Going to Boston from New York
 

Hi.

Is a 1-day trip to Boston from New York City doable?

I found a bus line that travels from NYC to Boston and back for $30 roundtrip. Any suggestions on how best to spend 8-9 hours in Boston?

We will do this April 19 or 20. (We are a family of four - incl 18-yr old and 15-yr old).

Thanks!

doable but probably a very long day. I would question if it was really worth it. What are your interests so we would be able to narrow it down? The 21 is the Boston Marathon so there will be lots of people in Boston that weekend so lines may be very long. I would recommend Qunicy Market area. Plus various sights along the Freedom Trail if you like historical sights. Would always recommend going to Fenway Park area - even if you are not going toa game. Boston Aquarium, Prudential. Boston is a small city so it is easy to get around via subway but with limited time and large crowds, it will be tough.

UIs the busline to which you refer one of the Chinese bus lines - Fung Wah, for example? If so, do a search here and read comments about its safety and reliability records - some love it, some are fearful.

Do not underestimate the level of actgivity in Boston that weekend with Marathon and Patriots Day. At the same time, one-night hotel rooms would likely be difficult or impossible to find and very expensive.

Trip is possible but I would not do it, especially on Fung Wah bus - too unreliable and I would not risk getting stranded late at night in Boston with no hotel that weekend. I would spend the time in NYC and save Boston for sometime when you have a little more time.

I agree with this! Boston is a mess during the Marathon as the hotels and tourist traps are swamped with out of towners. Further, you can barely get around the Copley area where roads are blocked off for the race.

Do NOT take Fung Wah. Greyhound/Peter Pan is around the same and they have family deals sometimes. Search the internet for coupons for these lines.

If you have 8-9 hours here is my suggestion on a nice day:
1. Bus into Back Bay Station

2. Come out of the front to the right, one block away is Copley Square. You will see Trinity Church, John Hancock Building and Boston Public Library.

3. If you want expensive shopping, Newbury Street is one block away (I say avoid it). Head towards the Church to the Left - Boylston Street and walk 2 blocks to the Boston Common. If you are lazy, hope on the subway (the T), green line towards Gov't Center.

4. Get out at Gov't Center and go past the big building to Quincy Market/Fanueil Hall. Lots of Street performers should amuse the kids. Wagamama is a great new, relatively inexpensive, noodle place in Fanueil Hall.

5. Walk past F.H. across the road to the aquarium.

6. Take a walk to the North End and grab a Canoli or mid afternoon gellato/coffee.

If you come into South Station, do this the opposite way. All the above is the one day, tourist trip to Boston.

Doable but I wouldn't recommend it. Save Boston for another time, and don't take the Fung Wah bus!

Altho I agree w/the posters above, context is everything! If this is your one and only chance to see Boston, for whatever reason, that puts this rather grueling journey in a different light.

Re:fung wah..... separately from the safety issues, I have experience (vicarious) of the trip sometimes taking 6-7 hours b/c of delays. A holiday week-end, which this is for Boston, makes such delays even more of a possibility.

Recommend the train, if you can afford it, simply because the trains cannot get swamped in traffic the way buses can.

I would do it, but with full awareness that Patriots Day and the Marathon will make it a very busy weekend, especially downtown in the area of Copley Sq.

Greyhound/Peterpan e-tickets are $38 roundtrip (it just went up from $30 in '08). They run roughly every hour. My daughter has used them several times, and it's been fine. To get this price, you have to click on the E-ticket link on greyhound.com (same as peter pan). I don't know if they have any family specials that are better than this price, but no other discounts came close to this that I could find.

The bus ride is scheduled to take around 4.5 hours, but usually it's more like 5. On occasion it's been as little as 4, but that's not typical.

I have also taken the trains, and honestly, they take almost as long as the bus, and cost much more. I've also had many schedule delays on the train (waited around thre station for over an hour). The bus on the other hand runs every hour, and there never seems to be any delays. In fact, during busy times, they just add extra buses, and they leave as the fill up.

Also worth visiting, if you kids like art is the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. My daughter is an art student in Boston and loves these places.

The buses (Chinatown, Greyhound, Peter Pan, Fung Wah, et al.) do not use the Back Bay station; they use South Station. Amtrak stops in both places, so if you take the train you can hop off at Back Bay before the train proceeds to South Station.

I too would wait til you have more time, especially considering you're with teens. If they're anything like I was at 15, that trip wouldn't be ideal for parents!

If this is the only time you think you can ever get to Boston and there are a few things you want to see, then go for it

However, I believe it is also the first weekend of Massachusetts Public School Spring Vacation week, doesn't that start that weekend? anyone??

So between that traffic, and the other events, and Passover also I think.....geez, I wouldn't drive or take a bus from NYC for one day -

I would not take one day away from NYC if I was only in NYC for a short trip - how long are you there for?

But if you decide to :

Another vote for NEVER taking the fung wah bus -
take a legitimate line like Peter Pan or others mentioned -

or take the train - which usually runs the same (non-acela) - as driving - but all you need is one traffic jam and you lose hours - I have sat, unexpectedly, between NYC and Boston and seen a 4 hr trip turn into a 6 or 7 hour trip too many times -
but maybe if you went early, early and returned late, late you wouldn't have that problem -

the train if you can afford it if only to avoid that possibility

four hours here, four hours back minimal by bus - and yes, you can see some historical sites within your visit timeframe if you plot your plan ahead of time !

good luck deciding.

It is the start of school vacation that week.

one of the reasons I am so glad my vacations no longer center around those dates :)

Don't know about the train either - there was some article that Amtrak must replace defective railroad ties between New Haven and NYC and this would cause delays - don't know when they will start the work.

The tie-replacement isn't supposed to begin for a little while, I believe.