Massachusetts Travel Forum

Can anyone suggest the ways to plymouth plantation?
I did read the info on the net, but found it is quite complicated, as a stranger and traveller.
Do you know whether there are local tours (including transportation to/from downtown). Where can I approach them?
Thanks

I would like to stay a weekend in Boston alone, in July, can someone suggest places to stay and what areas are safe? thank you!

jen

A quick update to the "Ben and Joe go to America and have the time of their lives saga"

Well, we have just discovered as of a few days ago that Joe is now 99% NOT GOING!!! I want to kill him, yes that is true, as he has had doubts about not going for months, but not had the guts to tell either Ben or me or the Uni. He has some reasons for not going, but I see them more as excuses than valid reasons.

Anyway, so that then leads to the question "Will Ben still go?" In a nutshell, Ben is very angry and upset, he says he still wants to go, although he knows it will not be as good as if he had his best friend (no longer his best friend) by his side. My husband and I have given him many options, but at this stage he still chooses to go. One option is to change air ticket dates (there will be a fee to do this) and just go for a holiday, that way we will lose about $1,500 (already paid out in visa fees etc and a Uni Housing cancellation fee for UMASS) but will not pay out an extra $15,000 if he goes for 4 months of Uni and does NOT have a good time. To me, that would be the best option, but if he chooses to go, then of course we support that as well. I am sure he will quickly make new friends at Uni, it will just be the 4 weeks from when Uni finishes to when he comes home that will be the difficult part, a few of his mates have been talking about going over for a few weeks then to meet up, so if that happened, well that would be great.

WHAT SHOULD HE DO? Can anyone at UMASS Amherst give me an idea as to whether a lone traveller from Australia is going to have a great time there???

Ben has his final pre-departure meeting at UOW tomorrow, so a firm decision needs to be made by him before then. I just wonder if Joe will turn up to face them?

I am extremely upset with Joe as the boys have been planning this "trip of a life time" for well over a year now. To say that Ben is upset with Joe, is an extreme understatement, let me tell you - he is furious! So much preparation has already gone into this trip, mainly by me, I feel maybe that Ben should still go. For sure, the first week or so will be hard, being by himself, and I know for a fact that I could never be a lone traveller. I see a lot of people in my travels, who do it alone and seem to enjoy it, and certainly meet lots of new people and make life-long friends along the way as well.

Should Ben still go?
Will he still have the time of his life, starting off by himself?
How easy/hard is it to travel alone?
Is it worthwhile for him to maybe join like a Contiki tour for his last 4 weeks?
The plan was to finish Uni on Dec 19th, then travel to New York, spend Christmas and New Years there, then somehow travel across America from East to West coast, end up in LA and have some fun there?
If he does go by himself, my goodness, that will be a huge learning curve for him, he will have to become very responsible and learn to do things for himself and by himself. I think it would be a good lesson in life.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated ......

Richie and I are planning a day trip to Salem with the children, we want to avoid the tourist crap like the pirate museum, but still give them a good feeling of how cool salem is. Anyone got any recommendations on child friendly things to see there and some decent child friendly places to eat.

hi,

my friends and i are planning to visit boston for the july 4th long weekend but instead of driving from philadelphia to boston we just thought of taking the amtrak....

can someone please suggest an affordable place to stay near the BOS (South Station, MA (BOS)) amtrak station? that station is in downtown boston, right? actually don't know which stations in boston should we choose but i thought choosing downtown is where most of the boston life is that's why we chose that station(or maybe im wrong?)

a hotel close to tourist spots would be nice too (we're thinking of getting a boston city pass)...

thanks so much in advance!

My son is going to UMASS Amherst for a Uni exchange this year and I need to get him an atm card (NOT a credit card!). Ive looked into the Travelex Cash Passport Visa Debit Card (based on Visa) and also the Commonwealth Bank of Australia Travel Money Card (a Mastercard based on Maestro/cirrus). This CBA card is a brand new one, only started operation today. Both these cards work in a very similar way.

1. They are not linked to a bank account.
2. There is no name on the card
3. You are issued with 2 cards - one for back-up in case you lose one.
4. They are pin protected - so very safe.
5. They can be used to withdraw cash at atms and also to purchase items using eftpos.
6. They have quite low fees, both very similar fees. About $3.50AUD for each atm withdrawal and no fee for eftpos purchases.

What i would like to know is if either of these cards would be more widely accepted in America (generally) and Amherst (specifically).

a) Visa Debit card OR
b) Mastercard (Maestro/cirrus)

Thanking you all in anticipation of your very helpful replies!!!

I will be attending a concert with my children next month and want to find a hotel (reasonable) that would hopefully be within walking distance, as my kids would be tired at that point. Any recommendations?

If you were to go to a Boston Red Socks game while visiting Boston, what transit would take? I have seen posts which stated after dark the area could be unsafe. I will be staying on the bay.

My brother is visiting Boston for 3 nights at the end of June and I have mentioned the Boston City Pass. He is interested and the current fee of $44.00 seems great as it covers the cost of:
New England Aquarium
Museum of Fine Arts
Boston Museum of Science
Skywalk Observatory
Harvard Museum of Natural History
OR
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

It claims to save 45% on the actual price of visiting these places, the only problem is that he doesn't want to visit the New England Aquarium and wants to do both the Harvard Museum and the John F Kennedy Library/Museum.

