Boston Touring

[TiogaCruiser]

We’re planning to stay 3 nights and have 2 full days to explore Boston before our cruise in August. I booked Harborside Inn.

 

It’s my husband’s first time for Boston (other than a day trip to Old Ironsides years ago) and my first time back since the 70s. Requesting help and input please:

 

1) We’d like to get to Plimoth Patuxet museums and the Mayflower replica. I know I can book a tour but am not sure if we will be at the museum long enough for us. Are there trains or other reasonable public transport that goes from our hotel area to Plimoth?

(The bus I found is over 2 1/2 hours each way. A rental car seemed convenient until I discovered the outlying offices south of Boston close early and I really don’t want to pick one up at La Guardia and have to drive that area…. (I’ve watched from the backseat as my Dad do that drive!😜))

 

2) We’re looking at walking the “Freedom Trail” and exploring the historic sites around the hotel on the other day. Any suggestions? Tours to recommend or is it pretty much a DIY?  Any restaurant suggestions in the local area (that aren’t crazy expensive?)

 

3) Is the area around our hotel relatively safe or “sketchy”? Are there sections we should skip?

 

TIA

[1025cruise]

To get to Plymouth, your going to need to rent a car. There's no other way to do it.

[Nanatravel]

28 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

We’re planning to stay 3 nights and have 2 full days to explore Boston before our cruise in August. I booked Harborside Inn.

 

It’s my husband’s first time for Boston (other than a day trip to Old Ironsides years ago) and my first time back since the 70s. Requesting help and input please:

 

1) We’d like to get to Plimoth Patuxet museums and the Mayflower replica. I know I can book a tour but am not sure if we will be at the museum long enough for us. Are there trains or other reasonable public transport that goes from our hotel area to Plimoth?

(The bus I found is over 2 1/2 hours each way. A rental car seemed convenient until I discovered the outlying offices south of Boston close early and I really don’t want to pick one up at La Guardia and have to drive that area…. (I’ve watched from the backseat as my Dad do that drive!😜))

 

2) We’re looking at walking the “Freedom Trail” and exploring the historic sites around the hotel on the other day. Any suggestions? Tours to recommend or is it pretty much a DIY?  Any restaurant suggestions in the local area (that aren’t crazy expensive?)

 

3) Is the area around our hotel relatively safe or “sketchy”? Are there sections we should skip?

 

TIA

The Harborside Hotel and area are fine. As in any major city, just be aware of your surroundings. Crime happens everywhere. Downtown is full of tourists and residents alike. For restaurants, you will find seafood, Italian in the Northend and many various ethnic choices. Legal seafoods is always worth a try. Nothing is inexpensive in downtown Boston. I recommend taking the Old Town Trolley entire route to get your bearings and see it all. DO NOT GET OFF AT Cheers. It’s a tourist trap. 
 

As far as getting to Plymouth Rock, it’s a good hour South of Boston. Renting a car 🚘 unless you are driving to Boston, is the best bet. Parking in downtown is very pricey; $60 a night. I don’t know what the Pawtux mueseum is. This may be something new to me since moving south. Pawtucket,RI is in another state which I don’t recommend you wasting time to go there.

 

Also Boston’s airport is Logan International. Hope you didn’t book LaGuardia that’s in NYC. Our rental car lots are around the airport so you could rent a car early in the morning, keep it one night and return it the next day. Also, ask your hotel conceriege for assistance. Maybe there is a tour bus, but I would not want to waste all day on a bus. 

 

 

 

[jebbs]

I hope you enjoy Plymouth Patuxet Museum!  I’ve never been but see signs on the way to Cape Cod.

Can I make a suggestion?  Look at Plymouth Brockton Bus…..you can go from SouthStation to the depot in Plymouth in under an hour.  Then get a $15 Lyft.  That’s the suggestion on Rome2Rio travel website.  Oh and you are less than a mile from your hotel to South Station.

Hope you enjoy your experience.

[TiogaCruiser]

Thanks.

 

Plimoth Patuxet is the new name for Plimoth Plantation. It’s a series of 4 museums/exhibit sites which include the Open Air (first person) museum.

 

I Did mean Logan - not sure why I typed La Guardia. I would prefer not driving around the airport area and was trying to find a car rental south of Boston we could Uber to and from, but they are only open short hours as far as I am finding. 
 

 

[Nanatravel]

8 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

Thanks.

 

Plimoth Patuxet is the new name for Plimoth Plantation. It’s a series of 4 museums/exhibit sites which include the Open Air (first person) museum.

 

I Did mean Logan - not sure why I typed La Guardia. I would prefer not driving around the airport area and was trying to find a car rental south of Boston we could Uber to and from, but they are only open short hours as far as I am finding. 
 

 

Thanks Jebba,. Even though the Plymouth Brockton bus isn’t a tour, that is a good alternative recommendation. They can change the name of Plymouth Plantation but they can’t move the rock! Enjoy your sightseeing and cruise.

[Nitemare]

There is also the MBTA Commuter rail to Plymouth.  You will need a cab/uber to get to the Museum, though.

[TheOldBear]

There are tours in Boston that I would consider - for example the 'duck' tours. [and no shortage of museums]

 

There is also a ferry to Provincetown on Cape Cod - multiple possibilities in P Town including whale watching.

[TiogaCruiser]

Thank you all. I now have several options to explore- and most importantly- the names of the entities to research.

Cruise Critic rocks!

 

I’m particularly interested in Plimoth Plantation because I recently discovered we descend from Thomas Rogers. 

