Traveling from Philly to Boston (on a Friday) and not familiar with the roadways. I am doing a south route from New Haven to Philly on Wednesday using the Merritt Parkway, to Tappan Zee Bridge to Garden State Parkway and would like to take the reverse of that on my trip back north. What is the best road to take from the Merritt Parkway over to 95 to get up to Boston? Going to area near Bunker Hill.

Stay on the Merritt Parkway until it becomes the Wilbur Cross Parkway at Milford. This will intersect with I-91 between New Haven and Hartford. Just south of Hartford, you will see signs for I-84 and Boston. Take I-84 to I-90 (the Massachusetts Turnpike). Follow the Massachusetts Turnpike until it ends at I-93 in Boston. Follow the signs north until you see the Charlestown exit, unless you have been directed to get off elsewhere. Bunker Hill is in Charlestown.

You do not get back on I-95 after leaving it for the Garden State Parkway because the three parkways are all truck-free. This will make an enormous difference to your sanity on a Friday afternoon, but expect it to be a slowish trip anyway.

Gasoline in New Jersey is much less expensive than gasoline in New York and particularly Connecticut. The last rest area in NJ is at Montvale, just below the NY border. It is a convenient place to fill up.

What Ack said. Also note, in scores of trips we have never found a decent place to get food between NJ and Hartford. Eat earlier or later.

I'll offer a slight modification -- From the Merritt take Route 8 (exit 52) -- north to 84, which will eventually run into Route 90 and so on into Boston. This crosses CT diagonally and saves a few miles.

I have found Rein's Deli http://vernon.reinsdeli.com/ordereze/default.aspx to be pretty reliable stop for lunch. It's off 84 before you reach the Mass Pike heading north.

We are staying near Beacon Hill not Bunker Hill, sorry for that. So where do I exit for that area in Boston?

You exit to the left while still in the I-93 tunnel, about two miles before the Charlestown exit. You can get off for Government Center or Storrow Drive, depending on where on the Hill you are staying.

Folks have given you good advice here, in the Hartford, CT area, the am radio station 1080 gives traffic every 10 minutes or so. If Hartford is tied up and you are using the 91 route offered, get off 91 at route 3 east to 2 west to 84 east, this crosses the river south of Hartford and avoids a little of the trafic, sometimes.

Okay, another stop may be added if we have time. Coming from Philadelphia and going to Boston. If I want to stop in Providence, would it be best to get back onto 95 at some point? Where should I make that move on to 95? I am thinking that from Providence, I would just continue on 95 into Boston -- is that right? So far advice has been stellar and I am able to look on AAA to map this. Depending on what time we leave Philadelphia, we may have time for the Providence stop. I would like to plan just in case. And again, thanks so much. Your input has been so helpful.

You do not want to take 95 all the way through CT as its a construction / traffic nightmare. Once you head towards 84, you will be too far from 95 to jump back to it. I completely agree with the recommendations of getting to 84, rather than 95. Rein's Deli (if that interests you) is near Exit 66 in Vernon CT off of 84.

To continue to Providence, stay on the Merritt, which will become the Wilbur Cross Parkway (both designated as CT 15). Take exit 54 to rejoin 95 North towards Providence and Boston.

If you don't mind winding your way through small towns, you can take the Merritt to the junction of 91/684/66 and then take 66 east to 6 east to Providence. Lots of little towns, but not much traffic and a chance to see the middle of CT.

On a Friday afternoon, you will not get to Providence in time to do anything more than drive through town if you leave Philadelphia later than 11:30 or so.

You certainly would not have any time to tour Brown, esp with a guide. It is roughly 2 hours to the Tappan Zee from Phila and roughly 3 hours from there to Providence, minimum: 5 hours if you don't stop. If you want to try, you would take the Tappan Zee and 287 to 95 instead of exiting 287 onto the Hutchinson River Parkway leading to the Merritt. If you got to NYC before 2:30, you could take the GW Bridge and shorten your route, but I wouldn't risk it on a Friday afternoon.

