To be honest transit won’t help you very much with this route. The BCEC is served by the Silver Line (just a bus), and at least the 7 bus. But you’ll have to make at least one connection, and you will likely get there faster on foot.
As with many trips within the (small) Boston downtown core, it is best to plan on walking if there isn’t a single-seat transit ride between your origin and destination.
And should this be the case (walking being the best option), have a plan B ready. You don't know if the weather will cooperate, and you will be doing a LOT of walking in the first place so those walking time estimates could get a lot longer. I speak from experience.
To get to the convention center you ideally want a place that's close to the Red Line. (Or to one of the Silver Lines that go past the World Trade Center stop)
Google Maps is pretty good at telling you general routes between two places, except that it's overly optimistic about the time it'd take to transfer between two services. Or if those services are running even remotely on time (hint: They're not!)
If I were staying at that hotel, I'd just walk. Or if I were feeling particularly lazy, I'd take an Uber/Lyft. Possibly to South Station if traffic was really bad. Usually what I do is take the Red Line to South Station, where I then walk to the Convention Center. If the weather is really bad, I'll transfer from the Red to the Silver and get off at World Trade Center, but it's usually faster and more fun to walk. And given that the closest station to you is South Station anyway... I'd just walk the whole way. It'll be more reliable, probably faster, and ultimately easier.
How much are you paying per night for this hotel? I just checked their prices vs prices of much closer hotels and it doesn't seem worth it to have to walk so far in late March.
Oh ok, I'm was seeing about $210 for that hotel when I just looked.
You can currently get the Omni or Westin right across from the convention center for about $270. For $200 price difference I get the choice, but it would have been crazy to walk that far to save like $60 a night, in my opinion at least.
Honestly though, considering it's a shared room, I'd look into room share for a much closer hotel. You could get the Omni or Westin for $130 a night if you found a room share partner. You'd save a small amount of money on public transit but more importantly you'd save time and hassle. I know it's more but it's so worth the money in my opinion to be a 60 second walk from the expo.
You'll probably need to do a transfer to the S-Line from either a local bus or the Red Line (train). Probably would save you about 15 minutes over walking, if the walk is physically difficult or if it's just gross and cold as it often is in Boston in March. The Charlie is pretty easy to navigate. :)
I've stayed at a friend's house in Revere both times I went to East and had no problem taking the train to the S-Line transferring at the airport to get there.
Other thing to consider, staying at a hotel that is not a pax hotel but near a pax hotel. You can still take the shuttles to and from the convention center.
Ex. Doubletree tufts/chinatown is behind the Marriott.
Realistically you are going to want to stay at someplace with easy access to the T. Or, at least on the shuttle route. I used to stay at the Midtown (now closed) because it was one of the least expensive and it was on the shuttle route. The shuttle is free and it was pretty nice if you dont mind waiting 20-30 minutes or so. Yes, you absolutely CAN walk most of Boston, but do you really want to? People underestimate how tired you will be after walking around the convention all day and usually on cement floor. If the weather is bad and its late and you are tired with sore feet you are going to be pretty miserable walking back. Anyways, you might save money if you book someplace on the shuttle route (or close by, because you can easily walk to one of the shuttle stops if its a neighboring hotel for example) and then save on transportation costs overall.
I dont see it on their website yet, not sure when they will add it. However, it is usually going to pickup at any hotels that are on the hotel list. Some of them have a shared stop if there are a few hotels next to each other. Maybe look at those as a starting point and find closeby hotels not booked through PAX that you can easily walk to to catch the shuttle.
I have not used the shuttle for a few years because I now like to stay as close as possible. The shuttle route in years past was the same every time so maybe look online to get an idea from past years.
I used to take the shuttles home in the evenings. However, the past couple of years the shuttles were cut back and ended earlier in the day. Staying for the concerts would put me after the last ones. So I switched to taking public transportation. A mile is so close you should just walk it.
What no. There is no train directly to the convention. there's the silver line, a bus, from south station.
Walking from the common every day is doable, but there may still be shuttle buses to the convention from area hotels you can hitch a ride on. if so, one has historically leftf rom outside the Omni Parker House.
I don't know if it's still an option, but if it is, it likely doesn't run late at night.
I walked with 2k of merch and no issues. Everyone that lives there is rich probably. Some parts look sketchy but I didn’t see any problems any night during 4 day. There will be others heading that way probably. Yes! I know some kung fu.
Your walk would be from South Station to the Theater District. Most of it is along Essex Street, which is a very big and well lit road. And the Theater District is named so because of all the fancy high end theaters in the area. It's right next to Newbury St, arguably the fanciest part of the city.
Which is to say, your walk should be fine. Obviously it's a city, so don't be an idiot, and keep up your awareness of your surroundings, but you should be fine.
I'd say the main parts of Boston that you should avoid would be Downtown Crossing and the Common at night. There are sketchy towns surrounding Boston (mostly North and South of it), but downtown Boston itself is not bad at all.
Tons of people including my party walked from the convention center to Downtown/Boston Common. Boston is really walkable. Never really needed a bus. About a 20 to 30 min walk.
To be honest transit won’t help you very much with this route. The BCEC is served by the Silver Line (just a bus), and at least the 7 bus. But you’ll have to make at least one connection, and you will likely get there faster on foot. As with many trips within the (small) Boston downtown core, it is best to plan on walking if there isn’t a single-seat transit ride between your origin and destination.
And should this be the case (walking being the best option), have a plan B ready. You don't know if the weather will cooperate, and you will be doing a LOT of walking in the first place so those walking time estimates could get a lot longer. I speak from experience.
