Boston Area Commuter Rail
 

Planning a road trip to Halifax and return after flying into Boston for a 5 day visit but I need your help folks.

I was planning on staying in lodging in Woburn because there is a commuter rail station, it appears within walking distance of the lodging facilities, that will take me into Boston to the North Station. The station is named Mishawum & is on the Lowell Line. This location will be less expensive & will be easy to jump in the car to visit such as Concord, Lexington, & Cape Cod before heading north.

The problem is that when I bring up the commuter rail website it reflects the rail station of Mishawum, however it reflects no scheduled trains going into Boston from that station. I also read comments on other websites from folks that have stayed in these lodging facilities that commuter rail was only 20 minutes into Boston, etc, etc. I don't want to be stuck outside Boston without public transport nor do I want to drive a vehicle into Boston nor do I want to lodge in Boston.

Does anyone have any info concerning commuter rail out of the Mishawum Station in Woburn? Also any lodging suggestions are welcome. Thank you.

Mishawum is no longer an active commuter rail station, having been replaced by Anderson/Commerce Way complex a short driving (not walking) distance away. There is one hotel I can think of on Commerce Way (don't remember name), but other than that I do not see any hotels really in walking distance.

Thank you gail. I appreciate that info. I am glad I didn't make reservations at that location. It's back to the drawing board.

roy2, try looking at lodging in Lexington. While I don't think it's on a train line itself, you can easily drive to a station that has parking: either adjacent Concord or Lincoln for the commuter line, or right down Route 128 to the end of the green line at Riverside. All have lots for commuter parking; Lexington has a number of lodging options plus a decent selection of restaurants and evening activities; and it's *much* more central to the things you want to do than is Woburn! (Day trip from Woburn to Cape Cod? No thank you!)

I'm not sure what kind of lodging options are in Waltham other than out on its edge by Winter Street/Lexington. But if you can find a place to stay in the center near Moody Street, that could be another good option. Waltham is a (very) small city, again with decent places to dine, and is even closer to Boston with easy on/off Route 128 to get to the places you want to see...

Before you plan another hotel stay based on driving to a train station (either commuter rail or subway/trolley) realize that weekday parking in many of these lots fills by 7:00/7:30 AM.

Cape cod as a day trip from anyplace north or west of Boston - I would not do it.

Proximity in miles to Boston is a very poor indicator of how long it will take to travel, by either private or public transportation. It regularly takes me 15-20 minutes to get from one end of Waltham (a mile or so) to the other during rush hour or even mid-day traffic, for example. I live about 20 miles from Boston and DH commutes in every day - either driving or by public transit. During off-peak hours I can drive it in under 30 minutes; commuting can take 1 1/2 hours, especially in bad weather or on a Monday AM or Friday PM.

It is about a third to a half of a mile from the Anderson station in Woburn to a Residence Inn. The Anderson station always has plenty of parking if you have a car, then you also have plenty of hotel choices. That is the only hotel in the area that I know of. There may be other hotels in the area that offer shuttle services. There are hotels in Burlington that have shuttles to busses that go into Boston. It would be a better experience if you can afford it, to find a hotel in Boston on the days you want to spend there.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. You guys give me the info I needed. I will check it all out.

We will be traveling into Boston three days, doing the Freedom Trail one day on our own, visiting the JFK Presidential Library another, one day for maybe Beacon Hill, Back Bay, baseball game at Fenway Park, etc. We intend to spend one day touring the Minuteman National Historic Park & Salem another day. Cape Cod with an enroute visit to Plymouth will be a two overnight stay before heading north to Halifax.

Commuter Rail is not a good idea for after Red Sox games. I believe it stops running before the games even start. Hopefully someone confirms this.

Ah, thanks for the details! I assume you'll be picking up the car rental at the airport. Are you departing from Boston as well, or will you be flying out of Halifax?

