V-Flyer

Hi fellow v-flyers,

I'm looking ahead perhaps to next year's main holiday (haven't got this year's out the way yet!), and am thinking BOS and the area around.

Looking through TRs there's a lot of you who go but I don't seem to find much on the place itself. What's to see and do in that region? I'm looking for any advice and tips on what it's like as a holiday destination for a couple, hotels, places to see etc.

It looks like a popular route, what's the reward availability like generally on this route? UC or PE etc?

All advice gratefully received.
Ta,
Bretty

Flying out today, I will let you know what it is like for a winter break on my return,
J

Bretty wrote:Hi fellow v-flyers,

I'm looking ahead perhaps to next year's main holiday (haven't got this year's out the way yet!), and am thinking BOS and the area around.

Looking through TRs there's a lot of you who go but I don't seem to find much on the place itself. What's to see and do in that region? I'm looking for any advice and tips on what it's like as a holiday destination for a couple, hotels, places to see etc.

It looks like a popular route, what's the reward availability like generally on this route? UC or PE etc?

All advice gratefully received.
Ta,
Bretty

Nottingham Nick is the one to answer your Boston questions. He often visits (Red Sox fan I believe). y)

We've just got back! (DC and Boston)

And we have decided that Boston is our favourite, metropolitan, US location. (I say metropolitan to distinguish from Florida/Orlando, which is our favourite trip - based on the amount of times we go back anyway!)

Why do we like it?

Well, it's just the right size. Easily walkable from the financial area to Back Bay. It's big but no too big, if you know what I mean.
And the T (underground) is easy and cheap. We got a 7 day pass for $18 each for when the feet got sore - or it was just too cold!

Shopping is good; nice, indoor shopping centres at the Prudential Centre and Copley Place. And Newbury Street is great for shopping outdoors! No so much last week - it was freezing!
There is a mall at Cambridge, the Galleria. Last stop on the Green Line T - Leechmere I think. There are some shops downtown but it isn't as nice there - there's a Macys and a few other places.

MIT is supposed to be a good visit, although we've not been.

Food is good and plentiful - obviously. We eat in bars mainly and can best advise on beer rather than food!! Sam Adams Red Brick is particularly good...
But we like Atlantic Fish on Bolyston. We drink at Whiskeys http://www.whiskeysboston.com - cheap and cheerful, (and close to stagger back to the hotel...)
Quincy Market is an amazing food-court. A nightmare if you have trouble choosing!! It's close to Government Centre. Touristy but that isn't always a bad thing.

We've been to see the Boston Celtics before - tickets are surprisingly cheap - and readily available on Ticketmaster or StubHub. Kids will love the spectacle!! (Plus its another opportunity for a Sam Adams for the dads... ):

Fenway Park is close too for a Red Sox game - haven't been ourselves - we're always there in winter!

We took in a couple of films last week; Robocop - not as bad as I thought it would be but not as good as the original and American Hustle - excellent.
The cinema is just off Boston Common - it's an AMC, easy to Google.

The parks are nice for a stroll - even in the winter!

In terms of where to stay; we've stayed at the Colonnade twice now. It's in Back Bay - just opposite the Prudential Centre and a T stop. Virgin Holidays were the best value again, (really!). We've also stayed at the Sheraton and what was called Jurys but has now changed names...
Hotels are all about personal preference though, ours being;
Comfy bed
Good gym
Free Wifi
And we like to stay in the Back Bay area.

Outside of Boston; haven't been out of the city for years but we're thinking about doing it in spring sometime.
I like to drive in the states so I'm happy exploring. Cap Code is nice - I remember Province Town being a cool place.
It's also worth exploring Salem for a day - just north of Boston.
And Whale Watching! Places along the Cape Cod coastline to do this plus from Boston itself.

Overall, the people are always friendly, it's easy, has a nice feel, and is relatively close.

And if you struggle to find 'G' availability we've flown into JFK and JetBlued up to Logan - which isn't much hassle and is cheap.

Hope this helps a little!

It's also very significant in historical terms, being at the heart of the Revolution and home to the JFK Presidential Library. I don't know whether the 'unofficial' tours are still run, but we also did a trip out to Harvard which was good fun.

Joannie wrote:Flying out today, I will let you know what it is like for a winter break on my return,
J

Much appreciated, ta y)

Pjh and craigmonster, thanks for the tips. Craigmonster, that's a lot of useful info ta. I was thinking about maybe combining some time elsewhere like SFO or Washington but by the sound of it there's a lot to see in the Boston area if we fancy it.

Very helpful thanks guys

I heart Boston.

We did whale watching (in September) and saw lots of whales and dolphins.

There's a nice aquarium which we visited between checking out of our apartment and heading to the airport.

We also did a day trip to Portland, Maine where the ex had some amazing lobster. Portland was lovely - it felt like small town USA which I really like.

You can get a boat to the airport! (Almost!).

A great little cheap-eat is The Pour House.

I did the unofficial Harvard tour when there and loved it. There's also a fabulous ice cream place in the city of Cambridge (where Harvard is based)

Go to North End for good Italian food and historical places.

honey lamb wrote:I did the unofficial Harvard tour when there and loved it. There's also a fabulous ice cream place in the city of Cambridge (where Harvard is based)

And remember it's a Mayor Quimby - esque "Haavaad"....

