Aelfgifu Travels

Hi Aelf Crew,

I’m back with another trip but this time you’ll be pleased to hear a schedule of posts to come. For four months I was away working in New Hampshire for a bit before heading off to explore the East Coast of the US and Central America.

Today we start this journey in Boston.

Having previously done a significant amount of backpacking around the world staying in hostels, I was rather shocked to find that hostels are still quite a new concept in the US. It’s definitely not the same backpacking scene as Europe!

To elaborate: the only hostel I could find when booking was ‘HI Boston’ – which cost an eye-watering US$74.70 per night – for a bunk bed! The whole premise of a hostel, in my mind, is that it is cheap accommodation, where the low price is made up for by the less-than-ideal sleeping arrangements (i.e. bunkbeds, shared bathrooms etc). 

That said, this hostel was huge (as I was told throughout my trip, everything is bigger in America!). They ran daily events, with some free and some paid – ranging from walking tours to pub crawls and yoga. Whilst this was amazing, I will never be able to get over the price tag.

I’m usually a fan of walking tours but on this occasion (given my budgeting had been thrown off) I curated my own from a map provided by the hostel and with a friend I had made the night before on the pub crawl, was in good company.

We stopped by the Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum, which cost US$35 to get in. Frankly at this stage in my life (and at this stage in my trip, it was the beginning and I wanted to budget for more interesting attractions down the line), I am not interested in paying money to go around a small museum on a part of history I have no personal interest in. So we skipped this, but if this is something that you’ve done do let me know in the comments whether I missed a gem!

Walking around Boston is lovely, it feels very similar to walking around an English town (perhaps fittingly, given it’s in ‘New England’!). I felt incredibly safe and whilst I did have some bother with locals struggling to understand my accent (most notably when I asked for a glass of water in a restaurant and they asked me if I spoke English and looked at me as if I were speaking another language) it felt a very pleasant place to be as a solo female. Boston has a calm, friendly atmosphere that makes wandering the streets a real pleasure.

Harvard University

We got the underground (or subway) to Harvard where we wandered around the university campus. Nearby there is the ‘Fogg Museum of Art’ which is free to enter – a perfect stop if you need a break from the summer heat (or a hangover, in my case). The air conditioning was a lifesaver after several hours of walking in 30°C heat!

Salem

I took a day trip to Salem whilst in Boston, which was fascinating – particularly having studied ‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller in school. Having arrived there by train with nothing organised but to potter around, I soon realised that a walking tour would have been a better use of my time. Luckily there are plenty of walk-in tour operators offering drop-in tours at their set times (11am, 1pm, etc) and as it was the low season, I was not only able to get a spot on the afternoon tour but also be the only person on it!

The guide explained that whilst it was empty in August with very few tourists, the town transforms in October for ‘spooky season’ – with over 1 million visitors descending on the town of 180,000 residents. I can’t begin to imagine how crowded it must get!  

A one-way ticket from Boston to Salem costs US$8.00 and the ride takes about 30 minutes – very easy and convenient. If you have the time in Boston, I’d definitely recommend going, ideally with a tour –  otherwise, you’ll miss a lot of fascinating detail.

Tips to Learn from Aelfgifu:

Budget Specific:

• Expenses will run high even when budgeting – so if you are expecting to save money by hostelling or food shopping yourself, think again. 
• Skip some of the paid attractions and focus on the free ones – that way you can channel your funds into transport for day trips instead.
• Create your own walking tour if possible. But if solo, I highly recommend an organised one so that you are in company.

Boston Specific:

• Take the train to Salem if you have time – especially if you enjoy history or spooky folklore.
• Don’t miss Harvard and the free art museum nearby.

Is the Boston Tea Party Museum worth the money? Let me know in the comments!

Pahk yah cah in Hahvahd Yahd,

Aelfgifu