OT: Car rental at Boston's Logan airport

[Louis]

Anybody out there rented a car at Logan recently? How is it leaving and returning? I think I'd need to get on I-95, but it's been a while since I've looked at a map.

In September I'm going to be visiting my sister in Maine. I usually fly into either Manchester or Portland, but this time it's Boston. The last time I did this through Logan (a few years ago) it was an absolute nightmare and if things have not improved I have the option of taking the bus up to Portland and renting a car there. (A bit of a hassle, because I'd still have to get from the bus station to the car rental place, but potentially not as bad as driving near Logan.)

Thanks for the info.
Louis

[Bruce K]

Most rentals are on site or nearby by shuttle bus.

Access to I-95 north is a little bit of a pain as you need to get on Route 1A north to route 60 and connect to Route 1 North which will allow you access to I-95.

BK

[1centaur]

Depends what your concerns are. If it's unclear roads and the winding maze that Bruce described, there's no real difference. Signs are a little clearer around the airport now (the whole place has been modernized), and you could go through the tunnel to downtown Boston to get on 93 North (the advantage being that you are on a highway sooner) which connects to 128/95 North. However, I live off 95 north of Boston and I would take the route Bruce describes, which involves going through multiple traffic lights and a couple of rotaries before getting to Route 1 - if I were a newbie on that route I would get confused so I would advise lots of map reading beforehand and taking the GPS option on the rental.

If it's traffic, there is no way around very heavy congestion in all of Downtown Boston/93/128/95 and 60/Route 1 north (but not 95 where you would get on from Rt1) in the afternoon drive time, which I'd call 4 to 6:30 pm most days.

If you happen to be coming in on a weekend or late at night/early in the morning all those routes are pretty open and thus easier to navigate without locals getting mad at you, and I'd take Bruce's route because it's faster/more direct.

[Louis]

Thanks guys. Right now I'm leaning toward taking the bus and letting the driver worry about the driving.