Basically, I achieved GLD through the challenge, and I decided to go for PLT. In retrospect, I decided to reward myself with the accomplishment by going on a one night trip to Boston in the fall. Well that, and Cirque du Soleil's Corteo (at Suffolk's Down, close to the airport!) will be in town when I go there.

I've never "really" travelled by myself to a place I didn't know (most of my trips were places I was familiar with, had friends' places to stay over and pick me up) so I am a bit nervous. At the same time, I am excited as this will help me prepare for my planned trip to Athens, Greece next year.

So for all Ft'ers out there, I want to know what Boston is like, and where else I should go if I have the time. Any suggestions?

Oh, and I carefully planned to use Alamo to obtain miles, signed up with rewardsnetwork to book a hotel in Woburn to obtain miles there, and checked which restaurants are nearby to get miles there as well!

Might I suggest that a post of this nature is better placed under the "Community" or "Travel and Dining" areas as they have destination-centric groupd and threads, inasmuch as this is not an AA-related question? I dare say that, while you can get some advice here, you are likely to get more there.

(And Corteo was very cool here in San Jose ^)

Cheers.

Okay, I'll add a rider to the question.

My return flight is on 9/11 BOS-LAX, Flight 25. I purposely booked that to show support for American Airlines and patriotism to this great nation as well.

Do you guys think it'll be good to wear an American flag pin on my shirt on that return flight, or is that too...tacky?

So for all Ft'ers out there, I want to know what Boston is like, and where else I should go if I have the time. Any suggestions?

Link to FT New England forum (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=452)

Okay, I'll add a rider to the question.

My return flight is on 9/11 BOS-LAX, Flight 25. I purposely booked that to show support for American and patriotism to this great nation as well.

Now with that in mind, do you think it'll be good to wear an American flag pin on that return flight, or is that too...tacky?

In general, I'm not a flag waver/wearer- I find the whole thing tacky and redneck (this is just my opinion!). However, 9/11 is an exception for me, and I would find that appropriate. Again, this is just me.

Cheers.

Congratulations on making your goal (Gold). I remember the early days when I first caught the travel bug... Boston was one of the first cities where I did a weekend overnight by myself and it was fun (and a bit scary). Wow, do I feel like I've come a long way!

Oops, personal aside ... I started this post to tell you that I think our other posters are right. FT has several destination specific forums where you can get LOTS of great answers about Boston.

I hope this is the first of many memorable trips like this for you... you can continue to follow this thread in the attached link. (And if you need to find it later, look up in the blue text in the FT "toolbar" on the page and you can see the thread hierachy to locate your thread later.)

Cheers!

techgirl
AA co-moderator

There are many things to do in Boston and you may want to read a couple of Guide Books to get a flavor for some of the options. It is definitely a walking town so you may want to get T directions from you hotel. There has also been tunnel closure so please check alternate direction airport directions at http://www.massport.com/about/press_news_twtcl2.html If you are a baseball fan you will want to check out Fenway Park and the Freedom Trail is a popular historic tourist attraction as well us the Duck Tours. Don't forget to bring comfortable walking shoes.

It tastes like chicken.

You don't need a car to get around Boston for tourist purposes. The "T" (Subway/Bus system) runs decently enough to use- you can take the Silver Line "bus" to South Station and connect to the subway there. (Or you could go on the shuttlebus to the Blue Line-Airport station and take that)
You can take the subway to Fenway, Prudential, Aquarium, Chinatown, Harvard, etc... although when downtown it's usually much faster to walk the few blocks.

The T closes down at 12:30ish, but taxis are plenty. Driving & parking aren't very pleasant experiences, so don't rent a car unless you're going somewhere far.

[rant mode on]

From the thread title I thought this was about the airport. We have no city named BOS in New England, and AFAIK in the U.S. We have a city named Boston, though. Oh, that's where you're really going!

Nobody, but nobody, around here refers to Boston by its airport code.

[rant mode off]

...Oh, and I ... signed up with rewardsnetwork to book a hotel in Woburn...Woburn is way out of Boston and no place to stay unless you have a specific reason to be there. (I know some hotels call themselves "Woburn/Boston." That's part PR, part to help folks who don't know what major city is closest.) Public transportation to Boston is difficult from most hotels, and a taxi will be exorbitant. You didn't say what day of the week you'll be there, but unless it's a weekend you'll also have to deal with rush hour commuter traffic at some times of the day. Cancel it, hopefully not losing too much money in the process, and get a room in town. The cost difference for one night will be negligible for the time saved and convenience.

Other than that, the above suggestions are good. Boston has been around for a while and hasn't changed much if you're not driving, so most any guidebook will have the top spots right.

