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Boston - How to get to Chinatown and Little Italy? Do HOHO buses go to these places?


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We are planning out our Oct 13th cruise. We have never been to Boston and are hoping to be able to visit Chinatown and Little Italy. Are these places located on the HOHO bus? I tried to Google the stops for the HOHO bus but several HOHO bus options came up (ones not mentioned on the boards).

This one, www.allbostontours.com, does state that they stop at Little Italy but I don't even know if they have a stop close to the pier.

My Questions:

Is old Town Trolley Tours the only one with the stop close to the pier?

Is it possible to do both Chinatown and Little Italy in one day or are they two far apart?

Is there a HOHO bus with both of these places on the route?

Is it worth trying to fit these two places in?

Thank you. These boards has been great! They sound interesting.

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The Old Town Trolley is the one that stops by the pier. If you get off early, you should have plenty of time to see things. I don't see any reason why you couldn't see both Little Italy and Chinatown. You would get on at stop 16A. Next is 17 and then Stop 1, which is Faneuil Hall. My suggestion would be to check out Faneuil Hall & Quincy Market and then walk to Little Italy gong down the Freedom Trail to the Paul Revere House and Old North Church. You can then walk back to Stop 2 and pick up the trolley to the Constitution, or if you want to skip that ,walk to Stop 4 to pick up the trolley.

 

Chinatown is accessible from Stop 6 or stop 15. From Stop 15 you would want to walk down Atlantic Ave. towards the bus station and across Beach St. to the gates of Chinatown. At Harrison St. you could make a right and go to Essex St. and make another right. This would take you back to South Station. Be sure to print out a detailed map of downtown Boston so you have it for reference. The streets are well marked, but they are a little crazy.

 

Here's the trolley map - http://www.trolleytours.com/boston/aquarium-faneiul.asp#

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138 gave excellent directions as usual :-)

 

I just wanted to add when you are in Boston, Little Italy is called the North End here. While everyone will know what you mean, it still takes me a few extra seconds to understand when a tourist asks me for little italy directions.

 

As for Chinatown, take the advice and ensure you have the map printed out It's not a big section of boston, but it is confusing.

 

If you do feel you are running short of time,I would focus on the North End and the Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market area ~ it's a nicer area to walk around.

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I've never heard of American Girl Store - I checked and it is in the Natick Collection Mall, which is a good distance west of Boston and nowhere near the HoHo trolley. I've only been there by car, so I checked around and found this on Trip Adviser:

 

You can do it, but it's not exactly easy:

Method 1: Take the "T" Silver Line to an Airport Terminal. From there, take a Framingham "Logan Express" Bus. The Logan Express Terminal in Framingham is a 5 minute walk to the Natick Collection.

Method 2: Take the Worcester Commuter Rail (mbta.com) from wither South Station or Back Bay Station to Natick Center. You can either take the Natick Neighborhood Bus from there to the Mall (natickma.gov/public_documents/…bus) or take a taxi (my suggestion).

 

 

The Logan express would run more frequently and take 30-45 minutes to go from the airport to Framingham, so the trip would be at least 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours each way.

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I've never heard of American Girl Store - I checked and it is in the Natick Collection Mall, which is a good distance west of Boston and nowhere near the HoHo trolley. I've only been there by car, so I checked around and found this on Trip Adviser:

 

You can do it, but it's not exactly easy:

Method 1: Take the "T" Silver Line to an Airport Terminal. From there, take a Framingham "Logan Express" Bus. The Logan Express Terminal in Framingham is a 5 minute walk to the Natick Collection.

Method 2: Take the Worcester Commuter Rail (mbta.com) from wither South Station or Back Bay Station to Natick Center. You can either take the Natick Neighborhood Bus from there to the Mall (natickma.gov/public_documents/…bus) or take a taxi (my suggestion).

 

 

The Logan express would run more frequently and take 30-45 minutes to go from the airport to Framingham, so the trip would be at least 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours each way.

