How many days would you vacation in Boston?

LisaR

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Sep 26, 2000
I haven't been there since I was a kid. I always have a hard time deciding how long to stay in some places. 5 days, 7 days, 10 days? I don't want to run out of things to do but I don't want to rush through everything because we didn't allow enough time. How long would you spend in Boston with two teens doing the typical touristy things and maybe some off the beaten path activities?
 
There's a a whole lot to do in Boston. You could spend 10 days there, but it would depend on how much patience the teens and you have.
 
What time of year are you going? The weather will greatly influence my advice.
 
I am intrested to see the responses. We are planning on visiting Boston this summer for awedding and want to turn it into a family vacation.
 


With car or without? Side trips to other places or in Boston proper?

Let's see: one day for the MFA and Gardner and the Commons; two days for walking the heritage trail; one day for shopping; one day for the Peabody and then bumming around that neck of the town; hmm. . .half day for Brookline and Coolidge Corner; a day for the Museum of Science and the Duck tour; half day for a game at Fenway Park; half day to meander Mount Auburn; half day to a day for the Harbor tour. . .

I'm sure I'm forgetting something!

If you want to do side trips, depending on season, Salem is a blast, as is anything on the Cape, or Gloucester. You can take the commuter rail or drive out to Concord and Lexington - lots to do there. Drive up to Portsmouth, NH. On your way back from the Cape (if you drove) Plimoth Plantation is fun. You can go out to Sturbridge and stay at (or at least tour) the Wayside Inn and see Walden Pond. (It's a hop, skip and a jump from Concord.) Right over the NH border is America's Stonehenge, which is great fun to tour.
 


With car or without? Side trips to other places or in Boston proper?

Let's see: one day for the MFA and Gardner and the Commons; two days for walking the heritage trail; one day for shopping; one day for the Peabody and then bumming around that neck of the town; hmm. . .half day for Brookline and Coolidge Corner; a day for the Museum of Science and the Duck tour; half day for a game at Fenway Park; half day to meander Mount Auburn; half day to a day for the Harbor tour. . .

I'm sure I'm forgetting something!

If you want to do side trips, depending on season, Salem is a blast, as is anything on the Cape, or Gloucester. You can take the commuter rail or drive out to Concord and Lexington - lots to do there. Drive up to Portsmouth, NH. On your way back from the Cape (if you drove) Plimoth Plantation is fun. You can go out to Sturbridge and stay at (or at least tour) the Wayside Inn and see Walden Pond. (It's a hop, skip and a jump from Concord.) Right over the NH border is America's Stonehenge, which is great fun to tour.

Looks like we will need a month, give or take a day! :lmao: Thanks! It looks like there will be plenty to keep us busy for a full week.
 
At least a week! Later in the summer I would say stay longer to visit the beach, but in May & June you will enjoy seeing the city and enjoying perfect weather.

I recommend the OmniMax Theater at the Museum of Science & the MOS itself. Skip the Aquarium it it just eh, and not worth the money. Definately take a Duck Tour (not "SuperDuck" must be "Duck Tour") Fenway Park offers tours during the day, if you go to a game it is $$$ but super fun. Take a Whale Watch out of Boston, Gloucester (Cape Ann) , or Salem Ma. If you are into History Salem Ma is fun. I think you can ferry between Salem & Boston. If you are into seafood the No Name Resteraunt is good, and of course Legal Seafood near the Boston Harbor Hotel. Go to the North End for some real italian food, this is a must do. Quincy market is fun, and the famous Omni parker hotel is near there.
 
I have lived just outside Boston my entire life and still find new thing to do.
 
With car or without? Side trips to other places or in Boston proper?

Let's see: one day for the MFA and Gardner and the Commons; two days for walking the heritage trail; one day for shopping; one day for the Peabody and then bumming around that neck of the town; hmm. . .half day for Brookline and Coolidge Corner; a day for the Museum of Science and the Duck tour; half day for a game at Fenway Park; half day to meander Mount Auburn; half day to a day for the Harbor tour. . .

I'm sure I'm forgetting something!

If you want to do side trips, depending on season, Salem is a blast, as is anything on the Cape, or Gloucester. You can take the commuter rail or drive out to Concord and Lexington - lots to do there. Drive up to Portsmouth, NH. On your way back from the Cape (if you drove) Plimoth Plantation is fun. You can go out to Sturbridge and stay at (or at least tour) the Wayside Inn and see Walden Pond. (It's a hop, skip and a jump from Concord.) Right over the NH border is America's Stonehenge, which is great fun to tour.

