Going to the Pats V. Falcons game on Sept.27 need a "locals" help, plz. (Boston: car rental, rentals)

[TurnpikeMike]

Grettings from Orlando, Fl.

My wife and I are flying flying up to catch the game at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 27th.
We already have tickets to fly into Boston on the 25th(Friday prior). We also have tickets for this Trolly company:
Old Town Trolly Tours

If have visited Boston once before, staying in Waltham, for a few days. What a great city Boston is! Friendly folks, and perfect for a history nerd like myself.

Heres where I need a locals help:
We do not want to rent a car. I'm from Atlanta, but driving in Boston scared the crap out of me...and my God at what it costs to park there!
We will be counting on MTA, and the Trolley for all our transportation (praying to avoid taxi's).

I see that the Commuter train runs to the Stadium out of South Station on game days. I also see all the hotels in Downtown Boston are crazy expensive.

Is there any cities between Boston and Foxboro that have affordable hotels with easy access to public transportation?

Whats it like trying trying to scalp tickets at Gillette? Is it legal to buy from scalpers in MA? where would you reccomend buying game tickets?
Are there any single game tickets released to the public, or are they all sold out with season ticket holders?

Thanks for any feedback, and suggestions!

[CaseyB]

There is a new hotel opening at the stadium (Renaissance Hotel) . Patriot Place - Everyone wins! - There is something for everyone at Patriot Place Perhaps they will have a shuttle that runs to the nearest staton.

[TurnpikeMike]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

There is a new hotel opening at the stadium (Renaissance Hotel) . Patriot Place - Everyone wins! - There is something for everyone at Patriot Place Perhaps they will have a shuttle that runs to the nearest staton.

Thanks Casey!(sorry about the double post, I should have put this in the Boston forum, but I somehow missed it)

I was just looking at cities between Boston and Foxboro, that is on the MTA grid.
I came up with Quincy. The hotels are affordable, and the one I looked at has free Airport shuttle, and free shuttle to the "red line". Can I get to the Stadium on game day on the red line?
What do yall think about the city?

The goal is to spend 1 1/2 days exploring Boston(Friday, and Saturday), catch the train to Foxboro for the game, and fly back to Orlando Monday.

I really like the idea of staying in Quincey, as its the birthplace of my favorite Founding Father (John Adams). I also see it has Beaches (which hooks my wife)...

Thanks again for any feedback, and suggestions.

[CaseyB]

You could take the red line. You have to take it to South Station, then switch to the Patriots train. It would be a long trip, but it could be done.

[lrfox]

I was going to suggest Quincy after reading your first post. Yes, it's easy, cheaper and most area hotels run shuttles. There are some things to do in Quincy, but getting to/from various locations IN Quincy will be tough without a vehicle but it's doable. If you feel like you may need a car but don't want to rent for a full day, check out Zipcar, hourly rentals (I THINK $9.99/hr). I doubt you'll need to, but it's a good service to have in mind.

The best part about Quincy, is like you said, the Red Line. The Red Line is a subway that will give you direct access to Boston from Quincy. To get to the Patriots game you will have to jump on the Red Line, take it INBOUND to South Station (7 stops I believe... about 25 minutes ride) and transfer to the Foxboro bound (Called the "Patriots Train") commuter rail train on one of the above ground platforms. For Patriots Train times, check the MBTA's website. I believe that Patriots Trains utilize the Franklin Line from Boston.

The Red Line out of Quincy is a local subway train that makes frequent stops and runs frequently (even on Sunday there will be a train every 15-20 minutes or so out of Quincy). The Patriots train is a regional commuter rail and runs on a very set schedule. It's important to be on-time for that train. The Red Line will give you DIRECT access for $2 per trip ($1.70 if you pick up a Charlie Card) to much of Boston and Cambridge (and Somerville). The Red Line will take you directly to places like South Station, Downtown Crossing, the Boston Common (via Park Street), the Charles River/ the Esplanade (via Charles/MGH), Harvard Square in Cambridge (via Harvard) and many others. There are also interchanges to allow free transfer to other lines to go elsewhere (i.e. the Airport, Back Bay, etc). You can easily see that on a map. The Red Line and the rest of the subway is the best way to get from place to place in the immediate Boston area.

