EnglandvsGhana

A Boston Local's Pro Tips

Insider tips for your matchday in Boston — pulled from our full Boston travel guide.

• Buy your Boston Stadium Train ticket the second it’s available. Only 14 trains, $80, limited. This will sell out. Everything else about your trip is secondary.
• Skip Cheers, go to Bukowski Tavern or Delux Cafe. The actual Cheers bar on Beacon Hill is a tourist trap. The dive bars in Back Bay have more soul and cheaper drinks.
• North End after 10 PM = locals only. Restaurants turn tables from 9–10, then the neighborhood goes quiet. Late dinner in Boston is a Seaport or South End thing, not a North End thing.
• Don’t drive anywhere on Game Day from Friday–Sunday. Even non-stadium-related. The city is full of Fenway baseball crowds, marathon weekend leftovers, whatever.
• CharlieCard vs CharlieTicket. Get a CharlieCard at any station with a staffed booth — it’s $0.50 cheaper per ride than the paper CharlieTicket and refillable.
• Jaywalk freely. Boston drivers expect it. Stopping awkwardly at a red crosswalk signal when the street is empty marks you instantly as a tourist.
• Skip Union Oyster House. Oldest restaurant in America, sure, but the food is mediocre and priced for tourists. Go to Neptune Oyster instead.
• Bring layers for night matches. The 9 PM Haiti-Scotland match on June 13 will drop to mid-60s by full-time. Don’t show up in shorts and a tee and freeze.
• The free Silver Line from Logan is a cheat code. Free! $35 rideshare avoided. 15 minutes to South Station. Every first-time visitor misses this.