Need Boston Help!
 

Our family will be coming from Woods Hole in August and would like to stay somewhere outside of Boston for a day or two to sightsee without driving into city!Is there any hotel/suburb that has quick public transportation into city that you would recommend?My husband refuses to drive the rental car into downtown Boston...... (Son wants to go to Red Sox game and daughter wants to see what Boston University and other schools look like?) Thanks-

There are many nice hotels in Braintree and Quincy, which are suburbs south of Boston, which have shuttles to the subway's nearby stops on the Red Line. My relatives have enjoyed Candlewood Suites on Wood Road in Braintree, right near the highway (but not TOO near) and a huge regional shoping center, the South Shore Plaza.

Ditto the Quincy/Braintree suggestion. There is a fairly new Marriott in Quincy close to the Quincy Adams T station and a mile or so from South Shore Plaza. Plenty of chain hotels as mentioned on Wood Road in Braintree. <BR>Regarding the Red Sox..try and get tix ASAP. Many weekend games are sold out already. www.redsox.com<BR>

Debbie, there have been many threads recently on places to stay in the Boston area without actually driving into the city. Please search them out. You will find that there are multitudes of places along Rt. 128 (the highway which rings Boston about ten miles out) and Braintree has been discussed. It's where you first reach Rt. 128 when driving up from the Cape. If you drive further you'll get to Newton where there's a very nice Holiday Inn adjacent to the Green Line of the T. There are a lot of hotels in Waltham (along Rt. 128) but you'd have to drive to Newton to get the T. Slightly more convenient would be something like the Holiday Inn in Brookline. Walking distance to Fenway Park and BU, but in a beautiful neighborhood where you'll get more of a feel for the urban area and be much more convenient. It's really not that difficult to drive there, and they have offstreet parking.

Debbie, here's a tip: When Bostonians say "Route 128," they're not referring to the actual legal official 128, which is nowadays only found on the North Shore. They're talking about the southern end of Route 93 (after it splits from Route 3 and heads sorta west and north again) and the part of Route 95 that heads north from the end of 93; the 93 and 95 are what you'll see on most maps and highway signs. No reason to go farther north than Braintree/Quincy if you're coming from the Cape.<BR><BR>

Try the Holiday Inn in Somerville, it's right by the Orange Line at Sullivan Station. Also the Tage Inn in Somerville is on the bus route right by Assembly Square. Very easy commutes to the subway.

desiree, that's the worst suggestion I've ever seen on this board. How on earth can you, in good conscience, recommend that an out-of-town guest travel from the Cape to Somerville??!! They would have to travel through the worst of the Boston traffic and Big Dig, past dozens of other hotels.

I like Ann's suggestions, but will also add that there are some hotels on Rt 2/2A west of Cambridge, where you could drive to the Alewife Station (the western end of the Red Line). There's a Hawthorne Inn Franklin that has free shuttle service to the commuter rail line too. I refuse to drive downtown too! Look at the commuter rail lines too, at www.mbta.com and see which towns are served, and what hotels might be in those towns. I've stayed many times in Woburn, but it looks like rail service at Mishawum station has been seriously reduced. Good Luck.

The problem with plans to park at the T garages (Alewife, Braintree, Quincy, etc.) is that they fill up very early on weekdays -- sometimes well before 8 AM, so they're not a good alternative for visitors, except on weekends. <BR><BR>On the other hand, the commutner rail is not such a good idea on weekends, when its schedule is very limited.<BR><BR>There is really no need to stay west or north of the city (Woburn, Route 2, etc.) when the OP is coming from the south and there are plenty of hotels and public transport south of the city.

Boston Public Transport<BR>First time travel in US. Arrive in Boston International Airport at 8pm, want to take train and bus to Border St (nearest corner of Falcon St), East Boston. What train & bus should I take? How long does the journey take? Thanks

Re East Boston Falcon Street - I looked on MBTA map (public transportation) and had difficulty answering this question for you. My best suggestion, however, is to take a cab. The Airport is also in East Boston, which is a very small area of Boston, so the cab fare can not possibly be much.

I have twice booked hotels in Woburn within a mile or two of the train station (Anderson station on the Lowell Line). It is THE way to stay in Boston.<BR><BR>My trips are weekend ones, so I can't attest to parking at the Anderson station M-F, but the lot there is freakin' huge - can't imagine there'd be a problem on weekdays. If you are really concerned about it, book at the Woburn Residence Inn as it's within walking distance of the station.<BR><BR>Responding to the comment regarding limited train schedules on the weekends, unless you are a clubber and want to be out until 3 am, the Lowell Line's weekend schedule is really adequate. The last train out leaves at 11:30 pm on Sat/Sun and on Friday night the a bit later than that.<BR><BR>Finally, Woburn/Lowell is right for me cos the stuff I do - Celtics games, Orpheum Theater - all are close to the North Station. Other commuter lines drop you off at South Station, so if that's the part of Boston you'd rather be, then plan accordingly.<BR><BR>I save a ton of money by staying in the suburbs; and better, I save myself the aggravation of driving in Boston.

But you spend all that time commuting on the commuter trains, including being constrained by their schedules. I agree that driving around in the city once you're there makes no sense, you should take public transport, but the difficulties of driving and parking are really less horrible than taking the commuter rail to and from the hotel. IMHO.

Like HobbyWizard, I too have stayed in Woburn several times. I used to stay at SuisseChalet/Fairfield Inn, which was immediately next door to the old Mishawum station, or the RedRoof. I haven't been up there since they closed that station &amp; opened a larger one up the road (HobWiz: is that Anderson??) - the train only takes 20 min, and I can easily work my plans around the schedule. I've spent that much time just LOOKING for a place to park. Those suburban hotels can often be had for as little as $60 and I can spend the extra I saved on other activities.

r-travels: Yes, the Anderson station is, by its looks, pretty new (I'm in CT, so I don't know the details).<BR><BR>Incidentally, I stayed at the Woburn Fairfield Inn about a month ago, and the train landing next to it is pretty much worthless. It *might* pick up passengers on weekdays if the conductor sees some standing on the landing, but I'm not even sure of that. Since the Anderson station is exactly one mile, or a two minute drive, away - I'd never risk using the landing next to the hotel.<BR><BR>Confirming for those interested - the North Station to Anderson Station trip is 25 minutes max.