Harvard visit
 

I am taking my daughter back east for a NYC/NJ/Philly/Willamsburg/DC trip in October. She has shared she would really like to do a tour of Harvard.

I checked and can take the train from NYC to Boston in the am - spend the day in Boston and spend the night and head to NJ the next day. (a Sat) and spend the day/night with family in NJ.

I contacted Harvard and there is a tour we can go on that Friday.

Question - would you stay BY Harvard or IN Boston? I have never been to Boston and have only done a small amount of research.

Thank you in advance,

Dawn

If it's a college visit, then I'd stay in Cambridge. You'd get more of a feel for what the school and Cambridge are like outside of school hours. It's important to get the entire feel of a place on a college tour (and the feel of the town is what drove my college/grad school decisions).

If it's just to see Harvard, you can do that in a few hours, and take the very short T ride back into Boston.

kgh8m - It is just to see Harvard. She is eleven :-)

HeHe! Then definitely stay in Boston. Harvard is pretty and the college-y part of Cambridge is cool, too (MIT is prettier to me), but that would probably occupy about 2 hours of her time.

Boston has so many more things to do. And, for an 11 year old, I'd really, really recommend a Duck Tour (you can book online). That's cute and fun, and I'm 30! Boston is also incredibly walkable - so you could hit Boston Common, Faneuil Hall, a good look at the Harbor, etc. all just by an easy walk.

Great! Thank you!

What area would you recommend in Boston? We will not have a car, are arriving by train...

Hi Dawn,

The Back Bay is central to everything so any hotel there would work. Not sure what your budget is, but the Liberty Hotel is very nice and right across from a red line T stop which will take you to Harvard Sq pretty quickly.

Also, the Charles Hotel in Harvard Sq would be a great choice, it's on the pricey side though.

Thanks Wyatt - I will look into both of those. I would prefer to stay under 350.00 a night. I can hardly stomach paying more then that for any hotel room.

Silly question but is Harvard Square in Cambridge or Boston? :-)

The Charles hotel was 599.00...no way.

The Liberty is 475.00 - looks like I might have to up my budget.

The train from NYC to Boston for basically 1/2 a day and dinner seems like a lot to me, but if you are up for it - go ! you have more energy than I do :)

If you are taking the train from NYC to Boston in the morning, you likely are not arriving in Boston until close to noon - get to your hotel, check in and get right on the T and go over to walk around Harvard U in Cambridge - even if you walk around Harvard for one hour or so, getting there and back, I'd think you'd have to have eaten up at least 2 hours at the minimum -

So I'd get back to Boston so maybe you would ahve time for something fun like a Duck Tour which would give you an overview (buy your tix ahead and they leave from Pru Shops/Prudential/Copley Square area )
and maybe spend the night in the North End where after some good italian you could walk, visit one of the pastry shops for dessert, and head back to your hotel - or eat in downtown Boston or Newbury St depending on your preferences

From the train station at Back Bay you could walk to so many hotels in and around Copley Place - and that would make it easy for you leaving in the A.M. also - and be near Duck Tours, Boston Public Library, Newbury Street, Boston Public Garden and the Common -give us an idea of your price range, that would help in making suggestions -

Don't know which day you need in October, but saw this for the latter half of October:
http://hotels.travelzoo.com/lodging-hotels/463158
It appears to be in the Back Bay area.

There must be something going on during the first few weekends in October...

Also - is this tour at Harvard one of the college tours or is it a general public tour of Harvard? That would make a difference to me - I would think an 11 yr old would be bored with the college tour - listening to questions about dorm life and rules and regulations and activities, curriculum questions, etc -

if that is the case, maybe you'd be better off doing your own "tour" , visiting one of their museums and not being held down to a specific time

there's a ton going on in Boston in October - depending on your weekend - the Charles Regatta, College Parents and Visitor Weekends, all the seniors looking at schools they will be applying to - plus the holiday wknd -

Harvard Sq is in Cambridge. The Colonnade (that kgh8m posted) is a good choice.

Hotels in Boston will be pricey, but I think you can find something for under $350. What's the date you'll be here?

there are tours of Harvard for the general public as well as tours run by the admissions office for prospective students
www.harvard.edu/siteguide/faqs/faq18.html

I think you and your daughter would probably enjoy the general ones or a self-guided tour at her age.

