Best route/time from Boston to Chatham
 

A friend and I are arriving at Logan (Boston) and driving to Chatham for a long weekend. We'll be arriving at 11:00 Friday morning (in mid-November) and departing Logan at noon on Monday. <BR> <BR>Can someone tell me the best route (by car)to Chatham and approximately how long the trip will take? I tried a few searches and couldn't find anything, though I'm sure this has probably been answered here before. Also, any chance of snow? We don't mind cold, but snow would be a bit much. <BR> <BR>Thanks for any info or driving tips!

When leaving the airport, look for signs to Route 1A South and downtown Boston. You'll go through a tunnel. At the other end, look for signs for I-93 South (also called the Southeast Expressway). Or, follow signs to Cape Cod. This will get you on the expressway south, one way or another, perhaps routed around the block at least once, due to the Big Dig. Stay on I-93 South/Route 3 South. Just before Braintree, I-93 veers to the west - stay on Route 3 South. You should see signs to Cape Cod. Continue to Bourne where you'll cross the Bourne Bridge. The road becomes Route 6 on the other side of the Bridge, also called the Mid-Cape Highway. From Route 6, take Exit 11 onto Route 137 toward Chatham - you want to go South, but signs might say East. Watch for Old Queen Road and bear left. There should be signs to Chatham, watch carefully. Then, go left on Route 28, which is also Main Street in Chatham. It's about 91 miles and should take you just under two hours. You'll have no problems with traffic in November on the trip down. Coming back Monday morning is another story, as you'll be in rush hour traffic on the Southeast Expressway. Leave Chatham very early. The earlier the better. If it were me, I'd drive back Sunday night and stay at one of the airport hotels. You might want to e-mail one of the tourist offices for a free map. Note that directional signs on the Cape are quite misleading. The "direction" of a highway is determined by it's direction when it enters MA. So, sometimes the signs indicate you're going south, when you're actually going east. Worse, if you were to follow Route 6 all the way to Provincetown, for example, the signs would indicate you're traveling south, when in fact you are traveling north. No kidding. It PROBABLY won't be too awfully cold or snow during your visit, but you never know. Check the 10-day forecast at www.weather.com before leaving home (02107 for Boston, 02633 for Chatham - they're likely to be different). You definitely won't need your bathing suit.

Thanks so much Donna! Although now I'm thoroughly confused (south is east, etc.) but at least I have a few months to think about it and figure it out. <BR> <BR>Do you really think it will take that long on Monday morning, if we don't need to be at the airport till 11? I was thinking if we left Chatham around 8 AM we'd be okay. Wouldn't that bring us into Boston after rush hour traffic? <BR> <BR>

Hi: <BR>Donna gave you nice detailed directions however, you follow route 3 south to the end where you cross the Cape Cod Canal over the SAGAMORE bridge, where the road then becomes route 6. <BR> <BR>Gene

Gene is absolutely correct. It IS the Sagamore Bridge. Sorry. But, Route 3 does go to this bridge and become Route 6 on the other side. As for heading to Logan on Monday AM, with NO traffic, the trip would take just under two hours. You will positively be in the rush hour traffic if you leave Chatham at 8AM. To be on the safe side, I'd leave by 7AM at the latest. The Southeast Expressway (heading north into Boston in the morning) is affectionately referred to as the "Southeast Distressway" or the "Southeast Parking Lot". Years ago, I spent one night a week at Harbor Towers on the waterfront in Boston with my boyfriend, then drove SOUTH on the Distressway to my job in Westwood. I was utterly amazed that the folks on the "other side" suffered all that "distress" driving to work each and every day. I'd be breezing along while cars on the other side were not moving at all.