Low-carbon Ottawa-Boston travel

March 5, 2008 2:09 PM

Travel question: I want to travel from Ottawa to Boston for a weekend and an looking for any decent options aside from flying.

From what can be understood of the AmTrak schedule, the trains are very indirect and about 24 hours of travel each way would be required. Is there a better option, or is a long, boring bus or train ride the only choice? I do not have a driver's license.

I would be leaving after work on the night of Thursday April 10th and returning sometime on the night of Sunday April 13th.

posted by sindark to travel & transportation around Boston, MA (6 answers total)

Amtrak is notoriously late - like hours and hours and hours and hours late. You might get to spend the vast majority of your weekend on the train instead of in Boston.

If you're going to take the bus, consider going for longer than a weekend.

If you won't fly, and can't drive, your only other option is to hire a private car and a driver, or check rideboards at your local universities to see if someone might be driving to Boston when you want to go (and driving back again when you want to leave).
posted by rtha at 3:04 PM on March 5, 2008

Is there a better option, or is a long, boring bus or train ride the only choice? I do not have a driver's license.

Are there any other methods of modern ground transportation aside from train, bus and car? If you're just going for the weekend, you definitely want to avoid the train and possibly even the bus.

As rtha suggestion, university rideboards are good. Additionally, check/post on Ottawa's Craigslist and Boston's Craigslist. If you're extremely lucky (or flexible on when you're going), there may be someone(s) driving between Ottawa and Boston.

I'm of the opinion that "carbon footprint" is very much a red herring for the real problems concerning climate change. Unless you're very certain the opposite is true, I'd really advise you to just fly. For just a weekend, you're going to spend as much time travelling as you are in Boston otherwise. But that's my bias, YMMV.
posted by Nelsormensch at 3:20 PM on March 5, 2008

My wife and I drive everywhere now. Ottowa to Boston is barely a hop!

But, yeah, a day's worth of driving both ways, adds up to twice the amount of time spend in the car than enjoying yourself at the destination.

If I can't be at the destination for at least twice as long as total travel time, I just say forget it.
posted by Sukiari at 3:47 PM on March 5, 2008

You could go through Montreal and combine the bus and train, though I'm not sure what VIA rail delays are like, and you almost certainly wouldn't have a guaranteed connection. You'd take the train to Montreal, the subway from Bonaventure to Berri-UQAM, and then the Vermont Transit bus (schedules at vermonttransit.com) from there to Boston. I've ridden the Boston-Montreal bus before and it's not too bad.
posted by komilnefopa at 8:18 PM on March 5, 2008

Is driving an option? Looks like a very cool drive.
posted by Doohickie at 9:56 PM on March 5, 2008

I have a friend in Toroto who might want to go to Boston as well. He does have a driver's license, but is not willing to drive for a whole day each way for what would amount to a one-day visit.

As such, I thought I will ask here, on the off chance that someone knew of something brilliant, like a bus from Ottawa or Toronto that takes you straight to a train to Boston.

Thanks to everyone who posted suggestions.
posted by sindark at 7:20 AM on March 6, 2008