what's cheapest way to come in from Airport to downtown harbour hotel? Also looking for some good shopping, but not expensive.

Not that I have any shopping suggestions, but it might be helpful to know what you looking to buy (food? clothes? jewelry? souvenirs?). Oh, there is plenty of shopping at Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market, both shops and stalls.

Fallwear, leather and shoes mainly. Thank you. Always looking for good quality bargains.

There is a water shuttle to some of the harbor hotels - convenient to some, a pain to others.

Define "good". It is fun to wander around the little shops at Quincy Market (Faneuil Hall area), although chains have a larger presence than they used to.

Seafood - we all have our favorites and will defend them furiously - if you do a search here on seafood and Boston you will read countless discussions. If you find "cheap" seafood it is no good. Unfortunately, seafood is now quite expensive.

Thank you. How would I get to the water shuttle from the airport? How long does a bus into Downtown Boston take?

Check the route planner at www.mbta.com. Select Logan Airport as your starting point and type in the address of your destination. The subway will be the cheapest way. Depending on where you're staying, the Silver Line (buses) may be an option. Depending on the time of day, the ride from the airport will be under 30 minutes.

Try Filene's Basement on Boylston Street for shopping, though it's not as good as the now closed original store on Washington Street.

WHICH harbor hotel? There are several with the name Harbor in the title.

If you mean the Harbourside Hotel, which is a Quincy Market, take the shuttle to the T (blue line) and get off at The Aquarium stop and come upstairs and you will be at the front door of the hotel.

Hope that helps.

There are not really any buses from the airport to "downtown".

There are four ways to get into the centre of the city from the airport:

Taxi (expensive)
Water taxi (spectacular views, not cheap)
T Blue Line Subway
T Silver Line electric bus

All clothing and shoes may seem inexpensive, depending on where you are coming from. Certainly they will if you are coming from the Euro zone or the sterling area.

Boston does not have a single "downtown" as such. LIke Paris or London, there are many shopping areas, each with a somewhat different character. Newbury Street is lined at either end with boutiques and small shops, from Cartier and Brooks Brothers at one end to funky boutiques at the other. In the middle are a lot of mall store (high street shops). One street away is Boylston, which has cheaper places like Filene's Basement and Marshall's, as well as Lord and Taylor and Nieman Marcus, adjoining the Prudential Center arcades. Across Huntington Avenue is Copley Place, which has Tiffany and other expensive stores, though you can do well on sales.

For another experience, Harvard Square in Cambridge has somewhat more forward merchandise as you would expect in an area that caters to students. Harvard Avenue, on the other hand, which is in Allston and Brookline, nowhere near Harvard University, features an amazing array of funky-ethnic-artsy clothing and accessories, set among a similar selection of ethnic restaurants, punk bars, etc.

See the problem?

You do need to tell the name of your hotel for the best transportation options. The Boston Harbor Hotel would elicit very different recommendations from the Harborside.