<p>We are thinking about going to Boston for a week this summer. We are looking at vacation rentals as opposed to hotels but not sure what area would be best for us. We are renting a car for day trips but want to be close to public transportation so that we don’t have to drive everywhere. I have found a property in Jeffries Point. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Eagerly awaiting replies! We are also planning to be in New England for a week this summer.</p>
<p>Jeffries Point is right by the airport. It’s not exactly a tourist destination. Maybe look at Cambridge?</p>
<p>Jeffries Point appears to be an obfuscatory name for the area around the airport. As such, the roads are jammed solid during rush hour, the subway is crowded, and you have nothing local to see or do without either driving or taking the T (the local name for the subway). And you have airplane noise except from midnight to five AM. It would be my idea of hell.</p>
<p>If you want to be on the outskirts to save money, I would suggest looking in the towns in the inner circle of Boston/Cambridge, such as Arlington, Belmont, Brookline, etc. </p>
<p>If I wanted to rent a house for a week in the Boston area, I would personally look in the Coolidge Corner neighborhood of Brookline, or the Brattle Street part of Cambridge. But that’s me.</p>
<p>Yeah…right by the airport is not fun. There are a bunch of hotels that cater to the business crowd in Waltham which have nice suites if you change your mind - it’s a short drive from there to the Alewife T(subway) stop.</p>
<p>But does it make sense to drive to Alewife? I don’t live in Boston, but I’ve been to Alewife and that station fills up with commuter cars very early in the morning. So do other suburban stations (you can go on the T-website and look at the stations and see how full they are on weekdays).</p>
<p>Boston has a few Doubletree’s and Residence Inns -</p>
<p>What is it that you want to do while there? Various walking days around Boston (Public Garden, Freedom Trail, Newbury Street…)? Red Sox game? Kennedy Library? museums?</p>
<p>What day trips do you have in mind? Personally I would NOT suggest day trip to Cape Cod - the whole day would be spent in bad traffic.</p>
<p>If you talk more about what you’d like to do, we could advise better.</p>
<p>As others have noted, there is nothing notable or particularly appealing about being in Jeffries Point.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your input. So it I am looking closer in, any comments on the North End vs. the Back Bay?</p>
<p>Personally I would choose Back Bay… more centrally located. Lots of things to walk to.</p>
<p>Look at the John Jeffries House. It’s a bed and breakfast. It is right near Mass General Hospital near Charles St. It’s at the opposite end of Charles from Boston Common but a nice walk to the common and easy access to the T. If you fly into Boston, you have no need for a car, but if you are renting one, there is parking at the John Jeffries. Perhaps they have a weekly rate, I don’t know but worth calling.</p>
<p>Back Bay is more convenient in general. Only go North End if you seriously want a lot of italian food.</p>
<p>Another approach might be to see if Boston University or Northeastern will rent out dorms or apartments for a week during the summer. At BU, you can take the subway in. Not as convenient as Back Bay or the Four Seasons but at least you don’t have to deal with renting a car.</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of Jeffries Point before. Pulled it up on Google Earth. Looks like a dreadful place for sleeping without earplugs. I lived in Somerville for a while a long time ago and Saturday mornings the planes would fly over and make a lot noise and rattle the window. I think that they had planes fly in different directions on different days to spread the misery around.</p>
<p>LOL, I’d never heard of Jeffries Point either… but was afraid to admit it, since everyone else seemed to know :).</p>
<p>Still not sure what kind of activities you have in mind, swdad.</p>
<p>That would really help in making suggestions for you.</p>
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<p>I’ve stayed there. It’s not any noiser than staying in a dorm at BU would be (the T runs through the campus). Boston is a city. If you are staying in the city, there are city noises. If you are worried about T noise, really it was not an issue. The building was the former nurses residence for Mass General before it was converted. It is very nice and sleeping there is not a problem!!</p>
<p>Yep, everyone is right. You could walk around Boston asking people how to get to Jeffries Point, and you’d get a lot of blank stares. That former nurses’ residence is kind of a cool option, but I just would not recommend the general area for a tourist stay if you can afford Cambridge. Back Bay is another good option. The North End is worth a visit–Italian neighborhood, Paul Revere–but it’s not a great place to house your rental car.</p>
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<p>That’s what we did for our visits during the four years D was attending college. After some experimentation we settled on the Residence Inn in Woburn as our usual place. It has a nice location with very easy access to both the 95 and 93 freeways.</p>
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<p>We parked at Alewife a lot. And it does get pretty full in the mornings, but usually not completely full. Sometimes we had to go up to the top level of the structure, but we always found a spot.</p>
<p>I make a distinction between T noise and airplane noise. Now if you’re talking about those residents next to the train like you have at Charles/MGH - that’s one thing. But the buildings around BU are quite a bit further away. My masters degree was at BU and I don’t recall hearing the trains during classes.</p>
<p>Besides, BU has high-rises. Street noise attenuates with building heights.</p>
<p>I second thumper1’s suggestion to look into the John Jeffries House. Great location,can walk to lots of places from there and public transportation is very close. Stayed there about 4 years ago and was very nice and reasonably priced. There may be more recent reviews on tripadvisor.</p>
<p>you might condider the ferry to marthas vineyard of provincetown is another day trip idea. I like staying near /Fanueil hall. that is my favorite area of town. the airport area just has constant flight noise.</p>
<p>south end and quincy/braintree might be other areas to consider.</p>