Toronto Private City Highlights Tour — Landmarks & Views

Neighbourhood: Citywide · Address: Hotel pickup available · Hours: Flexible departure — morning recommended · Price Range: $$$$ · Editorial status: Not yet verified

Why Visit

If you want to actually understand Toronto beyond postcard shots, this private tour covers a full city circuit with a guide who tailors stops to your interests—history, food, architecture, or all three. It's a lot more direct (and interactive) than a hop-on bus or self-guided route.

What Makes It Unique

Unlike public group tours, your guide customizes the route on the fly to avoid crowds or highlight neighbourhoods you actually care about. You can linger at the CN Tower or take detours for niche interests—Torontonian murals, indie coffee, or lakeside photo ops—without waiting on strangers. It’s essentially a Toronto explorer-for-hire.

If you want something in Toronto that feels genuinely different, this is it. Riding a Radinn electric jet-surfboard out on the harbour is one of those activities that sounds a bit futuristic on paper and then, once you’re actually standing on the board with the skyline in front of you, feels even better than you expected. For about an hour, you’re out on one of the most advanced personal watercraft around, skimming across the water with the CN Tower rising behind the city and planes occasionally tracing across the island airport approach. It’s a pretty wild setting for something this high-tech. The best part is that you do not need to know how to surf. That puts a lot of people at ease right away. The boards are stable, the team walks you through everything before you head out, and the learning curve is friendlier than it looks. You’ll start with the basics: stance, throttle control, balance, and how to get comfortable with the board’s acceleration. At first, most people wobble a bit and laugh their way through it, but once you figure out how the power responds, it clicks surprisingly fast. Then it stops feeling like a lesson and starts feeling like you’ve somehow rented a toy from ten years in the future. What makes it so fun is the mix of speed and control. You can take it easy and cruise, or lean in a little more and really carve across the harbour. Because it’s electric, the ride feels smoother and quieter than you might expect. You still get that rush of flying over the water, but without the loud engine noise that usually comes with motorized water sports. That quieter ride actually makes the setting stand out more. You notice the lake air, the shifting light on the condos, the ferries moving in the distance, and the city skyline looking especially sharp from water level. At CA$199, it’s not cheap, but for what it is, I’d say it earns the price. There really isn’t another water activity in Toronto that feels this cutting-edge. If you’re into adrenaline, gadgets, or anything that gives you a new angle on the city, this is money well spent. It also works well if you’ve already done the usual harbour cruise and want something with a lot more energy. A couple of practical things: go on a calm summer day if you can, because flatter water makes the first ride way easier and more enjoyable. Weekday slots are usually simpler to book than weekends, especially in peak summer. Wear a swimsuit or clothes you don’t mind getting wet, and don’t schedule anything immediately after unless you’re fine showing up salty-haired and grinning. Since it’s weather-dependent, keep an eye on the forecast and double-check the schedule before you head down to the Harbourfront. If you’re the kind of person who likes saying yes to the thing you can’t do in most cities, this one’s worth it. Toronto looks very good from the water, and even better when you’re gliding across it under your own power.