Help with MTBA route please

Note: Meant to say MBTA.

We are staying at a hotel in Revere, MA prior to our flight out of Logan International. We would like to go to Boston Common and walk the Freedom Trail. Is someone familiar enough with the routes on the MBTA to help us with what line we should take between the two points and how easy (or complicated) it might be. We are hoping it is relatively easy to get into Boston from Revere using the metro.

Thanks to all who have any information in this regard :)

What hotel are you staying at? Do you know if they offer a shuttle dropoff at the "T"? Do they offer a shuttle to Logan Airport?

If the "T" is not close to your hotel, you can take the hotel shuttle back to Logan - any terminal is OK, but terminal E might be the best. At any terminal you can get the Silver Line bus to South Station. At South Station you go to right to the end of the platform to the Red Line direction Alewife. Go down the stairs to the Red Line and take any train 2 stops to Park St. This is the Boston Common and the start of the Freedom Trail.

If your hotel will drop you off at the "T" in Revere, it will be the Blue Line. Take the Blue Line to Government Center and transfer to any inbound trolley one stop to Park St.

Where do you think you will be in Boston when you want to return to Revere and what time do you think it will be? I'm not that familiar will the various Revere "T" stops in terms of whether there are cabs available or if they are places you want to hang out waiting for a hotel shuttle (if they do pickups at all).

138east: Your questions are all very good, but I don't think I can answer all of them. We are staying at the Comfort Inn in Revere. Their web site says they have a shuttle that takes you to the T stop in Revere (is there more than one?). I don't know whether their shuttle will pick up at the T stop or not or how often it runs. Those are some of the things we have to pin down with them. They also have a shuttle to the airport.

Is the area around Revere something we should be concerned about if we come back late?

Sounds like taking the shuttle to the airport and then the bus into town and then transferring again could be very time consuming. What do you think? If it were you, would it be preferable to the Revere T stop?

As far as your last questions are concerned, we really won't know where we will be at the end of the day. Assuming we take all day making our way along the Freedom Trail, stopping for lunch, breaks, to visit some of the sites along the way, etc. it could be late afternoon or early evening and we may then want to stay in town for dinner. Return could be after 8:00 p.m.

When you say "trolley" do you mean an actual trolley? Is it outside the metro station at Government Center?

Your input is much appreciated and valued.

138east: Your questions are all very good, but I don't think I can answer all of them. We are staying at the Comfort Inn in Revere. Their web site says they have a shuttle that takes you to the T stop in Revere (is there more than one?). Comfort Inn is closest to the Wonderland stop on the Blue Line. I don't know whether their shuttle will pick up at the T stop or not or how often it runs. Those are some of the things we have to pin down with them. Yes - this is important information. The hotels often advertise that they will take you to the "T" - this is easy when you are leaving from the hotel. However, sometimes the pickup can be more problematic. Their primary business is to shuttle folks between Logan and the hotel and other courtesy shuttle services are secondary. They also have a shuttle to the airport.

 

 

Is the area around Revere something we should be concerned about if we come back late? Wonderland Station is the end of the Blue Line. I've never been there, but I'm sure it is similar to Alewife in that there are folks around and there are buses coming and going on a regular basis. It will not be deserted in the evening, but you might not want to hang out there for a long time.

 

Sounds like taking the shuttle to the airport and then the bus into town and then transferring again could be very time consuming. What do you think? If it were you, would it be preferable to the Revere T stop? I'd do the Revere T stop. I'd get the phone numbers of some Revere cab companies and plan to take a cab back to the hotel later at night if the hotel cannot pick you up promptly.

 

 

As far as your last questions are concerned, we really won't know where we will be at the end of the day. Assuming we take all day making our way along the Freedom Trail, stopping for lunch, breaks, to visit some of the sites along the way, etc. it could be late afternoon or early evening and we may then want to stay in town for dinner. Return could be after 8:00 p.m. You should familiarize yourself with the Freedom Trail route on a Boston map and mark the downtown "T" stations - many stations are physically close to others even thought they look farther away on the "T" map. The Freedom Trail is only a suggested walking route on the streets of historic Boston that goes by all the major historical sites. If you want to see the Constitution, I would do the Freedom Trail in reverse. Coming in on the Blue Line, I would get off at Aquarium which is at Long Wharf near Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market. From Long Wharf you can get a MBTA water taxi to the Constitution for $1.70. This will give you a nice ride through the harbor. Follow the trail in reverse back to the North End/Faneuil Hall area where you can do lunch. Continue the trail ending up at the Boston Common. I would definitely plan to eat dinner before returning to Revere - it sounds like the hotel restaurant is the only nearby place to eat. Wherever you end up, all you have to do is to get back to the Blue Line to go back to Revere.

