We are driving from the Albany NY area (I-90 E) and want to park our car in a "t" or commuter rail parking lot instead of paying ridiculous per day parking fees at Logan Airport.

On 1 July we are departing Logan Airport Terminal E at 6:00 p.m. Which means we need to be checking in about 3 p.m. We will be in Europe until 23 July and will want to return from the airport to where we left the car parked.

Please help me find the easiest and least expensive way to do this. As I look at the MBTA map it looks as though Auburndale Station will take us to South Station which will take usto the airport. My questions include

a) am I correct I can get from Auburndale to Logan with 1 transfer
b) is there a parking lot at th Auburndale rail station - if so is it reasonable to think I can get a parking spot at 2 in the afternoon?
c) are these parking lots accessible 24/7 (provided a Noreaster hasn't blown through)
c) If Auburndale doesn't have a parking lot where is the first commuter rail or "t" that does close to I-90 heading east?
d) Will the silver line also access Terminal E at Logan?

I am open to any and all reasonable suggestions. To answer the obvious question why not fly from Syracuse (origination point) or Albany? Because a cheap flight to Paris originated in Boston and for 2 people to fly from Syr or Alb to Boston is about $350! When I made the reservations I mistakenly presumed I could rent a car at the origination point and drop it off at Logan and do the same upon return for less.....Ha Ha, at $170/day car rentals I should have flown....so now I'm looking into alternatives before breaking the travel budget even before I get out of the country!

Anxiously awaiting your suggestions for inexpensive long term parking along a t or commuter rail route near I-90E to get to Terminal E Logan Airport.

Thanks fodorites for your insights,
Julie

Have you tried one of the Park-n-fly hotels?
http://boston.parksleepfly.com/

It used to be the cheapest parking at MBTA stations was $5 at somewhere like Alewife although I'm sure there are some stations closer to the airport. I don't think all stations with parking allow overnight parking.

No, you cannot leave your car at the little Auburndale lot for 3 weeks; you can't even leave it there overnight. Most MBTA stations don't allow overnight parking, and I'm pretty sure you don't want to leave your care there for 3 weeks even if it's permitted.

Your other options include the long-term lot at Logan, $108 per week, the huge parking garage at the Westwood commuter rail station, about $80 per week (plus train fare), or the Logan Express bus from Framingham, about $22 per person plus $66 per week parking.

Maybe you should consider Greyhound. Are you sure you've exhausted the car-rental options?

Hi Julie-

1) You can scratch the Auburndale idea. According to MBTA:
http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_ma...ons/?stopId=10
Auburndale station only has 35 parking spots.

2) Looking at the other commuter rail stations near I-90, none of them are good options as most have fairly few parking spaces (eg, the ones in Newton, Wellesley etc).
http://www.mbta.com/riding_the_t/par...l=Find+Parking

3) The only station that you have a chance of finding a spot at 2pm, is the Riverside T station at the end of Green Line D. That lot has close to 1000 spaces and allows overnight parking. I think it is $6/day. The next stop on Green Line D closer to town, is Woodland station which has a covered, gated garage with 500+ spots. The rate there is $0.25 or $0.50 more per day. Therefore, between those 2, you should be able to find a spot to park.

[Personally, I would NOT park my car at Riverside for 3 weeks, because it is an open-air lot. I just don't think it's safe for 3 weeks.]

4) HOWEVER, taking the Green line D from the end of the line to Logan, is not a fun activity. I've done it a couple of times (to save $), but we're talking about a long ride (50 mins) to Govt Center; then change for Blue Line to Airport Station, then change for the Blue Line Shuttle to the Terminal. Terminal E is the last stop on the shuttle. So, expect a 90-minute journey if all goes smoothly.

5) A more expensive but easier option, is park at the Framingham Logan Express Lot and take the Logan Express to the airport.
http://www.massport.com/logan/getti_logan_frami.html

Rate is $66/week; + $22 r/t per person for the bus. I don't know how the parking situation is, so you should call to find out.

6) How "inexpensive" are you looking for? You are parking your car for 3 weeks. Even at the Green Line lots, you will be paying $120-130 or so; + the long trek to airport. Or, at the Logan Express lot, you're looking at ~$250.

7) Last option is the Pre-Flight parking lot AT Logan. It is a commercial lot in Chelsea, with frequent service to Logan. We used it in May and were fairly pleased. Their rate is $108/week, but there is a downloadable coupon on the website for 25% off entire stay. So it cuts your cost down to $81/week = $243. Not much different than the Logan Express Framingham option, and less hassle.
http://www.preflightparking.com/BOS.aspx

Hope this helps, and good luck.

Forget the MBTA parking as the website says maximum days allowed is 7.

P.S., The Riverside Green Line T station is right off I-90 @ junction of Rt 128. Woodland station, the next stop, is just a few minutes up the road. So, both are easily accessible from I-90.

You can find information regarding MBTA and parking on their website. Be advised, that seven days is the maximum (at garages which permit overnight parking), after which you will be ticketed, then towed. Frankly, I would not leave my car at any of those lots for very long.

Long term parking near the airport is, indeed, expensive for three weeks.

One very inexpensive alternative would be to drive to Nashua, New Hampshire, where you can park your car for free at several different locations.

Have a look at

http://www.bostonexpressbus.com/new-...ua-exit-8.html

and

http://www.flightlineinc.com/mhtspecialrates062008.html

We always use Flightline as the bus stops first at South Station before going to Logan, and stops there first on the return trip as well. With Flightline, you can book online and the trip to Logan is only 40-60 minutes. On your return to Logan, you just phone Flightline - their vans circle the airport every half hour.

http://www.flightlineinc.com/newhamp...anshuttle.html

ky- interesting about the 7-day limit. I never noticed, as I never had to park for longer than that.

