Tea Ships at 2:30, Snowport Market by Dusk in One Boston Afternoon
A two-stop Seaport afternoon for a first visit: a costumed tea-tossing tour at 2:30, a 15-minute walk along the channel, then an evening browse through Boston's holiday market.
Tea Party Ships to Snowport
🫖 Board a replica ship first
Costumed interpreters walk you through the night of December 16, 1773, then hand you a tea chest to tip over the rail into Boston Harbor from a replica deck. The guided tour runs about an hour, and everyone checks in 15 to 5 minutes before their slot. Adult tickets are priced by date online, about 37 to 39 dollars on the calendar. A 2:30 pm slot is the easy fit when it is available, and it leaves the rest of the afternoon free.
🎄 Walk 15 minutes into the market
From the museum door, follow Congress Street and Thomson Place to Northern Avenue, then cross to Seaport Boulevard: 0.6 mile, about 15 minutes on foot. Snowport runs November 6 to December 27 with 120+ makers and free general admission. Hours are Mon to Thu 3 to 8 pm (11 am from Dec 7), Fri 11 to 9, Sat 10 to 9, Sun 10 to 8, closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. On weekends, a $15 Fast Pass ($20 day-of) is optional in the Seaport Insider app and only shortens the line. Three ramped entrances and ADA porta potties serve the market, with priority seating marked in the food tent.
🧭 Why the tour comes first
The museum goes first because the tour is timed: you pick a slot, check in 15 to 5 minutes before it, and the hour is fixed. The market runs into the evening, so it takes whatever daylight you have left. In the first week of November the sun is down around 4:30 pm, so a late-afternoon slot ends with the market lit. Inside, find the Mistletoe Arch, then take a short walk to Fireside at The Current, the nine-brand village built for warming up.
