How do I get to Boston?

Logan International (BOS) sits on a spit of land in East Boston, 5 km from downtown across the harbor. You can see the terminal rooftops from the waterfront near the New England Aquarium. Four terminals (A, B, C, E) handle about 45 million passengers a year. Terminal E covers international arrivals. Terminal C is JetBlue territory. They operate roughly 40% of Logan's flights. From the US West Coast, nonstop service on JetBlue, Delta, United, and Alaska runs 5.5 to 6 hours at $250-500 round-trip. East Coast round-trips go for $100-250 on most carriers, with the Boston-New York shuttle on Delta, American, and JetBlue departing hourly from around 6 AM. From London, British Airways, Delta, JetBlue, and Virgin Atlantic fly nonstop in about 7 hours for £400-700 round-trip. Aer Lingus runs Dublin to Boston in 6.5 hours for €350-600. The wind off the harbor hits you the moment you step outside the terminal. Salt air and jet fuel in a mix that's weirdly specific to Logan.

The Silver Line bus (SL1) from Logan to South Station is free when leaving the airport. That policy catches most first-timers off guard. The ride takes 20 minutes and drops you at South Station, where you can transfer to the Red Line. The Blue Line is faster, 12 minutes to Government Center for $2.40 on a CharlieCard, but you need a free shuttle bus from your terminal to the Airport station first. A taxi to Back Bay or Beacon Hill runs $25-35 with the Sumner Tunnel toll included. The ride takes 15-25 minutes depending on whether you catch rush hour, when brake lights stretch back to the terminal curb. Ride-shares pick up from designated spots at each terminal for $18-30 to downtown. The best first-day option on a calm day is the water taxi from Logan to Long Wharf. Seven minutes, $15, and your first look at the Custom House Tower and the Financial District rising straight out of the harbor. The boat engine hums low and the spray is cold even in June.

From the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak's Acela reaches Boston's South Station from New York Penn Station in 3.5 hours for $50-150 one-way. From Washington Union Station, the same train takes about 7 hours for $100-250. The slower Northeast Regional saves $20-40 and adds roughly an hour. South Station sits at the edge of the Financial District with direct connections to the Red Line and Silver Line. Budget buses are the cheapest route from New York. FlixBus and Peter Pan run the trip for $15-40 one-way in about 4.5 hours, arriving at South Station or the Back Bay bus terminal on Dartmouth Street. If you're driving, I-90 (the Mass Pike) brings you in from the west, and I-95 loops around the metro area. Mind you, Boston's streets follow 17th-century cow paths, not a grid. The one-way systems in the North End and Beacon Hill will test your patience within 10 minutes. Parking downtown runs $30-50 per day. A car is more burden than asset inside Route 128.

T.F. Green Airport (PVD) in Warwick, Rhode Island, 97 km south of Boston, tends to be worth checking for Southwest and Breeze Airways fares that sometimes run $80-120 cheaper than Logan on the same route. The MBTA commuter rail connects Providence to South Station in 75 minutes for $13.25. Manchester-Boston Regional (MHT), 85 km north in New Hampshire, sees limited service from Southwest and United but rarely beats Logan enough to justify the 90-minute drive on I-93. Flights to Boston are cheapest from January through March, when West Coast round-trips drop to $200 and transatlantic fares fall to £350. The September-to-October window, when roughly 250,000 college students return and leaf-peeping season fills New England's hotels, pushes fares up 30-40% from summer levels. Worth noting, Logan has no curfew on night flights, so red-eyes from the West Coast land around 5:30 AM. The terminal is quiet at that hour, still smelling of floor cleaner, and the Blue Line starts running at 5:15 AM.