travelsuper

I will be traveling to Boston with my wife and kids August 4-6. We will be staying with family in Danvers which is on the North Shore and will have a car.

We would like to spend a day starting with the Duck Tour (near the Science Museum) early in the morning around 9 or 10 and spend the rest of the day at the Science Museum. How is the traffic coming in from the North into Boston? I am planning to leave at the tail end of rush hour to maybe get a 10 or 10:30 Duck Tour.

I see the big dig construction around the Science Museum ends August 1st. Anybody know if this is still on schedule? If so, we should miss it. I was thinking of driving in and parking at the museum for the day, since we can also take the Duck Tour from there. I assume they have a large enough parking garage and it is reasonable?

TS

Dick

The Mueseum of Science is my favorite museum in the Boston area. Parking should not be a problem in the am and rates are by the hour. See the museum's website for cost... http://www.mos.org/
They also list bulletins regarding big dig construction in the area.

ausc59

Since you are running on a rather tight schedule, you might want to pre-purchase your Duck tour tickets. We did this several years ago and had a great time! Really pulled together all the sites we had walked early on the Freedom Trail.

Jacqueline1212

Duck Tours sell out way ahead so make sure you pre-purchase well in advance.

gail

We are Boston-area residents but had never been on a Duck Tour before this past Sunday. First, even though there is construction, you are permitted to go as far as Museum of Science - so even if there is some sort of delay, you will be OK. We thoroughly enjoyed Dick Tour and our teenage exchange student (Spain) and our own daughter got to drive it while it was in the Charles River.

Second, tickets can be pre-purchased on Bostonducktours.com website 5 days in advance - I recommend it, since there were many disappointed people at Museum of Science on Sunday.

I would allow at least an hour to get from Danvers to M of S. Plus add 1/2 hour prior to time of Duck Tour because people start to line up then.

Parking cost us $8.00 for time of Duck Tour, so it is not outrageous for Boston standards. I might consider following your plan for Duck Tour and then day at Museum of Science. They have an OK restaurant on the first floor for lunch. You might also consider heading into North End for dinner that night - it is a possible longish walk from Museum of Science (I would guess about a mile), but in the evening there is reasonable parking in lots and garages at outskirts of North End (reasonable is relative - remember, this is Boston), unless there is an event at the Fleet Center, when garages up their prices.

travelsuper

Thanks gail. Good to have a perspective from a local..especially for the lead time from Danvers to M of S. We will definitely get our tickets online for the Duck Tours. The Duck Tour will probably take the morning and we will spend the afternoon at the museum of science.

TS

Anonymous

The Duck Tours board right AT the MOS, so an alternative would be to take the tour mid-day and spend time before and after it in the museum. This would put less pressure on your arrival time, give you a chance to see the exhibit about the vehicles, and just generally break up the day.

IIRC, the MOS parking garage rates are hourly but hit the max at about 4 hours; easy enough to check on the web site.

travelsuper

Anon-
good idea about a midday duck tour since the early morning ducktours seem to book up first and less stress worrying about getting there in time with morning traffice.
Thanks!

Now if you can find me some cheap Red Sox tickets!

Dick

We got our sox tix on ebay