How to plan an affordable weekend getaway from NYC to Boston?

One of my good friends from Junior High School (Class of 1996) and I decided to plan a weekend getaway from NYC to Boston. We are both museum lovers and needed to get out of NYC for at least 48 hours just to rejuvenate. Lots of great things have been happening in both of our personal and professional spaces and it was time to celebrate in a new town.

I like to share one of my favorite quote from a book by former National Football League Coach Vince Lombardi, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” In other words, “You can’t be brave if you’re tired.”

With that said, below are a few questions we’d asked ourselves prior to booking and finalizing our trip:

What is the purpose of taking this trip?

(Note: you may not have one and that’s perfectly okay if you are the type of traveler that enjoys going with the flow).

We wanted to physically see Frida’s Kahlo’s art collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (MFA). This was the first time that MFA was displaying Frida’s painting. Her exhibition kicked off in February 27, 2019 thru June 19, 2019.

Additionally, we also wanted to spend some time exploring the city of Boston (Mini NYC) as much as we could.

When to visit Boston?

Our thinking process was to visit during the Month of May (ideally Friday through Saturday evening) since the temperature most likely would be comfortable and also we would fall into the time frame when Frida’s exhibition was being displaying at MFA. Most importantly during this time of the month, our deliverables in our professional space would have been accomplished.

How to travel from NYC to Boston?

Since we are both typical New Yorkers without a driver’s license then our cheapest route was to take the bus from NYC to Boston.

Is there a budget?

We collectively wanted to invest a total of $600. That would allow us $300 each to spend on transportation, hotel, activities, food, drinks and other miscellaneous items.

Where to stay in Boston? How many nights?

We thought it would be best to stay within the Seaport District in Boston for one night and then take the last bus back from Boston to NYC the following evening.

Since the hotel rates were cheaper on the weekdays and increased significantly on the weekends; we collectively thought it was best to stay one night at a high end hotel on a Friday night and invest all of Saturday sighting seeing prior to returning to NYC.

Plan ahead to avoid wasting time

We are big planners and thought it would be best to come up with an itinerary before heading to Boston. This will save us lots of time with trying to figure out where to go for sightseeing especially when navigating in a new city that would definitely be time consuming.

We were restricted with time and needed to make the best of each and every minute as well as enjoy ourselves and relax.

Our total trip cost $600 and the break down is as follow:

Travel Dates: March 26 thru March 28, 2019

Transportation: ($106.48)

Traveling to Boston:

• From: NYC (34th Street; hence this is where most of the buses leave from)
• To: Boston (South Station – one of the city’s main bus hub terminal)
• Duration of trip: 4 hours

Returning to NYC:

• From: Boston (South Station)
• To: NYC (42nd Street – Port Authority; one of NYC’s popular bus hub terminal)
• Duration of trip: 5 hours

Hotel: ($196.86)

Staying at Aloft Boston Seaport

• Duration: 1 night

Activities: ($126)

• Purchased one day Go Boston pass using “Visit a City” app or using Viator, which included the listed tour options.

Food, Drinks and Entertainment: ($170.66)

Most importantly pack light and this is my travel bag. I’m just taking one outfit and a few small personal items.

 

I hope this blog was helpful with planing your visit to Boston. More details and picture to showcase in my 48 hours itinerary blog in Boston.

Thanks in advance for visiting my blog and please reach out if there are questions.