Is there any other way to do the above and given that he'll only have 2 full days in Boston - will it be possible?

My son will be in America for about 5 months so we have decided it will be easier if he just buys a mobile phone when he gets there, rather than taking an old unblocked one and buying a US sim card etc.

My first question (which may sound silly!) is do you sell pre-paid phones in America? I am assuming that you do, but my husband just thought that maybe you dont, and maybe they are all on a plan.

If you do sell pre-paid phones, then what would be an average price for a pretty basic phone? In Australia, you can buy a very basic pre-paid phone for about $80-$100 and a better one for about $150-$200, with top of the range about $300-$400. So, Im hoping that he will be able to pick one up for under $200US.

If so, where would be the best place in Boston to buy one? ie. the cheapest place? Somewhere like a phone warehouse, or else a department store.

Looking forward to your ever so helpful answers. Thanx!

Hi there people of Springfield

I'm going to Springfield this weekend, long memorial weekend for two nights. What are some activities to do? I know about the Basketball Hall of Fame, Forest Park, Dr Seuss. Where else are there to visit?

I don't mind if it's greater area of springfield. I'm coming from New York.

Thanks so much.

one more question...
Would anyone know if there are luggage storage lockers/facilities at Logan Airport?

Thanks

Hello, I have a tight connection time between an International Arrival @ Terminal E (Iberia) and Cape Air departure from Terminal C. Only 70min in between arrival and departure. I will only have carry-on luggage.
My question: is this connection possible? I see online that T-E and T-C seem to be connected; is this true?
Any recommendations on getting from T-E to T-C would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

Hey I am actually planning a trip to Boston, Rockport and Salem, this Oct , and I was just looking for stuff to do in Boston. where to eat, that kind of thing thank you very much.

Hi all,

My wife and I are visiting Boston in September for our 25th Wedding Anniversary and are staying in a hotel Chandler Street which I understand is part of the Back Bay Area.
I would like to know how safe it is for us to walk the streets around that area, by day and night?.
I would also like to know whether it is possible to walk to Downtown Boston (Quincy Market etc) from Chandler Street or is it advisable to get public transport and if the latter, what transport is best to get?.

With thanks to all for any help and guidance.
Geoff

My son and his friend are doing a Uni student exchange at Amherst starting this September.
They arrive at Boston Airport at 10.25pm after a long-haul flight from Sydney Australia on 28th August.
What they will be needing is somewhere very close to the airport and relatively cheap to sleep that night, and maybe one or two extra nights, as they only have to be at UMASS by 31st August at the latest.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Even back-packer type of accommodation or budget 3 star Hotel???
Looking fwd. to your answers.

Hi

Which are the lines which have the maximum above ground stops on the subway.

Thanks a lot

I'm coming from Connecticut and would like to drive via I95 and take the T from a station close to I95 or I90. I did it once before, but cant remember where I got off the highway. Can anyone help?
Danny

Hello,

Does anyone know when Haymarket was established? What year at least, if you do not know the exact month and day?

Thank you very much.

we are gp of 35 doctors from india to attend joslin diadetic seminar. we need help as our stay is short. we want to go to new york and washington on 2 days after 2 pm and to niagra falls on day 3. kindly guide us .

If I have a reservation at the restaurant do I still have to pay for Skywalk tickets or are they included in the meal price?

Thanks in advance :)

Would a hotel in BrainTree be a reasonable place to stay, as long as they have a free shuttle that will take you to the subway stop? We'll probably have to take a taxi to the hotel from the subway stop after our flight, I'm guessing.

Hi

I will be travelling down to Boston next week for 10 days. What are some of the stuff I can do there? I am looking for scenery, some shopping on classical music items, and other fun stuff!!

Thanks

We plan to visit Boston on Easter Sunday weekend. We will be arriving on Saturday April 11, and leaving on Sunday April 12. Can you tell me if the shops are going to be open on Easter Sunday. Thak you

so we can walk from Devonshire to the Harbor front? It looks like the highway (Rt 93) cuts through and we would need to cross that. We are looking forward to a vacation and want to see the harbor. Please advise. Thanks!

I'm 50, solo, no car, looking for mid-priced hotel ($200 or less) which is quiet yet near subway. Does subway close at midnight? I will be attending my first Fenway game, but don't want to hear drunken partygoers under my window all night! Thanks for your help.

Dear friends,

Can you suggest me some cheap places to stay in Boston?
Hostels or B&B, anything like that.

Thanx a lot!!!!


Cheers,
Dusan

Hi everyone...

What's the best way to get from Logan Airport to Bethel, Maine? Bethel is a small town east of Concord (it's straight west of Augusta). My brother's flying into Logan and is hoping to catch a bus out of Boston to meet his wife in Bethel...

Any recommendations? We've found the bus to Concord but can't figure out how to get him further west.

Thanks in advance!

When my sister and I were children we used to vacation some summers on the Island and the memory that stands out the most vividly is Illumination Night. I am wondering how to best go about vacationing so I can try to now pass this tradition on to my son when the nigh tis not announced? Is there a date or week that the town shhots for annually?

What is the easiest way to get to Tufts Hospital and then return to Amtrak Station.is there a shuttle? I will be having my eyes dialated-so harder for return trip.