Duck tour

Duck tours, or DUKW tours, are tours that take place on purpose-built amphibious tour buses or surplus DUKWs left over from World War II. Primarily offered as tourist attractions in harbor and river cities, such as Chattanooga, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Memphis, Boston, Miami, Seattle, Grapevine, Texas, Wisconsin Dells, Liverpool, London, and Singapore. One well-established tour operator in the United States is Ride the Ducks.

Duck tours, whether using actual DUKWs or modern amphibious tour buses, are generally light-hearted, with drivers frequently wearing outlandish hats or costumes, and onboard PA systems frequently outfitted with humorous sound effects.

The Boston Red Sox celebrated their 2007 and 2004 World Series victory with a parade of 17 DUKWs carrying members of the team over land and across the Charles River. The Seafair Pirates in Seattle use a DUKW modified to look like a Spanish Galleon as their primary means of amphibious transport.

Almost all have been repainted, and given modern diesel engines and enclosed tops, making them more resemble conventional buses. Most require a bus-type Public Service Vehicle license and a passenger-use boat license.

In 1999 an unrelated DUKW sank in Hot Springs, Arkansas, killing 13 of the 20 people onboard. The U.S. Coast Guard has since followed the lead of Ride the Ducks to improve overall regulations

Cities with 'Duck-tour' operators

• Austin, Texas
• Albany, New York (site ; Modern amphibious tour buses shown and described on their web site; probably no actual DUKWs)
• Baltimore (site)
• Boston (BostonDuckTours ; large fleet of vintage DUKWs, departing from 2 locations)
• also in Boston (SuperDuckExcursions ; modern HydraTerra amphibious vehicles)
• Branson, Missouri (site)
• Chattanooga, Tennessee (site)
• Dublin (site ; seven proper DUKWs)
• Gold Coast, Queensland (site)
• Grapevine, Texas (site ; two ducks painted purple and white)
• Halifax, Nova Scotia (site)
• Hawaii / Honolulu / Pearl Harbor (site)
• Hot Springs, Arkansas (site)
• Hyannis, Massachusetts (site)
• Ketchikan (site ; moderately large fleet of modern amphibious tour buses, no actual DUKWs)
• Liverpool (site)
• London (site) (5 DUKWs named after Shakespearian ladies)
• Memphis, Tennessee (site)
• Philadelphia (site ; moderate fleet of vintage DUKWs)
• Pittsburgh (site)
• Portland, Maine (site ; a single modern amphibious tour bus, no actual DUKWs)
• Portland, Oregon (site ; modern amphibious tour bus shown on web site)
• Providence (small fleet of modern amphibious tour buses, no actual DUKWs)
• Rotorua (site ; yellow DUKW)
• Seattle (site ; small fleet of vintage DUKWs)
• San Francisco (site ; two vintage DUKWs (one called "Peking Duck", as of March, 2007)
• Saugatuck, MI (site)
• Singapore (site)
• St Helier, Jersey.
• Stone Mountain Park, Georgia (site)
• Washington, D.C. (site)
• Wisconsin Dells (site)