[1025cruise]

I would just rent a car from the airport and call it a day. From the airport, you would just get on the highway and go, and same for the way back. From your hotel, find your way to South Station, then take the Silver Line to the airport, followed by a shuttle bus to the rental car center.

[princeton123211]

19 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

I Did mean Logan - not sure why I typed La Guardia. I would prefer not driving around the airport area and was trying to find a car rental south of Boston we could Uber to and from, but they are only open short hours as far as I am finding. 

Keep in mind that you can usually return a car to a downtown location after hours with a key drop. I used to do it all the time when I lived in Boston at an Avis location that is very close to your hotel in Government Center. Just call the location and double check you can drop after hours-- usually you just write down the mileage and gas amount on your agreement and drop that and the key into the box and leave the car in the garage. 

 

I agree that a rental car is the best way to go here-- I wouldn't want to spend that sort of time on a bus and the flexibility of having your own car is a major plus. But please keep in mind that if you are doing this day trip anywhere near the weekend in the summer you can potentially get stuck in soul crushing traffic that is headed to the Cape. I would avoid Thursdays and Fridays if at all possible. 

 

 

[TiogaCruiser]

5 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

 

I agree that a rental car is the best way to go here-- I wouldn't want to spend that sort of time on a bus and the flexibility of having your own car is a major plus. But please keep in mind that if you are doing this day trip anywhere near the weekend in the summer you can potentially get stuck in soul crushing traffic that is headed to the Cape. I would avoid Thursdays and Fridays if at all possible. 

 

 

All we have is Sunday and Monday. would one of those days possibly be a bit better?
 

We embark Tuesday. 

[princeton123211]

11 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

All we have is Sunday and Monday. would one of those days possibly be a bit better?
 

We embark Tuesday. 

I would prob do Monday to try and avoid Cape traffic. People usually go down on Thursday/Friday and come back Sunday night or Monday morning. 

[TiogaCruiser]

Thanks!

[TiogaCruiser]

After pondering this some more I’m considering renting a car at Logan when we land (10:30p) and changing our hotel to Quincy or Braintree. The thought is driving from Logan might be easier at night and we might get a jump on morning traffic to Plimoth and be able to spend more time on our schedule. We would be a little freer to get to a variety of restaurants while we had the car too.

 

If we did Plimoth Sunday, and returned the car afterwards near our hotel, we could take the commuter train in to downtown Boston Monday for the day, and then Uber to the port Tuesday. 
 

Am considering Best Western or Howard Johnson Quincy. They both offer free or low cost parking.
 

Any thoughts?

Edited Saturday at 02:05 PM by TiogaCruiser

[princeton123211]

2 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

After pondering this some more I’m considering renting a car at Logan when we land (10:30p) and changing our hotel to Quincy or Braintree. The thought is driving from Logan might be easier at night and we might get a jump on morning traffic to Plimoth and be able to spend more time on our schedule.

It's a lot of running around and do you really want to take the hour it will take you to get the rental car at 10:30pm (assuming you're on time). You'd be getting to Quincy around 12:30 maybe 1am. Your current hotel is in a great area for touring Boston and good rental options are right nearby for the next day. Parking in Boston is expensive so if you just do a rental for the day the morning of and bring it back you can avoid that. 

 

I've stayed in Quincy alot for a past job (the Marriott Quincy which I would recommend if you end up not staying downtown). Its fine but its quiet and frankly boring. Anytime I would stay there I would Uber downtown to eat/drink/walk around. I'm sure there are some local gems to get a bite to eat there but for the most part its stripmalls and chain restaurants. 

 

2 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

We would be a little freer to get to a variety of restaurants while we had the car too.

Not as free as if you were downtown and not nearly the variety of options. 

 

2 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

If we did Plimoth Sunday, and returned the car afterwards near our hotel, we could take the commuter train in to downtown Boston Monday for the day, and then Uber to the port Tuesday. 

Again- a lot of running around for minimal time savings. Realistically you are only saving 20-30 minutes to Plimouth vs staying in Quincy. Most folks stay in Braintree or Quincy to save money but there are a lot of tradeoffs. If you are comfortable with the cost of your current booking downtown I would keep it and arrange for a same day rental at one of the rental agencies right around the corner for you. You wont pay for parking, you wont need to pay for trains/Ubers to get downtown, and you'll be walking distance to all Boston has to offer when you get back. 

[WatchHill]

Braintree has a recently remodeled Hyatt place on Forbes Blvd. in Braintree and a few minutes walk from the Logan express coach. From that hotel adjacent to Rt 93 which we still call Rt 128, you can connect onto Rt 3 south toward Plymouth. I recall seeing a Marriott on Forbes too. 
When we fly out of BOS we park at Braintree Logan express parking lot - huge heavily used area that only charges $7 per day to park. Hint:  purchase Logan express bus passes online or on your iPhone for $9 each way. The busses pick up and drop at each terminal at the airport. 

Anticipate Boston traffic.  Last Sunday I dropped off my niece at terminal E. It was an hour ten minutes from Foxboro near Gillette stadium to get into the airport. It took me over an hour to exit  the airport and sit in traffic trying to get through the tunnel. 
Lots of options to consider. 
 

Darcy

 

Edited 13 hours ago by WatchHill

[Nitemare]

Leaving Boston for Plymouth in the morning isn't going to see much traffic.  As soon as you get on I-93 South it should be quick, all the traffic is going TO Boston.

 

Those two hotels in Braintree aren't great.  I wouldn't recommend them to a friend unless they are on an extreme budget