Boston to New York
 

I have the chance of getting relatively cheap flights to a US city from the UK (return flight must be from the same city). I want to do a multi-trip (eg Boston and New York) and spend about 4 or 5 days in each city. Is it easy and worthwhile getting from Boston to New York, eg by rail? I have been to New York before so any other city ideas within easy access of Boston would be welcome.

Yes, it's very easy to travel between NY and Boston by bus or rail. The rail service, known as Amtrak, runs a very fast (and expensive) service called the Acela but also runs more reasonable trains that cost a lot less and don't take THAT much longer (e.g., 3.5 hours vs. 4.5).<BR><BR>The buses are usually cheaper but also less comfortable, and vulnerable to traffic tie-ups, esepcially at rush hours.

Mike, if you can fly cheaply into Providence, RI ( an hour south of Boston) you can still catch the train to NYC or Boston but it is much less of a hassle than Logan airport.Plus, Providence is a cool city now with good food ..esp if you like Italian. Bon Voyage

I'd be surprised if there are direct flights between London and Providence.<BR><BR>Anyway, taxi connections between the airport and the train station are easier in Boston than in NY or Providence (the airport is actually south of Providence, in Warwick), and the train from Prov. to Boston costs $9 for commuter rail and $20 or more for the one-hour Amtrak ride (same station and rails).<BR><BR>Providence is a charming city, much improved lately (we'll miss ya, Buddy!), but not a rival for limited time already allcoated to Boston and NYC.

Thanks for the info so far. I chose to fly into Boston because I thought ot was very easy to get to the city (on the T or a taxi?). I'm definitely open to looking at different city ideas - I have been to NYC for a week before but am keen to go back and this seems an ideal chance.

If you've got some time, particularly having seen NY before, it is definitely worthwhile to rent a car and drive. There are lots of great places in Mass/RI/CT, or even NH and VT following a route from Albany down to NYC. I'd explore New England for two to three days.

2-3 days for New England by car???!!! You're nuts. The drive NY-Boston is much less enjoyable--can be downright unpleasant -- than the train ride, and the train goes along the coast for part of the trip. Once in Boston, perhaps it would be worth a day or two of renting a car to poke around but there's plenty, plenty to do in Boston "proper" and you'd never want a car there.<BR><BR>If it were me, I'd fly into Boston -- shorter transatlantic flight, for one thing -- spend 4-5 days there, then train down to NYC for 4-5 days there. Then take a morning train back up to Boston to catch what will almost certainly be an evening flight back to UK.

Getting from the airport into Boston is easy by either method. <BR><BR>Taking the T, you get on a free shuttle bus that makes a loop around all the terminals and also stops at the "Airport" stop on the Blue Line of the subway system. Unfortunately, the Blue Line does not go to the most popular sections of the city for travelers, so most people must transfer once again to get to their hotels. <BR><BR>Even more unfortunate, South Station, where you'd get on (or off) the New York train, is on the Red Line, which doesn't intersect with the Blue Line. So getting from South Station to the airport involves 3 subway lines plus the shuttle bus, even though the airport is just a couple of miles from South Station as the crow flies.

If you're not carrying a lot of luggage, maybe one bag with wheels, you can easily walk from Aquarium stop (on blue line) to Downtown (Red Line) instead of all those subway transfers ... heck, I've walked with luggage from Aquarium to So. Station.<BR><BR>A car ride DIRECTLY from Boston to NYC would be unpleasant, but a drive further north thru New England would be very nice. Maybe Sturbridge Village, Williamstown, Vermont, Hartford? Or maybe head S from Boston to Plymouth? Or north to Gloucester, or Lowell?<BR><BR>Or if you use Amtrak, stop at Mystic Connecticut for a day. If you leave Boston later in the day, take the MBTA commuter rail from Boston to Providence, then transfer to Amtrak for the remainder of your trip. Explore Providence too while you're there! (there is no x in my real eddress)<BR>