Budget Boston day trip?

[momtwoboys]

We are looking into going to Boston for the day. We have done all the museums, aquarium, type of trips. Can anyone recommend anything to do that is very cheap, and enjoyable?? We have 2 DS's age 13, 11. DS 11 has Asperger's so whatever we decide I want to have him look it up We will be parking the car at the Riverside stop and taking the green line in. we will have about 6 hours total any ideas???

 

[hsmamato2]

we do this frequently take the subway to the Quincy market area- you can walk to many places on the freedom trail from there.....take the water ferry past the aquarium across the harbor to the uss constitution and take the tour,it's less than $2 pp to take the ferry,the shipyard is so cool,and it's free! FWIW- the water taxi run by the city leaves from the same dock as the pricey tourist boats......

 

[momtwoboys]

thanks! Any stops on the freedom trail that you think are interesting?will look into that water taxi too thanks!

 

[clori]

The USS Constitution Museum is voluntary admission which can be done with the USS Constitution Tour. The nearby Navy Yard national park service visitor's center has a multimedia show about the Battle of Bunker Hill called something like Whites of their Eyes for a small fee. There is also a museum near the Bunker Hill monument.

My girls are a bit younger so not sure if it is age appropriate (dd7, dd11) but we went to the Prudential Mall last week with another family and did the free Parent Perks Scavenger Hunt. You go to customer service and get a treasure map to find certain stores and some places give out token items. There is a fairly cheap boat ride around the Charles River that leaves from the Cambridgeside Galleria (walking distance from Lechmere station which currently has a shuttle from North Station).

 

[3boymthr]

On the Freedom Trail in addition to the Constitution my kids really liked the Bunker Hill Monument (but oooh the stairs). They got to see a musket shooting demonstration there. They also liked the cemetaries, the Old North Church and Paul Revere's house (there's a small fee for this one but it was under $10 for all 5 of us. Fanueil Hall is one of the stops on the Freedom trail and Quincy Market makes for a good stop for lunch.

 

[aimlyles]

Not sure if you are going tomorrow or if any of these are in the area you are looking for but this is the list of places having free admission tomorrow 7/29.

BOSTON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM
308 Congress St – Boston

NEW BEDFORD WHALING MUSEUM
18 Johnny Cake Hill – New Bedford

*SHAKESPEARE ON THE COMMON
Boston Common - Boston
*This is an open-air, evening (8 pm) performance on the Boston Common, with no seating structure. This year the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company presents the comedy All’s Well That Ends Well—Shakespeare’s globe-trotting adventure story of how far one woman will go to win the heart of her beloved.

You can read about it at this site: http://www.highlandstreet.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79

 

[MinnieForMe]

Does anyone know if the Bunker Hill Monument is handicap accessible? What about the water ferry/taxi?

Thanks.

 

[Aristocath]

When we were there last month the monument was closed for restoration. You could go into the bottom but you could not climb to the top.

 

[PatsMom]

You could check out the tours of Fenway Park. We did one and it was a lot of fun. Not terribly expensive either. Time and availability will depend on if the Sox are in town and when they are playing.

The tour is short enough that you would still have time for lunch or dinner at Faneuil Hall or the North End.

 

[timmac]

We are looking into going to Boston for the day. We have done all the museums, aquarium, type of trips. Can anyone recommend anything to do that is very cheap, and enjoyable?? We have 2 DS's age 13, 11. DS 11 has Asperger's so whatever we decide I want to have him look it up We will be parking the car at the Riverside stop and taking the green line in. we will have about 6 hours total any ideas???

Just to throw a suggestion out there... any reason why you're parking at Riverside? The green line trip alone will be nearly an hour to get into the city, seems that would kill a lot of your available time. For just a little more driving, you could park at Alewife and take the red line in (about 30 minutes), or Wellington and take the orange line in (10-15 minutes)

I'd definitely second going to Quincy market... there's often some unique entertainment in the area, and plenty of food choices

 

[momtwoboys]

thanks for all the great tips! No Fenway for us, not at all interested in Baseball, can you believe it? The other ideas are great though. We are looking to go next Friday. The riverside stop is easy drive for us to get to, and I remember back in my younger days that the trip in from Riverside took about 40 minutes??? The kids might think its cool We have always driven when we went in for the Science museum, aquarium etc and the cost to park can get pricey. The parking at Riverside is only $5.75 then the cost of the T ride in. Some of the stops along the Freedom trail will interest my boys thank you all sooo much!

 

[threeboysmom]

My 14yo son and I have had so much fun doing these scavenger hunts in Boston. So far we've done 2 out of the 3 - Beacon Hill and Back Bay/Copley. Each hunt took us about 5 hours to complete (website says 2-3 hours.... guess we're stupid, lol).

You use your cell to get clues - sometimes it is a question you have to find the answer to or sometimes you need to take a picture with your cell at a certain location. Once you submit right answer, you get the next clue on your cell along with some brief trivia about what you just saw/found.

