train or plane, NYC to Boston?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Not being familiar with the East Coast, I was wondering if people would recommend the train or plane to go from NYC to Boston and pick up a rental car in Boston. Is the train ride scenic? Is the station close enough to the airport that it won’t take all day to get there and pick up a rental car?</p>

2

<p>prolly use a train, mass transit is supposed to be cheap up there and plus the airports over there are extremely busy…
Is it scenic? I doubt it</p>

3

<p>Use the train. Sit on the right-hand side (facing forward) by the window; after New Haven, last 2 1/2 hours of the journey, the ride becomes more scenic, especially between New London and Providence there are several views of Long Island Sound and seacoast vistas. You can get from the train station to Logan Airport by subway in less than one hour.</p>

4

<p>It is not be necessary to go to the airport to pickup a car. Major providers, such as Hertz and Avis, have locations in downtown Boston near the train station. Also, last I heard, the Acela Express between NY and Boston was not operating. If you decide to take the train it will be a 4 hour ride. You can drive it in 4 hours.</p>

5

<p>Train is more “relaxing” than driving, and I personally prefer trains, but if you are going to need a car anyway, you will have fewer logistical hassles just renting one in Manhattan. As MSB says, you do not have to go to the airport to rent one in either Boston or Manhattan.</p>

<p>I have not rented one in Manhattan in years, but I’m sure you will reserve ahead: many, many Manhattanites do not own cars, but rent for the weekend drive out to Hamptons etc. So try not to be picking up your car at that early Fri pm prime time.</p>

<p>Where are you going to be looking at schools in Boston? Are you wanting to spend time in the city, itself, or stay more near one of the schools?</p>

<p>FYI, Logan Airport (Boston) is very close-in unlike most cities where the airport can be in a distant suburb/ex-urb. NY airports, not so much.</p>

6

<p>I would also rent the car in NYC and drive to Boston. It is an easy ride (4 hours) and is quicker than riding the train. If you need to return the rental car in Boston you will be charged extra, but I didn’t find it to be expensive; it sure was less than a few plane or train tickets!</p>

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<p>Flying is definitely not convenient from the NYC end. Although I am a big fan of public transport, the train is expensive. A lot of students take the Chinatown bus from NYC to Boston: <a href=“http://www.staticleap.com/chinatownbus/[/url]”>http://www.staticleap.com/chinatownbus/&lt;/a&gt; It’s cheap and a great way to meet students. </p>

<p>Driving to Boston is convenient. Driving IN Boston is horrible. I am sure I will get flamed for this, but the city’s roads are laid out like a racetrack and the inhabitants man their vehicles accordingly. (I say this as a highly experienced NYC driver.) Boston has a wonderful subway in the T: clean, cheap, goes everywhere, highly recommended. What I usually do is drive to Boston, then park my car for the whole visit and ride the T. <a href=“http://www.mbta.com/[/url]”>http://www.mbta.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Mike,
This may be more complicated than you want, but if you are interested in saving money you should look into the Chinese bus companies that operate between New York and Boston. DH and I were in Boston a few years ago with no car and wanted to go to NYC for a few days and then back to Boston. Air travel was too much. The train service would have been about $200/ea RT. I looked at Grayhound, it was $80/RT each. The Chinese bus was $10 one way, but that was 2 years ago. I suggest you do an online search with Chinese bus New York and Boston as your search words. I imagine the price has gone up some. You leave NY from somewhere in Chinatown and end up in downtown Boston. DH was leery of this, but in the end, it was great. Saved money, rode on a nice bus with AC and a movie, stopped at a rest station in CT for a snack and to stretch our legs. I definitely would do it again. Even if you don’t use it this trip, it is a good thing for your college child to know about for a cheap way to get to and from NYC from Boston. Oh, the busses leave about every hour in each direction.</p>

9

<p>Are there buses? We took a bus from NYC to WashDc. It was easy and really cheap 20$…was about the same time as flying would have been if you think about getting to airport, security, drive backm, etc.</p>

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<p>I agree with Scootron. We know kids in Boston and NYC who use the Chinatown bus to travel between the two cities. There are a few companies providing this service. Am not sure how safe the busses are but lots of kids use this mode of transportation. So talk to students in the two cities for more details.</p>

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<p>We did the NYC_WASHDC bus run and it was clean, fast, safe and comfortable. It was an hour longer than the train trip, but for 20$ who cares…getting dropped off in the city saved time and $$</p>

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<p>My daughter has used the Fung Wah bus from Boston-NYC-Boston on several occasions. It is $15 each way. You board the bus in Chinatown in NYC, but in Boston the bus is at South Station (the main Amtrak station in Boston). You can get an e-ticket from their website <a href=“http://www.fungwahbus.com%5B/url%5D”>www.fungwahbus.com</a>.</p>

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<p>Mike, the Chinatown bus line is very inexpensive and reliable ($15. one way). It will drop you at South Station, where you can get a cab or get on the T (Boston’s public transportation system) and get pretty much anywhere you want to go. Amtrak also ends at South Station and currently Amtrak (NY to Boston) is about $66. one way and the trip takes between 4-5 hours depending on which train you choose. Also as others have stated, you do not need to go to Logan Airport to rent a car, there are many outlets around the city and local suburbs where one can rent a car.</p>

<p>aparent5–no flame from me about Boston driving- we live just outside Boston and avoid driving there whenever possible. In addition to the street grid and driving techniques…one also must contend with the everlasting Big Dig…which often provides sudden detours to where you want to go.</p>

14

<p>I wasn’t aware of the Chinatown bus. We had a student visit us from Boston and she took the bus (to/from the Port Authority bus terminal in NYC) and she thought it was fine, convenient and inexpensive.</p>

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<p>Cellomom, I thought the bridge was finally open! The Big Dig is still going on? Oh, boy.</p>

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<p>Yes, unfortunately the Big Dig still lives. The bridge and the new tunnel are open (though the tunnel leaks a bit!) The bridge is really nice as is the tunnel and has helped traffic some. There is still a lot of work yet on access ramps and in the area around the sports arena (they keep changing its name!) in the north end of Boston. The T is doing major upgrade work as well-but remains the most efficient way to travel in the city. I believe that we’ve got another year to go, including fixing the leaky panels in the tunnel. We still love the city (inspite of all the digging) the theatre, museums and all the college students that inhabit Boston!</p>

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<p>Boston is loads of fun. I understand more and more why they publicize it as “America’s Walking City.” ;)</p>

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<p>D goes to school in Boston area and has spent Thanksgiving and Spring breaks in NYC. She took the Greyhound–because of the Chinese buses, the regular bus service has had to drop prices to compete.</p>

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<p>thanks to everyone for all the info!</p>

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<p>In the interests of full disclosure it should probably be stated that the Chinatown buses have had some violent incidents. <a href=“http://columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/02/27/403f0ca9d80d7[/url]”>http://columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/02/27/403f0ca9d80d7&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
<a href=“http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/92843p-84289c.html[/url]”>http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/92843p-84289c.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;