Boston Guide for Business Travelers
Boston is a small, walkable city so although most business trips and conferences will keep you situated near the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, it’s easy to get around. There’s plenty to experience beyond your meetings, even with a busy schedule.
Here’s what you need to know in terms of budget, transportation, lodging, food, and things to do before your business trip to Boston.
Budget
Before each trip, you can use TravelBank to create a predictive budget and forecast how much your trip will cost. One thing to note, is that travel rates tend to increase around conferences. The TravelBank algorithm takes this into account because it budgets based on real-time rates and data. The best way to beat your budget when attending a conference is to book your flight and lodging in advance.
Getting There
The Boston Logan International airport is an eight minute ride from the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. You can hop in a taxi, Lyft or Uber. Alternatively, you can take the Silver Line, a rapid transit bus that offers a complimentary shuttle from the airport to the Seaport/World Trade Center stop across the street from the convention center. Returning to the airport on the Silver Line costs just $2.75.
If you come in on the Amtrak, you’ll likely end up at South Station, which is a 15-minute walk from the convention center. Otherwise, if you didn’t pack light or don’t feel like walking, you can take a quick taxi ride.
Where to Stay
Hotel rooms fill up fast and get pricey. Especially if you want to stay close to the convention center in the South Boston Waterfront area. To beat your budget, you could try finding an Airbnb with your coworkers or stay with a friend instead.
Good Cheap Eats
Fortunately for conference attendees, the area around the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center is an up and coming area for dining. We asked two of our employees who lived in Boston where we should eat during the GBTA Convention and this is what they recommended. They even included a few recommendations for when you’re exploring more of Boston.
What to See and Do
If you have a free afternoon
The Institute of Contemporary Art is right on the water and has a really nice modern space. If you’d like to spend a day taking in the artwork but can’t go too far from your meetings, this is the perfect solution.
Harpoon Brewery is also just around the corner from the convention center. You can stop in for a brewery tour which includes a free beer
The Lawn on D is a fun outdoor event space, right by the convention center. Check out their online schedule or simply wander over to enjoy some sunshine and see what’s happening.
If you have a free day
If you extend your business trip for a day or two, to give yourself some breathing space and a free day to explore, check out the Freedom Trail. It walks you around Boston’s history, providing some context for the sights and culture living there today.
Stop by the iconic Prudential tower if you are looking for the best views of Boston. It also serves as a great landmark in the skyline if you get turned around while exploring the city.
When you want to get outdoors, the Esplanade next to the Charles River, which separates Boston from Cambridge offers about three miles of leafy paths to wander.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a really interesting museum of art that is housed in a building designed to emulate a Venetian palace. It made headlines in 1990 when a number of pieces were stolen from the museum, and the crime has yet to be solved.
For the avid phone photographer, there are lots of Instagram-worthy spots around Boston. Here’s a helpful roundup of 16 of the most phot-worhty spots in Boston (including the Public Garden foot bridge and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum above).
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