Drive from Cape Cod to Logan Airport
 

If we are driving from mid-Cape (Brewster) to Logan airport, how much travel time should we allow? It's a 11am domestic flight to Orlando leaving on Monday in March so I don't anticipate traffic getting off the Cape but not sure about rush hour traffic getting into Boston. We plan to check-in for the flight ahead of time and will not need to check luggage. Mapquest says it's about 2 hours, 89 miles but wanted to make sure this is accurate. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks.

You'll have to be at the airport at least an hour in advance, and if you're returning a car, you'll have to allow time for that. So with returning a car, I would plan to get to Logan by 9:00 a.m. so you will be hitting the rush hour traffic coming North.

I would leave Brewster by about 7:00 a.m. You'll be at the Sagamore bridge in about 30 minutes or less and that will give you a cushion for arriving at Logan. If you're the nervous type, I'd leave a bit earlier.

You can check traffic reports on 1030 am on the radio at any time ending in 3. 7:03, 7:13 etc. That probably won't help much because there are no great alternatives to get to the airport from the South but it will alert you to any problems. Take the Ted Williams tunnel from 93 North to the airport.

If you are planning to be at Logan 2 hours before your flight, you will be in traffic on a Monday and it can be brutal. I would allow at least 3 hours to be sure to get to the airport on time. Any little bit of road work, fender bender, rain, sleet, snow in March could add hours to your trip, plan on leaving by 6 AM and hope for clear sailing.

I agree with emalloy. Leave at 6am, traffic is brutal on 93 during the morning commute. Hopefully, you won't have too difficult a time but I'd prepare for the worst.

Agree - 6 AM. If weather is especially bad, even earlier - and it can still snow quite heavily in March. Listen to weather and if really heavy rain or anything frozen is predicted I would consider an airport hotel the night before.

One additional thing to consider is that they have just resumed work on the Sagamore bridge. They are promising it won't be as bad as it was last fall, which was HORRIBLE, but it still can't be pretty. By leaving earlier, you should catch it before the backup starts. Here's a recent article in the Cape Cod Times about it.

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pb...1/NEWS/3010310

Great point about work on the Sagamore Bridge causing delays coming from the Cape. Check here for more information and links: http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/recrea...dgenotices.htm
And here is a web cam for the bridge: http://www.capecodlivecam.com/sagamore.shtml

Also, if there are two or more of you going to Logan, you have the option to take the HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lane when you get to Rt. 93.

We just got back from a domestic flight from Boston to New Orleans leaving at 11 am and opted to stay the night at an airport hotel, the Courtyard Marriot. We are very glad that we did because the morning of our flight the roads were icy, prompting school cancellations and delayed openings and the early ride to the airport would not have been pleasant. Later in March you will be less likely to encounter such weather but it is not totally unlikely. So if you have that option you might seriously consider staying at an airport hotel and letting their shuttle get you to the airport.
Also, the security seems to have tightened at Logan from our last trip in January, causing some backups at the final screening. I have read that Boston is initiating total body scanners in March, although we did not encounter anything but the usual metal scanners (as far as we know). Still, I would allow 2 hours for getting through security in plenty of time.

You can sometimes get a great deal on hotwire.com, or I assume priceline, too, but the "zone" game is really tricky for the airport area. The thing about hotwire as that there are only two 4-star hotels in the "Airport-Saugus" area, last I checked, and they are both right at the airport. You don't want hotels in Revere, Saugus, etc. but you screen those out by reserving 4-star level only. I'd also check biddingfortravel.com to get an idea whether people manage to confine their results to the airport area on priceline.

I wouldn't risk the drive either - it can still be lousy weather in March.

Afterthought - if you are driving your own car, you might check for park-n-fly arrangements in the Boston area (but, again, steer clear of Revere/Saugus corridor).