Cost of Boston Trip
- Flights on Virgin America: $680
- Local transportation: $112 – we both had Charlie Cards and went everything on the T. For our day trips, we took the commuter rail to Salem and Concord.
- Snacks & water: $18 – including a $3 bag of Pop Chips on the flight.
- Food: $251 – $60 bar tab at Lineage, $8 Boston Cream Pie at the Omni Parker House, $3/slice pizza and everything in between.
- Entertainment & tours: $118 - we purchased 2 tickets to Museum of Science ($54), a Salem history tour ($32), canoe rental in Concord ($14), and admission to the Louisa May Alcott house ($18).
- Hotel: $314 – Boston isn’t exactly a poster child for affordable accomodations, so we decided to try out AirBnB for the first time. A review is going up this week.
We spent a grand total of $1,487, or an average of $212.43 per person, per day.
It appears that our budget came in line with our previous Boston trips, and in fact our food costs were a $100 lower than what we had spent before, even though we love eating out on vacations. Our secret? Have a mid-afternoon or early evening snack at the bar of some ritzy place (to take in the atmosphere!), but then get a late-night dinner at local favorite or hole-in-the-wall. This plan worked out wonderfully. On Friday, for example, we met with a couple of friends for drinks, appetizers, and dessert at the Omni Parker House in Beacon Hill ($30). After 3 hours, we ambled over to tacos at Felipe’s Taqueria in Harvard Square ($9). We could’ve NEVER eaten a dinner at Omni Parker House for $40 for the two of us, but because we had food at the bar instead of a full meal, we got to have the best of both worlds. 
Looks like you had quite a great time! I have only been to boston once but really enjoyed it. I also really like your plan of going to the nice places for a drink and a small bit and then waiting a bit for dinner. I may have to try that sometime – also, there's a good pizza place in harvard square, I hope you stumbled in there!
Great tip, I do the same thing with hotel lounges and have a late afternoon snack! Felipe's is where I spent many a late night!! Although IMO it can't beat Mexican food in California
Mexi food in CALI all day. Bay area in particular =)
Great advice! I was in Vegas over the weekend and dodged airline food costs by sneaking my own pistachios, trail mix and granola bars on the plane. My husband and I eat our way through vacations too, and I love your advice on eating and drinking at the bar of a ritzy place and hitting up a local food stand for late-night cravings. Boston is on my "30 before 30 list" so I'm bookmarking this post for recommendations on things to see and places to eat. Thanks for sharing!
I was wondering where you vanished to… Boston sounds fun. It looks like it was very affordable. Glad you had a good time!
Sounds like a good trip! I'm excited to hear about what you thought of airbnb. We used it last year for our Miami trip.
I've always wanted to visit Boston. At one point my husband and I thought about moving there but then we found out how much rent would be. Looks like you all had a great time.
I've never been to Boston, but it looks lovely. Looks like you had a nice time. The snack/late dinner tip is priceless. You really thought of everything! Welcome back!
-M
That's a good idea. I like hole in the wall places myself. I only really like going out to fancy clubs or bars where I can dress nice occasionally.
I'd personally rather spend my money on activities. Tourist stuff a hockey game or hanging out at multiple bars all day.
Taking in the local scenery and life.
Sounds like you had a nice trip. I'll go to boston one day
WoW! I wish I would also have the opportunity to go there. I haven't been to Boston so I really can't say how good the place is. But after reading your blog and seeing the photos, it gave me a perfect idea to spend my next vacation there. thanks a lot!
Glad that you had a great time on your visit to Boston! It can be very expensive or very cheap depending on how you do it! Loved your tip about doing an evening snack at a fun place and then eating later at a much cheaper place. You definitely save money that way, especially if you can find late night deals & promos
Not bad for a long vacation. We had a similar experience when we flew across the Atlantic and stayed at the hotel luton. Honestly, I still can't believe how much we didn't spend.