How easy to take car in Boston

[keepmotoring]

Looking at going to Boston in the mid September/October time frame. Is the area easy to drive? Big question, how about parking? Is it pet friendly? Our 2 pets are small and would be in stroller. Any advice would be appreciated. Jan

[Dick_B]

Why are you going? If sightseeing take a bus tour instead. Boston is a very old town with many streets made for horses and too narrow for cars.

[keepmotoring]

Thanks for all the replies. That is what I expected. No, not in rv, in car. However, would prefer to take dogs with us instead of leaving them in rv. So guess need to do some thinking. Only place we haven't been that have always wanted to go. We would either go before going to Maine or starting the trip back from Maine.

[rhagfo]

Well unlike NYC, Boston’s streets are not a neat grid pattern, instead more like wheels and spokes.
With a smart phone and a mapping app sould not be too bad.

[wa8yxm]

Boston is an OLD city. lots of very narrow streets.. So to answer how hard is it to drive and park.. A whole lot depends on the car.

My dodge Neon.. Fairly eaisy.
A Jeep.. bit harder
A hummer Forget it.

Pickups.. a Chevy Luv perhaps
A denali.. NO way

[Dr_Jay]

Hi, I live near and drive in Boston. I would not drive my RV into Boston. There are narrow roads, low bridges, tunnels and traffic to contend with. I would camp outside of Boston and drive in with your car, but parking is very expensive. You can park in a train or rapid transit parking area and take mass transit into town. According to the web: “ ....Dogs must be properly leashed and are not allowed to annoy riders or take up a seat.” in the Boston mass transit system. Hope this helps. Boston is a great town to visit. Do not forget to see the towns near by: Cambridge, Charlestown, Lexington, Concord, Salem, Gloucester, etc.

[DrewE]

Driving in downtown Boston is not particularly easy, and navigating is even harder. Parking is available here and there, particularly near common tourist attractions, but not overly plentiful and often rather expensive. Driving straight through underneath Boston is not too bad (outside of rush hours), but that's not too useful for visiting the city, and incidentally not available to RVs due to propane restrictions in the tunnels.

Like Don, I take mass transit when visiting Boston itself. I usually park at the Alewife station (the end of one of the subway lines) which has a large parking garage. During the week I gather it may fill up with commuters, but on the weekends there is always plentiful parking there, and it's pretty reasonable parking rates ($7 per day, I think). The riverside station also has a parking garage that I haven't used but that appears reasonably easy to get to and the MTBA website usually has parking availability during the week.

Pets are generally permitted on the subways and other mass transit during non-rush hours, though it is at the discretion of the operators. They are not allowed during rush hours.

[Crowe]

Area is NOT easy to drive. Boston's streets are mostly converted cow paths. There is garage parking but it's very expensive. Dogs will be more than welcome. I would highly recommend using public transit of some sort. Whether or not the dogs are welcome on the transit system I don't know.

[donn0128]

Boston like any large city is not car friendly. Are tou visiting or site seeing? If your site seeing park out of town and use mass transit. Many years ago we parked our car out at the USS Constitution parking lot and took a bus down town and did the freedom walk. Worked great for us then.