Two friends and I are traveling to Boston in mid-September for a week's stay. I have lots of questions. What hotel would you recommend in Boston? We'd like one that is clean and safe and centrally located. For a couple of relaxing days along the coast away from the city, where should we go? Also, can someone recommend a good whale watching trip? Are they worth the time and money in September? What are your favorite "can't miss" places to go or things to see in the Boston area? Thanks, everyone.

For the whale watch, I'd recommend 7 Seas. www.7seas-whalewatch.com out of Gloucester. The next town over is Rockport, which is a quaint (but touristy)seaside village. Wonderful shops, art galleries, restaurants, inns, etc. There are a couple of inns in that area that seem really nice (have eaten there some years ago, but can't attest to the accomodations.) One is the Yankee Clipper Inn and the other is Emerson by the Sea. Both are just out of town and along the coast. Actually, I just did a google search and came up with this website for Rockport -- http://www.rockportusa.com
The pictures truly depict some of the beauty of this area. We travel a lot and yet always appreciate living in this area.
I'm sure you'll get lots of recommendations for this area. September is a beautiful time to visit. A little early for foliage (maybe), but the water is warmer and the kids have gone back to school. By the way, Gloucester is the home of The Perfect Storm.

If you're in to history you might consider a trip to down to Plymouth Mass. where you can check out the Mayflower and pilgrims, and also do an excellent whalewatch with Capt. Johnboats. See websitehttp://www.whalewatchingplymouth.com/. I believe there is public transportation from boston if you are not driving.

For a Boston hotel, we like the Marriot at Longwharf. It's located right on the harbor (great views), just across the road from Fanuel Hall/Quincy Market, right above a subway stop,and a short walk to the North End. As for beaches, the above posts are good. Also consider that there is a ferry to Provincetown from Boston. Provincetown has some great whale watching cruises. You may also want to consider an overnight to Cape Cod, or even the southern Maine Coast. A day trip to Lexington would also be fun.

Yeah, the ferry is rumored to be great and at the least, you'll be avoiding the Cape traffic.

http://www.boston-ptown.com

Hotels in Back Bay, near Fanieul Hall and on the waterfront are generally best. Probably most of the major hotels recommended by your average travel guide will be "clean and safe and centrally located" but since Boston can get pricey, the best thing to do is to pick a few that you like and then post another question asking about the advantages of each.

Did this trip in Sept 2001. We were there a week and had time to spend a several days exploring Boston. We then drove up to Salem - visited a few of the sites there and then on to Gloucester. Stayed in Gloucester overnight - had a great time at the Crow's Nest (the bar from the movie Perfect Storm) met some fun people and then the next day headed back down to Plymouth to visit the Mayflower, Plymouth Plantation and Plymouth rock. Then on to Cape Cod. Stayed in Hyannis a couple of nights and did trips to Martha's Vineyard for a day and drove to Provincetown where we took a whale watching tour from. Can't remember the name of the company but it was right by the pier that we left from. It was the best whale watching we have ever seen! Not to be missed IMHO. We even had time to drive as far as Newport RI to check out the mansions on the Cliff Walk and down to Mystic CT where they were having their "Taste" festival. Had a great time there also. Flew out of Logan Airport on Sept 9, 2001 - too close for my comfort (9/11) but had a wonderful time with great weather. Some will say we should have spent more time and I'm sure if we went back we'd see many things we missed but it was nice to hit most of the highlights.
Pam