Amtrak from Boston's Logan Airport to Portland, Maine
 

Two couples, no children, are headed for Maine in early July. We booked cheap flights to Boston, and we're planning on taking the train to Portland where we will rent a car. What and where are the train connections from the airport?

You have to get to North Station for the train.

You can take a taxi or public transportation.

Public transportation would be the shuttle from your arrival terminal to the MBTA station, a Blue Line train inbound to Government Center, then upstairs to change to an outbound Green Line train behind the newsstand. The Green Line stops at North Station.

Here is an old Fodors thread: http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...tl-airport.cfm
Taxi fare is $20.

Take a cab - it's not that far and with four of you the fare probably won't be much different to taking public transportation.

Thanks, folks. One more question. Do we need to purchase our tickets ahead of time or can we get them on the fly? We're traveling on a Monday. Flight arrives about noon, train leaves from North station for Portland at 5:00 p.m.

All you need to know about Boston North station: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten...=1237405732508
They do have a Quiktrak kiosk. You can pay for your tickets on the Amtrak website and print out your receipt. Bring the receipt to the station and pass it under the scan of the Quiktrack to get your tickets printed out. You can also go to the ticket counter to get the tickets printed out on the spot.

Don't know about this Amtrak route - but for NYC to Boston buying tickets in advance gets you much chepaer prices. I would look into that.

You can save $20 if you wait and take the #687 at 5:40. that way you could spend an extra 40 minutes in the city before getting to the train station. If any of you are AAA members or over 62 you can also get a discount of 10 or 15%.

If you purchase in advance, you may be eligible for discounts. Not sure how old you are, but the Downeaster is currently offering a half-price deal for seniors over 62. http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten...=1241267345550

Having said that, since your trip isn't until July, I would wait until about 3weeks/mid-June before your trip to buy your tickets, unless you're traveling around July 4th holidays.

That route is reservations-only, which means you have to get tickets before boarding. You could buy them when you get to the station, of course, but if the train is full you're out of luck.

If you buy tickets in advance and then miss the train due to late flight, Amtrak will not charge a fee to change tickets to the later train (but there is the chance that the next train is full).

If it was me, I'd go ahead and purchase tickets early and pick them up in the station (kiosk) -- what are the odds that the plane is very late and the train is on time?

Why not just rent the car at Logan and drive up to Maine?

Agree with tracys2cents - if your plane lands around noon and the train not until 5pm you'll have a lot of waiting around time, presumably with luggage. It's about 100 miles from Boston to Portland basically all on highways so you could easily be wherever it is you're going to before that 5pm train from Boston even leaves the station. And, by the time you pay for four amtrak tickets you'll probably cover the cost of any extra car rental and gas.

If it's that your group wants the experience of taking the train to Portland, it's a nice one. You'll travel through a few small towns and it'll take about 3 hours. As mentioned above, you'll need to take a cab to North Station. But if you rent a car at Logan, it'll only take about an hour and a half. Whenever I fly in & out of Logan, I take the bus from Logan to Portland. It's right outside the baggage area & the express bus takes just 2 hours. I live in the Portland area & will be happy to answer any other questions you have.

Hi Marthav, I am travelling to Portland in June and I was wondering if you could give me some information on the bus travel from Boston airport. Our flight lands at aprox 5.30pm on a saturday and then we are getting the bus to Portland. I have been lookinh on concord coachs, however do you have any information on booking through this company and also where the coach picks you up? I have never been to Boston airport before so trying to work everything out before i get there. Im just not sure about booking my ticket for a certain time in case there is a delay and im not sure how long it takes to get through the airport security etc. Any help would be much appreciated.

Also we are looking at then going back to boston for the night some time in our stay, would the train be the best option for this?

Thank you.

Willow...you do not need a reservation for a certain bus time on Concord Coach. When you buy a ticket it is good for a month or more and you ride the bus that ends up being most convenient based on the time your flight arrives. Print the bus schedule and bring it with you since you never can be sure what time your flight will land. Also, most tickets unless you got a special fare, are refundable so no worries.

There is no security to clear but you do need to show I.D. If you are talking about security on your departure day from Logan, then choose a bus that gets you to Logan two hours before your flight.

In Portland you arrive at the Portland Transportation Center and will have to take a cab to wherever you're going. I don't consider Portland a "walking city" unless you are staying right downtown/ Old Port Section. And transportation out to the beach or to Two Lights or Freeport etc is not readily available, you will want a car if you are going to see anything of Maine.

Amtrak and Concord bus are both options to get you back to Boston. If you choose the bus, make sure to get on a bus that goes into Boston station first, some just go directly to the airport.

Most of the info is on ConcordCoachLines.com or you can phone them at 800 639 3317

willow - did you check the website? http://www.concordcoachlines.com/logan-airport.html

You can purchase tickets online in advance. The coach will stop at all terminals at the curbside. Just look for the signs for "coaches" when you're at the curbside.

You should have no problem catching the 6:35pm coach departing from Logan, assuming your flight isn't delayed.

Thank you both for the reply, yea I have been on that website and went to book tickets but it was asking what time I wanted to reserve them for which I wasn't sure about but I will have another look now to see if I can book them non time specific.

Does anyone have any recommendations of hotels/places to stay in Boston for a night, just somewhere to be able to have a look around Boston for a few days and have somewhere to stay.

Thank you.

Areas to stay in Boston -
Faneuil Hall area or near Park Street Station area
Back Bay, Copley