Assuming round trip Boston, you could plan an itinerary like this:
- Boston first: Look into lodging south of Boston: Quincy, Braintree, Plymouth. The first two are on ends of the T red line with lots of parking; for Plymouth, you would use a commuter train station. The JFK Presidential Library is not in Boston proper but in Dorchester, not far from Quincy and on the southern side of Boston. The Freedom Trail likewise can be reached from the red line or the commuter train. For your Beacon Hill/Back Bay/Fenway day, if you are using the red line to get in, you can easily change from the red to the green at Park (the heart of Boston) to reach those sites.
- As you mentioned, see Plymouth on your way to the Cape. Will you be visiting Plimouth Plantation or just the Rock?
- Two nights on the Cape, then go straight up to Salem.* You can either try taking Route 3 to I-93 right through Boston, or else skirt Boston entirely on Route 128. In either case, do avoid anything resembling rush hour or Friday afternoon traffic, as these roadways get very bogged down!
- From Salem, do the northern part of your trip.
- At the end of your trip, spend a night in Lexington to see it and Concord. You can drive from there back to the airport to return the car and fly out.

*If you'd rather not wait until the end of your trip to see Concord and Lexington, put that stay in here, between the Cape and Salem.

Definitely check my suggestions on a map. I've been raving lately about Google Maps: get a free gmail account and you can customize, save, share etc your maps. Plugging in destinations, dragging the route line to recalculate, and seeing driving vs transit options are super-easy!

Some thoughts to consider. . .
Is there a reason you don't want to stay IN Boston?
Are you walkers?

I personally would rather priceline a room in town and take public transportation to Salem and JFK Library rather then stay at a suburb hotel. It gives you much better flexability Then after those 4-5 nights I would pick up the rental car, head south to the cape, and stay a night close to Concord/Lex on our way north. Between the price of a rental car you won't be using and the price of commuter rail tickets and parking your car. . . well just something to consider.

It does come down to what you want to see at each destination. You do need a car in Con/Lex and Plymouth. You might want a car for Salem, but you can also see a great deal on foot. And what are your plans for the Cape?

I also think that staying in Quincy/Braintree area where you can use the RedLine makes a bit of sense if you are dead set against staying in town.

I'll suggest this again: Hotel Indigo in Newton.

It is right next to the Riverside T station (Green Line D), part of the T (our subway) system. The T runs a lot more frequent than commuter rail (eg, every 5-10 mins instead of 1x/hr). I'm pretty sure Indigo offers free parking. The Green Line D also happens to stop at Fenway.

Riding from Riverside into the city takes about 40-45 minutes each way, but at least if you miss one train, the next one comes along 5-10 minutes later. If you rely on commuter rail and miss it, you are looking at a >1 hr wait for the next one.

Waltham is not a feasible option. There are NO HOTELs within walking distance of the commuter rail station, and there are very few parking spots. I believe many hotels in Waltham (all are close to Rt 128) do offer free hotel shuttle to the commuter station. However, even when you get there, again you're stuck with the 1x/hr schedule of the commuter rail.

One more hotel I can recommend:

Crowne Plaza in Newton Corner

I think they do charge for parking, though perhaps cheaper than what hotels IN Boston charge.

At Newton Corner, you can take the express commuter bus into the city (502, 504, 553, 554, 556, 558). All the buses go on MassPike, so you can get to either Copley Sq in 10 minutes; or to South Station & Financial Center in 15-20 minutes. The Express buses run throughout the day; but the last bus stops running around 7-8'ish pm. Also, they don't run on weekends, so if you stay there, you should do all your in-town sightseeing during the week, and drive on weekends to the suburbs.

Since you have a car, you can always return to the hotel by 5-6pm, then drive to restaurants in Newton for dinner.

True, I was just working off the assumption that the OP didn't want to stay in Boston. But Kealalani's suggestion makes a lot of sense: spend your 3 days in Boston, THEN pick up the rental. You should be able to pick up in Boston proper and drop off at the airport without a huge surcharge.

But if you do want to stay outside of the city, I would still recommend looking south (Quincy, Braintree) instead of west (Newton) of Boston. And a stay in Lexington for the Minutemen sites and even as a start to Salem...

And yk is right that if you're staying in the suburbs, it's much preferable to be off the T instead of the commuter lines, for all the reasons she mentioned!

I think Hotel Indigo is a fantastic idea when someone is driving thru Boston and doesn't want to drive into Boston. Not sure of the value/time/convenience ratio works when flying into Boston.

Another reason to get the car when you need it and stay in town is weather and the convenience of returning to your room.

All good ideas and good things to think about. We don't really ever argue here, just share our differing opinions. It comes down to which opinion works for your particular expectation and travel style.

