Looks like I'm going to Boston!

[OverthinkingOlive]

Not booking for another couple of weeks because it'll be mid October 2025 and the flights aren't released yet. I've found a lovely Air B&B in a great location or it looks like it anyway (near Dorchester).

Absolutely love Halloween and the fall season. Shopping, eating, walking, museums, markets, being by water. Whale watching perhaps.

Was going to do Cape Cod for a daytrip but realistically I think it's too far. I won't be hiring a car. Am definitely wanting to visit Salem.

Any tips gratefully received. Is 5 nights enough? Thanks!

PS - is the subway safe? Hated it in NYC...

Also... what do clam chowders taste like?! Not a seafood fan in general but I do like tuna or cod on odd occasions... I'm told it's a must if visiting Boston.

I loved Boston. Definitely go to the tea museum and a speakeasy. Museums and galleries great too.

Word of warning - assume bagels come with cream cheese even if it's not mentioned on the menu.

New England clam chowder is basically a potato and clam based stew. Flavouring: onion, leek, thyme, and cream or milk. I love it though the quality you get varies from ethereal to library paste!

You can catch a ferry from Boston direct to provincetown on the cape and spend a day there or a quick overnight if you like. October might be a little quiet there as its post season.

Is there a particular reason you have chosen the Dorchester area?

I liked the house advertised on air bnb that's the only reason and it's very close to a tube station

Clam chowder is seriously over-rated IMO. Fishy wallpaper paste. Never had one that I enjoyed.

Boston is an amazing city & the subway is very safe, however Dorchester is not a good area (or at least it wasn't 10 years ago when we lived there!) so I'd look to stay in the city itself rather than Dorchester.

Personally, I wouldn't stay in Dorchester. It's nearly 7 miles south of Boston, not a great area, and the T isn't as frequent as it is closer to the city. I would look for Airbnb's in Boston, Cambridge or Brookline.

Was going to do Cape Cod for a daytrip but realistically I think it's too far.

I did a day trip to Provincetown from Boston on the fast ferry. It's about 1h30m from memory.

Noted on Dorchester... I'll look for something else in a better area. Just googled it 🚫

Back Bay or Beacon Hill, maybe the North End.

Try Back Bay. Cambridge is really nice too.
You can't do the Cape on a day visit really. You could go to Newport Rhode Island and tour a couple of the 'cottages'. Rockport up the coast from Boston is lovely too.
Clam chowder- the best I've had is in the UK! Try Maine lobster though!

Salem is a tourist trap. There’s so much to see much nearer to Boston and in Boston. Great museums, and in October you should still have whales around.

Can you go for longer? I'd go for more than 5 days if possible.

Possibly a full week

I had five days there last summer lovely city..you have to do the duck tour me and my daughter loved it

I went in May just for a few days, The subway was really safe and easy to use. You can get a Charlie card that covers you for a week- we hopped off and on quite a bit. Loved Cambridge and following the freedom trail.
was a bit disappointed in Salem - more geared towards bewitched and modern witchy tv things. - very commercialised.
loved the main park which was where our hotel was .
have a great time

Cambridge is very quaint (for the US). I live there :) there are both airbnbs and a couple of real bnb’s.

This post really confused me.

I was thinking, dorchester is nowhere near boston or Cambridge.

Then it clicked you're not talking about Boston jn Lincolnshire.

Went recently for 4 days and loved it. My top recommendations would be a guided Freedom Trail walk (we are history nerds but would still have missed loads doing it on our own), whale watching, a trip out to Lexington, brunch at Cafe Bonjour (the stuffed French toast is well worth the queue!) and crème pie at the Omni Parker hotel. Have a great time!

I love Boston. The historical walk is amazing. Salem was a great disappointment and a waste of a day.

We wen last October for 5 nights.

We did a duck tour,

We went to Salem - yes it was a tourist trap was but fun before Halloween. We did the trolley bus tour just as it was getting dark and it was great - took you outside the centre of the town so was good to see more.

We thought about providence / cape cod but advice on here was sea is really rough at that time.

Carmelinas and Miles pastry in the North end made for a lovely dinner.

There was a cute market by Boston common on the Saturday.

We went out to Cambridge and saw Harvard - also thought about going to Concord but didn't get that far.

*Mikes pastry

I stayed in Irving House in Cambridge, it was a while ago but still gets good reviews by the look of it,

I did a duck tour, historical walking tour, had chowder and did visit Salem . But I just had dinner in Salem and visited the memorial and none of the attractions. Also the Robert Gould Shaw memorial and Ulysses S Grant home and the USS Constitution. Also took a day to go to Louisa May Alcotts home, we did have a car as were there for a week as part of a month long trip. We then stayed a few days at Cape Cod and did a whale watching boat trip. We used the subway when in the city and it was fine.