When I was growing up in Boston, I often ran out of lunch money mid-week and had to learn how to get around and feed myself while still having fun on a budget. Now, whenever I return home from the Zoo, my friends and family marvel at my tricks that end up saving them money. If you want to have a nice stay in the Bean, check out these tips, and you’ll know just where to drop those dollars.
1.) Don’t get gipped at the T.
I always feel bad when I see tourists fumble through the touchscreen at the fare machine and surrender to the pressure to pay for fares they’ll never use.
If you’re staying the weekend, consider buying Daily Link Passes if you’ll use them more than six times a day, or use a Charlie Card if you won’t. If you’re staying the day and plan on hopping on and off the T fairly frequently, the Daily Pass (at $9.00) is cheaper than paying for six, single-use fares on a Charlie Card ($1.70 six times totals $10.20), which is already demonstrably cheaper than buying separate Charlie Tickets ($2.00 six times makes you $12 poorer –scam!). If there’s any chance you’ll be staying more than a weekend and using public transit, take advantage of the Weekly Link Pass. At only $15.00, it will have already exceeded its value in single-use fares on a Charlie Card after nine rides, and Charlie Tickets after seven.
If you have the potential to get lost, trust me – these essentially free fares will come in handy, and it’ll be a small victory when you bypass the suckers waiting for their tickets to print at the fare machines to snag a prime window seat on the trolley.
2.) Take a walk … it’s free!
Taking advantage of the city’s public space keeps you away from shops and usually leads to some of the best memories with friends. The Arnold Arboretum is one of the most beautiful places to take a long walk, go on a hike, ride your bike or just lay out. However. it’s often over-looked by visitors because it’s off the Red Line, the main drag of the Boston Subway, in Jamaica Plain. Googlemap the place! Three minutes after walking the beaten paths past flowering trees and kids zooming on razor scooters, you’ll be glad you did — and the only thing you’ll have to spend is a couple of quarters for the parking meter.
Another lesser known outdoor space (even to locals,) is The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.
Starting in the North End by Haymarket Station on the Orange Line, one could easily spend an afternoon or evening walking past the outdoor sculptures and beautifully lit public fountains on the stretch of perfectly kept lawns between the hustle and bustle of the city’s Financial District. You’ll even find a carousel on this public expanse in the summer, and the walk will lead you all along the Harbor to South Station. What a way to see the sights, all without spending a cent!
3.) Don’t be fooled by the tourist traps.
The Faneuil Hall and Prudential Center food courts are really just like any mall food, except everything’s twice the price, and there’s no place to sit on busy days. Unless you actually plan to get your history on and learn about the American Revolution during your stay, keep away from the big sites whose primary function is to eat the dollars of non-locals while the rest of us just grab Panera Bread a few streets away.
4.) At the same time, enjoy them.
Tourist traps are visited for a reason – the street performers in front of Faneuil Hall are reason enough to go, even if you don’t want to waste your money on over-priced clam chowder. You can poke around at any of the street vendors in the top tourist areas, (along the Freedom Trail, in Downtown Crossing, by Copley Square or on Newbury St), but know that almost none of the trinkets you’d shell out money for are really unique to Boston. You can just take a picture of your friend posing in the funny leprechaun hat and post it on Instagram rather than drop fifteen dubloons for the useless thing.
5.) Make sure you hit up at least one Boston Specific Eatery.
There are some places where it’s okay to splurge a little, like in restaurants you know you won’t find in any other city.
Cakeology cupcakes are $3.25 a pop, but these babies boast the perfect ratio of spongey cake to creamy frosting and can’t be found anywhere but Province Street near Downtown Crossing. (Fun fact: the owner, Victoria Donnelly, won the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars”).
Sam La Grassa’s (right down the street from Cakeology) is the absolute go-to sandwich joint of professionals working in the Financial District. Though each order will undoubtedly cost you a Hamilton or more, you’ll have too much hand-sliced pastrami in your mouth to complain.
Love that dirty water, (or learn to gradually appreciate it,) without throwing all your pennies in the Charles River! Boston really is home to some of the best bars, teams and people.
So, with a little innovation and some resistance to temptation, you’ll be on your way to a memorable stay in one of the greatest cities there is.