Hello,
We want to go by public transport from Logan airport to the Radisson in Stuart Street travelling in late June and our flight arrives at 14.35. It seems to me that the closest station is Boylston but that would entail a changeover from the blue line at Government centre to the Green line.

Can anyone tell me if this is a foolish thing to attempt seeing as there appears to be no lift or elevator? We each have 1 medium/large rolling suitcase plus 1 piece of hand luggage that we fix onto it. We are away from home (Melbourne, Australia) for 9 weeks and so the cases will not be very light. We have done a lot of travelling but are getting older now - still reasonably fit though.

Also at Boylston Station are there very many stairs? That too appears to have no lift or elevator.

I saw on a previous posting that someone recommended travelling to Aquarium Station and then getting a taxi which should cost about $10 one way.

Would appreciate advice on this - we are on a budget and our dollar is very low against the US $ at the moment.

You obviously have discovered the MBTA.com website, which is useful and usually accurate regarding routing and directions - as it is in this case. While I do not recall exactly how many stairs there are at Boylston, it will be at least a full flight. I do see people hauling luggage up and down stairs at MBTA stations. My concern is that after your flight arrives, you collect your luggage, if there is any flight delay and it is a weekday you are getting close to rush hour.

The route from Logan to your hotel will involve getting on a free shuttle bus at the airline terminal which takes you to the Blue Line. You get on that train, transfer to the Green line and then get off that and return to street level - a lot of transferring for a relatively short distance.

On the Green line you have to decide if you want to "bump" your luggage up the stairs if you get off at Boylston or get off at Park Street and haul your luggage perhaps a 15-20 minute walk along the sidewalk if you want escalator service. Neither sounds much fun to me, but I understand your budget concerns. A taxi from Logan will be about $30 with tip and Logan surcharge. MBTA fare will be $1.70 per person.

Only you can decide which is more foolish and what your budget can sustain. While I enjoy exploring public transit in various cities, after getting off a flight the last thing I want to do is fight crowds in unfamiliar situations with my luggage.

Your trip sounds exciting - hope this helps and if you have any other Boston questions, there are several of us on this Board who live in the area and like to share our experience.

Thank you Gail,

Food for thought.

Some metro systems are quite easy to handle ie Washington and others are awkward. It seems that Boston is in the latter category. In any case it is a lot more comprehensive than what we have here in Melbourne as transport from the airport. Thanks again.

Think you'll find the Boston metro system is very easy to handle -- once you've gotten your luggage to your hotel and aren't trying to get to and from the airport. (Point of info: the subway/trolley system was planned and begun long before air travel and before people with lots of luggage were likely to haul it themselves on below-ground conveyances.)

If you're young, strong, and patient with hassles, you can do the bus-subway-subway-walk thing - or some combination of T and taxi - for not much money (and you might as well get the several-day pass on the T while you're at it).

I seem to remember, however, that there are various hotel shuttle vans or shared van services serving the terminals at Logan for a fee (something like $15 per person, although that may well have changed). If there's a toll free number for the Radisson chain that you can use in Melbourne (assuming from your name that that is where you are writing from), call them and ask if any of the shuttle vans serve that hotel -- alternatively, email them with the question: [email protected]

Enjoy a great city!

I think the Radisson does have a shuttle service, not sure of the cost, but certainly worth looking into

I looked at Radisson Boston website - no mention of a shuttle. And there are shuttles that go to several hotels - and they do charge about $10-20 per person. But why would the poster choose that, since a cab costs less than $30 per cab, not person.

If it were me, I would find a way to economize in some other way and spring for the cab - hauling all this luggage thru transit transfers would put me in a rotten mood.

The steps at Boylston are especially steep and difficult, among the worst in the system because of the station is quite deep.

I would not take a cab from the airport. You would be going through a very congested part of the city at a busy time.

The Aquarium + taxi is a good suggestion.

I think a better one is an MBTA Silver Line electric bus to South Station, then a taxi from there. Escalators and elevators in South Station, and you are really only crossing China Town to the Radisson, and that isn't very far.

Cheapest but not best would be Blue line from the airport to State Street, changing to the Orange Line for one of the Chinatown stops. But it is a long walk underground.

Let me congratulate you on the Radisson. It has a dingy lobby but our room last year was completely renovated with exceptional beds, interesting city views, and the staff was very pleasant and helpful.

