Chrissee

My husband and I are going to a wedding in Leominster in November. We have our hotel booked for the wedding site for 2 nights. However, we are considering coming down a day or two earlier to go into Boston and look around, as I have never been there. From what I have read here and other sources, driving into Boston is a terrible idea. We would like to avoid this if possible. My questions are: How far is Leominster from Boston? Is there transit between the two? Is there perhaps, somewhere just ouside the city where we could safely park our car and jump on a train or subway into the city for the day? Or is there an option to stay somewhere just outside the city, near transit?

yk

You have a few options. There is a commuter rail (Fitchburg line) that goes out to Leominster (the stop is called N Leominster). Check mbta.com for maps and schedules.

Option 1:
Stay at Leominster the whole time and take the commuter rail into town daily. Pro- no need to worry about driving into the city. Con- your schedule is limited by the train schedules as it doesn't run frequent at off hours. Also, it's not cheap taking the commuter rail.

Option 2:
Go ahead and book a hotel in Boston (you probably can get a good deal or Priceline for November). Park your car at the hotel garage and forget about it for 2 days. Pro - staying right in Boston, and you don't need to worry about driving in the city except on arrival and departure. Con- $$$ for parking.

Option 3:
Book a hotel that's just outside of the city with free parking and close access to public transportation such as the T (our subway here). Pro - Free parking and don't have to worry about driving into the city. Con- you'll still spend a good amount of time commuting by the T.
One hotel I can think of that fits option 3 is the Indigo Hotel in Newton. It is the boutique brand for InterContinental hotels, and located right at Riverside, the last stop of the Green D line (of the T). However, taking the T from Riverside into the city can take close to 1 hour.

gail

With only a day or 2 in Boston, if you can afford it, stay in prime Boston area, not slightly out of town, etc. I vote for option #2 below, again if you can afford it. You will not die driving into and out of Boston - if you have driven in an unfamiliar city before, you can do this. You may get a little lost, you may experience rudeness - but most east coast US cities have convoluted roadways due to old layouts of streets.

Do not try to take public transit from Leominster - perhaps possible, but certainly not practical.

Some people to save money stay at any number of hotels which appear to be "just outside" Boston. Some are happy with the choice - many are not. Hotel shuttles can be unrealiable. MBTA commuter trains run very limited schedules on weekends and even weekdays outside of commuter times. Distances to/from city can be deceiving - we live about 20 miles from downtown and commute can take 35 minutes at 9 PM at night or 90 minutes at other times by car; 45 minutes by commuter rail with about 4 trains/day.

Not familiar with hotel at Riverside stop - not sure what "right at Riverside" means since I can not picture it. If it is truly walking distance to MBTA, that might be an option. This is regular subway/trolley - not commuter rail, so schedule is better.

I would get a Priceline Boston hotel (should be more reasonable in November unless it is Thanksgiving), drive to hotel, park car, enjoy, drive to Leominster. Priceline (or other) areas would be called Copley, Downtown, Faneuil Hall, Back Bay. They would not be called South End, South Boston - these are fine areas, but Priceline defines them differently than the rest of the world. Waterfront with caution - some areas would work, others more difficult. If you find a non-Priceline hotel where website describes proximity to MBTA post it here and we will tell you the truth. If website says shuttle, call hotel directly and get details - they may mean shuttle on good days if Joe the Plumber is not busy doing something else for the hotel that day.

Anonymous

Driving INTO Boston isn't the problem; driving around IN Boston is a whole different story. IMHO you should follow the above advice to just get a hotel for a night or two right in Boston if you come down early. Surely the hassle of driving in to stay at a Boston hotel is less than the hassle of commuting in from an outlying hotel. Just get good, specific directions to the hotel from the nearest highway exit.

hockeymom

How about getting a hotel right in Boston but don't rent the car while you're in Boston, just rent it for when you head to Leominster? This way you wouldn't have the car rental cost or the parking cost for the days you're not using the car. You could take a cab or T from the airport to the hotel. Driving from Boston to Leominster is a fairly easy drive - just keep away from rush hour and you'll be fine. If you're heading to Leominster you would take Route 2 - there's a lot of construction right now, both day and night. You could return the car to the airport. If you get hotel directions for the wedding, post them here and I/we can tell you if they're the best directions.

gail

hockeymom- I think OP is driving their own car to Boston area, not flying and renting.

china_cat

The drive from Leominster into Boston would take a little over an hour, about 1 hr 15 minutes.

One other option for public transit would be to drive down route 2 and park at the Alewife T stop. There's lots of parking at Alewife, and its easy to find. It will probably take just under an hour to drive there from Leominster, and then you could use the red line to get into Boston.

I used to live just south of Leominster, and that was the option I would choose if I didn't want to drive downtown.