Well, I guess for our OP julie, her options are Logan Express-Framingham, or at Logan (such as Pre-flight).

PS Be sure to allow plenty of time for your road trip. You just never know what can go wrong. If it were me, I'd get the drive out of the way the night before.

I would do the Park/Sleep/Fly which is popping up between $169-$189 for those dates. It only shows being able to book for 14 nights, but when you click on it you get a warning you might be charged more for the additional nights. When I clicked OK, turns out there wasn't an additional fee charged. Four Pts Airport or HI Express Airport were cheapest with airport shuttle. I would make sure of the no additional charge before booking.

Hi djkbooks, for the Nashua Exit 8 lot, I suppose it's pretty safe? Is it just an open, unmanned lot? Would you park your car there for 3 weeks? Just curious.

We use Exit 5 because it's closest to our home, and also the last stop going and first returning on that route - though, more often than not, we are the only passengers. We used to book Flightline door to door, but the new "park and ride" is so much more economical! - and also almost as convenient.

We're very comfortable with the lot at Exit 5, as it's located in a quiet residential neighborhood, next to an office complex, and not far from the police station. No guarantees, but we've left our (not bragging) Mercedes ML350 there for as long as 15 days while traveling in Europe, and my husband often leaves it there for one week business trips without incident. I'd feel just as comfortable with any of the Flightline lots or the Visitors Center at Exit 6.

NO WAY I'd feel comfortable leaving either of our vehicles at any of the "park/sleep/fly" hotel lots in Boston. And, according to what I've read on various forums, shuttle service is unreliable - such as you go to the curb with your bags only to be advised that all shuttle seats have been booked for the entire day...or there is no shuttle service today because the driver called in sick.

Among all the possibilities in Boston, the Thrifty lot receives the best reviews, by far, on all the travel forums, and there's a discount coupon on their website. For a while, before Flightline introduced their "park and ride", we used Thrifty a few times. Lot is lighted and secure, and it's "valet". On arrival in Boston, when you hop on the shuttle, the driver phones the lot and your car is waiting for you when you arrive (you don't have to take another shuttle to get to it).

We've used Flightline for more than ten years and they've always been totally reliable.

Thanks everyone for the information. It is obvious "t" and commuter rail are NOT the answer. As I explored your many suggestions I'm still spending approximately $250 either for hotel/park/ride (including taxes) or Logan Express w/$66 per week + rt fare to Logan x 2 or going back to my original idea.

For some reason I seemed to think that car rental fees were the same when travelling between the same two points. This is not true. For me it was $86 to BOS 1 way. When I went to "reserve" it turned out it was $86 travelling west to east BUT from BOS it was $172 - twice the price. My goal was to keep the cost of getting to and from Logan below the cost of 1 adult fare ticket to Boston from Syracuse currently $220. I only missed by $30. So its back to the rental car.

Again, thanks everyone for all your great suggestions.
Happy travels and exciting adventures,
Julie

So sorry we couldn't come up with a workable solution, but in addition to cost all those other options were also a lot more hassle and most of them also had more risk of significant unforeseen delays. Maybe a great rental deal will show up. Have a great trip!

You could just leave your car at home and take the train from Albany to Boston. At South Station take the T into the airport. The price of parking your car for the time you are overseas will be about the same as paying for a train ride anyway.

Like some of the other posts said, I wouldn't want to leave a car in one of those parking lots all that time anyway. I live in MA on the border with RI, the commuter rail parking lot does not allow long term storage. Cars are often broken into by thieves and radios and whatever stolen.

An alternative that you can check out is the long term parking near Green Airport (Providence Airport) it will be cheaper than Boston. But you have to take a bus or private ride to Boston for your flight if you can not switch flights.

Good luck.

I understand your wanting to be frugal - that $220 flight leaves at 6AM, gives you five extra hours at Logan, but where will you park the car for three weeks in Syracuse? You may find that worth the expense, compared to driving three hours each way before/after an overseas flight. Total for two $440, plus parking?

Obviously, whether you rent a car, or drive your own, you'll have a three hour drive. Do you really want to do that the same day(s) as an overseas flight?

Park and Ride with Flightline from Nashua, NH is $19/person each way or a total of $76, with free, and safer (than Boston) parking. There are nice accomodations in the area for less than $100/night. Two overnights plus transportation total $276.

I cannot imagine taking the train being economical and/or practical, and you never know about reliability.

At some point, you're probably going to have to adjust your budget.

What is the point of trying to save half the cost of two people flying, or about $220, for all that inconvenience, not to mention adding extra contingencies to your travels going smoothly?

djk, I think the OP is based in Syracuse, which is another 3 hours west of Albany.

Not sure, she started off with driving from the Albany area...

I'd be curious to know what the "cheap fare" was, as there are flights from Syracuse with one connection for only $858 right now for those dates, and just $834 from Albany.

One time we made a reservation for the time of our return trip, at the Red Roof Inn in Framingham. We asked if it would be ok to leave the car in their parking lot for two weeks -- they said sure, as long as we parked in the back row away from the hotel. So we did. Total cost = hotel 1 night (which we used, btw, to take a nap before our jet-lagged drive home) plus short taxi ride to/from Logan Express terminal.

Logan Express does have a secure gated lot, with overflow parking, so I don't think it would be a problem to park there.