Help needed: 3 days w/kids in Boston

I need help prioritizing my itinerary for my trip to Boston w/ my 9 %26amp; 10 yr. old daughters. Do you think we can do all of these things in 3 days? If not, what should we elminate from (or add to) our trip? We arrive Friday afternoon and leave Tuesday morning. We%26#39;re from California and history/education experiences are important to us. Any hotel recommendations would be appreciated as well. Thanks!

Old Sturbridge Village

Plimoth Plantation %26amp; Mayflower

5 Wits (Tomb)

Museum of Science

New England Aquarium (Behind the Scences Tour)

Help needed: 3 days w/kids in Boston

The one glaring piece missing here is walking the Freedom Trail. Possible itinerary: Friday -- 5 WITS, Saturday -- walk some of Freedom Trail, New England Aquarium, Sunday -- Plimoth Plantation, Monday -- Museum of Science or Old Sturbridge Village. For Plymouth or Sturbridge you%26#39;ll need a car, so you may want to rethink that.

As for hotels, decide what your criteria are -- budget, accommodations, location and we can further direct. Check out the links on the left to get you started.

Help needed: 3 days w/kids in Boston

In addition to Mahj%26#39;s comments, you%26#39;ll need to plan on spending time in the Quincy Market and Waterfront Area and make an excursion to Harvard Square and Harvard Yard. Just so you know, being in the Downtown Area and walking the Freedom Trail is like being immersed in history.

AlanM

I believe your kids will love the Boston Duck Tours. They leave right outside the Museum of Science (and the Prudential Center). 5 Wits the Tomb can be missed IMO but the nice thing about that attraction is that it is open late. Both, the New England Aquarium and the Museum of Science, are busier on Saturdays and Sunday afternoons than on the weekdays. I think the Freedom Trail and the Swan Boats might be missing from your itinerary.

My kids loved the Duck Tour and Plimoth Plantation was excellent, a great day out. We also enjoyed going on a whale watching trip and I even dragged them to the Fine Arts Museum....well worth a visit.

Old Sturbridge and Plimoth require a ride and will take up the better part of a day each. They are similar types of ';living museums'; so, you might want to choose one or the other. The kids might identify better with the whole ';Pilgrim thing';, so Plimoth might be a better choice. Still, with only 3 days, you might want to spend all of them in Boston. There are plenty of things to keep you occupied, including as mentioned, the Duck Tour, Freedom Trail, and more. Outside of Boston, but closer than Plimoth or Sturbridge are Lexington and Concord, too.

I thought I should prioritize Old Sturbridge and Plimoth because that is unique to Boston (there aren%26#39;t many living history museums in California!) and I will have a car.

Also, my kids are Egypt nuts so I think they%26#39;d enjoy the Tomb experience (if it is not too scary).

We do have pretty good aquariums out here and we have parks, and rides, etc.

Is the freedom trail of interest to 9/10 yr olds?

And I%26#39;m not sure I understand the duck tour. Can you get on and off wherever you choose or is it a formal tour?

thanks!

The 5 wits tomb is a bit tacky and over priced but it is not scary unless your children are easily frighten by either the dark or the fog affects made from dry ice. You have to solve certain riddles and puzzles That said, my six year old loved it!

The Boston Duck Tour is a one time 80 minute tour. You go on an amphibious duck and tour Boston then it drives into the Charles River. Most tours pick a few of the kids to drive the Duck while you are in the Charles River. As I posted in the previous post, Plymouth and Sturbridge are a distance away from the city and you probably should just choice one due to your limited time in the Boston area.

http://www.bostonducktours.com/

One thing to consider is that Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) is a ride from Boston (I think 1.5 hours each way) where Plimoth is much closer. OSV is a fine place to visit however just be aware of the travel time (I know my niece/nephew of that same age aren%26#39;t into long car rides).

If your kids are Egyptian nuts, consider visiting the Museum of Fine Arts. They have one of the best Egyptian collections (outside of NY, London and Cairo museums). Highly recommend a visit. MFA is open at night Thursday and Friday until 9:45 PM. Youth prices age 7-17 is quite reasonable at $6.50 and after 3PM they can visit for free and on weekends free the whole day. So you%26#39;ll only have to pay for adult admission.

See www.mfa.org.

The favorite parts of the Freedom Trail for my kids are the graveyards, the costumed tour guides and eating at Quincy Market behind Faneuil Hall.

Our third graders go to Plimouth Plantation each year and really like it. Since it is closer to the city, I would recommend it. If they are in to Egypt, I agree the Museum of Fine Arts has a wonderful collection. Also, we have taken our fourth and fifth graders to various IMAX films at the Museum of Science (I remember one where you feel like you are going down the Nile River) so you may want to check what%26#39;s playing during your visit.