Boston plans

Hi we are in Boston on a Tuesday in October. I think we will do the old town trolley tour (comes with a 45 min cruise or Boston harbor) and the freedom trail walk on our own. What would you suggest we do first ? Is this a good plan to see a little of everything? Also what restaurant for lunch nothing fancy but great local place. Not sure what Boston is known for. Thx :)

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Hi we are in Boston on a Tuesday in October. I think we will do the old town trolley tour (comes with a 45 min cruise or Boston harbor) and the freedom trail walk on our own. What would you suggest we do first ? Is this a good plan to see a little of everything? Also what restaurant for lunch nothing fancy but great local place. Not sure what Boston is known for. Thx :)

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Quite frankly doing the Trolley (the 1.5+ hour round trip or the HOHo?), walking the Freedom Trail, taking a harbor cruise, and doing lunch sounds like a bit much. With that itinerary there's no way to know where you'll be at lunch time to make a recommendation.

What I recommend is Uber first to the Constitution in Charlestown to see the museum and ship (museum opens at 9 and the Constitution at 10), take the MBTA water taxi to Long Wharf ($3.50/pp) as your "harbor cruise", walk into the North End to pick up the Freedom Trail, and walk the Trail backwards to Boston Common picking up lunch along the way. Uber back to the ship or take the Red Line at Park St to South Station to transfer to the SL2 Silver Line bus to the Cruiseport ($2.75/pp).

One alternate to the excellent suggestion above (but not certain it would work, 138east?)

I REALLY enjoyed the walking tour put on the the Freedom Trail Foundation by members in period costume and character (they research and pick a real person from the era - ours was a haberdasher who had a store on the trail). Inexpensive and very interesting. There were two sections. The first went from the Boston Commons to the Fanueil Hall area. And the second went from there to the North End. https://www.thefreedomtrail.org/book-tour/public-tours.shtml

I'm wondering if stopping at the VERY historic Union Oyster House for lunch before taking the second tour. (And maybe a cannelloni in the North End before the ferry?)

And reverse the transit as well. Start with the T to Park Station (Silver Line [bus] to Red Line train)

and Uber back from the Constitution?

I'm taking notes. I lived in Boston for a few months in the 70s and have revisited a few times for work, but will be showing it to my husband next Summer on a port call.

Quite frankly doing the Trolley (the 1.5+ hour round trip or the HOHo?), walking the Freedom Trail, taking a harbor cruise, and doing lunch sounds like a bit much. With that itinerary there's no way to know where you'll be at lunch time to make a recommendation.

 

What I recommend is Uber first to the Constitution in Charlestown to see the museum and ship (museum opens at 9 and the Constitution at 10), take the MBTA water taxi to Long Wharf ($3.50/pp) as your "harbor cruise", walk into the North End to pick up the Freedom Trail, and walk the Trail backwards to Boston Common picking up lunch along the way. Uber back to the ship or take the Red Line at Park St to South Station to transfer to the SL2 Silver Line bus to the Cruiseport ($2.75/pp).

Excellent advice! If you like the idea of the Old Town Trolley, no need to walk the Freedom Trail as the trolley will stop near most of the places on the trail. On one trip we walked the trail and were really dragging when we got to Charlestown (We did take the water taxi back). On another trip we used the HoHo bus and were happy with that choice.

It looks like you're on Adventure. Aidadiva Is also in port. That means there could be up to 5800 folks touring Boston.

The HOHO Trolley is great, but....it could be overwhelmed that day if you try to hop on and off. Think about that carefully when you make your plans.

MarkBearSF has given you an excellent suggestion as well. My only comment on that is to be careful about getting stuck out at the Constitution after 3 pm on a weekday afternoon. At that time you would definitely want to take the MBTA water taxi back to Long Wharf, walk out to the southbound side of Atlantic Ave (Faneuil Hall side away from the water), and get a cab or Uber back to the port from there.

You asked what food Boston is know for. New England Clam Chowder and Lobster are the main recommendations. If you don’t care for seafood than Italian food and pastries found in North End. The North Church where Paul Revere made his look out is a great place to visit for an inside tour and near the Italian pastry shops.

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Just so you know, we got a cab to Bunker Hill ($17 I think) and walked the whole trail back to Boston Common (including a tour round the USS Constitution), then walked back to the ship past the Boston Tea Party inn (or whatever its called). Did all of that in about 5 hrs without rushing.

Simon

I'm from the Boston area, what would you like to know?

