MRo

My husband will be at Hanscom air force base and I will be visiting him for a few days in June. He will have a hotel near the base, but I'm wondering how to get around when I get there. If I rent a car, I hear parking is brutal. But Hanscom isn't that close. I will be on my own during the day and would like to explore Boston (my first visit there) and my husband will be available to do stuff at night and the weekend. Nothing is solid yet, but I was thinking mid-June from Thurs-Sun. What is the best way to get around? Also, he will be done on Saturday so we'll need a place on Saturday night and I was hoping to be downtown, but what do we do with his vehicle then?

socialworker

I wonder if the hotel offers a shuttle to a nearby bus or commuter rail stop. Call them to find out how visitors explore Boston via public transportation.

You could also drive to the Alewife garage, about a 15-20 minute drive from Hanscom, which is at the end of the Red Line---one of the subway lines--but that garage, mammoth as it is, fills up very early in the morning.

Krista

Let us know what hotel you'll be staying in and we can give you a better answer.... perhaps your hotel is on a bus line or as socialworker says, check with the hotel to find out if they run a shuttle.

There is a bus (76) that runs from Hanscom to the Alewife T stop so perhaps you can drive in with him and catch it from there. (Looks like it only runs on weekdays.) Once you're at Alewife you can get to Boston and get around with mass transit easily.

See www.mbta.com

Many hotels have parking or you can choose one in the suburbs close to mass transit. Not a problem.

gail

I am a little confused, but see if this makes sense. You are staying at hotel with him near Hanscom? He will have a car, but needs it during the day, and you will not have a car but want to get to Boston?

Can he drop you at an MBTA bus or subway stop prior to his going to Hanscom and reverse the process in the evening? That would be the simplest and which stop would depend on exactly where his hotel is. If it is in Lexington, then there are a number of downtown places at which you can have coffee or breakfast alone if he needs to head back to Hanscom.

He will be done on Saturday and you will both fly someplace on Sunday? In that case, I would return car to airport on Saturday AM, take MBTA or cab to downtown Boston hotel.

Some oif these assumptions may be wrong, so if you clarify, I can try to fit in with those.

djkbooks

If you will have use of the car during the day, Lexington and Concord are wonderful places to visit for historical sites and to wander and shop.

To get to Boston by yourself, agree with above to take the bus to Alewife "T" station and ride the "T" into Boston.

Here's the schedule with a list of all the stops in Lexington

http://www.128bc.org/wal-lex/sh_alewife-wal-lex.htm

For a hotel in Boston Saturday night, recommend trying Priceline or Hotwire. Note that Saturday night only rates tend to be higher, no matter how you book.

If it's a rental car, find out if you can turn it in nearby after you check into your hotel (Logan would not be too inconvenient). If you need to park the car overnight, check into your hotel and look for a garage in the Financial District where rates are very low by comparison.

MRo

I found out that he is staying at the Quality Inn in Lexington on Bedford. The hotel offers shuttles to businesses within 3 miles but I think the Alewife station is about 10 miles. I will not have a car during the day and I'd like to explore downtown area and Harvard area. What is the best way to get to Boston from there? What is the best tour to take if I want the ability to get off the tour and rejoin again later. Also how far is the outlet mall? Thanks.

socialworker

There is a bus that goes right from Lexington center to Harvard Square. You can spend time in Cambridge, if you wish, but you can also take the red line T---the same train you would have gotten from Alewife, just that you will be a lot closer to Boston when you get on at Harvard--- from Harvard Square into downtown Boston to Park St. station where you can walk the Freedom Trail and/or take one of the hop on/hop off trolleys. Check MBTA.com for more info.

The outlet malls are one of the "you can't get there from here" kinds of places w/o a car.....altho there may be "tour buses" for them that I do not know about.

Contact the hotel where you are staying for more relevant info, as they must have help to offer. Good luck!

Krista

The most direct route looks like Bus 62 (that runs by the hotel) to the Alewife subway station (red line). The red line runs thru Harvard Square and further into Boston.

It's going to take you a while to get there, but it's pretty easy to do .... the map and schedule can be seen at www.mbta.com
Note that the weekday schedule is different from the weekend.

gail

graylines.com (the same people that do tours in every city I have ever been to) has a number of day trip options from Boston that might interest you - although I see no outlet mall option.

I agree that this bus to Alewife seems best option for Boston touring.

While not an outlet mall, you could shop at Burlington Mall (next town to Lexington). From MBTA website it appears that there is no bus from Lexington (even though geographically close), but there is a bus from the same Alewife Station. The distance is so short, however, that it might be worth it to take a cab, at least on the way home with your purchases.

Anonymous

Boston Common Coach and Gray Line offer day trips to the Wrentham outlets from downtown Boston.

http://www.bostoncommoncoach.com/index.php

http://www.brushhilltours.com/tours/wrentham.html

However, by the time you pay for the tour and for transit into Boston and home again, it might be more effective to just rent a car for the day. It would certainly save time.