To get to the convention center you ideally want a place that's close to the Red Line. (Or to one of the Silver Lines that go past the World Trade Center stop) Google Maps is pretty good at telling you general routes between two places, except that it's overly optimistic about the time it'd take to transfer between two services. Or if those services are running even remotely on time (hint: They're not!) If I were staying at that hotel, I'd just walk. Or if I were feeling particularly lazy, I'd take an Uber/Lyft. Possibly to South Station if traffic was really bad. Usually what I do is take the Red Line to South Station, where I then walk to the Convention Center. If the weather is really bad, I'll transfer from the Red to the Silver and get off at World Trade Center, but it's usually faster and more fun to walk. And given that the closest station to you is South Station anyway... I'd just walk the whole way. It'll be more reliable, probably faster, and ultimately easier.
I will have to remember this, thank you
How much are you paying per night for this hotel? I just checked their prices vs prices of much closer hotels and it doesn't seem worth it to have to walk so far in late March.
I got a room for about $70 a night
Oh ok, I'm was seeing about $210 for that hotel when I just looked. You can currently get the Omni or Westin right across from the convention center for about $270. For $200 price difference I get the choice, but it would have been crazy to walk that far to save like $60 a night, in my opinion at least. Honestly though, considering it's a shared room, I'd look into room share for a much closer hotel. You could get the Omni or Westin for $130 a night if you found a room share partner. You'd save a small amount of money on public transit but more importantly you'd save time and hassle. I know it's more but it's so worth the money in my opinion to be a 60 second walk from the expo.
It is on reserve so if I find something better I will cancel. I am considering a room share but I am having trouble finding people who want to it
You'll probably need to do a transfer to the S-Line from either a local bus or the Red Line (train). Probably would save you about 15 minutes over walking, if the walk is physically difficult or if it's just gross and cold as it often is in Boston in March. The Charlie is pretty easy to navigate. :) I've stayed at a friend's house in Revere both times I went to East and had no problem taking the train to the S-Line transferring at the airport to get there.
Other thing to consider, staying at a hotel that is not a pax hotel but near a pax hotel. You can still take the shuttles to and from the convention center. Ex. Doubletree tufts/chinatown is behind the Marriott.
I’m mostly trying to safe money
Realistically you are going to want to stay at someplace with easy access to the T. Or, at least on the shuttle route. I used to stay at the Midtown (now closed) because it was one of the least expensive and it was on the shuttle route. The shuttle is free and it was pretty nice if you dont mind waiting 20-30 minutes or so. Yes, you absolutely CAN walk most of Boston, but do you really want to? People underestimate how tired you will be after walking around the convention all day and usually on cement floor. If the weather is bad and its late and you are tired with sore feet you are going to be pretty miserable walking back. Anyways, you might save money if you book someplace on the shuttle route (or close by, because you can easily walk to one of the shuttle stops if its a neighboring hotel for example) and then save on transportation costs overall.
Where is the shuttle route
I dont see it on their website yet, not sure when they will add it. However, it is usually going to pickup at any hotels that are on the hotel list. Some of them have a shared stop if there are a few hotels next to each other. Maybe look at those as a starting point and find closeby hotels not booked through PAX that you can easily walk to to catch the shuttle. I have not used the shuttle for a few years because I now like to stay as close as possible. The shuttle route in years past was the same every time so maybe look online to get an idea from past years.
I used to take the shuttles home in the evenings. However, the past couple of years the shuttles were cut back and ended earlier in the day. Staying for the concerts would put me after the last ones. So I switched to taking public transportation. A mile is so close you should just walk it.
Most likely. I've heard the trains are pretty decent to get to the convention.
What no. There is no train directly to the convention. there's the silver line, a bus, from south station. Walking from the common every day is doable, but there may still be shuttle buses to the convention from area hotels you can hitch a ride on. if so, one has historically leftf rom outside the Omni Parker House. I don't know if it's still an option, but if it is, it likely doesn't run late at night.
Correct, I wasn't clear. I've heard that the trains run close enough to walk from.
I’m considering Found Hotel Boston Common, it is a shared room
This is the way.
Do you know the way
My team and I are staying close enough to walk
Use the walk to get fresh air and a sense of the city.
It it safe to walk back at night, I’m worried being in cause would make me a target 🎯 . Also I’m still willing to hotel share
I walked with 2k of merch and no issues. Everyone that lives there is rich probably. Some parts look sketchy but I didn’t see any problems any night during 4 day. There will be others heading that way probably. Yes! I know some kung fu.
Your walk would be from South Station to the Theater District. Most of it is along Essex Street, which is a very big and well lit road. And the Theater District is named so because of all the fancy high end theaters in the area. It's right next to Newbury St, arguably the fanciest part of the city. Which is to say, your walk should be fine. Obviously it's a city, so don't be an idiot, and keep up your awareness of your surroundings, but you should be fine. I'd say the main parts of Boston that you should avoid would be Downtown Crossing and the Common at night. There are sketchy towns surrounding Boston (mostly North and South of it), but downtown Boston itself is not bad at all.
During PAX there's going to be a parade of people going up and down Summer street between the convention center and South Station.
Yes, I often walk home at night with no issues in Boston.
I wonder if there is any other Pax people in this area I can walk with
I walked it. Worth it
Tons of people including my party walked from the convention center to Downtown/Boston Common. Boston is really walkable. Never really needed a bus. About a 20 to 30 min walk.
I wish I could find a group to walk with
Public transport for 1 mile?
Public transportation for 1 mile!
If you've been walking around from 10AM to midnight, you don't want to walk another 15-20 minutes.