walking Audio Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 258 reviews · 2 to 3 hours (approx.) · from $7Our pick

Use the WalknTours app to follow Boston’s Freedom Trail from Boston Common through the North End and Charlestown. Hear stories about Paul Revere, Sam Adams, the Boston Massacre, Bunker Hill, and the USS Constitution. Pause for food, breaks, and extra sightseeing along the way.

“Wonderful experience! Takes you through the entire trail. Very engaging audio with precise and easy to follow navigational directions.”

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Self-Guided Smartphone Ghost Walking Tour in Salem - From Bewitched to underground tunnel stories
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Self-Guided Smartphone Ghost Walking Tour in Salem

2.Self-Guided Smartphone Ghost Walking Tour in Salem

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 225 reviews · 40 to 50 minutes (approx.) · from $7

Use the WalknTours app for a 40 to 50 minute self-guided walk from Ropes Mansion to the Salem Witch Trials Memorial. GPS directions, narration, music, and pause controls cover haunted buildings, the Bewitched statue, Harry Houdini, cemeteries, and Salem’s witch-trial past. One purchase works on up to four phones.

“The WalknTours app was easy to use, easy instructions to get the tour downloaded. The tour itself was accurate and well done. Price was right. Would definitely do another one.”

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Boston Freedom Trail Self-Guided Tour with Audio Narration & Map - The State House and Park Street Church
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Boston Freedom Trail Self-Guided Tour with Audio Narration & Map

3.Boston Freedom Trail Self-Guided Tour with Audio Narration & Map

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 98 reviews · 3 to 4 hours (approx.) · from $9

Use the Action Tour Guide app to follow Boston’s red-brick Freedom Trail from Boston Common to Bunker Hill. GPS-triggered audio covers 16 historic sites, including Paul Revere’s House, Faneuil Hall, the USS Constitution, and more. Download it on strong Wi-Fi before you arrive.

“A Boston must see! We will be back for a repeat when we have more time. The brick path is super easy to follow with the self guided tour.”

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Ultimate Historic Salem and Witch Trials Self-Guided Walking Tour - The Joshua Ward House and Sheriff George Corwin
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Ultimate Historic Salem and Witch Trials Self-Guided Walking Tour

4.Ultimate Historic Salem and Witch Trials Self-Guided Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 67 reviews · 1 to 2 hours (approx.) · from $16

Walk more than 1.5 miles through Salem with an English audio guide that starts stories automatically as you reach each location. Hear about Sheriff George Corwin, the witch trial victims, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Salem’s early leaders. Download the app and tour before arriving, since it works offline once set up.

“Amazing history of Salem and all the Halloween costumes. So much to see and take in. Beautiful century old homes. I'm a big fan of Bewitched as I grew up in the 60's and 70's. Elizabeth Montgomery's statue was my favorite.”

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Self-Guided Boston's Beacon Hill Underground Railroad Audio Tour Walking Tour - John J. Smith and the working network
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Self-Guided Boston’s Beacon Hill Underground Railroad Audio Tour Walking Tour

5.Self-Guided Boston’s Beacon Hill Underground Railroad Audio Tour Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 29 reviews · 45 to 55 minutes (approx.) · from $9

Walk Beacon Hill from the Charles Street Meeting House to the African American Meeting House while the WalknTours app tells stories of John J. Smith, Lewis Hayden, Harriet Tubman, and others. You control the pace, pause when needed, and use GPS directions to find historic homes, schools, and meeting places.

“This self guided tour was so well laid out with the pictures and directions. I was thoroughly impressed. I hope to do many more self guided tours because it brings about a great sense of independence and self pacing.”

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Self Guided "Historic Boston Downtown Freedom Trail" Audio/GPS Walking Tour - Boston Common and the 54th Regiment Memorial
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Self Guided “Historic Boston Downtown Freedom Trail” Audio/GPS Walking Tour

6.Self Guided “Historic Boston Downtown Freedom Trail” Audio/GPS Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 22 reviews · 50 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes (approx.) · from $5Best value

Use the WalknTours app to follow a self-guided route from Boston Common to Haymarket. Hear stories about the 54th Regiment, Granary Burying Ground, the Boston Massacre, Faneuil Hall, JFK, and the Revolution, then revisit the experience with 360-degree photo guides.

“Excellent walking tour. Super easy. Pause and continue at your own pace. Nice alternative to a guided tour. Provides the perfect amount of historical information.”

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Boston's Old North Church Admission with Self-Guided Audio Tour - Following the lantern story at your own pace
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Boston’s Old North Church Admission with Self-Guided Audio Tour

7.Boston’s Old North Church Admission with Self-Guided Audio Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 19 reviews · 20 minutes to 1 hour (approx.) · from $8

Visit Old North Church at 193 Salem Street and follow a self-guided audio tour about Paul Revere’s lantern signal and the church’s early congregants. You can move at your own pace, speak with on-site educators, view an exhibit, and pick up a free scavenger hunt for children.

“I found the tour very boring. Didn’t use the audio part after 10 minutes. Lots of restoration going on in the church”

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Boston’s Freedom Trail: A Self-Guided Audio Tour - Beginning at the Massachusetts State House
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Boston’s Freedom Trail: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

8.Boston’s Freedom Trail: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 18 reviews · 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.) · from $11

Follow Boston’s Freedom Trail from the Massachusetts State House to the Paul Revere House with a veteran guide’s recorded narration. The VoiceMap app supplies offline audio, maps, and turn-by-turn directions, plus a virtual tour you can revisit at home. Allow about 75 to 90 minutes.

