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Boston Info for Oz Traveller

Good Morning, My wife and I are planning a Fall trip to New England next year. We expect to fly into and out of Boston and rent a car for touring. I have followed many of the discussion threads here with interest which have provided much valuable information about accommodation in the Boston area. I have two questions: Which is the simplest way out of Logan A/P heading north to NH and what is the easiest way back to the airport from the South? (I have heard horror stories about massive redevelopment schemes downtown which make driving a nightmare). Second question: There appear to be some great deals on airport hotels from Priceline. Is this only an option for last-minute bids? Is it possible to book a hotel thru' more conventional means and cancel if Priceline bid is successful? Your thoughts are much appreciated and thanks in anticipation.

The north-south highway is not far from the airport, but construction at the airport makes the directions change a little bit every day. Your best bet is to just get a map and follow the directions of the people you rent your car from.

Thanks Jen, I must say I was hoping for a few more replies to my other questions - perhaps I didn't make the title appealing enough. I might have to rephrase this and try again! Thanks anyway.

You're welcome. For your other stuff, just search these Fodors boards for Priceline. bascially, yes, Priceline deals are available just a fewweeks in advance, so book something cancellable and then try to do better on PLine.

Fall is prime time in New England when hotel rates are at their very highest. Points north and west are more scenic than points south and east, as well as destinations in the White Mountains of NH, Green Mountains of VT, and Berkshires in MA, versus the coast of Maine or Cape Cod. Although, you will get "shoulder season" or lower rates seaside generally. Here's hoping your dates are somewhere between September 27 and October 11, for best foliage colors. October 13, 2003 is the Columbus Day holiday - tops for crowds, traffic (and high rates), but not necessariy the foliage, depending upon where you "tour". Fall was unusually late this year, not likely to occur two years in a row, but you never know. Priceline is generally more useful for large cities (Boston) than beyond (small towns in NH and VT, for example). They tend to have mostly "chain" accomodations, very few of which are located in the most scenic areas. A definite good possibility for your first and last night, so you can taxi to the hotel, then pick up your rental the next day. Much of the "Big Dig" will be finished by next fall, and it's much easier and lest congested driving AWAY from Boston in the morning. But, anytime after 7PM is better too. Best bets for driving back are Saturday, Sunday, any weeknight, except Friday. Boston has just been announced as the sight of the 2004 Democratic Convention, and the new governor will be under great pressure to keep the "Big Dig" moving and on schedule. Booking ahead is recommended for fall in New England. Now is not too soon. You will find minimum stays and rather strict cancellation policies, which you must note, should you wish to cancel later. I live in New Hampshire and we've spent years and years of falls "leaf peeping". Feel free to e-mail me for recommendations. One alternative you may wish to investigate is flying via Boston/Logan to Manchester, NH or Burlington, VT. The additional air fare may very well be nicely offset by avoiding the aggravation of driving from and to Boston, and you will probably find better car rental prices. Unless you specifically wish to spend some time in Boston, your best bet for Fall is to head directly for the above mentioned mountain areas. If foliage and New England and "touring" via car are your priorities for your visit, I highly recommend going to Amazon.com or any other online bookstore where you can find them, and ordering "New Hampshire, An Explorer's Guide", "Vermont, An Explorer's Guide", "Massachusetts, An Explorer's Guide", etc. There are also guides for Cape Cod, Rhode Island, Connecticut, etc. Well worth every penny. Everything you could possibly need to plan the best trip possible (lodging, dining, scenic drives, everything).

Donna, Thanks very much for your comprehensive response! I visited NH in 2000 while I was living in the US but my wife missed out. I am trying to rectify that. I will be in the area from about 5 Oct to 13 Oct 2003, so hope its not too late. I will probably take you up on your kind offer and email you for some NH recommendations. Regards

Ian - There are two highways out of Boston that head to NH. One is RT 95, the other is RT 93. From the airport to get to 93 the most easily explained route is through the Sumner Tunnel and up the ramp. But the traffic is usually bumper to bumper. Its not hard it just takes time. RT 93 travels to the west of the White Mountains. The other route (95) is a bit more difficult to explain but you take RT 1a north through several rotaries to Rt 1 North past several miles of some of the tackiest (orange dinosaurs and leaning towers of pizza etc) but well loved real estate in the US and eventually onto to RT 95. Rt 95 cuts across NH at the seacoast and you are quickly in Maine. But in Newington there is an exit for the highway that takes you to the mountains. (RT 18 I think). Please don't confuse the two highways. We once sent a computer guy (not a native of the US) from our office in Boston up to Portland ME to install some computers. Should have been a 90 minute ride. After 3 hours he still hadn't shown up in Portland. Everyone was wondering what had happened. About 6 hours later we got a call from Canadian Immigration asking if this guy really worked for us and what the heck was he doing in Quebec. He misunderstood the directions, took 93 instead of 95 and nearly got himself deported. Story comes up at every Christmas party as the dumbest thing anyone has ever done.