I have to drive I-95 on some trips, but no one ever wants to. There is almost always congestion on 95 between Milford and New Haven, stop and go in the area around West Haven (exits 43 to 45 or 48 roughly), and there is still construction around Branford. The problem is that there is no place to bail out if the traffic is heavy: Boston Post Road (US1)? I don't think so.

And all of this will take you longer in the summer, of course, so you will need to allow more time if you are traveling June-August.

I am a bit confused because all of the road names keep changing. What road number is the Hutchinson River Parkway? On the map (AAA) that I am using on line, I see the 287 leads directly to the Merritt Parkway. Where does the Hutchinson River Parkway come in? Also, is it terrible to take the 287 to the 95? I understand the 95 is congested but is it that bad or would this be the most direct route? Better to pick it up near Milford or from the 287 (on my map called the Cross Westchester Expressway?)? Again, you have been so helpful. Thanks! Going next week.

95 is the most direct, but it takes very little to tie it up. DH spent 3 hrs between exits due to an accident ahead of him and that is a rarity, once you are east of New London, things seem to get better. It is also better to avoid rush hour.

moo, I don't think 95 is the most convenient route to Boston, especially on a Friday afternoon. Stay on the Parkway system to 84 and the Mass. Pike, if you're not going to Providence. I don't have the map in front of me so I can't identify 287 for you. I'm sure someone else will.

I live in Boston and avoid taking 95 from New York from experience.

Okay, this is best seen if you look up Interstate 287 Harrison New York on Google Maps.

I-287 is the road you join when the Garden State Parkway ends. It is combined with I-87 until after the Tappan Zee Bridge, when 87 goes S to NYC.

I-287 continues through White Plains under the name of Cross Westchester Expressway, but it is marked as I-287 and ends at a junction with I-95 at Port Chester, New York.

Exit 26E from I-287 leads you onto the Hutchinson River Parkway. Immediately after the exit from 287, there is a junction. If you go south, you go to the Throgs Neck Bridge. If you go north, you connect to the Merritt Parkway, Connecticut Highway 15, which becomes the Wilbur Cross Parkway as described above. Same road, different names.

Note how all the people who are advising you to take this route are experienced New England/Boston drivers. It is a ot of names to remember, but it is a uch better route.

Now, if you were leaving Penn at 8 in the morning and had to make an admissions tour at Brown at 3 PM, of course you would have to take I-95, but if you are on your way to Boston and are not leaving early, it makes no sense on a Friday.

I found it! Wow so many names for the same road -- that is what had me confused. This has cleared it up and I was able to zoom in and see all the names and exchanges. I just hate getting lost and hearing the box in my car scream "recalculating" especially in heavy traffic. Again, thanks so much for your time and your patience. Soooooo helpful.

If that's the case, you want to avoid driving in Boston as much as possible.

It is the True Home of multiple road names, bad signage, and being in the wrong lane at the wrong time. Your options are1) go straight to your hotel (as much as possible), park the car, and take public transportation while in the city; (2) adopt the Zen attitude and accept that it will take you a few passes and turn-backs to arrive at any destination. Ommm.

94 is a hellhole. Avoid it at all costs. It is packed with trucks, accidents all over the place, construction etc. Taking the parkways may not be a lot faster - but it can be faster - and at least you have nice scenery most of the way - as opposed to run-dwon office parks, oil tanks and all the othre nastiness that lines 95.

I found another road that may get me from Phily to Providence, let me know what you think:

Merritt Parkway to 91. 91 to 84. 84 north of Hartford to EXIT 69 which is the Tolland Tpke and also has several different names and numbers on the drive toward Providence (it is Rte. 74, and becomes Rte. 44 or Promfret Road to Rte 101 and eventually runs with Rte.6 into Providence. Will this work? I think it is about 20 miles between 84 and the 384 that I don't need to take but that is the closest highway. Let me know!