5 hour layover at Boston Logan Airport - suggestions on where to go in Boston
 

I'm doing an LAX - BOS - SNN run next month and have a 5 hour layover in Boston. Do I have enough time to get on the subway and go into downtown?

Absolutely...it shouldn't take you more than 20 minutes each way. I'd suggest either walking part of the Freedom Trail (www.thefreedomtrail.org) or walking around Back Bay, the Common and the Public Gardens (take the Green Line to Copley or the Orange Line to Back Bay Station). You could easily spend a few hours on either, and it'd be a lot more fun than hanging around Logan.

Thanks very much for the info.

Consider taking the water shuttle from Logan to downtown Boston. It's a very enjoyable and scenic ride - assuming good weather.

S

Just be aware that if you are taking the subway, you will first have to get the airport shuttle that takes you to the blue line, and then take the blue line to connect with either the green or orange lines. There is very little you can't do in five hours in Boston, it all depends on what you are interested in.

You probably have better shopping in LA, so skip that, and if you only have about three hours downtown, I'd say don't bother with the Museums either. If you are hungry, there is amazing Italian food in the North End, great seafood everywhere, and a bunch of other great places for lunch (maybe Blumie will also read this and tell you how to get one of those sandwiches he's always raving about to take onboard).

The Back Bay, Beacon Hill and the North End are all nice places to just walk around, if you don't know Boston very well. Just stear clear of the orange line past the Back Bay stop, you might not make it out alive. Lastly, you can also easily reach Harvard Square by the red line, if that is of interest. If you don't want to go too far from Logan, you can also go to the aquarium (if you like watching fish, as opposed to just eating them), walk around Quincy Market, get drinks at some of the pubs, or food at Legal Seafoods. Enjoy SNN, as well as your layover in BOS.

Go tour Fenway Park!

Take the Massport Shuttle (Route #22) to the Blue Line Airport Subway Stop. Pay $1.25 to get on the blue line inbound (the far side from where you enter the station). Get off at Government Center, go upstairs to the Green Line. Board a B, C, or D line train (i.e. NOT an E line train) to the Kenmore stop. Go up to street level and walk about two blocks to Fenway Park.

There's a tour every hour from 9 to 4 for $12. Don't forget to buy some Red Sox stuff. You'll still have a bit of time to kill, so stop at the Cask & Flagon Pub, or if that's not your thing, go back the way you came and explore the Charles River Esplanade.

When you're ready to go, go back to the Kenmore T stop, pay $1.25, and get on any inbound train. Get off at Government Center, and go downstairs to the Blue Line, and take it to the airport. Then take the Route #22 shuttle back to the American gates - it will be the 4th stop.

Enjoy... unless you're a Yankees fan.

Silver Line
 

They actually have a Silver Line shuttle now that runs directly from the airport to South Station (and some other points in between) that is super convenient. It connects directly to the red line and eliminates having to go from the terminal to the airport subway stop to the blue line to the green line to the redline. I take it all the time when I go to the airport now and it is great. See more info here: http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/sche...silverline.asp

But it looks so... goofy...
The thing suffers from an identity crisis... bus or streetcar or train or trolley or gas or electric... make up your mind MBTA ;)

Yeah I agree, and there are signs posted all around the airport too taht say "SILVER LINE BUSES NOT ALLOWED HERE". It's like a silver-headed step child of the MBTA system

Legal Seafood for lobster. Then, stroll to the Ritz for an after dinner drink and then back to the airport. Almost perfect layover.

LMAO, you're dreaming if you think that will ever happen :D :rolleyes:

I think this is because the buses, even with their overhead wire electric apparatus folded down, are still too large to fit in the lower clearance lanes on the Terminal B arrivals level roadway. If you look, the lanes they're blocked from (on the inside of the bend) have slightly lower clearance than the lanes nearer the curb.

I do agree though. It's the most frustrating trip. It's just slightly better than the alternative if you're going to Cambridge, but every second you're on the bus, waiting for it to switch its power source or watching it go 15mph in the tunnels, you're thinking 'how could they build an entirely new system and make it this bad?' Ah, Boston...

Ahhh...that makes sense on the overhead stuff. And definitely much more convenient for Cambridge then perhaps some other places, but at least it still beats having to carry luggage on and off multiple times if you do the shuttle/subway route.

Take the Blue Line to Aquarium (very quick trip) - walk to the North End for the world's best cannoli at Mike's Pastry.

What time and day are you in Boston? That may help us make better suggestions. If it's evening, I would definitely suggest dinner in the North End! If it's daytime, heading to the Fenway area would be fun - just check out if the Sox are playing that day. It will be madness if so and I have faith they will be playing for a few more weeks. :) I also love dining on the sidewalk on Newbury Street surrounded by brownstones and lively people watching.