I'm thinking of driving to Boston and staying in the Back Bay area. Is this a wise choice � we�ve heard driving in Boston is awful. We would leave the car once there. Any recommendations for alternative places to stay?

That's a good plan. When checking hotels you might ask how much is charged for parking. The subway is easy to use and cabs are plentiful. There's no need for a car downtown. The only place I can think of that might be difficult to reach by public transportation is the Kennedy Museum which is on the outskirts. We went there first by car then parked the car for the rest of our visit. You might find Cambridge hotels cheaper. I've never used Priceline, etc but that's an option others have highly recommended.

Driving in Boston is confusing (with endless highway construction called the Big Dig) and drivers are awful. It is very expensive to park car anywhere. Since hotels are expensive and if you are using any discount site to book hotel, parking fees are sometimes not revealed, so budget that. Depending on how long you are staying and from where you are originating, it may really be cheaper to fly or rail here.

All that said, if you are comfortable with city driving, can tolerate frustration, and can get good directions, you can certainly drive to Boston from somewhere and leave your car at hotel. A car is useful in Boston metro area if you want to see outlying towns. One thing I would certainly not do is drive to Boston area, stay in outlying hotel and plan to drive to city each day.

The JFKennedy Library and Museum is accessible by public transit: Take the Red Line of the subway system to the JFK/UMass Station (formerly known as Columba) and take the shuttle from there.

I think the plan of driving to Back Bay and just parking there is a good one. You can get relatively cheap rates at the parking garage that's under Boston Common -- the entrance is on your right, on the piece of Charles Street that goes between the Common and the Public Garden. Bak Bay is a much better choice that Cambridge or suburbs.

The Copley Marriott, the Westin, and the Sheraton Boston are all extremely well-located in Back Bay, and they are very easy to reach from the Mass Pike (I-90). (Parking is expensive, but that's a fact of life in cities.)

Other good hotels in the same neighborhood include the Sheraton Boston, Back Bay Hilton, and Fairmount Copley Plaza. All of these hotels are well-located, but they're also a bit more difficult to reach by car than those in the 1st group.

And Boston is a relatively difficult city in which to drive. Fortunately, it's also a very compact city, so you can walk between most places that you'd want to go (or alternatively take cabs or public transportation).

Thanks for the good suggestions. I'm convinced venturing in the city via car is a BAD idea. What about staying in Cambridge versus Back Bay?

Guess this wasn't clear: driving in Cambridge is just as hard. The streets in Back Bay are actually laid out in a grid, where Cambridge has the same network of cowpaths (and lack of signage) you will find elsewhere in the area. I grew up in Eastern Mass, and have lived in the city for 6 years, and still get lost in Cambridge from time to time. And traffic there is just as bad. Back Bay is not the same trying to get downtown, near the Big Dig, etc.

If you come in on the Mass Pike (I-90), there is a very easy Back Bay exit that will drop you off within 2 blocks of most of the Back Bay hotels.

Not sure how many of you there are in your party, but you could park at the Riverside MBTA station (which is right on I-95 - or 128 as we call it) for $2.75/day and ride the subway right into Back Bay.

http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/sche...name=Riverside

Depends a lot on where in Cambridge. There are a number of inexpensive places listed in Cambridge that put you nowhere near a T stop so be very careful. Staying right around Harvard Sq. is fun but never inexpensive and parking is no better than Boston, maybe worse. Staying near MIT can be dreary and inconvenient unless you are in one of the hotels right at the Kendall T stop.

You are probably better off in Back Bay -- more flexibility, more conveniennce, but of course, don't miss Cambridge.

There's the "Holiday Inn Newton" right next door to the Riverside T stop.

There is a hotel called Cambridge Gateway Inn at 211 Concord Turnpike (Rt 2 or 2A?) very close to the Alewife station (the western end of the Red Line) and is walkable, maybe 1/3 mile. The Inn has a shuttle service too. I've not stayed there, but the driving in that area was not too bad during non-rush hours. The Gateway used to be a Suisse Chalet, of which others I stayed were OK - nothing fancy, but comfortable. I recall some other motels/hotels up Concorde Tpk too. Any comments from Boston Fodorites?

I would bid on Priceline for a 4 or 3 star hotel in Boston and use the saved money for parking. It's still better than trying to get to the city from somewhere else.