Can't find the damned travel thread again, so ... Boston?

Our big thing is to literally just walk around and see what we see. We'll do that for hours. So when it comes to safety, my main concern would be about accidentally walking into a bad area — like going a couple of blocks too far into Sketchytown without realizing it, or passing through a bad area that borders a "safe" one, or avoiding certain areas at night. We had a scary situation on our Chicago trip that wasn't even in an obviously bad area, and it still haunts me.

The parking situation is why I'm trying to get the rental car just right. We get in Monday and our Red Sox game is Wednesday afternoon, so we're looking at stacking any trips outside the city later in the week. Other than getting from the airport to the hotel, which it seems there are other options for, we won't need a car right away and can save several hundred dollars by not renting one until Thursday or Friday. It'll just take some logistical juggling to make a plan for it.
The cheapest rental car rates I was seeing when I looked last week were about $600 for the week, and then throw another $200-$300 in parking fees on top of it. Cutting that in half or two-thirds makes a huge difference.

 

You can get weekend passes for the Commuter Rail for $10 to get to Salem and Plymouth, which is about what you would pay for a round trip fare. Marblehead is a much nicer place on the North Shore, but not a lot to do.

Museums, ditto. In nice areas and easy to get to on the Green Line. The MFA is free on Wednesday afternoon, the Harvard museums are free. You can walk in Longwood or Jamaica Plain. Go to East Boston for pizza. There is also some good Central American food there.

 

The commuter rail no longer runs to Plymouth. Even if it did, it would drop you off a couple miles away from the waterfront at an abandoned Walmart. It’s too much of a pain to get there carless.

Yeah, don’t bother renting a car for the entire week especially given where your hotel is. If all you’re doing is going to Vermont to say you’ve gone to Vermont, I’d suggest White River Junction — right off the highway, just across the river from Dartmouth, enough of a student spillover where there is some interesting stuff yet close enough to the middle of nowhere to see everything green.

The only “bad” areas downtown are where the homeless congregate. It’s a bigger city, I’ve just always assumed they’re part of the furniture of the city. If that freaks you out, then be a little more observant.

 

If you are into beers, there are few in the city and 3 in Vermont that would make renting a car worthwhile.

Except for the Freedom Trail, avoid where you are staying. During the week it's just a business district and on weekends it's just a bunch of people getting wasted.

If you want to do a hike, check out Trustees of the Reservation. I can't think of one place accessible by the T, but there should be one. Blue Hills is a great hike, but you need to know your level.

 

Try Waltham. You can get there on the Commuter Rail. It has a nice walk around the Charles, a museum, and some well regarded restaurants.