If you live in Manchester (NH), you have no excuse not to make it to Boston at one time or another. You have several easy transportation options that don't involve getting lost on construction detours or trying to figure out narrow, one-way streets.Today we took…Read More

If you live in Manchester (NH), you have no excuse not to make it to Boston at one time or another. You have several easy transportation options that don't involve getting lost on construction detours or trying to figure out narrow, one-way streets.

Today we took the bus from Manchester to Boston (www.concordtrailways.com/concord_trailways.htm). We drove 15 minutes to the bus station and dropped our car off at the parking garage next door (see www.cnhparking.com for rates: $6 for 4-10 hours, max $8 per day). Two round trip bus tickets cost us $20 each. There was no problem getting tickets, no line and the staff were friendly - but in today's security conscious world, even bus passengers need to show a photo ID to purchase tickets.

We chose the 9:30am bus. It was clean, the driver was alert and friendly, and the rest of the passengers were quiet. There was plenty of space on the bus which drops you off at the South Station at 10:30am with plenty of time to spend the day in Boston. The South Station is a transportation hub that services Amtrak trains as well as buses and shuttles to Logan Airport as well. It was very easy to pick up a ticket for in-town transfers.

Like any large city, there are a ton of things to do in Boston but today we chose the Fine Arts Museum. We had a very nice lunch in the cafeteria before walking around some of the American exhibits. We left the at 2:30pm and just missed the 3:15pm bus coming back home. It wasn't a huge problem, we simply caught the next bus which left at 3:45pm and made a quick stop in Londonderry; it was filled with commuters getting off at the park and ride lot. We made it back to Manchester a little after 5pm. After a nice day in Boston we had a fine dinner at Fratella's in Manchester.

For $46 in transportation costs, my wife and I had a nice day in Boston.Close

If you are looking for something different Albany, NY is a short drive away. Albany is the Capital of NY State.To get there, you have three options. 1. Take route 93 South, to the Mass Turnpike.2. Take Route 101 to Route 9 across VT into…Read More

If you are looking for something different Albany, NY is a short drive away. Albany is the Capital of NY State.

To get there, you have three options.
1. Take route 93 South, to the Mass Turnpike.
2. Take Route 101 to Route 9 across VT into NY.
3. Take 93 North to Concord and then West.

The fastest way is the second option. It was about 15 minutes faster than the other two options. It took us about 3 hours 20 minutes. We also saved money on tolls.

The most expensive option was the first option, it was longer and takes more gas, plus you have tolls. Our cost for gas and tolls is about $25 versus $15 for the other two options. However, when the snow is flying and the roads are a mess this might be the safest route.

The shortest and most scenic route is the first one, but it is only a few miles shorter than the third option. But you do avoid all tolls and the drive through the woods is great.

Which you take depends upon what you are looking for.

Trips Manchester to Albany:

Route 1 - 222 MI - 207 Min - 64 mph - 24.3 MPG - Great Drive, top down - 9.14 Gallons at 2.39 + $0.63 NYS Toll + $2.10 Masspike Toll = $24.56

Route 2 - 157 MI - 216 Min - 44 mph - 25.9 MPG - 6.06 Gallons at 2.39 = $14.49 (Avg for two trips)

Route 3 - 160 MI - 197 Min - 48 mph - 25.5 MPG - Great Drive, top down - 6.27 Gallons at 2.39 + $0.75 NH toll = $15.75
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Recently we moved to Manchester and my mother waned to visit us. She lives in the Rochester, NY area. I looked into four options: Drive her own car, Amtrack Train, Flying and the bus. This would apply to other looking to get to Manchester.The following…Read More

Recently we moved to Manchester and my mother waned to visit us. She lives in the Rochester, NY area. I looked into four options: Drive her own car, Amtrack Train, Flying and the bus. This would apply to other looking to get to Manchester.

The following are my thoughts on each mode of transportation.

Driving: Driving we ruled out as it would be close to a 9-hour drive with stops for food and rests. It would be about 900 miles round trip at $0.32 per mile it would cost $288 plus tolls.

Amtrack Train: Amtrack has Train service in Rochester, but no train service to Manchester. Amtrack does run a train up the coast from Boston to Maine with several stops in NH. In addition the train that comes into Boston from the West does not stop at the same station that the northern train leaves from. A person would have to make their own travel arrangements to get between the two stations. Not easy if you have luggage for a few days. The Amtrack web site, does list a connecting Bus service to Manchester, but we did not check it out. In addition, she would have to transfer in Albany, NY, which adds to the risk of complications. If she were to take a train, we would pick her up in Boston. A round trip ticket was around $100 plus you would have to add the cost of getting to the Rochester station and for us to make two roundtrips to pickup and drop off my mom.

Bus: The Bus is slightly cheaper than the Train and has service directly to the Manchester. My mother isn't to keen on taking the bus as it can get a little seedy and being on the road for 11 hours can be a little too tiring. It costs around $90.

Flying: Machester has an Airport and we priced it out. Flights from Rochester to Manchester are expensive $325. I did look at the Boston airport and found airfares considerable cheaper. At the time I looked Air Tran was having a sale and a ticket from Rochester to Boston was $78 round trip. Plus you would need to add the cost of us making two roundtrips to the airport.

We booked the airfare and it turned out to be a great trip for my mother.Close

Today, we drive to Waltham, MA to attend a conference. I used two different sources to plan a route. The first is Route 3 and the other route is 93. I opted to take each route and see which way is faster.Travelled on Nov 14,…Read More

Today, we drive to Waltham, MA to attend a conference. I used two different sources to plan a route. The first is Route 3 and the other route is 93. I opted to take each route and see which way is faster.

Travelled on Nov 14, to 40 Sylvan, Waltham MA.

Manchester to Waltham, via Route 3
My trip computer provided the following information: 55 Miles; 1 hour 2 Minutes; 53 MPH; 28.2 MPG. That works out to $4.66 (at 2.39/g)in gas, plus $0.75 in tolls.

Waltham to Manchester via Route 93
My trip computer provided the following information: 59 Miles; 1 hour 15 Minutes; 47 MPH; 26.2 MPG. That works out to $5.38 (at 2.39/g) in gas, no tolls.

Even though route 3 was 55 MPH and route 93 was 65 mph, the return trip was at 5:00 pm rush hour. The Route 93 traffic was very heavy. We will try it again someday.
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We love a bargain and are always looking for ways to save a few bucks on our meals out. The following are some of the sources we use.The easiest is the iDine - Rewards Network. You don't need to cut coupons or carry a special…Read More

We love a bargain and are always looking for ways to save a few bucks on our meals out. The following are some of the sources we use.

The easiest is the iDine - Rewards Network. You don't need to cut coupons or carry a special dining card. All you need to do is use a registered credit card. You can also participate through other points programs such as Upromise or Continentals OnePass. The typical discount is only 4-8%, but it doesn't require much effort, especially if you are going there anyways.

The following Manchester area restaurants participate in the iDine program.
- Rita Mae's (Review coming soon)
- Wild Rover Pub (See Review)
- Wethervane Seafood Restaurant (Review coming soon)
- Depot Square Restaurant (See Review)
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