Thanks sealink and HL, most helpful and I'm getting more and more convinced it's a place to go. Sealink it seems as though you feel about Boston as I do about Vancouver.

Cheers,
Bretty

I enjoy whale watching having done a couple of trips in Van, so am always up for that kind of thing, and lobster is a favourite too.

Lots depends on how long you're in town. Boston is pretty available for river walks (and kayaking), great food, sports,history (do at least gawk at Paul Revere's house) museums (Isabella Gardner is tops) but it's well worth wandering farther in MA as well: North Shore, Cape Cod, NH, Maine, Newport and points west. As it's New England, distances are micro compared to macro the -rest-of the-country. Summer? Beach--and great whale watches out of Ptown!

I'll second Quincy Market for food. Amazing.
Whale watching. We went on one, 'no whale money back.' and spent 3 hours in choppy seas with people being sick. Saw a smooth black shape briefly which the captain said was a whale and back we went. Horrid day.
If you want to go further afield Cape Cod is very relaxed.
But Province Town was very tacky and not worth the drive.
Dick D

I have done Boston in the Winter, summer and the beautiful fall
Recommend 4 whole days in the City for walking around and using their brilliant cheap transport system to see the sights. I love the walks along the Charles river, the parks, Boston common and having a nostalgic meal in Cheers! Harvard is a must too.

Then hire a car to tour the Cape Cod area. It is a beautiful drive down there along the coast using route 3A instead of the main motorway route. On the way you pass through lovely little towns. We did a wonderful whale watch trip our of Barnstable with Hyannis Whale Watch Cruises.

Boston & Cape Cod is in my opinion somewhere you never get fed up visiting.

We're already planning another October fall trip

We've been to BOS for last 4 summers. 2 weeks on the Cape (Cape cod) and 2/3 nights in Bos or NY on way back.
We always fly into NY as reward availability much better. Usually go for PE using the cc upgrade vouchers. Last year we even managed 4Gs on way back!
For accommodation on the Cape try VRBO.com. The Colonnade in Boston is a great hotel and has a fab rooftop pool.
Have a great holiday, it really is a fab location!

Thanks again folks, all useful info for me to think about. I've never driven overseas so it's about time I thought about it lol :w

Day trip out of town to Salem, of witch hunt fame. Easily doable, either by car or train...

Flown into Boston a few times.... (few read 6 or 7) I go and visit friends up in New Hampshire.... Salem just north of Bos is a must see....
Also if you driving do New Hampshire.... the capital Manchester is quite cool.. that is where they make segway' and do segway tours on Segways.... its awesome! then if you can go to Portsmouth New hampshire have a look around there and find the coffee shop called breaking new grounds... its awesome....
then over the river to maine.... also Province town.... anywhere on the eat coast near boston and above is awesome.....

Mike and GtG.....

PS.... New Hampshire does not have sales tax so... go and buy there....

M

If you can get hold of one, today's Telegraph (Sunday 16th) has a good range of readers suggestions for what to do in Boston.
I was lucky enough to manage two nights there in early December, didn't get too much time to do too many of the sites but will certainly return to do some exploring. Agree with you comments re. Vancouver, one of my favourite cities, but sure you will enjoy Boston and area.

Thanks folks, it all looks very interesting and I'm getting fired up

Bretty wrote:Thanks again folks, all useful info for me to think about. I've never driven overseas so it's about time I thought about it lol :w

I found drivers around Boston to be the worst I have ever encountered. I just one 30 mile trip on the freeway south of Boston we saw 4 very near misses with people veering across several lane to exit at the last minute, or just continual lane changes to gain an extra couple of car lengths.

Definitely a case for defensive driving and checking all around before you make any manoeuvre.

Down towards Cape Cod they seemed a bit more relaxed.
Dick D

dickydotcom wrote:

Bretty wrote:Thanks again folks, all useful info for me to think about. I've never driven overseas so it's about time I thought about it lol :w

I found drivers around Boston to be the worst I have ever encountered. I just one 30 mile trip on the freeway south of Boston we saw 4 very near misses with people veering across several lane to exit at the last minute, or just continual lane changes to gain an extra couple of car lengths.

Dick D

That above description sounds like my daily 20 minute drive on the M25 ):

Seriously, when leaving Boston use the coastal 3A route and this avoids the need to use the freeway. Pick a car rental location as far out of the city limits as possible y)

That reminds me : my first experience of Boston was a car screeching to a halt so the driver could berate the car driver behind. The language was foul.

After witnessing nothing like that in my previous days in a hot and sticky New York I did wonder about Boston drivers!

Thanks everyone for all advice. I noticed a sale is on so had a look and the UC tickets I thought were a really good price so have thrown caution to the wind and booked for October this year; that'll be 2 "big holidays" this year! :0

The price was just too good to pass up. Originally was looking perhaps for PE S or at a push W as I have an Amex companion ticket voucher, but there are no flexible PE tickets left when I search October or November so I looked at H bucket. Then I saw the sale mentioned Boston so looked at UC, the difference between H and Z fares was only £500pp so me and him indoors had a chat and decided to do it instead of waiting until next year.

I intend to book hotel, with free cancellation built in so that I can monitor rates and change the booking for a better rate if I find one! ): ):

Got the ESTAs to sort next and then get on and focus on Japan in May.
Cheers folks, I'm most happy y)

John