<p>We are headed out to visit Wellesley in a couple days and I thought I understood the transportation, but now realize I had it confused. </p>
<p>We are flying in to Logan on Saturday afternoon, and need to get to Wellesley college.</p>
<p>Then we are taking Amtrak to Philadelphia on Tuesday morning and will need to get from Wellesley to the Amtrak station (South Station). </p>
<p>I want D to experience the type of transportation she’d be using on her own if she were to attend Wellesley.</p>
<p>From Logan: I see now that the Wellesley site suggests taking a taxi from Logan (they list several companies…recommendation appreciated)(How does one get/choose a taxi at the airport? , or taking the Logan Express to Framingham then a taxi.</p>
<p>To Amtrak: They recommend commuter rail to south station.</p>
<p>What would be best/safest/simplest? I want to do things in a way that D would be most likely to do on her own.</p>
<p>It’s not hard to get from Logan to South Station. So if commuter rail works with your schedule, try it. </p>
<p>DS goes to school in nearby Needham. Usually he finds rides to Logan or The T station (non commuter a few miles further) . But I’ve read that one of the shuttle companies will do campus pickup. </p>
<p>I think its a great idea to travel the way you will expect your daughter to if she attends Wellesley and unless you don’t mind paying the huge $$ for a cab from the airport, I second the Silver Line to South Station and train from there to Wellesley. It’ll probably take you an hour. You can familiarize yourself with the the Amtrak lines for your trip to Philly while you wait for the commuter train to Wellesley. One of the concerns I’m experiencing with the college search here in the NE is the availability of easy, cheap travel from bus stations/airports to colleges.</p>
<p>Maybe @Pizzagirl will weigh in, since her D is a current student and I believe they fly in.</p>
<p>Where are you staying in the Boston area?</p>
<p>Whenever we’ve gone as a family for visits or to move her in / out, we’ve just rented a car. To me, if you were to take a taxi from Logan to Wellesley (which I don’t think we’ve ever done) and then another taxi to wherever you are staying (Natick, Framingham, Newton, Waltham, wherever), it would seem to be both cheaper and more convenient to rent a car. You’re going to a suburban campus, not a city campus. </p>
<p>When she’s been on her own, she’s pre-arranged with other students to drive her to / from the airport, which I realize doesn’t help you. There have been a few times where she’s had to go from Logan to South Station then South Station to Wellesley via commuter train. But I wouldn’t see the need to replicate that if you’re just there for the short time of a visit. And it still doesn’t solve the fact that after you’re at Wellesley, you’re going to have to get yourself to some other suburb for your hotel.</p>
<p>I’d just rent a car. You can get them cheaply via Priceline. </p>
<p>Wellesley town is as safe as suburbia can get! :)</p>
<p>How far from the campus are you staying? Are you planning to do any sightseeing in the area? You might need a rental car then. It is probably too late to make changes, but I would highly recommend staying in Cambridge, since if your D goes to Wellesley, chances are pretty high that she would spend her weekends there hanging out with her friends from Wellesley and other colleges. Plus, you will be closer to Boston. </p>
<p>Your D’s modes of transportation as a college student will likely be different from those of visitors’. I have no idea if the shuttle bus to Cambridge is still an option or if Zipcars still “live on campus”, but those were the options available just a few years ago. Kids survive at Wellesley without a car on campus just fine!</p>
<p>I too recommend sending a PM to Pizzagirl. </p>
<p>Yes, there are zipcars available on campus. (My D hasn’t ever used one.)
Yes, there is a bus - called the Senate Bus - that goes to Harvard and MIT.</p>
<p>Re staying in Cambridge - we’ve never stayed in Cambridge, but we’ve gone there for dinners and such and personally I think a) driving there is a mess and b) Cambridge is overrated, so personally we’re just as happy staying in a hotel in Waltham or Natick and then going into downtown Boston for fun.</p>
<p>“I have to be honest, though, Wellesley pitches Harvard / MIT / Boston access as a lot easier than it really is, IMO.”</p>
<p>Agree. Kiddo said it used to be ok but rapidly deteriorated since the financial crisis of 2008 and has not come back. She used Zipcars on few occasions and thought it was a nice option to have. The problem with driving any car to Cambridge/Boston is usually traffic and finding and paying for parking. </p>
<p>Just to edit: I don’t have exact prices but my guess would be that a taxi from Logan to Wellesley would be about $60, then you’d likely have to take another taxi from Wellesley to wherever your hotel is. I don’t think it’s worth it, when you can get a car on Priceline for $30/day. </p>
<p>And I don’t know this for sure, but my guess would be that the public transportation runs less frequently on Saturday and Sunday.</p>
<p>I recognize sometimes it’s unavoidable, but I would not waste your visiting time using public transportation. Sure, if she goes there she might have to use public transportation to get back and forth from Logan, but how many times is that a year - just a handful. </p>
<p>Shobomom: I saw from your other thread that you have never really taken taxis in your life and you’re generally unfamiliar with public transportation.</p>
