Planning a trip to Portsmouth, NH

Portsmouth is on exits 3 through 7 on I-95. The most direct route to downtown is via Market Street (exit 7), the last New Hampshire exit just before the bridge into Maine. From Boston’s Logan Airport, Portsmouth is about a 1-hour drive via I-95; from Portland Jetport or Manchester airport, the trip is an hour at most.

Getting to Portsmouth by bus

Greyhound (tel. 800/231-2222) and C&J (tel. 603/430-1100) each run several buses daily from Boston’s South Station directly to Portsmouth (trip time: 1 1/4 hr.); C&J has about three times as many departures, and also runs from Boston’s Logan Airport. Greyhound is probably the better choice, because it drops you off right in Market Square, while C&J calls at a modern but distant bus station about 5 miles south of the city. (A bus shuttles between the station and the city about once an hour—though no shuttle on Sunday. Otherwise, you’ll need to call a taxi or have a rental car outfit pick you up.) A Greyhound ticket from South Station costs $15-$17 each way depending on the level of service. The same trip is $21 one-way on C&J. From New York City, a one-way Greyhound ticket to Portsmouth costs about $80 (trip time: 7 1/2 hr.); C&J’s fare is $96 (trip time: 5 hr.).

Getting to Portsmouth by Train

It’s also possible to get here by train—sort of. Amtrak (tel. 800/872-7245) runs five trains daily from Boston’s North Station to downtown Dover, New Hampshire, about 12 miles from Portsmouth; a one-way ticket is $23 to $31 per person, and the trip takes about 90 minutes. You can then take a no. 2 COAST bus (tel. 603/743-5777) from Dover station to the center of downtown Portsmouth, a 45-minute trip that costs $2. This bus runs frequently on weekdays and eight times a day on Saturday, and does not run on Sunday.

Visitor Information

The Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth, 500 Market St. (tel. 603/610-5510), has an info center on outer Market Street as you approach the downtown off I-95’s exit 7. From Memorial Day through Columbus Day, it’s open Tuesday through Friday 10am to 4pm. The rest of the year it’s usually open Wednesday to Friday only, from 10am to 4pm. During the summer, a second staffed booth opens in Market Square—look for the hut right in front of the Breaking New Grounds coffee shop. It’s open every day from 10am to 5pm.

Getting Around

Most of Portsmouth can be easily reconnoitered on foot, so you only need to park once. But mind the rules and signs; parking can be tight in and around the historic district in summer, and officers will ticket. The city’s municipal parking garage nearly always has space and costs $3 per hour; it’s on Hanover Street, between Market and Fleet streets. Most metered spaces are $2 per hour; some are just $1.50 per hour, and the price goes up for either after the first 3 hours. The Strawbery Banke Museum also provides limited parking for visitors.