Barbara5353

We love New England's countryside and smaller towns. We can get a non-stop flight from our west coast home to Boston. We are older, and not interested in driving in or visiting a big city like Boston. Is it possible to fly into the airport, rent a car, and head directly out of town without encountering big freeways and heavy traffic?
We do this sometimes when we fly into Chicago, where the airport is on the outskirts of town. Any chance we can have the same type of experience out of Logan?

gomiki

Unfortunately no, it it not possible. You have to go through a tunnel and then you are on a four lane very confusing highway. What about flying into Providence, RI or Manchester, NH?

capxxx

You should be ok if you head north from the airport, and avoid (outbound) rush hours, say 4:50--6:30 pm weekdays. Some interstate/highway is necessary: it would be very light compared to other roads in the Boston area, but not like the empty highways of the midwest.

Another idea would be to fly into Manchester NH, or take the Logan Express shuttle bus north to Woburn or Peabody, and pick up your car there. (But I'm not familiar with the roads in that area).

Or you could get to rural highways pretty quickly out of Albany NY.

travelbuff

Well the short answer is sort of, if you head out of the airport toward East Boston/Winthrop and Rt 1, you will be heading north and won't hit as much traffic as you would if you go into Boston.

I'd suggest getting some maps of the area to see what towns you might want to see, like the lovely towns right on the water, Marblehead comes to mind.

You will run into traffic anywhere in the Greater Boston Area, but heading immediately north you will be out of the greater part within 30 minutes.

Hope that helps.

amyb

I think you can at the right time of day. Come out of the airport and take Route 1A. The worst part of the ride is coming out of the airport, which is sort of confusing. Take 1A through the north shore and get to 127 in Beverly. Many of the towns like Marblehead, Salem, Manchester, Essex, Gloucester, Rockport and Ipswich are within an hour's drive from the airport. If you do this drive on weekends or mid-day weekdays (or well after rush hours) I think you'll be fine. Some of Route 1A is two lanes in each direction, but not what I'd consider freeway or heavy traffic outside of rush hour.

amyb

Editing to add, I ride my bike on Route 127 in Beverly all the way to Gloucester, take Route 133 back to Essex and to Ipswich. It is really a pretty, quiet ride, and obviously safe enough for me to want to cycle on! Quite a few good restaurants on the way as well!

Barbara5353

What great responses so far; thanks! The big attraction flying into Boston is the non-stop flight from PDX on Alaska Airlines using FF miles. Changing planes is such a hassle these days, and so many of the connecting flights to smaller airports are on the dreaded commuter airlines. We have flown into places like Manchaster NH and Hartford CT in the past, but that was when there were more and better connections.
I will look into shuttle options from the airport, too...hadn't thought of that possibility. And maybe we should take a day or two to see Boston (without car!) and take off from there by train or bus.

travelbuff

If you decide to stay in Boston for a few days, there is so much to see and do, including the Freedom Trail which will walk you through much of downtown Boston, and out all the way to Chelsea to see the Bunker Hill Monument and Olde Ironside.

I'd suggest staying downtown Boston, and I can recommend The Harborside Inn which is right across the street from Quincy Market/Fanuiel Hall with TONS of restaurants. The hotel is on the T from the airport (the Aquarium stop) is right IN FRONT of the hotel.

If you want a bit more upscale the Marriott Custom House is across the street as well. From there it's an easy cab ride to South Station for trains.

yellowbyrd

And don't forget that you can go south from the airport as well! If you head to Cape Cod, about 1 hour, you will have a fairly easy drive. The road is well marked and really not confusing. Once you cross over the Cape Cod canal you will find lovely scenic towns, an old-fashioned road, 6A (only one lane in each direction!) and plenty of relaxation. We usually land in Eastham, at the beginning of the National Seashore, because there are fabulous beaches, small, rural town atmosphere and no highways. The entire outer cape from Eastham to Provincetown is much less commercial and represents, IMO, a more historic era, before super-highways and brand-named stores.

The advantage of going to Cape Cod over heading north is that the small villages on Cape Cod are closer together with water all around.

djkbooks

Boston is a wonderful city to visit. You do not need a car. It's very walkable and smaller than most "big cities".

Driving out Logan is not really as daunting as you would presume or as others suggest, especially if you have GPS.

Restricting your travel to train or bus will severely limit your options.