There’s always super fun activities happening on campus, but if you ever want a change of scenery, Boston's incredible transportation system allows you to do so.
Coming from a more rural area, I really appreciated having access to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) upon arriving here. Within minutes, I can access shopping, movie theaters, museums, and so much more in Boston by traveling the public subways or buses. If you are interested in traveling further than Boston, though, students have many options by which to do so.
The commuter rail, also provided by the MBTA, connects students to the greater Boston area, and even to Providence, Rhode Island. Some friends and I took the commuter rail over to Brown University to watch the Harvard-Brown football game in the fall and spent the weekend in Providence! It was such a fun time, and the round trip was very inexpensive. In fact, the MBTA offers an unlimited commuter rail pass for $10 on weekends and some holidays! Just a couple weeks ago, I made a weekend trip by the commuter rail to an amusement park in New Hampshire. It was so easy, fun, and inexpensive!
On a skyrail overlooking Lake Canobie Park, an amusement park my friends and I accessed by the MBTA commuter rail.
If you are looking to travel even further, there are many options to explore. This past year, I traveled twice to New York City from Boston. The first time, I traveled by subway to South Station, a hub serving the MBTA subway, bus, and commuter rail systems. Upon arriving at the station, my party and I transferred to a motorcoach, which took us directly to Grand Central Station in New York City. The second time, I took a direct flight from the Boston Logan International Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport, which was faster but more expensive.
Some friends and I took a coach bus from Boston to New York City and visited Times Square as a part of this trip!
Although I do not have a car on campus, driving is still also an option for getting around! As a college student with a driver's license, I have the opportunity to pick up and rent a car for the day through websites like ZipCar (for which students get discounted rates) or Turo. To get to Martha’s Vineyard—an island South of Cape Cod—my co-workers here in the Admissions Office and I rented a car and then hopped on a short ferry to complete the excursion (you can watch our Martha’s Vineyard vlog on the Harvard Admissions social media pages)!
We interns walking through a street of Martha's Vineyard, which we got to by rental car and ferry.
So, if you are like me and love to go on little adventures to break up your weeks, Boston is certainly the place for you! There are many diverse transportation options that span a variety of distances, costs, and experiences to match your needs. Happy exploring!