“The two hours I spent trying to get the trip to start (it never did). The only easym paRT Was paying. That worked well,”

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Boston Harborwalk & Tea Party Self-Guided Walking Audio Tour - Starting Under South Station’s Eagle and Clock
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Boston Harborwalk & Tea Party Self-Guided Walking Audio Tour

9.Boston Harborwalk & Tea Party Self-Guided Walking Audio Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 17 reviews · 2 to 3 hours (approx.) · from $9Top rated

Follow a GPS-guided route from South Station along Boston’s waterfront to Long Wharf. Your narrator explains the Tea Party, colonial trade, modern architecture, and harbor cleanup through more than 18 audio stories. Download the Action Tour Guide app, bring earbuds, and start whenever you like.

“If you are looking for a holistic view and are short on time then, this is the best tour. Very informative walking tour.”

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Boston's Freedom Trail: A Self-Guided Tour of All 16 Sites - Granary Burying Ground and Boston’s famous names
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Boston’s Freedom Trail: A Self-Guided Tour of All 16 Sites

10.Boston’s Freedom Trail: A Self-Guided Tour of All 16 Sites

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 14 reviews · 2 hours to 2 hours 40 minutes (approx.) · from $14

Follow Boston’s Freedom Trail from Tremont Street to Copp’s Hill Terrace with VoiceMap’s English audio tour. Hear James narrate the city’s revolutionary past, from Faneuil Hall and the Boston Massacre site to Paul Revere’s story. The app works offline and lets you pause for cannoli, coffee, museums, or a pint.

“Historical wittiness! The narrator had vast knowledge of sites along the Freedom Trail and used humor and intellect to impart facts about the importance about each site.”

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Boston: City History and Highlights Audio App Walking Tour - Starting at Copp’s Hill and Cotton Mather’s grave
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Boston: City History and Highlights Audio App Walking Tour

11.City History and Highlights Audio App Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.7 · 12 reviews · 2 hours · from $7

Follow an English-language VoiceMap tour from Copp’s Hill Burying Ground to George Washington’s statue in the Public Garden. Hear stories of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, the Big Dig, Irish immigration, and the Molasses Flood, with GPS directions and no live guide.

“It was very well done and easy to use. The tour took my family much longer than the estimated time but we enjoyed it.”

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Salem: Self-Guided Scary Ghosts & Witch Trials Audio Tour - What the witch trial stories add
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Salem: Self-Guided Scary Ghosts & Witch Trials Audio Tour

12.Self-Guided Scary Ghosts & Witch Trials Audio Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.2 · 11 reviews · 7 days · from $10

Start at Gallows Hill Park and follow Salem’s witch trial stories, haunted places, shadow people, and ghostly legends through smartphone audio. The tour costs $10, works in six languages, and stays valid for seven days, but you must activate it through GhostTour.fun.

“nothing was marked so it was difficult to follow. walking through neighborhoods was a little sketchy. We drove to majority of the spots because of the heat.”

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North End Boston Mafia Exploration Game and Tour - North Street Park and North Square
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North End Boston Mafia Exploration Game and Tour

13.North End Boston Mafia Exploration Game and Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 9 reviews · 2 hours 10 minutes to 2 hours 40 minutes (approx.) · from $7

Follow a mafia-themed mystery through Boston’s North End using the Questo app. You’ll solve clues at 11 stops, from the Rose Kennedy Rose Garden to Hanover Street, at your own pace without a guide. Expect about 2 hours 10 minutes to 2 hours 40 minutes, plus app setup.

“If it is cold and dark and you do not know the area it is difficult because we did not know the area”

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Self-Guided Smartphone Ghost Walking Tour Boston App EMF Reader - Boston Common supplies the main dose of atmosphere
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Self-Guided Smartphone Ghost Walking Tour Boston App EMF Reader

14.Self-Guided Smartphone Ghost Walking Tour Boston App EMF Reader

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 6 reviews · 30 to 45 minutes (approx.) · from $9

Use your smartphone and the WalknTours app to follow a 30 to 45-minute ghost walk from the Boston Athenaeum through Boston Common, past the Great Elm and an old burial ground, and down to the Cutler Majestic Theatre. The tour is in English, works on up to four phones, and includes an EMF reader.

“Bring a portable speaker would be my recommendation but otherwise a nice time with family. Can be done in daytime and I think would be just as enjoyable but probably louder with the city daytime activity.”

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Self Guided Audio Tour 'Hawthorne's Haunts' Haunted Walking Tour Salem - Starting at Nathaniel Hawthorne’s birthplace
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Self Guided Audio Tour ‘Hawthorne’s Haunts’ Haunted Walking Tour Salem

15.Self Guided Audio Tour ‘Hawthorne’s Haunts’ Haunted Walking Tour Salem

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews · 45 to 55 minutes (approx.) · from $5

Follow Steven’s theatrical audio stories from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s birthplace to the House of the Seven Gables. Along the way, pause for the Salem Witch Museum, hear tales of haunted hotels, secret tunnels, and Hawthorne’s family ties to the witch trials, all at your own pace.

“Being able to learn but on my own time without a tour crowd. Could pause and absorb before moving on.”

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New in Self-Guided Tours

★ 4.0Harvard’s Secret Society: Exploration Game and TourFrom $63 reviews
★ 4.5Self-Guided Audio Tour of Boston North EndFrom $53 reviews
★ 5.0Self Guided “The North End Pizza, Cannoli and Picnic” Solo Walking TourFrom $53 reviews

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Boston Freedom Trail Tours54Boston Harbor Cruises39Boston North End Food Tours26Salem Witch Trials Tours39Boston Museum and Attraction Tickets42Walking Tours128
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