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The best way to see the highlights in one day without exhausting ourselves :) I like the idea of a harbor tour and then walking most of the day or maybe trolley. Not sure how best to do this. Looks like freedom trail can be done on your own.

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Freedom Trail can be done on your own....I've done it. Fannuel Hall is not too far from it.

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There is nothing sacred about the Freedom Trail. It's an organized walking route through the old streets of Boston to help tourists find all the historical sites that are nestled between the more modern buildings and could easily be missed without a map. The Trolley does not actually drive past many of these sites because the streets are too narrow. For example, in the North End the Trolley stops on the edge and you have to walk in to find Old North Church and the Paul Revere House, both of which are actually on the Freedom Trail route.

Husband I really like to walk. How far is it from the cruise terminal to Boston Commons? I played with mapquest a bit and it looks like a 45 minute walk one-way but have no idea what the actual walking conditions are.

And above I saw a water taxi mentioned. Might be a better use of our time to taxi out to Bunker Hill area and then walk back in from there. We arrive in port at 11 am and depart at 8 pm. I’m thinking that the trolly or HOHO might not be the best option due to timing.

Another thing is if we walk back instead of out and back there might be time to take the Red line out to Harvard for a look see. Those of you from the area or who have visited the area, what do you think? Thank you.

Husband I really like to walk. How far is it from the cruise terminal to Boston Commons? I played with mapquest a bit and it looks like a 45 minute walk one-way but have no idea what the actual walking conditions are.

 

And above I saw a water taxi mentioned. Might be a better use of our time to taxi out to Bunker Hill area and then walk back in from there. We arrive in port at 11 am and depart at 8 pm. I’m thinking that the trolly or HOHO might not be the best option due to timing.

 

Another thing is if we walk back instead of out and back there might be time to take the Red line out to Harvard for a look see. Those of you from the area or who have visited the area, what do you think? Thank you.

What date are you doing this? What are your priorities for sightseeing in Boston? You have to balance your time between walking and meeting your sightseeing objectives. I would go to the Constitution/Bunker Hill area first by taxi or Uber. Then take the MBTA water taxi to Long Wharf. Walk into the North End to pick up the Freedom Trail to come back to Faneuil Hall and on to the Boston Common. If there's time, take the Red Line to Harvard and then the Red Line/Silver Line SL2 back to Black Falcon.

IMO the walk from Black Falcon to the Boston Common is boring as is the walk out to the Constitution.

What date are you doing this? What are your priorities for sightseeing in Boston? You have to balance your time between walking and meeting your sightseeing objectives. I would go to the Constitution/Bunker Hill area first by taxi or Uber. Then take the MBTA water taxi to Long Wharf. Walk into the North End to pick up the Freedom Trail to come back to Faneuil Hall and on to the Boston Common. If there's time, take the Red Line to Harvard and then the Red Line/Silver Line SL2 back to Black Falcon.

 

IMO the walk from Black Falcon to the Boston Common is boring as is the walk out to the Constitution.

We arrive in Boston on Oct 15th at 11 am. That’s a Monday. Ugh. So taxi to Bunker Hill. Hopefullly there will be some available at the pier. We don’t plan on going in the museums. We were in Boston about 20 years ago but I would like to stop in Quincy Market for a quick look see. It would be nice to then go out to Harvard which i understand is about 20-25 minutes on the Red Line.

The "T" (aka MBTA public transportation) has a great website with a trip planner https://www.mbta.com/ I live in the Boston area and I use it all of the time. There will be taxis at the Black Falcon terminal to get you to Bunker Hill or elsewhere in the city. Walk from Black Falcon to South Station isn't overly interesting. In the Ft. Point Channel district which is just before you cross the bridge to South Station you will find a wonderful bakery called Flour and my favorite seafood place The Barking Crab. Once in Boston it's an easy city to walk or to take the T. Enjoy your visit!

The "T" (aka MBTA public transportation) has a great website with a trip planner https://www.mbta.com/ I live in the Boston area and I use it all of the time. There will be taxis at the Black Falcon terminal to get you to Bunker Hill or elsewhere in the city. Walk from Black Falcon to South Station isn't overly interesting. In the Ft. Point Channel district which is just before you cross the bridge to South Station you will find a wonderful bakery called Flour and my favorite seafood place The Barking Crab. Once in Boston it's an easy city to walk or to take the T. Enjoy your visit!

