Boston for the first time/ solo
 

Hello all, Since I've begun traveling solo, I have taken 6 Road Scholar tours. Previously, all my travel was arranged by my husband and myself. I would like to visit Boston, but the one trip I viewed on their website has more walking and activities than I would enjoy in one day. I have always been a very slow traveler and one or two sites or museums, plus a nice meal out somewhere is my idea of a very nice day. I am looking for a slower mode of travel. I could book my own hotel and then plan day tours from the hotel. I suppose that might work, but a small tour group that concentrates on the Boston metroarea would be my ideal trip. I want to spend about a week and I do NOT want to change hotels for a short trip like this. Amy suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you. Annetti

Boston is our easy choice for a long weekend getaway. We have liked the North End food tour (Michele Topor's) and most recently (2018) Bites of Boston South End. Both included a lot of historical information. Both are small groups. My husband and I did a day trip to take a Chinatown tour which we both enjoyed. These food tours generally include enough tastings to serve as your lunch and are usually from 2 - 3 hours long. Check each museum you would like to visit for guided tours and spotlight talks like at the Museum of Fine Arts https://www.mfa.org/programs/gallery.../gallery-talks
I'm afraid the several Freedom Trail school field trips we did when I was young were awful. But you will probably be able to find some docent led tours at different places. I have not been on any of these daily tours but would consider them https://www.thefreedomtrail.org/daily-tour-schedule

I think you should be able to fill your week with group activities without being on an organized tour.

You can do this, either with day tours or on your own. I find Viator website usually has a good collection of day tours in various cities, especially if you want to venture outside main area of Boston. I second recommendation for food tours - and they are at a slow enough pace to be enjoyable. Uber works especially well in Boston if you want to pick a destination museum and go at your own pace. In general best time to visit museums without crowds is early afternoon after school groups have departed. So I would suggest a few museums, food tour, and perhaps a day or 2 on a day trip organized tour. Just prepare for sticker shock with Boston hotels - really outrageous prices but especially traveling alone I would recommend staying in downtown Boston rather than outskirts. Beware of hotels that say they are 5-10 miles out and call themselves things like Boston/Waltham. It can take quite a while to go that short distance.

I second the warning in the last post about the cost of Boston hotels. They are really expensive even compared to other cities in the northeast.
I am not familiar with any of the multi-day tours so can't recommend specific ones to take.
You can get to Harvard Square in Cambridge easily on the Red Line T (subway) and there are a number of tour options there. The National Park service offers a number of ranger tours, some year round, some only in the summer/early fall.

Boston is wonderful. My visit there concentrated on the art of John Singer Sargent. Some mini get togethers with Fodor's friends was great fun and expanded my visits:

https://www.fodors.com/community/uni...ssion-1045010/

Have a super time and please report back.

If it were me, I'd just do it on my own. Figure out a hotel in a good walkable neighborhood. You can add some day tours if you like, or as mentioned cooking class, walking tour, get-togethers. If the hotel prices are as high as others mention, perhaps shorten the trip to 5 days instead of a week. That gives you the freedom to go at your own pace and simply poke around and explore.

We just returned from nine nights in Boston and were not ready to leave yet. We are also slow travelers in the one or two sites a day strategy that you describe.

We got a weekly CharlieCard for $22.50 that allows unlimited travel on the Boston T, worked out great. We also used Uber for day trips, or even getting to Harvard, though the T goes there as well. We stayed at a Residence Inn Marriott just across the bridge in Charlestown near the USS Constitution. It's a 10-15 minute pleasant walk to North Station where you get the trains. But for a hotel stay it was a cheaper than staying in downtown Boston proper. They had a discount for a 7+ night stay.

We did not even come close to seeing everything we wanted. Basically I agree with the above: just go on your own and let the weather and your mood decide the day's activities. Have fun.