I don't know how much "Beach Weather" you'll have for your weekend here. You're coming at the end of September and the nights have started to cool off by then, thus cooling the already chilly New England water. It may be worth checking out, but beach season up here pretty much ends Labor Day weekend.

Also, you may want to look at Hotels around Logan Airport and Revere. Revere has a beach and access to Downtown Boston via the Blue Line Subway as well. Hotels can be cheaper there.

Best of luck and I hope you enjoy your trip.

[TurnpikeMike]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I was going to suggest Quincy after reading your first post. Yes, it's easy, cheaper and most area hotels run shuttles. There are some things to do in Quincy, but getting to/from various locations IN Quincy will be tough without a vehicle but it's doable. If you feel like you may need a car but don't want to rent for a full day, check out Zipcar, hourly rentals (I THINK $9.99/hr). I doubt you'll need to, but it's a good service to have in mind.

The best part about Quincy, is like you said, the Red Line. The Red Line is a subway that will give you direct access to Boston from Quincy. To get to the Patriots game you will have to jump on the Red Line, take it INBOUND to South Station (7 stops I believe... about 25 minutes ride) and transfer to the Foxboro bound (Called the "Patriots Train") commuter rail train on one of the above ground platforms. For Patriots Train times, check the MBTA's website. I believe that Patriots Trains utilize the Franklin Line from Boston.

The Red Line out of Quincy is a local subway train that makes frequent stops and runs frequently (even on Sunday there will be a train every 15-20 minutes or so out of Quincy). The Patriots train is a regional commuter rail and runs on a very set schedule. It's important to be on-time for that train. The Red Line will give you DIRECT access for $2 per trip ($1.70 if you pick up a Charlie Card) to much of Boston and Cambridge (and Somerville). The Red Line will take you directly to places like South Station, Downtown Crossing, the Boston Common (via Park Street), the Charles River/ the Esplanade (via Charles/MGH), Harvard Square in Cambridge (via Harvard) and many others. There are also interchanges to allow free transfer to other lines to go elsewhere (i.e. the Airport, Back Bay, etc). You can easily see that on a map. The Red Line and the rest of the subway is the best way to get from place to place in the immediate Boston area.

I don't know how much "Beach Weather" you'll have for your weekend here. You're coming at the end of September and the nights have started to cool off by then, thus cooling the already chilly New England water. It may be worth checking out, but beach season up here pretty much ends Labor Day weekend.

Also, you may want to look at Hotels around Logan Airport and Revere. Revere has a beach and access to Downtown Boston via the Blue Line Subway as well. Hotels can be cheaper there.

Best of luck and I hope you enjoy your trip.

Thanks for the feedback!I need to go to the Orlando Forum, and help out someone thats coming here.
I see that Quincy is more more south east, and we would have to go back into South Station to catch the "Pats train" on game day. Ive basically used this map as a guide to trying to be between Boston and Foxboro.
MBTA.com > Commuter Rail Maps and Schedules

I found this hotel, in Dedham, thats a Hilton($95 per night) and on the rail line to Foxboro:
Hilton Boston/Dedham Hotel - Boston, Massachusetts Hotel
Any thoughts on this area? Quincy seems much nicer, but the hotel the hotel there is $150 per night.
Best Western Adams Inn, Quincy Massachusetts
Both hotels offer free Shuttle to/from Logans Airport.

Thanks again for the advice, ideas, and feedback.

[richardhead]

I know you don't want to drive if you can help it, but if you do end up staying outside of Boston somewhere (like Dedham which is only about a 10-15min ride) I would highly recommend driving to the game and taking in the Tailgating experience. Unless it rains, an early season game is the best for really enjoying the whole game day atmosphere. Almost all of the parking lots (both private and stadium owned) allow tailgating. The Falcons' game is 1:00PM so the lots will open by 8:00AM, so even though you'll pay $40-50 for parking, it really is a whole day event (you can stay in the lots up to 2 hours after the game as well, so you can have some more to drink and eat while the traffic moves out, and remember, it's much cheaper than eating or drinking IN the stadium).