Good Luck planning and check back.

You guys and gals are terrific, so many good ideas from you to consider and with much research I have decided on a plan. However I have never visited Boston so I am not familiar with the city layout so I welcome your comments on my plan.

Responding to some of your questions. We are walkers and desire to walk safe areas day and late night. We are flying into and out of Logan Int'l. We only drove into Boston one time to pickup someone at the airport and immediately departed out of the city. My wife refuses to drive into the city again. She had nightmares for a week after that drive (just kidding). We now reside in Anchorage, Alaska. We will be flying into Logan Int'l on Sept 6, 2011.

I located a hotel, Doubletree Boston Bayside, within 1/4 mile of the JFK Presidential Library and across the street from the Red Line Subway Station. The cost is about $100 per night and the reviews seem O.K. I assume that area is safe. There doesn't seem to be many restaurants in that area so we will be eating in downtown Boston prior to heading for our room in the evening.

Renting a vehicle after we are ready to hit the road is a good idea and if there is a rental facility close by the Doubletree I will rent from them. I haven't checked that out yet. We did that when be recently visited Washington DC and it worked out great and was also cheaper.
Orginally I was thinking about doing Concord, Lexington, and Salem as part of the visit to Boston so was thinking of a location central to them.

If i stay in the JFK/UMASS area no transport will be required to visit the JFK Library and the subway is within walking distance to get me into downtown Boston to do the Freedom Trail, etc. After that we can jump in the car head south to Cape Cod with less traffic to worry about. We will visit Plymouth enroute but not Plimouth Plantation. We are going to stay in Hyannis taking a day trip over to Nantucket Island. We will probably regret in some cases the lack of time spent in some of the locations we visit but we will get a tasteof the locations and there can always be another trip if someplace knocks us off our feet.

After Cape Cod head we will head north stopping in Concord/Lexington to visit, then on to Salem for an overnight before continuing to Maine and Halifax. Depending on the visit times for the foregoing we could end up staying another night.

I have time to adjust so if you guys and gals have a suggestion concerning my itinerary lay it on me. I really appreciate all of your inputs because they give me a lot of insight. I was overlooking a lot of factors such as a possible one hour wait for another train, etc.

Thanks again!

I still think you should try to stay in Boston center proper (Back Bay, Copley, Faneuil Hall areas). If $ is an issue, I would even stay one less night than stay in Dorchester, Newton or anyplace else - the time you spend commuting would make up for the lost day.

I would not consider the area of Bayside/JFK safe "late at night" as you request. There are no restaurants because no one goes there. It is not a tourist area, and while it has improved somewhat in recent years, I would not go strolling there. It is in general area of University of Mass/Boston - which until very recently was exclusively a commuter college - so there is not even a student presence after hours. And while I will not argue with website that says 1/4 mile to JFK Library - that must mean to the access road, since it certainly seems a lot more than that to me.

Acknowledging that it is easy for me to spend other's money, you are making a trip of several weeks, paying for airfare from Alaska, etc - spend another $100-200 total and stay in Boston. Since it is after Labor Day and also after the time that hotel rooms are booked with people dropping kids off at various colleges, it should be a bit easier to find a room, even on Priceline.

Red Sox are not in town from 9/5 - 9/13. Not sure when your return flight out of Logan is, but if it is important, try to catch a game on your way out of town. You could even return car to airport, get an airport hotel, and take MBTA into Boston for the game. Tickets went on sale on-line yesterday for the season - so if this is a possibility, buy them now - they sell out every game every year. (Bleachers are fine, try to avoid richt field Grandstand sections 2, 3, 4 as seats face a weird angle and you end up with a really stiff neck - everything else is fine since it is a small ballpark)

Plymouth is a nice little town, but perhaps not worth a visit unless you go to Plimouth Plantation (yes, the spelling is different). The Rock is really funny - looks like a boulder someone dug up on their front lawn - and then they put it in a wire cage and gave it a plaque - but in the end it is just a rock. Maybe stop for lunch on the water and then keep driving.

Commuter rail - waits of far more than an hour unless you are within rush hour. At many stations you have trains about that frequent between 6A - 10A and 4P - 7 P, but outside those hours there may be only a couple of trains.

