Driving is to be avoided if possible, due to traffic congestion, poor parking options, high driving-associated costs, the complexity of navigation and difficult-to-follow city rules and signage.
As an alternative (in fair weather), walking is usually preferable in terms of ease, cost, and comfort. Boston is known as an excellent walking city, since it is clean, historic, and generally-safe. It also has excellent public transportation available in the metropolitan area and suburbs, to complement foot travel. Most tourist attractions are readily accessible by foot from the "subway" (the inter-connected, color-coded subway/trolley and hybrid-electric bus lines of the MBTA). Transfers between lines at connecting stations within the "subway" system are free.
Signage is generally poor, and the names of major streets are usually unmarked when crossing minor streets. There are many one-way streets, which may be difficult to identify when turning. Street names are duplicated in different neighborhoods (due to municipal consolidations in the 1800s and early 1900s). Even Bostonians who lived there all their life can easily get lost. Navigating from "square" to "square" (major intersections but rarely actually square or really any consistent shape) is one navigational technique. Some parts of the city are difficult to reach from other nearby parts, prompting the local expression, "Ya cain't get theyah from hee-ah!" ("You can't get there from here!")
Avoid driving at morning or evening rush hour; highways and streets can become quite congested. Peak times vary, depending on relative distance from downtown. Public transit also becomes very crowded during rush hour, and just before and after major sporting events and public celebrations. Baseball games, other major sporting events, and graduations may also cause significant driving congestion.
If you do chose to drive, be prepared to avoid double-parked vehicles or poorly parked vehicles blocking lanes, and be wary of lanes which may suddenly become parking lanes or shift or disappear entirely as you cross intersections. "Left lane must turn" and other traffic directions are often written only on the road itself and are therefore may be routinely blocked from sight by other vehicles in heavy traffic, thus last-second lane changes are unavoidable without foreknowledge of the roads. Such changes may be the cause of anger or disputes, so it may be good to wave or request politley a lane change.
When changing lanes, be wary pedestrians and aggressive cyclists, as well as other drivers, since these may cross, split lanes, or even run lights unexpectedly. As in any city, be prepared to stop when following a taxi driver, and look for pedestrians to anticipate taxi behavior: taxis will not only stop at fares but also stop at nothing to get to them first. When stopping yourself, use your hazards to clearly indicate that you are stopping as a courtesy to other drivers, many of whom are young students and may be inexperienced with city driving themselves. In terms of the law: if you encounter a rotary, remember that Massachusetts state law gives the right of way to traffic in a rotary, also known as a roundabout in other parts in the world.
Do not pass stopped trolleys on the right; do not try to squeeze past a bus without changing lanes entirely to avoid sharing their lane (you should not pass any vehicle while sharing a lane and buses have large blind spots); and be wary that the law may require you to come to a complete stop and wait for the pedestrian to finish crossing entirely. Be careful also not to pass a yellow school bus with red flashing lights as passing before or after may still draw you a citation (this rule may be ignored, even by police, if due caution is observed by the driver, but those who ignore it may still draw a serious citation). Finally, since you may cross train tracks in Boston, be aware that they may be particularly slippery and icy, possibly dragging you off course as you cross them if you do not grip the steering wheel firmly.
The only toll road in the area is the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate I-90), with various prices depending on entrance and exit points. Other tolls include the Ted Williams and Sumner Tunnels, each of which charges $3.50 when coming back from Logan Airport into downtown. The Tobin Bridge on Route 1 headed southbound toward downtown charges $3. Have cash on hand for these roads as checks and credit card are not accepted there. FastLane and E-Z Pass are also accepted.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Boston
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Boston - updated May 2024
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Boston Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