As for buying tickets, scalping in the private lots is probably a safer bet, the closer you get stadium property the more I'd be concerned. Patriot ownership has made a big stink about buying season tickets from Ace or Stubhub, so it might be difficult (but not impossible) to get them that way (many season ticketholders won't sell them anymore on those non-approved sites).

Good luck!

[TurnpikeMike]

Originally Posted by richardhead

I know you don't want to drive if you can help it, but if you do end up staying outside of Boston somewhere (like Dedham which is only about a 10-15min ride) I would highly recommend driving to the game and taking in the Tailgating experience. Unless it rains, an early season game is the best for really enjoying the whole game day atmosphere. Almost all of the parking lots (both private and stadium owned) allow tailgating. The Falcons' game is 1:00PM so the lots will open by 8:00AM, so even though you'll pay $40-50 for parking, it really is a whole day event (you can stay in the lots up to 2 hours after the game as well, so you can have some more to drink and eat while the traffic moves out, and remember, it's much cheaper than eating or drinking IN the stadium).

As for buying tickets, scalping in the private lots is probably a safer bet, the closer you get stadium property the more I'd be concerned. Patriot ownership has made a big stink about buying season tickets from Ace or Stubhub, so it might be difficult (but not impossible) to get them that way (many season ticketholders won't sell them anymore on those non-approved sites).

Good luck!

Thanks for the info.

I must confess, I'm a Falcon's fan. That said, I'm not sure the tailgate thing would work for us...though, as I said, Boston is the most friendly northern town I have ever been to...But by looking at ticket prices, I can tell how much you guys love the Pats(its easy to see why with all those Lombardi Trophies)...dont want to push my luck.
I have promised myself that I would never drive in Boston again, after driving from Waltham in, the last time.

Please keep the feedback coming!!!

[lrfox]

No problem! Scalping in MA is not an easy task (I buy all my Red Sox tickets this way though). It's completely illegal on stadium property to buy from anyone other than a licensed seller (and the only one on stadium property is the Patriots box office). Off property, you still need to buy from a licensed seller, but this includes places like Ebay, Stubhub, Acetickets, etc.

If it were me, I would recommend looking on Craigslist and emailing sellers about meeting and making an exchange for tickets. As richardhead mentioned, the Patriots are tough on scalping and you're running a risk by doing it at the stadium. Craigslist has the most reasonable prices (Ebay is comparable) that I've seen for second hand tickets. If you're bold enough to wait until that weekend, you'll probably see some people "dumping" tickets on craigslist. Aceticket, Stubhub, etc will all charge you WAY above what you should pay. That should be a last resort.

I would still suggest Quincy over Dedham just because of the ease of access to Boston. Dedham is on the commuter rail (which would make it easy for getting to the stadium) but those trains run infrequently so you're really going to be at an inconvenience getting in/out of Boston in Dedham. A way around this is to use the shuttle to take you to the airport and jump on the subway there, but some places are less flexible than others about that. The Red Line in Quincy is the better deal. While you'll probably have to leave an hour earlier to get to Foxboro (because you have to go into town and then back out), you can easily make it work. The Red Line runs more frequently and much later into the evening (not to mention, free transfers to the Green and Orange lines... blue as well even though you have to get on another line to get from Red to Blue) so it'll make getting in/out of Boston much easier. You also have a nice mall in nearby Braintree (South Shore Plaza) with good chain retail and restaurants. Quincy is the 'burbs, but it's closer to other things, has better access to Boston, and it'll give you a better sense of place during your stay that you won't find in Dedham. Aside from the easier access to the stadium for the game, you'll be much more likely to feel "stuck" at your hotel.

I still think you're smart in not driving. Like I mentioned before, call zipcar if you feel you REALLY need a car to go somewhere else in the 'burbs for an hour ot two. Renting for the weekend is a waste of money and a hassle. Otherwise, relying on public transit is the best bet in Boston. I'm willing to bet that your acceptance of that is one of the reasons you like Boston. I've found that many people who are used to having a car to get everywhere try to force it in Boston and really resent the city for not being auto-friendly... Quite frankly, it's one of the reasons I really enjoy Boston. The Red Line and the rest of the subway system are essentially your keys to Boston. The commuter rail from Dedham will be better for the game, but a REAL inconvenience when doing anything else. The commuter rail really restricts your schedule in Boston because if you miss a train you have to wait an hour + for the next one... if it's not past the last train in the schedule. The Red Line runs later and more frequently to give you better access when you want it. With the subway, you're on your own time.

