Nola

We arrive from London on B/Airways Fri 6th Sept.to pick up car and drive around the New England area for 7days.My concern after reading B/Board is the driving from Logan into Boston before heading off up North.Do you think we should ask our T/A to change this plan and try and pick car up outside Boston somewhere that is quieter for first time driving on other side of road to usual leftside?Please help,my husband is now having second thoughts of driving at all!
Nola

Cindy

My feeling is that Boston is a pretty difficult city to drive in, especially if it's unfamiliar territory. I've done it, but it made me a bit nervous. If there's an alternative - picking up the car on the way out of town - my advice would be to take it. The public transit in Boston is very good and much of the city is walkable anyway.
When I rented a car in Britain for the first time, and had to learn to drive on the other side of the road, it was much easier on the highway than on city streets. You'll get used to it a lot sooner than you think, but I'm not sure that I'd want to get a quick education in Boston if there's an easier way.

Isabel

Hi Nola,

I moved to Boston 1 year ago and I think that learnign to drive in a new city is always challenging. Specially when you drive "on the other side". But it is much easier to drive here than in other cities like Paris, Amsterdam, or Sao Pauo. And you'll notice that people in Boston drive really slow and always give the right of passage to others. This will make your driving much easier. Get a map at the airport - you can get one along with a good explanation on how to get wherever you need at the car rental company. Note that driving in Boston is much easier than parking in Boston which is a difficult and expensive thing to do. But you are coming in vacation to see new things so you will be never lost! Get the car and enjoy the ride !! (e-mail me for more info if you need) Good luck! Isabel

Dan

My guess is he'll be ok. Just take it slow. I rented a car in Ireland last year, and I have to admit I was a little freaked out. However, it wasn't because I was on a different side of the road, it was because the roads were so thin.
I ended up losing both my hubcaps on the left because I kept scraping the curb.
He'll find it difficult to judge how much room is on the right but he'll get the hang of it . The only time I came close to hitting another car was when I left the rental car parking lot. As for being in a different lane, the only time I ended up on the wrong side of the road was when I decided to make a sudden turn. Just take it slow and remember left shoulder toward the center line.

sharona

Hi Nola. If you are planning to pick up the car at the airport and head directly north or south on I-93 (the "Expressway"), then you should be okay. The access road from the airport will feed you onto this highway and then you can fairly easily make your way to your destination. However, if you plan to spend any time in Boston, I would suggest not picking up the car until you are ready to leave the city. Navigating and parking are exercises in frustration, not to mention the expense of parking, and as you probably know Boston is a very walkable city with good public transportation (the "T"). And actually I think that multi-lane highways are easier to drive on the "other" side of the road than narrow 2 lane roads since you are already used to cars on either side of you and it's relatively easy to ignore traffic coming at you from the "wrong" direction when there are a lot of lanes.

Another factor to consider is what time you are arriving at Logan. Friday airport traffic is usually pretty heavy late afternoons and early evenings. I would not advise anyone unfamiliar with the area to attempt driving from the airport into downtown Boston with the never-ending road construction, detours, and general upheaval that the Big Dig has caused.

Nola

Hi to all who posted!Thank you so much for the info,seems the general opinion is to walk,then hire car on the way out of Boston.Had a laugh about the hubcaps on one post,glad you all have same sense of humour as us Down Under.

gail

Good advice from other posters. Another word of caution - we Boston drivers can be quite rude. So, while going slow is wise, you are liable to get rude gestures, etc. from other drivers. Just ignore it. There are many terrified posters here about driving in Boston - it is a congested, frustrating city with poorly marked roads and intersections and maps that do not always match reality. Just consider it part of your adventure in the US and you will be fine. P.S. There are enough bad drivers in Boston who drive on the "other side of the road" (actually, your "right side of the road") just because they are rotten drivers, so you may feel right at home!

r

I agree fuly wiht Sharona...if you are heading out of the city and up north, you just get on the highway from the airport exit and never deal with the difficult stuff...there is some currrent construciton int he airport itself, but it is just a big loop, so if you miss the exit, just go around again.
Once you are on the highway, it will be simple...and highways are easier to drive on the "wrong" side becauses everyone is going the same way ...you don't have traffic comming at you on an unfamilar side...most of the exits from the highway will be on the right.

I would avoid a Friday PM arrival, but otherwise heading north out of Logan is pretty easy.

Dick

I've driven in and out of Logan hundreds of times and don't understand how previous posters are minimizing the potential problems getting onto the major interstates heading north (or south, for that matter).

First, the airport access road doesn't lead directly to I-93 - it dumps you onto Rte. 1A. The shortest route to I-93 leads south into Boston and, unfortunately, through the Sumner Tunnel, which can be a nightmare any time, particularly on Fridays when a huge traffic jam is practically guaranteed in the afternoon/evening. This may be the only major tunnel in the U.S. that basically exits directly onto a small side street in a busy downtown neighborhood. It gets so bad that they routinely divert the traffic north leaving the airport - soit doesn't back up into the airport itself, then force you to make a U-turn at the first exit and come back south. I've returned from business trips at 2AM and found myself in a 1-hour traffic jam on that route. It would be fine without the traffic (more on that below), but that isn't going to happen on Friday. If you decide to try it anyway, you'll get through the tolls faster on the right and then you ideally want to get into the left lane prior to exiting the tunnel. Head up the ramp onto I-93, which will lead in about 10 miles or so to I-95 if that's the route you want.