Okay that’s two for a taxi to Bunker Hill. And I will check the “T” for various routes. And thank you for the recommendations for the bakery and seafood place. My husband loves clam chowder. LOL

We arrive in Boston on Oct 15th at 11 am. That’s a Monday. Ugh. So taxi to Bunker Hill. Hopefullly there will be some available at the pier. We don’t plan on going in the museums. We were in Boston about 20 years ago but I would like to stop in Quincy Market for a quick look see. It would be nice to then go out to Harvard which i understand is about 20-25 minutes on the Red Line.

This is all doable. Do Bunker Hill. Walk back to the Constitution and take the MBTA water taxi to Long Wharf for a nice mini harbor cruise. Walk through the Faneuil Hall area to the Common and take the Red Line from Park St. to Harvard. Go back to the port via the Red

Line to South Station with a free transfer to the Silver Line SL2 to Black Falcon.

Uber is a good option in Boston.

Husband I really like to walk. How far is it from the cruise terminal to Boston Commons? I played with mapquest a bit and it looks like a 45 minute walk one-way but have no idea what the actual walking conditions are.

 

And above I saw a water taxi mentioned. Might be a better use of our time to taxi out to Bunker Hill area and then walk back in from there. We arrive in port at 11 am and depart at 8 pm. I’m thinking that the trolly or HOHO might not be the best option due to timing.

 

Another thing is if we walk back instead of out and back there might be time to take the Red line out to Harvard for a look see. Those of you from the area or who have visited the area, what do you think? Thank you.

We arrive in Boston on Oct 15th at 11 am. That’s a Monday. Ugh. So taxi to Bunker Hill. Hopefullly there will be some available at the pier. We don’t plan on going in the museums. We were in Boston about 20 years ago but I would like to stop in Quincy Market for a quick look see. It would be nice to then go out to Harvard which i understand is about 20-25 minutes on the Red Line.

See my post #7 for time taken. Plenty of taxis at the terminal. We were going to use the water taxi from USS Constitution to half way down the harbour, but it was a nice day, so decided to keep walking!

Simon

Boston is EASILY walkable, especially if doing the Freedom Trail. You have Cheers right by the commons (start of the trail), and all sorts of sights near or on the trail all the way up to the constitution at the end along with Bunker Hill. Do the Swan Boat in the commons, too. You will go through the North End which is a perfect spot to get lunch. Basically, I'd go to the Commons first, check out the sites around there, then start the trail accordingly.

I would do the Hop On/Off bus OR the walking tour but probably not both. However, you CAN do both if you want. I did both, and I can say the bus was not terribly memorable. You see way more history and stuff on the walking trail.

Sadly, the Swan Boat season will be over before you come to Boston (they close 3rd weekend in Sept). Do, though, visit the Public Garden and see the "Make Way for Ducklings" statute. Cross Beacon St from Cheers (stop in but don't eat there are better places) and enter the Public Garden and you'll see Mama Duck and her ducklings. Just a note, Boston Common is singular, not plural (not commons). That's one way we sort out the locals from the tourists ;-)

On 9/4/2018 at 8:15 AM, broadwaybaby123 said:

I'm from the Boston area, what would you like to know?

 

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We will visiting Boston in Oct on a Princess ship.

I was thinking on taking either the HOHO or the Trolley.  We are slower walkers.  We may just want to stay on for the whole trip round.

Can we get either one at or near the port?

Which one would be better to take?  Is it best to pre purchase tickets in advance?

Is there any thing to see around the port?  Restaurant/food truck for clam chowder/lobster roll?

I think the HOHO is the trolley.  They do pick up at the pier when there is a ship there but it may only be for folks who buy thru the cruiseline.

There are a few restaurants within a half mile of the port, and many more about a mile away

We plan to take Amtrak to Boston next September.  Any recommendations of a hotel that's close both the Amtrak south station and the port?   Any chance that we will not need a car?  

9 hours ago, Sailor Taylor said:

We plan to take Amtrak to Boston next September.  Any recommendations of a hotel that's close both the Amtrak south station and the port?   Any chance that we will not need a car?  

What are your exact dates?  Boston hotels are expensive. I would be looking at hotels in the Seaport District - short cab ride or Silverline ride from South Station and short cab ride or Silverline ride to the port. 

ALL the hotels in the Seaport District are relatively new and are at least 3*. Make a cancellable reservation NOW and watch Hotwire for a good deal on a Seaport District hotel. 

This^^^ is correct.  September is a very expensive time in Boston.  Consider even using Priceline or Hotwire and get a hotel that way.