As far as tailgating goes, you can do it when you get there from the train (which dumps you off at the back of the parking lot). In fact, I'm sure you'll find plenty of Falcons fans that you can quickly make friends with. You don't need your own car to tailgate and that's the beauty of it. It's a party... bring some beer and you'll have instant friends. Furthermore, Patriot Place ( Patriot Place - Everyone wins! - There is something for everyone at Patriot Place ) at Gillette has a bunch of restaurants and stores along a pedestrian mall and plaza that is ALWAYS very active during game days. If you can't find a party in the lot, you can find it at one of the bars/restaurants at the stadium. It would be an incredible waste of money to get a car just so you can attempt to tailgate. Not to mention the time it would take to to get in/out of that lot with the traffic.

The Best Western you're looking at is in North Quincy just across the Neponset River from the Boston line. It's not a beautiful or exciting area but it's not a bad one. It is VERY close (you could walk if you wanted) to the North Quincy stop on the Red Line. This is really only stops (though it's a long way between North Quincy and the next stop, JFK UMass) to South Station... 15 minutes maybe. Again, I think that if you factor in convenience, the Quincy hotel is better overall while the Dedham hotel is better for the GAME, but not for anything else.

Really it comes down to what you want to spend on a hotel. I think if you're willing to use a site like Hotwire you can do better than what you've found so far. I don't know if you're familiar with hotwire, but it has deals with hotels to fill unfilled rooms and books by city district so you don't get the name of the hotel you're staying at (though they are all 3 and 4 star hotels, so you won't end up at the Cockroach Inn) until after you've paid. This works in Boston because there's no such thing as a bad hotel in some neighborhoods in the core of the city. For example, if you found a hotel in the Faneuil Hall area, Financial District, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, etc... it's going to be excellent and the location can't be beat (no matter where you are in these areas, everything is within walking distance and they're entirely safe). I just ran a quick search on hotwire and found 3-Star hotels during the weekend you're looking to be here right downtown for $79/ night and Back Bay for $109. here's the link to my results: Hotwire.com: Discount airfare, hotel reservations, car rentals, vacation packages and cruises ( link may not work if too much time passes but you can check yourself). You can't beat that. It's a guaranteed to be a 3-4 star hotel and it's in an all round excellent neighborhood. This is FAR more convenient, not to mention cheaper, than what you're looking at in Quincy and Dedham (the area is 100x better). Furthermore, the Quincy Market/ Financial District hotels are about 5-15 minutes walk from South Station depending on where exactly it is (I'm guessing one of the Marriotts- both good hotels) so you're still better off for the game. Anyway, in Boston, as long as it's in the right neighborhood, I trust Hotwire because the prices can't be beat. At least give it a look.

hope that helps a bit!

[TurnpikeMike]

Irfox,
Thanks again.
Looks like we are gonna try to come Thur and stay at the Best Western in Quincy.
Thanks for the heads up on Pats tickets. Atlanta is the same way about scalping. Cant tell you how many folks Ive seen arrested trying to buy tickets from a undercover cop.
Do the Pats do PSL's or are they regular Season Tickets?
I go to the Falcons @ Bucs game every year (as I'm only an hour away). Ive found the best time to get a good deal on tickets, is when the ST invoices are due. Folks are trying to get the money together to pay for their season tickets (not sure how PSL's work), and good deals can be found on Ebay (never thought to use Craigslist, thats a good idea)
The Hotwire is a something Ive used before, but not sure it will work for this trip. The problem is "Free Airport shuttle", and free shuttle to MTA stations, is a deal breaker for us. I spent $65 to get to Waltham from the airport.

again, I am thankful for the advice and ideas.

If you guys ever decide to come to Orlando, plz let me know. I will do the same to help on your visit.