 

Thanks for the information!:eek: I think I'll take your advice and take a taxi!

NayRN

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So it sounds like you are looking at the train? Be aware that the train service is not very good. http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/rail/lines/?route=WORCSTER&direction=O&timing=W&RedisplayTime=Redisplay+Time. Also cab service in the Boston burbs is not what you might expect - sometimes virtually non-existent - but maybe Framingham is better than some other towns.

 

IMO I would take the Logan Express and not even consider the train. Actually, I don't think I would give up a day in Boston to do this.

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Not really. The North End is a short walk from Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall which is approximately 2 miles to the Black Falcon Cruise Ship Terminal.

 

 

Hello,

Although I am not from Boston, my husband and I spent two awesome days there when we docked after a transatlantic cruise on Jewel of the Sea last week.

 

There were shuttle busses and taxis waiting at the pier.

The shuttle to the historic district was $5 each.

 

You should definitely book ahead if you are planning to stay in Boston. There was a dental convention there last week - and the hotels downtown were super booked up.

 

We ended up staying at a Comfort Inn not far from the JFK Metro Station From there we were able to access a free shuttle back to the hotel.

 

My DH and I were VERY impresses with Boston's amazing subway (metro) system. we were able to get around easily and efficiently.

 

North Boston's Italian district is an easy a walk from the Marina.

There were lots of things to do in Boston. we plan to go again next year.

Enjoy the city!!

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So it sounds like you are looking at the train? Be aware that the train service is not very good. http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/rail/lines/?route=WORCSTER&direction=O&timing=W&RedisplayTime=Redisplay+Time. Also cab service in the Boston burbs is not what you might expect - sometimes virtually non-existent - but maybe Framingham is better than some other towns.

 

IMO I would take the Logan Express and not even consider the train. Actually, I don't think I would give up a day in Boston to do this.

 

I live in Natick, use Logan Express and commuter rail and drive in and out of Boston - I looked at the AG website, which says, "Come to Natick Collection in Boston" -- yes, "IN"!!! That's really misleading. Natick Collection (used to be called Natick Mall) is about 25 miles west of the Boston pier. We're just a town in the 'burbs, not part of Boston! You would spend a huge amount on a taxi to and from; taxis from Logan airport - comparable to pier - out here are (last time I checked) around $65 each way plus Pike and Tunnel tolls and tips. And, depending on how congested our traffic is, would probably take up to an hour each way.

 

Don't even think about commuter rail. Service is really sparse except during peak commuter time, sometimes undependable, won't get you anywhere near the Mall anyway -- and you don't find taxis here waiting to take you places as in the city.

 

Logan Express: Add in getting to and from Logan. Bus leaves the airport every 1/2 hour and you need to allow around 45 minutes to the bus terminal out here. Then it's about a 15-minute walk to the store in the Natick Collection.

 

My advice: Tell your girls you'll get them something AG online (without the extra $, time, and hassle of you going personally) and YOU enjoy your day in beautiful Boston (plenty of history, museums, a great walking city, and lots of nice stores for a souvenir). AND you won't have to worry about venturing too far afield and not getting back to the ship on TIME! :)

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Well put, birders! You have just said what I could not bring myself to say to the OP. Young girls can get pretty wound up about some things - I remember searching for Cabbage Patch dolls. I also remember getting dragged to Laura Ashley and an oboe maker in Paris. Thank goodness we now have Ebay and the Internet.

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My advice: Tell your girls you'll get them something AG online (without the extra $, time, and hassle of you going personally) and YOU enjoy your day in beautiful Boston (plenty of history, museums, a great walking city, and lots of nice stores for a souvenir). AND you won't have to worry about venturing too far afield and not getting back to the ship on TIME! :)

 

Excellent advice - I was reading this thread and thinking the same thing. The amount spent in taxis would buy you several AG dolls :-)

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