Gotten wonderful recommendations on these forums for planning out trip. Another decision to make: We're driving back to Boston after out last night in Maine. We will have the afternoon and evening, need lodging 1 night, and fly back the next evening at 6pm. Hotels were more expensive than I expected, but there seem to be some B&Bs available -just need a queen size bed and private bathroom in a safe area -suggestions? Main question is- should we drop off the car at the airport and take public transportation with our luggage to wherever we'll stay, or drive there, find a garage until we're ready to go back to the airport. Only reason considering the latter is that we'll have to check out before we're ready to go to airport next day, and then we could leave our luggage in the car. Thanks!

You can always leave your luggage at the hotel or B&B, so I don't think that's really going to be the issue.

Since you will almost certainly have to pay for both parking and another day's car rental to keep the car, you should figure out how much that extra day will cost. You could find that it's cheaper than taking a round-trip taxi to the airport ... or not. If you stay in a more suburban hotel, I'd keep the car and drive into the city, parking in the giant underground garage near the library.

Thank you. The extra day rental isnt really an issue- we got a good deal. I would prefer not to spend not much over $300 for the hotel/bnb. Recommendations where?

October is busy and expensive for hotels in Boston, so its hard to make a specific recommendation. Plug your date into booking.com, and see what comes up. Hotels in Back Bay, or near the Commons, or the theater district will all be reasonably convenient, as will places in the Faneuil hall area. So see what you find and come back and ask about specific places which fit your budget.

The only area I'm not crazy about are hotels in the Seaport. its a little less convenient to public transport, and the restaurants nearby tend to be large chains. It really caters to the business traveler and the convention business. So that would be my last choice.

I suspect parking for one night would be around $40, and hence a bit cheaper than the roundtrip taxi (minimum of $25 each way, I believe). Have you considered option 3? drop off the car at a downtown rental location? I don't know who you are renting from, but most will have a Back Bay office. No real reason to drive through the city to the airport to get rid of the car.

When are you coming? October is an expensive time for hotels in Boston. There are a few large conventions and the Head of the Charles Regatta on the weekend of the 17th. Look for hotels in the Faneuil Hall/Downtown area or Back Bay.

There is a Logan Express shuttle bus from the Back Bay area to the airport which costs $5. If you dropped the car off, you could shuttle to one of the terminals and take the bus.

My choice would be to stay in Ogunquit ME, especially if your flight isn't until 6pm the next day.

If you wanted to get closer, maybe Gloucester MA - even if the drive time wouldn't be that much different.
http://discovergloucester.com/

We booked a guest house with parking, so we're set for the back-end of the trip. Thank you.