aliska

Daughter will be going to college in western Boston suburbs with no car. Airfare home is $$$$ much cheaper from Providence RI on Southwest. She will not start school until fall. Is there public transportation she can take to Providence airport?? We would like to buy advance tickets for Thanksgiving & Xmas when Southwest rolls out new schedule for Fall 2006. Please advise, thanks!

MikePinTucson

Seh can take Amtrak from several locations in Boston to Providence, then there is a shuttle from the Amtrak station in Prov to the Airport. I believe the shuttle runs every 30 minutes

Liz5959

I would go ahead and book the cheapest tickets. In addition to Amtrak, she'll figure out other options. Many kids get rides from friends, split cost of cabs and are otherwise pretty creative about how to get to the airport. She will not be the only one from her college going to TF Green airport for a busy holiday.

escargot

Are you thinking of TFGreen Airport in Warwick, RI? I think so - if she is just outside the city, she will have several ways of getting to South Station or even the Dedham/Rte 128 Amtrak Station where she can take Amtrak to Providence and then a $9 or 10 transport to the airport. There are also many other possibilities (bus/greyhound/etc) and you can find all of those on www.pvdairport.com, with links for all types of transport - you may also want to become familiar with our MBTA.com site for subways, buses, water shuttles, etc -

It may also be worth, when you decide after adding up if she will be a bus or train person, to become a frequent member - my daughter did this from NYC since she trains home and every so many trips she gets a free one.

and there is also an airport in Manchestern, NH you can always check aside from TFGreen vs. Logan for her or yourselves when visiting - flights are often significantly less than flying into Logan and usually not as crazy during high travel time.

College should also provide on their web site all area transporation responsibilities -

If she is new to Boston, a good going away gift for a college student coming here, aside from the ubiquitous Startbucks or Dunkin Donut pre paid coffee cards, is the GoBoston card with free entry to many museums, attractions, etc and lots of good info - www.goboston.com -

Good Luck-I hope she enjoys coming here.

rkkwan

Besides Amtrak, the MBTA commuter trains also run from Boston to Providence on weekdays. From downtown Providence, one can take a shuttle, a public bus or taxi to PVD. Even the taxi doesn't cost that much.

aliska

Thanks for all the great suggestions. The difference in airfare is about a 60% savings, no joke. You can almost fly to Europe for the airfares I have been watching from CMH-BOS. When she interviewed in Boston last November, she managed to figure out how to get herself to Logan on public transportation. I am watching Southwest like a hawk so we can purchase her holiday tickets. Thanks again!

gail

As a parent of kid who must fly home for vacations, some additional advice.

Sign up for FF program at airline - by senior year she will maybe have a free ticket. If you can get an associated credit card (we use USAirways Visa) and college will let you charge tuition, do that - one years costs usually equals a free ticket.

If you are accompanying her to college in September, check into making hotel reservations now for you during any parent orientation, dropping off time, etc - good places fill fast. If dates are not clear on college website, call them and ask - they probably know dates for the next 3-4 years out.