Heading directly north from the airport is definitely easier, but still not particularly straightforward. Follow 1A north for a couple miles, then bear left onto Rte. 16, which will lead eventually to I-93. A better alternative is to follow Rte. 16 for a couple of miles to Rte. 1 north, which will eventually allow you easy access to I-95. If you want I-93, backtrack a few miles southwest on I-95, then head north.

If all this sounds confusing, it is. Boston drivers do not make it any easier. Here's an alternative that will help to preserve your sanity: spend the Friday night in or near Boston and see the city a bit. Pick up your rental car at the airport early on Saturday morning and then take the tunnel to I-93 without the weekday traffic hassle.

One other thing - don't get confused and take the new Ted Williams Tunnel, which is part of the so-called "Big Dig" and currently not open to private vehicles on weekdays (there is a fine). It also dumps you into a confusing melange of poorly signed temporary roads where people who have lived here all their lives routinely get lost.

bennie

Nola - please take Dick's advise regarding the driving in and around the airport. He's nailed it. The access road for the airport is a nightmare. I drive over to the airport on average of once a week and I've gotten turned around a few timely lately because of the massive changes in the road system. Maybe by September it will be straighten out but why risk it. Rent in the city and you'll be fine.

Have a great trip - I think you'll love it here in NE.

Rose

I grew up outside of Boston, and commute from Maine to Boston everyday. Take the MBTA from the airport, especially if you are coming in during rush hour, nice people but alot of them need to take driving lessons again. Enjoy Boston.

Nola

Thank you to Gail,R,Dick,Bennie & Rose.I have been to my TA today and requested that we have 2days and then pick up car heading out of Boston.Noticed she just said to car hire co. that we would pickup car out of town heading North.Didn't ask the hire co. where out of town we would have to do this.Is there a suburb close to Boston City that is easier for us to get to,so we can get our car?Would be grateful if someone could post reply to my long winded ?.
Cheers, Nola

Aussie

G'day Nola,
Whilst it is a pain to try and drive on the wrong side of the road - for us - if you concentrate and have someone navigating for you especially if you study the map 'before' you leave, you should be OK. I arrived in the US and had to get into a v.large car where I needed binoculars to see the rear end of, and did OK and after a while you will find it is second nature anyway. You must remember that you are on the wrong side of the road and the passenger must remind you especially when you are going to turn. Other than that if its a multi-lane road it won't be so bad because it won't be as noticeable as a one lane road.
I thought you may be in Boston when I am going to be there (May) so we could frighten the Bostonians out of their wits, but no such luck tho'.
Take care
Liz

Dick

Hi again Nola -

If your two-day stay in Boston has you leaving the city on Sunday the 8th, then I think the easiest option will be to simply return to the airport and rent your car from there. Up until mid-afternoon, when folks start returning to the city after escaping for the weekend, the tunnel traffic shouldn't be too bad. Later than that, you can leave the airport heading north as in my earlier post. Even if you don't leave until Monday, just wait until mid-morning, start north, and you should be fine. The various public transportation routes out of the city to the north don't lead to any car rental locations that I'm aware of (perhaps someone else can help with that - I live to the west of the city so am not as familiar with the northern lines) and with luggage, etc., I think the airport, combined with a bit of strategic timing, will be your best bet.

bennie

There is a Hertz car rental office in the garage that is behind the Park Plaza. (near the Common) There is also a rental office in Center Plaza (near Quincy Market). Nola - if you let us know which hotel you are staying in we can locate the closest office for you. If you stay in Boston and rent outside the city you'll have to find a way to get to the rental office which could be a challenge. But there is a Hertz office on Rt 1 in Peabody that is very close to the on ramp for Rt 95 North - the highway you would take to Maine.

Dick#2

I grew up in Boston.

My drivers ed instructor told our class that, "the right of way belongs to the person that takes it" ( This is not a joke. He really told us that)

Of course, that advise is perfect for driving in Boston.

Dick (#1)

OK, if we're going to get into Boston driving lore, I've gotta share this one - I have a [Boston driver] friend who describes the use of turn signals as the equivalent of "passing information to the enemy in wartime". And the most important thing you can have for driving in Boston is good peripheral vision because once the other guy knows that you've actually seen him you've lost the game, especially if he's still pretending to not have noticed you.

Steve

Do they have traffic circles in the Boston area? We don't have them in the midwest, but it seems to me I've seen them out east. Whoever invented those should be shot. They were my number one fear when driving on the "other" side of the road in the UK. Basically I exited them whenever the car in front of me did, hoping I wasn't following another American.

Ellen

Yes, we have traffic circles in Boston, called "rotaries," that are similar to British "roundabluts," but with fewer rules. And the few rules that there are, aren't understood by most drivers. One good strategy with rotaries is to NEVER get on the inside lane, you might never escape. It's true, Boston drivers are rude and aggressive.

Good luck Nola, try to get your car at the edge of the city! Work with your TA to find an auto rental pickup place that's accessible via public transit, but not right in the city.

Dick (#1)

Yeah, we got 'em - they're called "rotaries" and you're right, whoever invented them should be shot, except that he's probably already long dead. In general, the car already on the rotary has the right-of-way, but it's really like a big game of "chicken". There are also some rotaries where there are sort of "local rules" that apply regarding who goes when - how a visitor is supposed to know is a mystery to me. Rhode Island did away with all theirs some years ago for safety reasons, but here in the good old Peoples Republic of Massachusetts we like to hold onto our traditions, just in case 1942 ever comes back and we need an appropriately designed road system.