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What are the best day trips from Boston? have I got a post for you! Boston is a brilliantly situated city, surrounded by seaside towns, cool beaches, and natural wonders. Whether you’re staying in downtown Boston or out in the suburbs, whether you’re traveling with kids or on your own, there’s so much to see throughout Massachusetts and beyond.
And if there’s anything I know like the back of my hand, it’s Boston day trips — the ones that are worth it (Newburyport! Providence! Portland!), and the ones that are bad ideas (don’t even think about day tripping to Martha’s Vineyard).
I grew up 20 minutes outside Boston — Reading, specifically — and spent several years living in Boston as an adult. Today, I spend much of the year in the Boston area with my family. I feel very lucky to be from new England, which is filled with amazing places to visit, from my beloved Portsmouth, new Hampshire, to Provincetown, the funky idea of Cape Cod.
While a lot of of these Boston day trips require a car, several of them can be made with public transportation. read on to see which day trips from Boston are best for you.
I would like to acknowledge and honor the Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), Pawtucket, Pokanoket, Wôpanâak (Wampanoag), Nauset, Pentucket, Abenaki/Abénaquis, Wabanaki and Mohican people, the indigenous stewards and standard owners of the unceded land now known as the greater Boston area.
This post was last updated in March 2022.
Table of Contents
Best Day trips from Boston
Newburyport, Massachusetts
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Portsmouth, new Hampshire
South coast of Maine
Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts
Rockport, Massachusetts
Newport, Rhode Island
White Mountains, new Hampshire
Portland, Maine
Salem, Massachusetts
Providence, Rhode Island
Cape Cod, Massachusetts*
Beach Day trips From BostonBest beaches North of Boston
Best beaches South of Boston
Museum Day trips From Boston
Shopping Day trips from Boston
Boston Day trips to Avoid
Best Day trips from Boston
There are lots of day trips from Boston — but which ones are best? it all depends on what you’re trying to find as a traveler.
What are the best day trips from Boston? My top three Boston day trips are the seaside town of Newburyport; Provincetown, the funky idea of Cape Cod; and one of my favorite small cities, Portsmouth, new Hampshire.
What are the best beaches near Boston? North of Boston, I recommend Crane’s beach in Ipswich. South of Boston, I recommend Duxbury beach in Duxbury.
What Boston day trips can you do without a car? If you want to do a day trip from Boston on public transportation, I recommend the seaside town of Newburyport by train, the foodie city of Portland, Maine, by train, and the fun Cape Cod town of Provincetown by ferry.
What are the best Boston day trips with kids? check out the deCordova Sculpture Park in Lincoln, spend the day in York, Maine, or have a fun beach day in Duxbury.
What are the best Boston day trips in winter? In wintertime lots of smaller towns in new England are essentially closed down. I would bundle up and visit another busy, active city like Portland, Maine or Providence, Rhode Island.
There’s a lot to consider, so here are my four big tips:
Tip #1: Don’t go overboard with history-oriented day trips if you’re not into history.
Yep, we’ve got a lot of terrific historic sites in new England, and a lot of travel writers tend to disproportionally play them up, but not everyone is up for doing historic day trip after historic day trip. I know I’m not.
Tip #2: Don’t just visit other cities.
Portland, Portsmouth, and Providence are great, but if you’re in Boston, you’re already in a city, and you shouldn’t miss out on the other side of new England: small towns and areas of natural beauty.
Tip #3: keep your destinations within a two-hour drive.
If not, you’ll be spending a huge chunk of your day driving. Each destination I’m providing here is within a two-hour drive of Boston, with the occasional exception noted.
Tip #4: Make sure you have the ideal train station.
Boston has two main train stations: North station and South Station. Trains to northern destinations depart from North Station; trains to southern destinations depart from South Station. There is also Back Bay Station, which is the first stop after South Station, so if you’re staying around Back Bay, you can just hop on the train there. Buses depart from South station Busnullnull
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