If you desire safe areaas to walk late at night you really are limited to real tourist areas of Boston. Boston is not known for being a late night city, and while this has improved in past decade, you still need to be careful to stay and walk in areas that have high amount of pedestrian traffic - and those areas are limited to real tourist areas. Sunset is about 7 PM in early September. You might love strolling thru the North End (Italian area) later at night, Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall area nearby - but certainly not Dorchester (for safety) or Newton (because everyone will be asleep and everything closed).

I don't really see the worth of time to visit Plymouth without visiting Plimouth Plantation. The rock is a fake and a lie. The pilgrims landed at Provincetown.

The Sheraton Commander in Cambridge is a very pleasant spot and is walking distance to the Harvard Square station and Harvard Square is a tourist destination in its own right. It is only a 20 minute--or less--T ride to Park St. station, the beginning of the Freedom Trail and that line also goes directly to the JFK museum stop.

PS I strongly advise *against* staying at a hotel in the vicinity of the JFK museum.

Hmm, I just checked rates at that hotel I referenced for your dates and they are astronomical! >$400/nt, so that may not be such a good suggestion. Maybe that is move-in time for Harvard??

Doubletree Downtown Boston @ $159; Club Quarters @ $184; John Hancock Hotel @$146; Boston Park Plaza $160 - all on Expedia.

The $50-75 more per night would be well worth it not to stay in Dorchester. Sheraton Commander is always very expensive - but that is high for even them. 9/6 is first day of classes at Harvard - so not move-in day but maybe people are staying longer.

Check on Expedia or Travelocity and look for hotels in Back Bay, Faneuil Hall, Copley areas. The downtown area of Boston is walkably small. Waterfront/Convention area is not a good choice - sounds nice but there is not much going on there - there is a new convention center but not much else. However, it would be better than Dorchester.

As someone who lives near a commuter rail station, it totally sucks for anyone who is not actually commuting! The schedule during off hours is ridiculously inconvenient and infrequent.

and the only way you can use commuter rail for a Red Sox game is if you want to stay west of the city, on the Worcester-Framingham line, and even then you may have to leave before the game ends or wait an hour after for the last train (which only goes as far as Framingham).

I agree with others that suggest trying to stay in downtown Boston or Cambridge. Let me suggest my new favorite reasonably priced hotel, the Kendall Hotel in Cambridge. Good prices, packages include parking and/or breakfast, nice safe location to walk around, and 1/2 block from the Kendall T stop on the red line. its obviously not as good as a central Boston hotel would be, but its far better than staying in the suburbs.

Last year my sister got a room at the Sheraton Commander for ~$200, which included breakfast. That was why I was so astounded when I saw the rates. It was only for 1 night and she was a "walk-in", so to speak, so maybe she got some kind of good deal on a room that would have gone unfilled.

Best Western in Woburn is $90 and has a free shuttle to the Anderson Commuter Rail. Sounds like you won't be commuting for very many days so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Hertz, Avis and Enterprise all have offices in Woburn and all will pick you up at the hotel. With Hertz and Avis you can book one-way with return to Logan airport if you like. 7 day car rentals are usually the same price as 4 or 5 day rentals, fyi.

Thanks again guys. I will scratch Dorchester area off but not sure at this time what I will do. I have to revisit all the options before making a decision. Rental car locations will be important if I lodge in Boston. In circumstances such as this I usually walk, pickup the vehicle, drive back to the hotel to pickup spouse and baggage, and hit the road.

I am looking at the Doubletree Hotel Boston Downtown, 821 Washington Street and Enterprise Car Rental if they don't restrict me from going into Canada. They are nearby the hotel location, however I have not been able to determine what their rental restrictions are. The Lenox Hotel, 61 Exeter Street and the Radisson Hotel on 200 Stuart Street are also options with good reviews depending on reasonable cost rental car companies in their area. Clarkgrisold put a plug in for Woburn which is another option, getting back to my original plan.

Thanks for steering me out of a unsafe area which is the primary concern with us.

In-town car rental locations in Boston are often not open weekends and evenings - and I understand you do not want to drive in Boston. It is not that far on public transportation to Logan airport - or a cab is not that ecpensive - so that another option is to take this to hotel for your in-Boston stays, return to Logan together to pick up car - and leave to head north from there. The routes on highway to leave Logan airport do not involve actually driving on any city streets in Boston. You might need to modify your itinerary a bit and put Lexington/Concord on the end, perhaps staying in a hotel near there after your visit before heading north.

