Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
High- & Low-End New York Bus Options
Many travelers find standard interstate bus service inadequate; for others, it's
too swanky. Both have options on the New York-Boston route.
Business-oriented
LimoLiner
(
&
888/546-5469;
www.limoliner.com) service
connects the Back Bay Hilton, 40 Dalton St., to the Hilton New York, 1335 Ave.
of the Americas (with an on-request stop in Framingham, Mass.). The luxury
coach seats 28 and has Internet access, work tables, leather seats, and an on-
board attendant. The one-way fare is $89.
At the other end of the spectrum is the so-called
Chinatown bus,
the generic
term for service between Boston and New York's Chinatown. I've seen too
many news reports and heard too many anecdotal accounts of poor mainte-
nance and unsatisfactory service to give this option an unqualified recommen-
dation, but it's madly popular with students and other bargain-hunters. The
one-way fare is about $15. The largest operator is
Fung Wah
(
&
212/925-8889
or 617/345-8000; www.fungwahbus.com), which connects Boston's South Sta-
tion and Canal Street in Manhattan. Two recent entrants to this cutthroat com-
petition are
BoltBus
(no phone; www.boltbus.com), which offers on-board WiFi
service, and MegaBus (
&
877/GO2-MEGA;
www.megabus.com). Boston-New
York fares start at $1 and top out around $20, subject to fuel-price adjustments.
Tips
all train stations, and each one is also a
stop on the MBTA
subway.
At South Sta-
tion you can take the Red Line to Cam-
bridge or to Park Street, the system's hub,
where you can make connections to the
Green, Blue, and Orange lines. The
Orange Line connects Back Bay Station
with Downtown Crossing, where there's a
walkway to Park Street station. North Sta-
tion is a Green and Orange Line stop.
Amtrak runs to South Station from
New York and points south and in
between, with stops at Route 128 and
Back Bay. Its Downeaster service (www.
thedowneaster.com) connects North Sta-
tion to Portland, Maine, with several
stops en route. At press time, continued
funding for this route was uncertain;
check long before you plan to travel to be
sure it's still operating. The MBTA
com-
muter rail
runs to Ipswich, Rockport,
and Fitchburg from North Station and to
points south of Boston, including Ply-
mouth, from South Station.
Bear in mind that the train might not
be cheaper than flying, especially for long
trips. Like the airlines, Amtrak adjusts
fares depending on demand, so plan as far
ahead as possible to get the lowest fares.
Discounts are never available Friday or
Sunday afternoon. Always remember to
ask for the discounted rate.
Standard service from New York takes
4
1
⁄
2
to just under 6 hours. High-speed
Acela Express service is scheduled to take
just over 3 hours. From Washington,
D.C., count on a grueling 7
1
⁄
2
to 8
1
⁄
2
hours
for the slowest service, 6 hours for Acela
service.
BY BUS
The bus is the only way out of many small
New England towns. If you're coming
from almost anywhere else, consider long-
distance bus travel a last resort. The excep-
tion is the
New York
route, which is so
desirable that Greyhound and Peter Pan
have upgraded service. It's frequent and
relatively fast (4-4
1
⁄
2
hr.), and the price is
about half the regular train fare. If you can
catch an express bus, which makes only
one stop, it's worth the extra $5 or so.