[rant mode on]

From the thread title I thought this was about the airport. We have no city named BOS in New England, and AFAIK in the U.S. We have a city named Boston, though. Oh, that's where you're really going!

Nobody, but nobody, around here refers to Boston by its airport code.

[rant mode off]


Respectfully, this is nonsense. BOS is a perfectly legitimate acronym for a traveler, and the disdain mentioned above is emblematic of the Boston attitude.

Having said that, a relocation from Woburn to downtown Boston is worthwhile for a short stay. Priceline will work well for a Boston stay if points aren't necessary. Also, check travelzoo.com, other US destinations. The Boutique Hotel Nine-Zero has been there frequently with rates around $150 USD.

In the words of the immortal Gilda Radner, "never mind...."

As Blumie correctly points out in the next post, Suffolk Downs is accessed by public transportation using the blue line, the same line as the airport. Silly, provincial me forgot that there is actually a world beyond the airport (and, in my defense, I did check the Suffolk Downs web site but not the MBTA). My bad, and lots of apologies (and thanks to Blumie for waking me out of my stupor, graciously no less!).

I edited this post to remove the incorrect and misleading parts. I am pretty confident about what remains below, with the caveat that there is actually an airport shuttle bus (Logan Express) to/from Woburn (but you would still want a car).

The rental car locations at Logan are generally very close to Suffolk Downs. On the other hand, you probably do NOT want to have a car in the city as downtown (and to the airport) the public transportation is quite good.

If you do stay in Woburn -- and I agree with what everyone else has said about why that's probably not what you want to do -- then a car is absolutely necessary. However, given the current tunnel mess, transit to/from the airport and to/from Suffolk Downs may be unpleasant unless you know the obscure back routes. I wouldn't expect this to be fully resolved by September, though one can always hope.

Boston's core is very small and easily accessible by T (the subway) or, for those who don't mind a walk, on foot. Woburn is outside that core, and Boston has disturbingly little public transportation outside the core.

Suffolk Downs *is* near the airport, but it is not particularly accessible by public transportation (definitely not subway; don't know about bus), nor is it near downtown. (It's on the other side of the airport from the city.)Doesn't the Blue Line connect downtown to the airport and to Suffolk Downs? Seems pretty convenient to me.

http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/schedules_subway_blueline.asp

You're in luck, Boston is the "Athens of America".. or at least i've heard.

Staying at a hotel near Suffolk Downs or anywhere along the T is highly recommended.

Woburn is near the Commuter Rail, but that doesn't run very frequently. It's more geared towards commuters, hence the name. :)

If you are along the Blue Line, the Airport and Suffolk downs are there, and the Aquarium station is right at the Boston waterfront and close to Faneuil Hall which is fun to walk around.

The Boston T is in the process of upgrading all of its fare equipment. They are getting rid of tokens, and will require everyone to use the new CharlieTicket which is a plastic card that has a stored value that you put on it, or a monthly pass. It looks like most of the Blue line has been converted to the new system.

http://www.mbta.com/projects_underway/afc/converted_stations.asp

but many stations on other lines are not converted, so if you use other stations you'll have to pay the $1.25 fare separately.

It's not a big deal, but I just wanted to make you aware.

http://www.mbta.com

The Suffolk Downs T station is behind Suffolk Downs - you never see it driving down Rt 1A - it's in the East Boston neighborhood. That's probably why one poster didn't think it was T accessible.

I would not recommend staying in Woburn. Too far out - at least 30 minutes, maybe more - and even though the commuter rail has decent service there, it looks like you'll be there over a weekend and the commuter rail runs much less frequently on weekends.

I would not recommend driving into the city - too insane. At one point, I remember a poll on FT "What city has the craziest drivers?" and Boston had the most votes of any US city - and more than many international cities. Seriously, do not drive in Boston - parking is expensive and the T is very convenient and safe. They just published statistics and the Blue Line has had zero robberies and maybe a couple of pickpocketing incidents in the whole year. The most frequent crime reported was car break-ins in the parking lots. Another reason not to get a car.

I saw that one poster pointed out that the T fare system is changing. However, you can buy a visitor pass (for 1, 3, or 7 days) from the machines at Airport Station (as well as South Station for anyone taking the Silver Line) that you can use at ALL stations. If the station is not yet converted, you just show it to the collector and they buzz you through.

When my friends come to BOS, they often find the big hotels in Copley/Prudential area on Priceline for $59-79 on weekends. With regular prices over $250, this is a great bargain and may be worth forsaking the points. You also don't need a car if you stay downtown, which probably cancels out the cost savings by staying in the suburbs.