Salem, Plymouth and Cape Cod Before or After a Boston Cruise: Which Need a Car?

Salem is Zone 3 on the commuter rail, $8 one way and about 33 minutes from North Station; the station garage is $5 on weekdays and $2 on weekends.

Against a $50 garage, that train fare is the decision, not the drive.

Salem’s guide also says to come on a weekday if you can — a weekend is the crowd you’re being steered away from.

Driving to the train instead? The Salem station garage has 698 spaces at $5 on weekdays and $2 on weekends, per the MBTA — a fraction of the Museum Place ceiling.

Outside October that $50 ceiling may not apply — we didn’t read a garage rate for the rest of the year. Price both and take the cheaper one.

At the museum itself, seniors pay $23 and students $15 against the $25 adult price.

Read the middle column before the first.

Salem and Provincetown have a published way in without a car — with fares you can actually price.

Plymouth has a train that stops one town short, at Kingston, and we found no published link from there to the Rock or the museum.

Concord and Lincoln are close, about 17 to 21 miles out — but we found no transit route on the pages we read, which makes them car trips by default.

At $50 a day and a $50 garage, two of you spend about $170 on the car day, admission included. The train and two museum tickets come to $82.

Four people narrow it to about $220 by car against $164 by rail — the train still comes out ahead at these assumptions.

Bring the garage down to a weekday price and the gap shrinks. We didn’t read one, so type yours.

Provincetown is the one trip where the boat costs more and still makes sense for many people.

The drive is about 116 miles each way by our estimate — close to three hours with nothing in the way. The ferry does it in 90 minutes, from 200 Seaport Boulevard near the cruiseport.

For two adults the ferry costs about $177 more than the car, by our sums. What you buy with it is roughly two and a half hours back, and no Cape traffic.

After Oct 18 the choice goes away, since the ferry’s season ends. The car is then the only way on the pages we read, unless the Plymouth & Brockton bus fits — we couldn’t read its fare.

Stopping along the Cape on the way changes the answer. That’s a car day, not a ferry day — and the National Seashore beaches charge $25 a car a day in season, or $60 for the season.

Plimoth Patuxet Museums are open every day 9 to 5 through the Sunday after Thanksgiving; adults $35, children $20, the Heritage Pass $46 and Mayflower II $19.

The train stops one town short, at Kingston. The MBTA’s Kingston line costs $12.25 and takes about an hour from South Station, and Plymouth station isn’t on its current stop list.

Plymouth Rock, at 79 Water Street, is open sunrise to sunset with no admission listed; two-hour parking is $1.25 an hour, 9 to 7, April through November.

Two of you, a $50 car and two Plimoth Patuxet tickets come to about $148 by our arithmetic — fuel for about 86 miles included. Seventy dollars of that is admission.

Seniors pay $31.50 for Plimoth Patuxet alone. The Heritage Pass is $46 and Mayflower II alone is $19 — check which sites each one covers before you buy.

Minute Man National Historical Park charges no fee; its grounds are open sunrise to sunset, and the North Bridge visitor center is at 174 Liberty Street, Concord.

The Lincoln visitor center is about 17 miles from the cruiseport by our estimate, and the Old North Bridge about 21.

Nothing here charges admission, so the rental and the fuel are the whole cost of the day.

We didn’t find a transit route on the pages we read — not a claim that none exists, just one we can’t price. If you’d rather not drive, ask about a tour before you book a car for a free park.

Settle the trips that don’t need a car first — then rent only for what’s left.

If Salem and Provincetown are the whole plan, you may not need it at all.

If Plymouth or Concord is on the list, book a Seaport pick-up for that day only, not the whole stay — and pick a desk still open when you’re back, since several close at 2 or 4 on weekends (the hub’s checker).