Honestly, taking a cab from the airport will be perfectly fine. Maybe people misread, but if you're landing at 2:35, then you should be on your way by 3:30-4. Some areas might be a little slow, but I really don't think taking the T to the Aquarium and then a taxi makes much sense.

The subway stations at Park Street and Boylston, opened in 1897, are the first ever built in the United States. They are many decades older than anything in the Washington DC subway system, which has the advantage of being almost all planned at once rather than piecemeal like older systems. One of the major entrances at Park Street is currently closed for renovations.

I vote for a taxi.

An additional tidbit: The trains used on the Green Line aren't subway cars, they are trolleys which require climbing up a couple of tall steps in order to board the car. More lugging! And as noted above, you'd be negotiating the busy sidewalks of the Back Bay on your hike from the station to your hotel.

Think Ackislander may have best plan.

I also checked the Radisson's website for the OP and found no mention of the shuttle -> hence my reco to contact them directly - because the last time (about 3 yrs. ago) I stayed in a Boston hotel instead of with relatives, I took a generic van that stopped at a number of hotels, depending on where people wanted to go. The vans don't work for the hotels, so the hotels don't list them on their websites. But the question of per-person is relevant - if you're alone, van may be cheaper; in a group, a cab is cheaper.

But by 3 pm the tunnel traffic will be daunting, so if you can get across the water and downtown a different, so much the better.

Yes, I vote for Silver Line from Airport (stop is at each Terminal) to South Station, then taxi to your hotel. There are escalators and elevators at South Station.

For the Blue->Green Line change, there are escalators at the Government Center station, but as others have pointed out, NO escalators at Bolyston. I used to go to Bolyston stop every day for several years, and it's 2 flights of stairs.

The Subway system in Boston has been around for over 100 years. As Anonymous has pointed out, the Bolyston Station opened in 1897 along with Park Street Stations. Both are the oldest stations in the US. The MBTA is gradually modernizing the stations making them accessible.

If you choose the Silver Line to South Station + taxi option, bear in mind that you need to buy your subway ticket from the machine in the terminal before you board the Silver Line (it looks like a bendy bus and runs on the road, not a subway car that runs on tracks). The ticket machines are located just inside the terminal where the Silver Line stops.

wyatt, we're trying to offer a more affordable alternative

Where was my head at? The Silver Line sounds perfect. Has anyone taken it from airport to NE Med Center? Not sure if you transfer at SouthStation but that would leave you with a 3 block easy walk to the Radison which if you have rolling luggage would be very easy.

good meal deals:
a favourite breakfast place is a few blocks up Charles street called The Paramount
a favourite hearty italian is Giacamos on Columbus for Chicken Parm
chinatown is always an adventure, I fancy Tiawan Cafe for some authentic dishes

sounds like a grand adventure!

But NEMC is on the Orange line. The "Silver Line" stop for NEMC is not connected to the Airport Silver Line.

Don't ask me who designed this...

yk, the two legs of the silver line don't connect at south station?

Nope. The Airport/Waterfront branch starts at South Station. The Washington St branch starts at Downtown Crossing.
http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_ma.../?route=SILVER

wow, that's CRAZY! Welcome to Boston!

Indeed, the Silver Line is 3 bus routes, though 2 overlap. Think of the Silver Line as an alliance of new bus routes with pretensions of being subways.

Oh and South Station to your hotel would be about 8 city blocks on flat city streets from Kneeland which turns into Stuart at the Washington cross. Just in case you luggage rolls well, and you want to stretch your legs

It's actually a pretty far walk from South Station to Radisson Hotel. My friends stayed there last fall and they were on their way to the airport. Since I was taking a bus near South Station, they said they would walk with me. I think they regretted they did (so did I) because it's a good 15 min brisk walk with lots of streets to cross and very busy sidewalks. My friends are in their 30s and run daily, but by the time they reached South Station with luggage, they definitely looked worn out by the walk!

So, to reiterate, for the OP, best bet is:

Silver Line from you airport terminal to South Station ($2 per person)
Taxi from South Station to your hotel.

The Silver Line "bus" involves lifting your luggage up/down the 2 steps to get on/off the bus. There are luggage racks on the Silver Line buses.

The first time I returned to Boston after Silver Line started, I was shocked to see that it was a bus and not a subway line...