I too thought to suggest you can always take the T from your hotel to wherever you pick up the car rental. gail's suggestion of going out to Logan for it isn't a bad idea: she mentions driving north, but it's just as easy to drive south out of the airport. In fact, the Ted Williams Tunnel makes connecting to the south shore sooo much nicer than it used to be - thank goodness the colossal Big Dig was good for at least one thing!

I still would advise to look at the other options suggested before returning to your original Woburn idea. Compared to Newton, Braintree, Cambridge or Boston proper, it's really a long commute - and on the commuter rail, to boot. However, Woburn would be a good place to stay between Lexington/Concord and Salem!

As for car rentals, I found the following information under FAQs in the Customer Support/Help area of the agencies' websites:

- AVIS: With advance arrangement and consent from Avis, certain cars may be rented from the United States and driven into Canada by U.S. residents. A Canadian non-resident insurance card may be required and is available at the Avis rental location. Please call 800-230-4898 for more information.

- ENTERPRISE: Enterprise vehicles are not allowed to travel into Canada or Mexico unless:
· You have a corporate contract agreement that allows travel into these countries.
· A Branch may allow limited travel into Canada or Mexico.

- HERTZ: Any US citizen or International resident can drive a car into Canada... However, you will need to have proof of citizenship, the Hertz contract and your driver's license with you when you cross the border. For more information, click on "Reservations" on the navigation menu on the left hand side, next click on "Qualifications & Requirements". Then enter pickup location, next choose "Rental Restrictions" from the topic drop down menu.

Looks like Hertz is your best bet! :)

Don't pick up the car at Logan, the taxes and fees are about 10% higher and there is a $10 per day fee to help tourists pay for Boston's big dig. Can really add up if you're renting for a week or two.
I take the T to Alamo/National near the aquarium rather than renting at the airport. They are open all weekend, though not later than 6pm.

To add to the list I wrote above:

ALAMO's site says: Rentals originating in the United States (US) can be driven throughout the United States (US) and Canada.

However, for the life of me I can't find the info on the National site! A search of their Help pages is useless...

Count one more vote to stay in Boston proper and not the suburbs (and yes, Dorchester is not a safe area). If you both like to walk, and are coming all this way to see the city - why would you not stay in a town that's ideally-suited for walking? I understand that your wife had a bad experience driving in the city years ago, but you don't need to do any driving at all in town: rent the car on the way north as others have advised, and use the T which is inexpensive, convenient, and safe. Most importantly you'll avoid wasting all that time on the commuter rail that could be spent sightseeing, relaxing at a cafe, or resting. As others have mentioned, unlike the T, the commuter trains have set schedules that can get pretty sparse at times - you'll end up tied to the schedules on top of everything else. And you'll avoid being stuck in some random suburban hotel (mainly used by business travelers who are visiting the office parks and companies spread out along the highways outside the city) with very little to do or see in the evenings. Early September is a gorgeous time of year to be in Boston - it will be a different trip if you stay outside the city.

Okay, rant over. If the Lenox Hotel is still available, definitely grab it! The Back Bay is a great home base. Loads of restaurants and shopping on Newbury and Boylston streets; very close to Copley Plaza (the Boston Public Library is worth a look) and the Prudential Center where you can go up to the observatory and get a great view all around; not far from Boston Common, Beacon Hill and the Charles River Esplanade. There are several T stops right nearby which will take you down by the waterfront and North End; over to Cambridge if you want to walk around Harvard; to the JFK Library; over to the Museum of Fine Arts and Isabella Stewart Gardner museums; everywhere really!

For day trips: Plymouth in my opinion isn't worth it. If you want a good dose of history, stay in town and walk the Freedom Trail. Salem you can get to via, yes, commuter rail from North Station (Makes more sense to plan one day trip using the rail than it would going in and out of the city multiple times!) - also by ferry from Boston Harbor.