 

When you say "trolley" do you mean an actual trolley? Is it outside the metro station at Government Center? Yes - the Green Line is an actual trolley, but it runs underground in the center of Boston and has transfer points to the regular subway trains. If you do a search on Blue Line Wonderland utube you can see videos of various subway ride.

 

 

Your input is much appreciated and valued.

This should work well for you - the actual subway ride is only about 15 minutes and leaves you exactly where you need to be in downtown Boston.

138east: Thanks for all your great information. It is so wonderful to have resources such as yourself. :D I will certainly look into the cab companies in Revere for our return trip. I need to contact the hotel by phone and get more detailed information from them.

I have taken all your suggestions into consideration and will probably follow most, if not all, of them.

138east: I called the Comfort Inn and got the following information: Their shuttle only takes you to the train station at the airport. That makes a big difference I am sure in the directions you gave me. If we are making our way into Boston on the train out of Logan, does that change your suggestions regarding which line we will be on and whether we can get the water taxi? At the end of our day we would take the train back to the airport and call the hotel shuttle to pick us up at the airport.

If any of this makes a difference in your suggestions, I would appreciate your input. So glad you are willing to offer your advice.

The T (aka MBTA) has a great website. Go to MBTA.com and you can map out your route.

The airport is on the Blue Line (same line as Wonderland stop). Take the Blue Line inbound to Government Center stop. You can either get out there and visit Quincy Market, Faneuil Hall and the North End (Paul Revere House and Old North Church both on the Freedom Trail) or you can change right at the Gov't Center stop to the Green Line. Take the Green Line to Park Street. When you exit Park Street there is a kiosk for the start of the Freedom Trail (look for the red line in the side walk). You can also take the water taxi from the airport to Boston though I've never done that.

138east: I called the Comfort Inn and got the following information: Their shuttle only takes you to the train station at the airport. That makes a big difference I am sure in the directions you gave me. If we are making our way into Boston on the train out of Logan, does that change your suggestions regarding which line we will be on and whether we can get the water taxi? At the end of our day we would take the train back to the airport and call the hotel shuttle to pick us up at the airport.

 

If any of this makes a difference in your suggestions, I would appreciate your input. So glad you are willing to offer your advice.

That makes sense - there is a Blue Line airport stop, so my directions don't change. The Blue Line airport is only 2 stops from Aquarium and 3 stops from Government Center - please look at the map. That is a much better arrangement for coming back at night. Much better to hang out at the Airport Blue Line station than Wonderland.

The Freedom Trail route you take depends on how serious you are about walking the trail. I think a lot of people start out from the Boston Common and don't do the whole trail. My point is that if you want to see the Constitution you should do that first - there is a visitor center there as well. It opens at 9 am. By the time you do that and work your way back to the North End and/or Faneuil Hall, the restaurants and stores will be open. Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market is dead at 9 am.

Water taxis - there are many water taxis in the Boston Harbor. The one Traveling Library mentioned goes from the airport to Rowe's Wharf and costs $10. The one I am talking about is an MBTA water taxi to the Constitution in Charlestown that leaves from Long Wharf (Aquarium) and costs $1.70. IMO this is the easiest way to get to Charlestown other than a cab. If you do the Freedom Trail in reverse, you will end up in downtown Boston somewhere close to the Blue Line. If you start at the Boston Common, you will end up over in Charlestown.

After looking at a map, it looks like we can do as Traveling Library says and take the Blue Line from airport and then Green Line to Boston Common and start our walk there. We have done the Trail many, many years ago so we know what it is all about. After finishing the Trail at the Constitution, we could get the water taxi back to Long Wharf and perhaps get dinner in the area before catching the Blue Line back to the airport.

I have searched the MBTA sight and gotten some ideas in this regard. Together with your suggestions, I might actually be putting together a plan???

Would anyone have suggestions for dinner in the area of Long Wharf?

That's a good plan. Long Wharf is by Quincy Market - you have all the restaurants there available to you. Legal Seafood is at Long Wharf, Durgin Park is in Quincy Market, and the Union Oyster House is about a block from Quincy Market.

Chart House is also nice and that's on or near the Long Wharf. I know it is a chain but we have always had a good meal there.

Durgin Park is quintessential Boston (great corn bread) as well as the Union Oyster House (oldest restaurant in Boston). In any case make sure you have a cup of REAL clam chowda and enjoy your day!