We both had a blast and highly recommend it!

http://www.strayboots.com/locations/boston/

 

[princess barbara]

I know you said you did the museums but what about the Kennedy Museum? Or the Maparium at the Christian Science Center? I love the USS Constitution area also. There's also also the Franklin Park Zoo. ARTS Boston sometimes has half price tickets to Blue Man Group on Saturdays.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

Does anyone know if the Bunker Hill Monument is handicap accessible? .

There is not an elevator, if that is what you mean. Just alot of steps.

 

[3boymthr]

thanks for all the great tips! No Fenway for us, not at all interested in Baseball, can you believe it? The other ideas are great though. We are looking to go next Friday. The riverside stop is easy drive for us to get to, and I remember back in my younger days that the trip in from Riverside took about 40 minutes??? The kids might think its cool We have always driven when we went in for the Science museum, aquarium etc and the cost to park can get pricey. The parking at Riverside is only $5.75 then the cost of the T ride in. Some of the stops along the Freedom trail will interest my boys thank you all sooo much!

And your 11 will be free on the T I think the cut off for a free ride is 12 so you may or may not have to pay for the 13 yo, I know we have to pay for the 15 yo. Either way your total cost in and out will be under $20

If you haven't ridden in a while you'll need to get a charlie card. There are machines right there to get one. If you can get the plastic one (not all machines will dispense the plastic one) and plan to hang on to it. The refills are cheaper. $1.75/ride vs. $2/ride. If you get to Riverside and the parking lot is full head up 95 one exit to Route 16. The Woodland station has a really nice parking garage and it's less than 1/2 mile off the highway so really easy to get to. It's $6 to park and the same price for the green line ride. From either station the time of the ride varies depending upon the time of day, whether there is a Red Sox game going on and whether you catch an express train or not but 40 minutes to downtown sounds about right. If you plan to go to the beginning of the freedom trail you will want to get off at the Park Street Station. If you want to start at Bunker hill then I'd recommend either Science Park or Lechmere - but last time I was in there you had to get of at Science Park no matter what because Lechmere was under construction. From Science Park to the Constitution is probably a 10 - 15 minute walk and another 10-15 to Bunker Hill (this part's uphill all the way.)

 

[Totoro]

The National Park Service has free brief presentations at Fanieul Hall about the history of the hall. Plenty of good food at the marketplace and you could also catch a street performer or two. You could always walk to the North End for pastries. The wharf near the Boston Harbor Hotel is always a nice walk where you can see some nice yacht and boats.

 

[3kidsfordis]

Just did the Constitution today. We drove and parked near Fanueil Hall. Parking on weekends is way cheaper than weekdays. $9.00 all day at Post Office Square garage-about 3 blocks from Fanueil Hall. Would agree with taking Orange or Red line over the Green line if at all possible.

You could walk through Quincy Market and enjoy the street performers. We had lunch at Regina's pizza. Whole cheese pizza and 2-liter for about 16.00. You could walk over to the Aquarium and see the sea lions outside for free. If you can get passes from your library, the ray and shark touch tank in the Aquarium is new and lots of fun.

Just to the left of the Aquarium is the T ferry to Charlestown Navy Yard. Boats run every half hour-it is about a 10 minute ride. It was 1.70 each way for over 12 years old-kids free. Can't use the Charlie card. Tickets are sold right on the dock next to where you board. At the navy yard you can visit the Constitution and a warship for free. All adults must have a license or other ID. If you tour the Constitution on your own, you can only do the top deck. A free guided tour was offered every half hour and you get to go below deck. (we didn't do this so I can't comment). Hope you have fun no matter what you do.

 

[3mickeymom]

It is worth a little wait time, since it is a guided tour. It is about a half an hour tour. You get to climb the ladders and go below deck two levels to see the cannons and sleeping quarters. It was my son's favorite part of our Boston tour. We were just there this week and took the water taxi. It has beautiful views of the Boston skyline. You have to look for the water taxi that is only $1.70 though, as there are other boat tours and cruises that are more expensive and have much more visible signs and ticket booths. When you face the water, the water taxi is to the front, down a short ramp on the right, with only a little square booth to buy tickets. I hope this saves you time and walking as we missed it and walked all around the pier looking for it and waiting in line at other booths trying to find it.

 

[kcromley]

Can anyone suggest an affordable parking place? We are going in May, staying downtown at the Custom House, but trying to avoid the $40/day parking charge. We are flying into Manchester rather than Logan (much cheaper from here) so we do need a car to get to Boston, but not much around Boston although we would like to do Cape Cod for a day and maybe Plimoth Plantation. Any suggestions?

 

[3mickeymom]

This past week we parked at The Boston Common Garage. The max is $28.00 a day. It is right underneath the Boston Commons park and was conveniently located for our day trip. It was clean, very well lit and I saw security guards walking around on entering and when exiting. I don't know if that is any kind of bargain but I felt safe and it seemed to be centrally located. I believe the weekend prices are cheaper as well.