# Boston- Car Rental



## cp73 (Oct 4, 2016)

Will be heading to the Marriott Custom House in 10 days. I think we may want to rent a car for one day and drive either up north or south. Because its so crazy driving in Boston is there a preferred place to go to pick up and drop off  rental car to avoid driving in Boston?  Or for one day is it not that big a deal and just find a place near Custom House.

thanks


----------



## theo (Oct 4, 2016)

cp73 said:


> Will be heading to the Marriott Custom House in 10 days. I think we may want to rent a car for one day and drive either up north or south. Because its so crazy driving in Boston is there a preferred place to go to pick up and drop off  rental car to avoid driving in Boston?  Or for one day is it not that big a deal and just find a place near Custom House.
> 
> thanks



Not sure if / where there are car rental options available near the Customs House, but maybe a knowledgeable Bostonian will weigh in with more useful input. 

If you are going to drive in (and / or attempt to park anywhere within) the city of Boston, I will pray for you. The place should probably have it's own *Survivor* episode (...or series). Massachusetts seems to harbor the most aggressive and discourteous (not to mention incompetent) drivers I have ever personally witnessed *anywhere* at *any* time in the course of a fair numbers of years travelling to, from and within many different places within and outside the U.S.A. 

One of their common (but not at all amusing) "practices" is  treating the use of directionals to signal intentions about turns or lane changes as a sign of weakness and / or the unauthorized revelation of state secrets. *Some* of their driving antics might actually be amusing --- *if* they weren't also very inconsiderate and outright dangerous. 

God be with you...


----------



## falmouth3 (Oct 4, 2016)

It's not quite that bad, Theo, but Boston drivers are among the worst in the country.  Being that I live here now, I do know know about renting a car in Boston, so I can't help you, OP.


----------



## jme (Oct 4, 2016)

Custom House concierge might be helpful...... you might want to call asap. I highly recommend getting a vehicle outside the city. Even for Bostonians the traffic is crazy and for someone not familiar with the streets, it might be downright dangerous. 

Chris, enjoy your time. 

GREAT time to be there!!!!  Fall foliage should be peaking around that area of Mass, especially in the countryside. Hope you're planning to visit Concord and Lexington---they're unbelievably beautiful....... I'm jealous, as we won't be there at Custom House until first week of December.



.


----------



## Luanne (Oct 4, 2016)

We're in Boston right now.  We purposely did not get a car.  It's not so much that the drivers are nuts, but the roads are crazy.  And the pedestrians are suicidal.


----------



## radmoo (Oct 4, 2016)

Welcome to Boston and yes, driving is crazy here.  You might want to consider taking Blue Line or Uber back to Logan and rent there.  From Logan, you can get on highway heFing north, south or west without any city driving.


----------



## jtp1947 (Oct 5, 2016)

We always pick up from Logan when we land and drop off at the parking garage about 2 blocks from the Custom House.  You can pick up a car there also. It is in the same area as the Aquarium, Legal Seafoods, and the Marriott Longwharf. We rented this time through Costco, 6 days, full size, $225, Budget rental.
Here is a link to a foliage map that might be useful.

https://newengland.com/seasons/fall/foliage/peak-fall-foliage-map/

  BOSTON WATERFRONT,BS9 
270 ATLANTIC AVENUE, WATERFRONT PARK GARAGE LOBBY  
BOSTON, MA 02110 US 
617-227-0784  
Sun 0800 - 1600; Mon - Fri 0800 - 1800; Sat 0800 - 1600


----------



## Cheryl20772 (Oct 5, 2016)

We were in Boston one day first week of September. Our goal was to get from the port to the Sam Adams brewery for a tour and back to port. We found that the buses and subway were really efficient and thrifty. The whole route was easily laid out in advance on their MBTA website. Might not work as well if you're toting baggage, but we didn't miss having a car at all.


----------



## SunSand (Oct 14, 2016)

Just returned today from Boston.  Rented a car through Alamo at the Logan airport rental car facility.  Very efficient at a fair price.  Driving in Boston was not fun.  The city grid is confusing, so you need a navigator to help.  Public transportation may be the way to go.


----------



## simpsontruckdriver (Oct 25, 2016)

My wife's family lives in Melrose MA. Anyway, most if not all places in the Boston area can be reached by subway and/or bus. UBER/LYFT is probably cheaper than renting a car, unless you want to drive outside I-495.

TS


----------



## falmouth3 (Oct 25, 2016)

SunSand said:


> Just returned today from Boston.  Rented a car through Alamo at the Logan airport rental car facility.  Very efficient at a fair price.  Driving in Boston was not fun.  The city grid is confusing, so you need a navigator to help.  Public transportation may be the way to go.



That's because we don't really have a grid.  Boston is a really old city by US standards.


----------



## dioxide45 (Oct 25, 2016)

I know the OP has already returned from Boston, but in case anyone else comes along, we rented a car from Budget which has a location just a short walk from Custom House. We had driven through Boston before and knew what we would be up against. We didn't find it as bad this time as we did when we drove through Boston back in 2004. Perhaps the Boston drivers had mellowed some?


----------



## jtp1947 (Oct 26, 2016)

Avis, Budget, and Alamo all have rental agencies about 2 blocks from the Custom House.  What is convenient is if you rent from Logan you can return to the satellite locations which are on the top floor of the parking structure, 270 Atlantic, Boston.


----------



## RichardL (Oct 27, 2016)

Call the Custom House.  I rented a car within 2 blocks.  What is crazy is the cost of overnight parking.  I recommend renting one day at a time to avoid the parking fee which is more than the rental amount.  Also drive on Sunday, when
downtown is at its quietest.


----------



## jtp1947 (Oct 27, 2016)

Custom House owners and exchangers pay $32 a night for parking, rentals $40 a night.


----------



## Conan (Oct 27, 2016)

This has been mentioned before--an alternative to paying the parking rate at the Custom House is to park at Wonderland for $12/day. 
http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/subway/lines/stations/?stopId=56759

From there it's an 8-stop ride on the Blue line, 16 minutes to Aquarium which is steps away from the Custom House.


----------



## cp73 (Oct 27, 2016)

Custom House will arrange for a rental for you with Enterprise and have it delivered to you. Enterprise is located about 2 blocks away across the street from Faniel Hall on Congress Street. So you if you don't want the concierge to do it you can do it yourself and just walk there.  One day we were considering driving out of town but we didn't. Also found that UBER is a great way to get around the city and its barely more than the subway for 2 people and a lot quicker especially if you have to change trains.


----------