Not this! The freedom trail in no way shape or form should take you 2 days! It can be done in a matter of hours while you are doing other things in the city, maybe Fanueil Hall/Quincy Market or even the Aquarium. I'm not sure what you'd need to see in Peabody or the surrounding area. There's a Sonic out that way on Rt 1 but really nothing else spectacular that you wouldn't be able to find in your average town. Shopping can be included in any of the days you're already there, it doesn't need a whole separate day. A Sox game can be at night, not wasting a half-day.

No offense intended to snarlingcoyote, but there's far better ways OP can be spending her family's time.
 
Assuming with teens that you get a full days' worth of sightseeing, I'd say one week is fine. Of those seven days, I'd take two days for road trips, one to the Cape and one to the North Shore (Gloucester/Salem/Peabody area).

If they sleep half their day away:laughing: you might need longer...or if the parents like to be settled in before 9, again, you might need longer.
 
No offense intended to snarlingcoyote, but there's far better ways OP can be spending her family's time.

FWIW, I've lived south of Boston my entire life and I thought alot of these ideas were great! Fenway could include a tour, most people find the fishing piers both Cape Cod and North Shore very interesting, Cambridge is a fun town to mosey around in, see Harvard, have lunch...
 
I'm not sure what you'd need to see in Peabody or the surrounding area.

I am thinking Coyote meant the Peabody museum at Harvard ( anthropology) ?
or maybe the Peabody Essex museum up in Salem? ( very interesting)
 
Anytime after May 10th and before June 7th.

If you end up going that last week, you might want to check out the Feast of Santa Maria di Anzano, in the North End (Boston's "Little Italy").
We were in Boston last summer during the Feast of Madonna della Cava--it was really nice! Never experienced anything like that before!:)

Some stops of the Freedom Trail (like Paul Revere's House) are in the North End anyway, so it won't even be out of your way :)

http://www.lafamigliagiorgio.com/northendfeasts.htm
 
With car or without? Side trips to other places or in Boston proper?

Let's see: one day for the MFA and Gardner and the Commons; two days for walking the heritage trail; one day for shopping; one day for the Peabody and then bumming around that neck of the town; hmm. . .half day for Brookline and Coolidge Corner; a day for the Museum of Science and the Duck tour; half day for a game at Fenway Park; half day to meander Mount Auburn; half day to a day for the Harbor tour. . .

I'm sure I'm forgetting something!

If you want to do side trips, depending on season, Salem is a blast, as is anything on the Cape, or Gloucester. You can take the commuter rail or drive out to Concord and Lexington - lots to do there. Drive up to Portsmouth, NH. On your way back from the Cape (if you drove) Plimoth Plantation is fun. You can go out to Sturbridge and stay at (or at least tour) the Wayside Inn and see Walden Pond. (It's a hop, skip and a jump from Concord.) Right over the NH border is America's Stonehenge, which is great fun to tour.

There are some interesting things on this list, but it seems to include too many museums for teenagers.

I would certainly do a Sox game at Fenway, and I'd also recommend the National Seashore out on Cape Cod...
 
I just wanted to mention that the time you are planning to visit is very busy in Boston because of all the college Commencements. Hotels book up far in advance, so make your reservations soon.
 
I just wanted to mention that the time you are planning to visit is very busy in Boston because of all the college Commencements. Hotels book up far in advance, so make your reservations soon.

I just read that on another forum. It said it is the busiest time of the year to visit. That stinks!
 
Do the teens like baseball. If so, take in a Red Sox game!

You can't get tix to RS games unless you want to pay a small fortune for them through a secondhand dealer.

I personally can't imagine wanting to vacation here for more than 3-4 days unless you are all major history buffs that like taking tours.

There are a lot of nice museums for adults and kids and the aquarium. Most of these places close by 6 or 7 pm. Most of the places that used to be unique and some local charm like Harvard Sq are really just lined now with the same 17 stores that are in every mall. Same with Fanueil Hall. Don't waste your time. It's a food court with a bunch of stores like the Gap and Brookstone that they have in every mall.

Dining in the North End is definitely fun and the MFA and other museums are worth checking out. The duck tours are neat and the nighttime ghost tours are fun .
 

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