The Sheraton commander is another hotel in Cambridge near Harvard Square, more in your price range than the Charles. I have not been inside this hotel for years but it gets ok reviews on Trip Advisor

If your daughter likes pretty college campuses/towns, and you're going to be in NJ, don't miss Princeton.

Just a quick note to second the advice given by Wyatt in here. I was going to post a longer review but those messages match mine pretty much spot on.

Thank you so much! I know it seems like a lot to me as well - it is adding a great amount of money to the budget as well as time. Having said that she really wants to go to Harvard. I was worried a "real" tour would bore her as well - but having been on them before with 20 year old son - sometimes you can slip away if it gets to be too boring.

Because it is such a limited amount of time I am wondering if just staying out by Harvard is best?

It is Friday, Oct. 10, 2008.

I'm not sure staying out by Harvard makes any real difference. The train is going to bring you into either South Station or Back Bay in Boston - so it's a choice of either dropping your stuff at a hotel relatively near one of the stations - and then making your way to Harvard and back -

or lugging your stuff on the T or getting somehow from the Amtrak stations to Cambridge upon arrival and then seeing Harvard and then taking the T into Boston to see some of the city, have dinner - and back to Cambridge to sleep to get back to the Boston Amtrak station in the morning - unless you were not going to see any of Boston and only do Harvard Square area

Personally, I'd rather stay in Boston. Go over to Harvard for the tour and be able to see some of Boston late afternoon/early evening - dinner in one of the Boston neighbohoods (Back Bay, North End, Waterfront, etc) and be near the train station for my morning departure -

but I suppose you could also defend the opposite.....

escargot - that makes good sense. I am still not 100 percent on adding this extra trip. I will talk to dd more in the am. Thank you as always for all the good feedback. I will let you all know what I decide.

Check web site of John Jefferies House. has pictures of rooms
Across street from Red Line to Cambridge.
"Jr."suite under $200
Rooms are small most have frig and microwave
I stayed there several times.enjoyed visit..Was built by 2 M.D.s and later used as nurse's residence..
Also across street from Mass. Gen. Hospital
AND Liberity Hotel that was formerly a prison-might be fun checking out the lobby..

If you take a train from NY to South Station you can catch the Red Line directly to Harvard square. If you don't have much luggage it would be easy to navigate
Wherever you stay if you want to do a tour in the afternoon you won't have much time to stop off at a hotel in Boston or Cambridge.

The more I think about it the more I wonder what your daughter is expecting at Harvard. My kids were never all that excited about visiting the campus at that age even though my husband and I could give them information about the history and show them things like the whispering arch at Sever Hall and the old computer at the Science Center and the Peabody museum.

VT - I have no idea exactly what dd is expecting at Harvard but thinks it would be "cool" to go there.

We will not have much luggage - 2 20'inch bags.

John Jeffries, by all means, if you can get a room. It's at a place from which you can get a LOT of different places very easily.

Don't skimp on Harvard Sq. -- kids, even pre-high school ones -- seem to catch the youthful vibe there, which is more interesting to them than a lot of historical Boston. I've seen this over and over. It isn't just the campus, it's the whole area, pretty much all the way out Mass Ave to Central Sq. Lots of restaurants there, too, in price ranges that won't kill you.

(But downtown, she'd enjoy the Duck Tour, puttering in the Public Garden, maybe the Science museum or, on a really nice day, one of the tourboat trips around the harbor.)

We are going to do a LOT of museums on this trip. I looked at the DUCK tour and am not sure she would like it. (Looks like fun to me!).

I will see about staying in Harvard square - it keeps it simple.

I recommend The Langham Hotel near Copley Square which is a great central location. If you are here on Oct 10 it is our Columbus Day weekend so hotels will be busy. The other option is to
stay in the quaint seaside village of
Rockport on the Northshore and take
the train into Boston. I recommend
Seven South St. Inn/Rockport
The Duck Tour presents a fun overview
of the city.
Peggy
www.serendipitytraveler.com

If your daughter wants to see Harvard because she thinks it sounds "cool" to see she will probably enjoy the Harvard Square area more than the actual campus. I don't mean to say you shouldn't take her to see the school--I think it is good for younger kids to have an idea of what different colleges are like

it must be the columbus day - the prices are off the chart in Havard square. I am having to re-think this.

