Historic and Modern Boston as Seen from the Bus
Day 8, 2023 East Coast Voyage
Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023, Boston, USA
Today, I paid $60 for the honor of creeping through traffic on Boston’s streets for two hours.
In other words, I took the hop-on, hop-off bus, frequently called the HOHO. It circled through Boston’s city center, stopping about 20 times to let passengers on and off at the most popular tourist attractions. The driver provided a running commentary.
The sky was blue, the sun bright and the temperature in the 70s. It seemed everyone in Boston was out enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon before fall seriously sets in.
HOHO buses are great in theory, but my experience is that they are best for riding the entire circuit for an overview rather than as transportation from one place to another. For one thing, they aren’t cheap. In this case, an online ticket for Sunday was $60 ($80 if you purchased through the ship), with the price varying by season and day of the week.
But my biggest complaint is that you can wait quite a while at each stop for a shuttle with room for you. Most people on our bus were on for the duration, so we frequently had no seats for waiting customers.
I last took a HOHO in Oslo, Norway, last April, where I was recovering from my fractured kneecap and could just get around on crutches for short distances. It is a great way to see a city without walking, although not particularly conducive to taking great photographs.
Because I visited most of Boston’s historic sites decades ago, rather than walk the mile and a half to downtown I opted for the bus that picked me up at the cruise port. I jumped off at the first stop by the Boston Harbor waterfront to have lunch. This is the main HOHO stop, where the buses start empty, so I knew after eating I could get on a bus for the entire circuit with just a short wait.
Even I have a limit for lobster roll prices, and the $43 on the menu exceeded it. Instead I had a great bowl of chowder and P.E.I. mussels. This will probably be my last on-shore lunch for a while, and that’s a good thing. The Lido has a great salad bar, and it’s time to get back to eating more sensibly and cheaply.
After the two-hour tour, I disembarked at the ship about 45 minutes before all-aboard time, only to discover it had been extended for a couple of hours to accommodate bunkering fuel. I watched the sail-away from a table by the dining room windows, eating delicious fresh cod. Tomorrow is a welcome sea day after five busy ports in a row.
You are so right about hoho buses. Best to use from the starting point and not for their intended use.. a great way for an overview.
$43 for a lobster roll is ridiculous!
Jo, I totally agree about the HOHO access and will remember about going back to the starting point. That’s where we got on in Montreal, and rode the entire circuit. Better photos from the top deck, but it’s hard to hear the narration up there, and too hot on sunny days.
Many thanks Jo. This is invaluable advice for our P-to-P Boston visit. We last visited Boston many years ago, so an overview HOHO trip from the waterfront stop might be the way we see Boston next time.
That is crazy! I can’t believe that it was $43 for a lobster roll…..were the mussels and “chowdah” as bad? And don’t get me started on Ho Ho buses. I agree with you, they are much better for using them as a scenic tour since it’s almost impossible to get back on if you get off. In Copenhagen earlier this year, we broke down and took the bus but went as early as we could. We actually took our chances getting of at Nyhaven but since we were so early, we got back on without a problem.
Glad it was a beautiful day; fall can really be beautiful there! Nice to see familiar sights; I grew up 7 miles outside of Boston so have been there many times.
I’m terribly jealous of you eating fresh Cod!! Cod and Filet of Sole were my favorite New England fishes. Yum!!
Hi Jo
So now you’re on the ship for the trip back to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, FL?
How many days? Will you make another port before arriving on Sat Oct 7, 2023?
Hope we can meet up,
yours, Jeanie