<p>If a person did not have a car and hardly any money to spend, are there any motels or B&Bs near Harvard that you would recommend? Ideally, it would be near a bus or train station and not too far from the campus and no absurd prices like 165,- for a single night.</p>
<p>Also, how are taxi fares in the US? From Boston airport to Harvard, any indication how expensive that might be?</p>
<p>You can save money by taking the T (the subway) from the airport to Harvard Square. That's a lot cheaper than a taxi. The Harvard Square stop is on the Red Line.</p>
<p>Cheers! That's helpful. :) If my luggage is not exceedingly heavy and cumbersome, I'll definitely do that.</p>
<p>There is a courtyard Marriot in Cambridge, which is probably the cheapest hotel nearest to Harvard. It is about a 20 minute walk to Harvard square.</p>
<p>And yes, take the silver line, you will save a lot of money</p>
<p>I just took a tax from Logan to Cambridge about 3 weeks ago (I was loaded down with luggage and had had a very long trip). The fare came to nearly $50 without tips. Using the T (silver line to South Station then Red Line to Harvard Square) should cost $1.75.</p>
<p>When my D and I visited the area last year we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Suites Cambridge and took the train all over the city to visit colleges. We got a free breakfast and a nice room. Definitely pack light and take the train. We also visited Tufts, MIT, BC and Olin in the Boston area riding on the train.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips! As an international student staying for a few months it might be challenging to pack light, though. Still, it does sound like I'd be saving a lot of dollars! :)</p>
<p>The Marriot and Holiday Inn are still quite costly, I think. When travelling in Europe I usually stay in hostels and such, and rarely pay more than $30 a night. I realise that Boston may be a very expensive area, but hopefully I can find something a little more affordable.</p>
<p>If you don't find anything cheap[url=<a href="http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/%7Ehshs/%5D.%5B/url">http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hshs/].[/url</a>]</p>
<p>For something in the ballpark of < $30 a night, you may have to look farther outside of Boston/Cambridge metro area.</p>
<p>If you are staying for a few months, you don't want to stay at a hotel. Look into sublets and bred & breakfasts. Depending on the time of the year, you may have some good deals.</p>
<p>$165 would be an exceptionally cheap rate in the area. Average motel-style rooms go in the 200s and a decent hotel room in the area would be >$300. In the $100 / night range might be the Cambridge Gateway Inn (211 Concord Turnpike, Cambridge, MA 02140, Phone: (617) 661-7800). No atmosphere whatsoever, but it's just a couple hundred yards walk from the Alewife Station which is the end of the red line on the T, three stops from Harvard. The Irving House (24 Irving St., Cambridge, MA, Phone: (617) 547-4600) is a personal favorite three blocks from Harvard Yard, but I think you'll find single-room rates a little higher there. And the Harvard Club of Boston (374 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215, Phone: (617) 536-1260), three miles by bus down Massachusetts Ave. from the campus, has some "transient rooms" (along the lines of large walk-in closets with beds) that share a bath. They rent these to parents of students for a little over $100 / night and might do the same for prospective students. Definitely take the T for $2.00 - Taxis are over $40 from Logan Airport, and the "Silver Line" bus which connects the airport to the subway has luggage racks for travelers. After paying $2 (or $1.70 with a "Charlie Card" to which you can keep adding value) to get on the bus, it's a free transfer to the red line of the T.</p>
<p>Go on priceline and you can find good hotel rooms near Harvard for < $150 a night.</p>
<p>If you didn't have a car (no problem in Boston) and virtually no money to spend (a problem in Boston), and $165 a night is absurd for you, your best choice is the American Youth Hostel. It's at HI</a> - Boston :: Hostels to Reserve in the United States . They have beds starting at $28/night and private rooms starting at $80/night. They are located at 12 Hemenway Street, which is just around the corner from both Fenway Park and the Berklee College of Music, and just a block away from Mass Ave (Massachusetts Avenue). Harvard University is four miles north on Mass Ave in Cambridge, but you're also two blocks away from the Green Line T stop (Auditorium station). The T is the subway in Boston. It works pretty well. You travel INBOUND from Auditorium to Park St. station, and take the Red Line from Park St. to Harvard Square. </p>
<p>You can stay at the Boston hostel for up to two weeks. You do have to purchase either a temporary membership ($3/night) or an annual membership ($28) to stay there. The details are on their website. When are you planning on visiting?</p>
<p>Google Boston YMCA.</p>
<p>No warrenty express or implied as to the quality of this advice. I have never stayed there.</p>
<p>Yeah, them too. the YMCA on Huntington Ave. is on the Green Line by Northeastern University. It's $35/night, double accommodations (as opposed to six bunks per room at the Boston Youth Hostel), and still a close enough ride to Harvard. Anywhere inside of Zone 1 (which includes both Boston and Cambridge) is only $1.70.</p>
<p>There's also the YMCA Berkeley St. Residence. Their single rooms are $50/ night, just about the cheapest you'll find in Boston or Cambridge, and it's a few blocks north to get to the Green line. That price includes "full breakfast," though what that includes I couldn't tell you. By way of comparison, the Boston Youth Hostel on Hemenway St. includes "Continental breakfast." Now if you're interested in visiting Harvard because you've been accepted and you want to see the place (or even if you're in the process of applying and want to see the place), why not just contact Harvard admissions? If you're in their system as a prospective student, they can arrange accommodation for you on campus.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. :) I will definitely look at the hostels. Not too concerned about quality as long as the bed is not infested with roaches and such.</p>
<p>I'm hoping to attend Harvard Summer School as an international student. I'm planning to arrive a day or so early to get over the unavoidable jetlag and would also like to stay in Boston for two more weeks after summer session ends, so I can see a little bit of the country and visit some family and friends living in New England and New York.</p>
<p>My mom got a sub-$100 rate at the Hyatt Regency in that area. I have no idea how.</p>
<p>If you're planning to be in the area for most of the summer, you might want to consider a sublease. Lots of students have 12 month leases on their apartments, but go away for the summer and they often look for someone else to take over their apartment for the summer. Try Craigslist.</p>
<p>When I took my son to look at colleges, we stayed at youth hostels, both in Boston and NYC. The HI-Boston location was not really close to any of the campuses we visited, but Boston-area public transportation is easy and inexpensive. If I remember correctly, the rate was $30 or $45 a night, per person (maybe it varies, depending on how many in the room). And we met some interesting people!</p>