We will be in Boston (for the first time) next week and want to rent a car for one day to see Concord and some foliage. We are staying near Copley Square and wanted to take the trian somewhere out of the worst traffic and rent the car. We would like to return the car somewhere else so we don't have to backtrack, then take the train back to our hotel area.

Any suggestions?

Out in the Boston suburbs, your best/cheapest bet might be Enterprise. They will pick you up somewhere, like a commuter rail station. And there are lots of offices spread around, so you can drop the car off and have them take you back to the station.

You might get the car in Concord, then drive out route 2 for some pretty foliage. You might go to the DeCordova museum in Lincoln which is a nice museum, and the grounds are lovely this time of year.

check out mbta.com for train schedules. Concord is on the Fitchburg/South Acton line.

I would not go thru that kind of annoyance. There are city versions of various major car rental places in Copley area. Rent a car there - it is fairly simple to then hop onto either MassPike or Storrow Drive to Route 2 to get to Concord. Don't do this at rush hour and you will be fine, assuming you have any sort of city driving experience. Get good directions back, or even rent a GPS for the day - which would not be a bad idea anyway since it would allow you to meander thru side roads near Concord and not worry about finding your way back to major highway.

Just make sure of hours for in-town car rental location - many are not open weekends and close relatively early in the evening - but some have drop-off options for when they are closed.

You might call your hotel and ask for car rental locations nearby - I am sure they have answered this question before.

I agree that it should be little hassle to rent near your hotel and drive out. However, most Avis and Hertz local locations will also pick you up/drop you off....so once you find the two train stations that you want to go to/from...just look for the nearest HertzHLE or Avis local office. Personally I haven't had good luck with Enterprise or Budget so can't recommend.

There's a rental car office right at the Westin in Copley Square.

There's a HertzLocal out in Waltham that will pick you up at the station. (You must arrange for pickup the day before, I believe.) The location is open 8am to 6pm and is probably the best place for you to return the car as well. If you returned it to Logan airport you could keep the car until much later in the evening, however.

Hmmmm, that's a tough call.

On one hand, I agree with gail & divineMissM that you should just rent the car from/near your hotel in Copley and drive out.

OTOH, having driven INTO town yesterday around 5:30pm (E bound Storrow, exited at Arlington Street), traffic was just a pure nightmare. I stopped at red light at every block as the entire Back Bay is a gridlock. It took me longer to go 10 blocks in Back Bay area than it took me to drive there from my suburb (9 miles W).

I would rent a car from your hotel IF you're not heading back around rush hour.

If you want to take the train out, the problem is that the Fitchburg line (the one that goes out to Concord) leaves from North Station. So you're talking about the additional time you spend taking the Green line from Copley to N Station.

Waltham Station, as mentioned above by DivineMissM, is also along the Fitchburg line. There is an Enterprise office RIGHT AT THE WALTHAM STATION.

Another possibility (I think), is take the Red Line out to Alewife. I'm not sure what the car rental situation is at Alewife station, but from there, it's an easy drive on Rt 2 out to Concord.

Good luck.

We rented a car from Enterprise in Boston/govt. center. They were amazing with directions on exactly how to head out of town, it was very easy about 10am on Thursday. Yes, they will come and pick you up and take you to the office to get the car OR you can take a cab and they will take the cost off your bill! make your reservation EARLY! we reserved on Monday and when I called around to check rates on Tuesday (knowing Enterprise will meet any other companies price) I found that no one had any cars to rent within 25 miles of Boston, I realize it could have been the holiday weekend or the fall foliage, but you might want to check early.

Driving out of and into Boston will not be as bad as you presume. I don't think it will be worth the extra effort and expense to take a train elsewhere to rent a car for one day.

A really good reason to return the car to Boston - if you head back to Boston from the Concord area via Route 2, the scenery is magnificent, especially if you're paying attention as the skyline of Boston comes into view with the beautiful foliage all around!

With Enterprise it will take you an extra hour just listening to their lengthy schpeel about taking the insurance that you don't need and the gasoline that you're not going to use.

sorry, have to disagree with clarkgriswold, he obviously has had bad experience with enterprise. They asked if I wanted the ins, I said no, they asked if I wanted the gas option, I said no . . . (hey, legally they have to ask about the ins!) end of conversation here are the keys, walked me to the curb and point out where I am going to turn when I drive the car out of the parking garage! But hey, we all have our preferences! the main thing is jayne, have a great trip and take in the idea that driving in and out of Boston is not so bad!

Thanks for the help. Driving out of Boston was fine, but we got in late at night in that freaky snow on Sunday, and even with the GPS it was a goosechase getting back to the hotel.

Loved Boston, BTW!