Chrissee

Thanks so much for the replies. Gail is right - we are driving to Boston (I think!) I would rather fly but we are saving a bit of money as the weekend following the wedding, we are going on a cruise for our 10th anniversary! Busy month! Still looking for flights, but not having luck with deals. And the rental car get thrown in as well. Anyway, I like option 2 as well, or possibly the Alewife suggestion. I will check that one out. The hotel in Leominster is the Sheraton Four Points at 99 Erdman Way. From Google maps, it looks like just north of route 2 and East of N. Main St. (Route 12?) I have only Pricelined once and got a great deal, so this weekend am going to try it again. (with some help from a friend who is a priceline fiend) Will let you know how I do.

oldgringo

we just made a trip to Cape Cod..we rented a car at the Boston airport..we paid for a Garmin GPS..well let me tell you we would still be driving around Boston without that handy machine..the freeway exit to the airport was closed at 5 in the morning..we would have been totally lost without the GPS..if you can afford one..get one..you'll be able to drive anywhere with confidence.

gail

A newer GPS or one that is automatically updated by satellite would be great for Boston - an older one not so good. I have a less than 2 year old car with built in GPS that does not have all revisions for completed Big Dig.

But perhaps you could borrow a GPS for the trip? Agree it is great peace of mind for road trip. Side benefit is that it allows some random exploration with the confidence you will get back to where you want to be without an anxiety attack.

Ralphie

I recommend driving to either Alewife station (Red Line) or Riverside station (Green Line) and take one of the subway lines in.

I've heard that Alewife parking lot can fill up, but I've never done this myself.

As for the hotel at Riverside Station, there is one indeed. It is very, very close to the Station parking lot. It used to be a Holiday Inn but it's been renovated and changed its name...I think it's called Indigo or something like that. That's another option.

sharona

It sounds like you are planning to be in Boston on a weekday. If you plan to drive to Alewife and park your car you should be advised that, while it does indeed have a huge parking lot, it fills up by 8 or 8:30. My guess is that with traffic you would need to leave Leominster by 6:30 a.m. at the latest to be assured of a spot.

My advice is to try to stay in Boston. That way you can enjoy yourselves without having to worry about the drive.

hockeymom

Your directions for the Sheraton are correct. Coming out of Boston you will take Route 2 west (with all its turns and a few rotaries thrown in) and take the Route 12 north exit. I believe it's exit 31B. As you're coming to the exit you will see the Sheraton. As you come off the exit you come to a traffic light and you take a right and the Sheraton is a couple hundred yards up. Alewife will fill up in the morning but it starts to empty out a little bit in the early afternoon (from the times I've gone in after 12:00). If you make the drive from Leominster towards Alewife or Boston on a weekday morning you will be in pretty much bumper to bumper traffic between 6:30 and 9:00 with a blinding solar glare if the sun is out. If your price for the Sheraton is really good it might be worth staying in Leominster. It is a very doable day trip (or for two days).

yk

I can think of a few more hotels that are *just* outside of the city but easily accessible to the T or buses.

1) The Indigo hotel at Riverside station in Newton, as I mentioned last night in my post. It IS right next to the Riverside T stop, no more than a 5-min walk.

2) The Sheraton Hotel in Newton, right above the Mass Pike at Exit #17. Across the street is a bus stop with plenty of Express Buses that go into the city (Copley Sq, Downtown, Financial District). The Express buses go on Mass Pike, so the trip into town takes no more than 10-15 minutes. (I just took the Express Bus today, so I know what I'm talking about.) Parking at the Sheraton is not free, but should be a lot cheaper than parking $$$ charged by hotels in the city.

3) 2 hotels right near the Sullivan Sq T station on the Orange line. One is the Holiday Inn Somverville, the other is a La Quinta. I think both hotels offer free parking, but you should double check that.

patandhank

I want ditto some of the comments here - we just returned from Boston - our first trip ever. We stayed downtown at the Four Seasons - no car. Walked everywhere and because it was a good location, didn't have to worry about the traffic. We then drove out of Boston (picked up our rental car at Hertz right behind the hotel) to start the rest of our NE trip and then dropped the car back at Logan airport. We had absolutely no trouble on the drive out of town, or to the airport, and yes we had our Tom Tom 920. So, drive in (preferably with a GPS), park it and look around. I think the money spent on parking is worth the hassle of dealing with a commuter system.

Chrissee

Well, how things change overnight. It appears I had enough air mails for 2 flights. Who knew? So our plan now is to fly in, somehow get to the hotel which I assume downtown is the best location. Is the subway the best way to go? Walk around for 2 days, go back to the airport, pick up rental car there and drive out to Leominster.Thanks so much for the directions! Does anyone know how much extra the GPS is on a rental car?

gail

First, I hope you had air MILES and not MAILS - it is not comfortable or practical to mail yourself to Boston, no matter how inexpensive.

Second, GPS rental - it should list it on various car websites as an add-on. We paid about $10/day recently in Virginia - well worth it.

You can take MBTA to any downtown hotel - which line and stop depends on which hotel. But cab is not all that expensive and depending on how much luggage you have, perhaps worth it - figure the money you saved on parking your car and gas can go towards a cab. Some hotels even have shuttles to/from airport, though.

Anonymous

Yes, public transit is very handy from the airport since it's very close to the city itself. You might want to look into picking up a rental car near your hotel rather than trekking back out to the airport.

Chrissee

Hey Thanks again. Sorry Gail! Bad typing mistake - definitely air miles. Wow - $10/day for GPS - that is definitely what we will do. To anonymous - since we will be going straight back to the airport after the wedding, figuring it is the best place to drop off the car before we fly out. Will be pricelining hotel tonight. Thanks again.

Anonymous

Ask whether it's possible to pick up the car in town even though you're dropping it off at the airport.