I stayed at The Sheraton Commander when visiting Harvard, and thought the location, price, and ambiance were better than expected. Our room was large and newly remodeled, and the hotel itself is historical and attractive.

Here's something I stumbled on at Harvard: the glass flowers at the museum of natural history. I found this mesmerizing! The collection of taxidermy specimens are compelling as well, in case you have an hour or so to fill in.

http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/on_exhib...s_flowers.html

I have starwood points so I will look at that sheraton. I was wondering if it was decent.

The train transportation alone is going to add another 500 plus - I have to really think this through.

<i>The train transportation alone is going to add another 500 plus - I have to really think this through</i>

With all due respect, can I be the voice of reason here? DD is <b>eleven</b>. She can see Harvard when she's 15 or 16 or even 17. If she's so keen on seeing college campuses, take her to see Penn since you'll already be in Philly (and the campus is beautiful), Columbia and/or NYU since you'll already be in NY, Georgetown since you'll already be in DC. Spending a ton of money to go out of your way for one day to take an 11-year old to &quot;see&quot; Harvard because she thinks its &quot;cool&quot; and &quot;really wants to go there&quot; (I repeat, <b>she's eleven </b>) seems crazy to me.

LOL dmlove - a voice of reason? Geezz... :-)

I was definately looking into it but am not really able to make it work...(within a reasonable budget).

I would be happy to take her there - but it just is too much $$$ and not enough time... :-)

Dawn- can you extend your stay? Boston really deserves more time if you can. Also the boston GTG is that weekend; maybe you can make it?! I wish I could be there!

The only way I can extend it is if I do not go to see family that weekend in NJ. I can stay in Boston Friday/Sat and take the train to Philly on Sunday.

Dawn-
I have read several of your posts and you seem lovely, so plaese don't take this personally. The entire time I was reading the responses I was thinking EXACTLY what dmlove put in writing.

I'm a college counselor so I visit dozens of colleges a year. Yes, it's fun but not for most people. And yes, a lot of the towns are cool, but it is really kind of disturbing, as dmlove pointed out, to go so far out of your way to go to Boston and see Harvard when your DD is 11 years old. I agree with some of the others-stay for a longer time if you can because Boston is great. OR...go see Georgetown, Penn, Princeton, Columbia-all beautiful schools in their own right.

But, it's your money. It just seems like a really silly way to spend it, and it only encourages the whole helicopter/paranoid parent thing you already know about since you have old kids. Just my 2 cents...enjoy Philly-it's awesome (and I don't live there).

better yet-go see William and Mary when you are in Williamsburg.

I am chuckling a little here -

I promise I do not think dd is going to go to Harvard :-). I really don't (we cannot afford it and she does not seem like she is that serious in order to do that jmo).

I cannot see not seeing our family in NJ in order to go to Boston - which I am sure is a great city but does not seem to work into our schedule at this time.

If it was not overly expensive I would not mind taking her there - it would be fun for us both (personally I think she wants to go there because she saw Legally Blonde)... I promise while I might come across as a total loon I am not - not sure though why it is &quot;distrubing&quot; that seems slightly harsh. This trip is basically centered around her.

We were going to Europe for 5 weeks and that trip got canned... for a variety of reasons. We are both excited about our time back east and it is a historical trip - Philly, DC, Williamsburg (NY will really be fun - theater!).

Anyway - I am very appreciate of the honest advice and feedback - which is why I posted - if it was 500.00 addition I would be fine with it but at this point it is looking like over 1,000.00 and that money is better spent else where -maybe her college fund??? bwwwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ;-)
Thanks everyone!

Ok, now you have me chuckling -

Legally Blonde was not filmed at Harvard U or Cambridge -
it was filmed at USC !! Maybe that will change your daughters mind and she'll want to go to California -

the only shot of Cambridge / Harvard was an aerial shot -

I think the last film the University allowed on campus was Love Story..... ah, I am aging myself !

Actually, it wasn't all USC, but it was all California - LA, Pasadena, etc - have your DD google the filming of it and she can maybe have as much fun (and save you some $) seeing and learning where all the spots she liked really are - and maybe your next mother/dd trip can be out west coast :)

But do come to Boston for a history tour when you can do it justice and spend 4-5 dys if possible