jpie

We will be leaving from Logan airport on a flight to Dublin at 9PM on a Saturday night in early May. We want to spend 3 nights before that in the Boston area. Originally we were going to drop our car and have booked a Boston hotel,but now we are thinking it will be more convenient for us to stay outside Boson somewhere and keep our car until that last night and go explore Boston using mass transit into the city. We will have lots of luggage and with the late flight, we can spend that Saturday somewhere outside Boston exploring nearby areas and just take our car back to the rental facility at 7PM that night.

Where would it make sense to stay? We want to stay someplace where we can take public transport into the city easily to explore the city the previous 2 days and we want it to have pretty easy access to Logan for the last night when we fly out. Are there any charming waterfront suburbs that might fi the bill? We don't need a hotel that has charm like a b&b, but we do appreciate amenities such as wifi, free parking and king size beds

We will be arriving from Maine, so I assume that somewhere north of Logan makes the most sense.

Thanks in advance!

Ackislander

Portsmouth, NH, and Newburyport and Salem, MA, are all interesting in their own right and have commuter train service to Boston. Salem has a high speed ferry as well, but only in season ,so it may not yet be running.

jpie

Thanks Ackislander-I will check the ferry schedule, since I think Salem could be interesting

jpie

Too bad-the ferry starts May 22 for the season-too late for us. But a great idea! Ideally we would actually like to be pretty near Logan like 20-30 minutes, so Salem would be at about the limit.

china_cat

is your primary intent to see Boston? Or is it to explore the surrounding areas a bit? If you really intend to spend at least 2 of the 3 days IN Boston, then I would think it far more convenient to stay there, and then maybe daytrip out to Salem by rail.

nytraveler

I would definitely rethink this. If you really want to see Boston it doesn't make a lot of sense to stay a 30 or 40 minutes trip out - esp if you're going to be taking public transit after dinner.

I too would dump the car and stay in the city to cut way back on the the commute.

Also - check with your airline - but most transatlantic flights they ask you to check in 3 hours in advance - so 6 pm for a 9 pm flight - which means dropping the car off around 5 pm or so.

HappyTrvlr

Stay in Boston and take the water taxi over to Logan.

jpie

Thanks all for the input. Since we are probably more interested in the surrounding areas, and we need our car til the last day due to some logistical issues, we decided we will stay at the Hampton Inn near Logan. They have free parking and a free shuttle to taking you to the station that is only 2 stops into downtown Boston, so this should be a good compromise for us instead of staying further out.

At least that way we can keep the car and have better access to Boston than by staying too far out. Probably won't be as scenic as staying other places but I think it is the practical solution for us.

We will very likely just go into Boston for the day to explore a bit but not stay for dinner so that won't be so bad to back out towards Logan I hope.

One last question. Given that we are now staying close to Logan, would you drive up to Salem, or is it better to take public transport there as I am assuming parking may difficult? But maybe that is wrong-sorry for my ignorance-I sort of envision most of that area to have difficult driving/parking conditions. Also, any suggestions of places to explore around that northern side of the metro area would be welcome! Thanks again.

Tabernash2

We have done something similar,,stayingmatmthe Marriott Courtyard in Brookline. We like the walking in that neighborhood, with great restaurants. Coolidge Corner T is right there. Parking is not free,though, is is secure and covered. Nice hotel with good service.

Fra_Diavolo

There's still time to change your plans -- and it would be time well spent!

clarkgriswold

We like the Beverly Garden Suites. Since you're only planning to go into Boston one day to explore a bit, you can take the commuter rail. It's an easy drive to Salem and on a weekday in May you should have no problems driving or parking. Beverly is pleasant and an easy shoot to Logan, which should be no problem since it is a Saturday night.

The Hampton near Logan is fine for an overnight stay before a flight but is surrounded by heavy traffic and not much of anything special, I think you'd be much more comfortable somewhere else.

jpie

Thanks all-I will look at some of the other places.