Thanks Bennie. I might stick with the 'bumper to bumper' tunnel route and try to steer clear of Quebec (I've been there done that!) The 95 route looked a bit more complicated on the map, so you've pretty much confirmed what I thought.

Ian, Your timing for leaf peeping is right on the mark. You have many lodging options, but be advised that the inns, condos and hotels book early. I would consider having arrangements set by 90 days in advance. Locating lodging can be daunting, because it's all over the place. Suggest you check the lodging sections of the ski resort web sites: Bretton Woods, Attitash, Cranmore, Loon, Waterville Valley. That will give you a comprehensive view. Also, the normal peak time for color in the White Mountains is Columbus Day weekend. You may want to start your trip in far northern NH (Dixville Notch where, by the way, they have an uncanny knack of picking presidents) and follow the color southward. And as a final planning note, traffic on the Kancamangus Highway and through North Conway during Columbus Day weekend is, shall we say, a tad crowded, so plan your itinerary accordingly. Have a ball!

It's Kancamagus, not Kancamangus, even though the latter rolls off the tongue more readily and appears in many signs and printed things. I'm sorry to be picky about spelling, usually I'm not, but in this case the correct place name might help in searches, etc.

In my opinion, Routes 302 & 2 are far more scenic than the Kancamangus Highway (which isn't a highway), especially where they pass through the notches. The Kancamangus tends to be filled with motor homes and other slow moving vehicles. You can completely avoid the Route 16 traffic through North Conway by finding a good map and West Side Road, which is parallel to Route 16 and quite scenic.

Thank you all for your useful info. Donna, I think I picked up from another thread that there was a new by pass road just opened East of North Conway? gc - sorry to be an ignorant colonial, but when is Columbus Day weekend?

From a Fellow Oz Traveller We've always found great deals from the coupon books one gets from "Welcome" centres on the state borders, sometimes from airports or Macdonalds even.There is a site you can search before you go, to get an idea - www.roomsaver.com, I think.. From this, we discovered Lexington, just out of Boston , and the Battle Green Motel on the Battle Green of Paul Revere, Minutemen and fights with the British fame. The history and "Americana" was great, and the motel good too. We drove up from New York, but from Lexington, we were advised to drive to a central car park nearby, and catch a train into Boston, which we did. But it is Lexington that I remember more than Boston now, a few years later. (enjoy seeing it in Ally McBeal though)

Ian, It's the second Monday in October, when we celebrate the second invasion of Europeans to our shores 8^) Yes, there's a new road, but it just handles in town traffic. Traffic onto Route 16 from the Kancamagus (Note, SamIam, that I am a quick learner) still backs up long before you get to that road. The real alternative is to take Bear Notch Road into Intervale, and enter North Conway Village from the north. While Donna is correct in saying that Rte 302 through the notch is just as, if not more pretty, it would be a shame to miss the "Kanc" after a trip all the way across the pond. Cheers,

Hi Ian As an Aussie I just thought I'd let you know that given we drive on the opp side of road and having lived in Boston in 2000/1 for 1 yr, I reckon you'd need to be a fairly confident driver to manoevre the streets out of Boston. I drove with a friend out of Boston from Beacon Street - I practically shut tight my eyes until near Braintree. The thing is the Bostonians know the roads and where they want to go very clearly and you just won't unless you read that map really really well. I think you also want to make sure the map is current (given the Big Dig project) as that was also extremely confusing. You've probably found out that the publications we get in Australia don't come close to those available in the US (suggest you buy on line and bite the bullet on the postage). P.S Boston is one of the best city - if you are staying there (and I think it is a must!) somewhere near Beacon Hill just has so much charm. Charles Street is magic, a central location and on the T to Harvard.

Hi Ian, Check that you can use Priceline. My advice from an email to Priceline was that you had to book with a credit card with an American address.

Try The little village south of caonway, Eaton. There is a little B&B called Inn at Crystal Lake. Great place and handy being south of North Conway. They won "best for viewing fall foliage" in Arrington's Best of!

Sorry, thats Conway.