Arrived in Boston and lovin it !

Arrived last night for 5 night stay in Boston. Staying in Jurys (Thanks TA ) Hotel in great location and staff are great. First room offered was a bit small but was offered a bigger room at the expense of losing bath to shower only.

Whole trip planned based on reading the forums on TA.

Spent this morning walking around Beacon Hill and enjoyed the ';not to be missed'; Duck tour this pm.

Not used ';T'; yet so need a bit of encouragement from you guys to tell me it is ';idiot proof'; enough for even me to cope with.

Planning to go to Rockport tomorrow. T then a BIG train ?

Do I buy Charlie tickets for the T and then do I buy my ';big'; train ticket before I board the train.

Tomorrow night going to Loeb theatre. Looks quite straightforward ? T to Harvard Sq ?

I have to say how friendly everyone has been on our first day. Even without asking Bostonians have noticed a biot of indecision ( to say the least) and have offered assistance.

A city to be proud of.

Any help / encouragement warmly received. Thanks

Arrived in Boston and lovin it !

Glad to hear that you%26#39;re enjoying yourself! By all means, give the T a try! It%26#39;s not difficult to figure out--you%26#39;ll do just fine! Yes--take the T to Harvard Square (red line train heading to Alewife). It%26#39;s been a long time since I took the commuter train to Rockport, so others will be able to tell you how to get your tickets. BTW, it%26#39;s a short walk from the train station in Rockport to the area by the ocean. Enjoy the rest of your stay!

Arrived in Boston and lovin it !

Welcome to Boston!

Be assured, the T is very easy to figure out. Keep track of which train you need to be on (i.e. do you want to go inbound, towards the city or outbound and if the line you%26#39;re on has branches like Ashmont or Braintree, which of those do you need to be on and which train is approaching the station... not hard. The Charlie Card system is a bit of a pain, but they have T employees standing by to help out.

Don%26#39;t be scared. If you get on a train going the wrong direction, get off at the next stop and go up and over to the other side and get a train going in the other direction. The ';bad areas'; are pretty far out from the center of town, so...it%26#39;s unlikely that you%26#39;ll mistakenly find yourself in one unless you%26#39;re totally not paying attention. Once you%26#39;re on the train, just double check to make sure you%26#39;re on the right one when you roll into the next station so that you can correct any mistakes right away.

You%26#39;ll need a separate ticket for the Rockport train. Go to North Station (there are several ways to get there, via green or orange line)...follow signs for commuter rail. Inside North Station (the old North Station, which is connected to whatever the Boston Garden is called these days... (Boston Garden is different from the Public Gardens...it was the Fleet Ctr and now it%26#39;s the TD BankNorth Garden or something like that.)

Inside North Station, you%26#39;ll find ticket sellers and schedules. The big trains are more expensive but you%26#39;ll soon see why... nicer ride, faster, farther distance.

Have a GREAT time! I love Rockport. Have some fudge for me!

:-)

smithy,

log on to mbta.com. it gives you everything you need to know about public transportation--subway, commuter rail, buses, etc. Nothing to worry about on the T, except falling down! the ';conductors'; are a little heavy-footed if you know what I mean. Grab a hold of something before you start moving.

Yes,.... Healey%26#39;s right... don%26#39;t be one of those tourists who%26#39;s reading the map instead of holding on! Every once in awhile, someone goes flying! :-)

Just got home last night from our 10 day trip to Boston and area.

The T was extremely easy to use! We bought a one day pass (actually good for 24 hours). Could not find a Charlie Card anywhere. They didn%26#39;t have any more to give out.

The people of Boston were great! Everyone we talked to was extremely friendly and helpful! Everywhere we went people would ask if we needed help if we looked the least bit confused.

We drove to our hotel in Cambridge (first 2 nights) and used the T from there. Then we drove into Boston from Woburn on a Saturday and Sunday. We had no problems with a good map. We parked in the Boston Common garage for $10 a day (weekend rate). We drove through Boston a couple other times during the week on the freeway.