Cape Cod: Do you have a specific town in mind? Depending on how far out you want to go, the drive can be pretty lengthy - especially factoring in rush hour and weekend traffic. Even in early Sept., there will still be lots of the latter. As others have mentioned, this is probably not a day trip, unless you want to do the fast ferry to Provincetown (also from the harbor) - if you take the first one out and the last one back, you'll have the day to walk around P'town, have lunch, check out the dunes and the art galleries.

Happy planning!

Hi guys & gals. This is the latest put together with lots of viable options. We will fly into Boston and take lodging at Doubletree Downtown Boston on Sep 6th for 4 nights. There is a Hertz Rent a Car outlet about 1/2 mile from the hotel which is an easy walk.

On the 10th I will pickup a vehicle in early morning, checkout of hotel, pick-up baggage & spouse and drive to Hyannis. Spend two nights in Hyannis -part of 1st day in Hyannis area and 2nd day a day trip to Nantucket Island.

On the 12th checkout and drive to Concord/Lexington to visit Minuteman National Historic Park. After visit acquire lodging somewhere between the park and Salem, MA. On the 13th visit Salem & Rockport area then continue that day onto Portland, ME. Lodging for the 12th & 13th will not be reserved as it will depend on the length of visits for those two days. We will see how it goes, might add another night, if necessary.

There were lots of excellent suggestions & advise from all of you and it was very much appreciated. You nice folks put a lot of effort into your guidance. Here's a sincere thanks to all of you.

Go Yankee's (only kidding).

So now you pull the Yankee's crap!!!!

Great plan, glad you added Rockport, and glad you are staying in town! Taking public transportation from the airport will save you some cash for other things if you are traveling lite. Portland is a great restaurant town!

IMO, that itinerary sounds great!

On your Boston-to-Cape day, you could easily be in Hyannis by noon. My one piece of advice here is to try and get outside of Hyannis for your afternoon, since it's the most commercial part of the Cape. (My two ice cream rec's are The Four Seas in Centreville, or for old-timey ambiance, sidle up to the counter at Hallet's in Yarmouthport.)

For your play-by-ear lodgings on the 12th and 13th:
- Starwood has two new hotels on the edge of Lexington really near the Minuteman Nat'l Historic Park on Route 2A. We stayed in the Element when it first opened; I'm not sure what they're going for in the common areas (trying too hard at community-building if you ask me), but the room was nice. Right across the parking lot is an Aloft, billed from what I can tell as a hotel for the "hip, younger set" - whatever that means!
- In the center of Lexington, there are a number of hotels. We once stayed in the funky older motor lodge there. Quite a trip back to the 60's in its layout and decor! Room was unmemorable but totally adequate, and you can't beat its location right in the center of town where the restaurants etc are.
- And of course you've already gotten good rec's if you want to stay farther north in Woburn.

So glad to be of help. Here's to a great trip! (Just don't joke about that Yankees stuff once you're there LOL.)

If price is holding you back from considering more central Boston, I just got a 3.5* hotel (Boston Park Plaza) near Copley square on Priceline (name your own price) for $85. A parking lot is across the street and costs $35/day.

Hi Kealalani, ggreen, and MFNYC. The Doubletree is right next to an Orange Line subway station so if we get tired of walking we have that option. I have checked the distance to various points from the Doubletree and I suspect we will be walking to most places we want to visit except for the JFK Presidential Library.

I figured the Yankees comment would get a response but truthfully I was really kidding. You guys and gals have a few Bosox fans up here. We meet them and give them a jab in fun just to receive a nice comment in return. They are easy identified because they are wearing the you know what baseball cap. It's good fun up here but may not be in Massachusetts so I will keep quiet while visiting you folks.

I probably won't be able to see a game in Boston but I do, at least, want to see Fenway Park. It's one of the historic baseball parks along with Wrigley Field.

Hope the Boston Red Sox do good next season. You folks are terrific fans. I have been rooting for the Chicago Cubs so their drought would end but it doesn't look like it's going to end soon. They should have let that goat in for the game.

Anyway thanks and you guys and gals take care.

I am very familiar with the Doubletree area. You might request a high room or a back room if you are light sleepers as you are across from a hospital, so ambulances will be present on a bad day. Bring your walking shoes to explore all the surrounding neighborhoods! Looking forward to any future questions as your trip draws closer! And you really must see Fenway. Although I have never done the tour, it is americana at its best. A ballpark on a single block in the middle of a city.