<p>I really wouldn’t mess with this with Wellesley. It might be more doable with Bryn Mawr which is more conveniently situated relative to public transportation, but not Wellesley. I don’t think you need to spend your time worrying about mimicking the public transportation she will ultimately take. I think you’ll be far more comfortable for a Sat/Sun/Mon/Tue stay if you have your own rental car; otherwise you’re reliant on taxis if you’re in the burbs. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>I absolutely second what Pizzagirl said. You will be much more efficient with having your own rental car for this visit. Your D will figure out her own transportation just fine - my suburbia grown kiddo who had never taken a bus until she was 15 or so is now a public transport/Uber pro. :)</p>
<p>My daughter is a student at Wellesley, but we live locally.</p>
<p>Taking Logan Express to Framingham (which actually is in Natick at the moment since they are building a new parking garage) and then taking a taxi to Wellesley is very doable – I’ve been on this bus with Wellesley students - the bus driver asks if anyone will need a taxi from the bus station.</p>
<p>It would be much easier to use Logan Express than the train, as the Logan Express bus runs every half hour during the week and every hour on the weekend.</p>
<p>P.S. I personally think Cambridge is great.</p>
<p>Yes, but the point is - it’s not just about visiting Wellesley College. They’re arriving on a Saturday, and they aren’t leaving the Boston area til Tuesday morning for their next destination. Where are they planning on staying? Natick? Framingham? Waltham? How do they get there, unless they rely on taxis? And then they’re in some suburb without transportation. What are they going to do then? </p>
<p>All I can say is, as someone who comes in (not a local like you), it’s FAR more convenient AND likely cheaper to rent a car at Logan than to take taxis to Wellesley and then onto whatever hotel you’re at. That way you have the freedom to explore the area and get a sense for it. You won’t have that sense if you’re in a taxi or using public transportation. </p>
<p>And there’s just not really a lot of need, IMO, to experience the public transportation before you need to. If the young lady winds up going there, she’ll likely coordinate to share rides with other students to and from the airport. Wellesley also runs buses to the airport for Thanksgiving, Christmas break, etc. </p>
<p>It just seems that you’d be spending an awful lot of time traipsing around on mass transit for no reason. </p>
<p>Agreed, if they are going to be there three days a car is a necessity. For whatever reason, I thought they were just staying the one night and heading back out in the am. Duh moment.</p>
<p>What Pizzagirl said. The car can be picked up at Logan and dropped off at a different location near the train station or if that is not possible, taken back to Logan (plus a cab ride to the train station). </p>
<p>I personally liked our stays in Cambridge. It did not hurt that one time we scored $99/night deal with free parking. We walked all over Cambridge and Boston, since it was easier than driving around, just used the car to explore the suburbs.</p>
<p>Some people run from Wellesley to Boston - it takes less than 2 hours. 
Just kidding about that part. </p>
<p>Another possibility: taking a cab or transit from Logan to the Amtrak station and renting your car there. You will save a few $$ on the airport taxes.</p>
<p><a href=“http://trip.amtrak.com/car_searches/6574756”>http://trip.amtrak.com/car_searches/6574756</a></p>
<p>LOL Wow, lots of advice to work through! Thank you!
We arrive Saturday afternoon and we are staying at the Wellesley College Club, right on campus. I wanted to be right there so we wouldn’t need to rent a car. for this trip. 
We don’t have to be at Wellesley any certain time on Saturday, so it will be ok if it takes a little while to get there.
On Sunday, we are thinking of taking the commuter train back to south station to then go on the tour trolley that has a stop there, and do the tourist thing for the afternoon.
Then Monday D has a pretty full day. We leave first thing Tuesday.<br>
So, even if we don’t go back to Boston to be tourists, we really don’t have that long to deal with, and I don’t get bored easily. I’m fine just hanging out. We also want to get to explore the town of Wellesley a bit.
I think the current plan is to take the subway (silver line) to south station, then the Worcester/Framingham commuter train to Wellesley square. We are packing light, so we think we will walk the mile to the campus. If that doesn’t suit us at the time, I guess we can get a cab from W square.
It sounds like that is the advice that some of you gave 
I do agree, that if we had to travel to another location for a hotel, we would seriously look at a car rental. I am sure D would get used to the transportation, but she feels like experiencing it is part of her decision making process…knowing what she is getting into as far as transportation possibilities. I think trying it out, will take some of the mystery out of it.</p>
<p>Its confusing…but I am sure it will work out! lol Just figuring out that when someone says silver line, that means subway, and when they say express, that is a bus,…so many options, and so many different names! Trying to figure that out for 3 different cities really added to my confusion! (Boston, Philly, DC). </p>
<p>We are excited to head out on our adventure!</p>
<p>Warning! The town of Wellesley… is as boring as suburbia can get. The hike around the lake on campus is lovely (if it is not too wet or rainy). </p>
<p>Suburbia can get much more boring than Wellesley - it is a very walkable town, at least.</p>