Practical Information for visiting Boston

The city runs its own free wi-fi. Wicked Free Wi-Fi is Boston's free public network, owned and operated by the City of Boston's Department of Innovation and Technology. The network name to look for is WickedFreeWiFi.

Coverage is neighbourhood-based rather than city-wide, and the city has been expanding it — connecting Boston's 20 neighbourhood Main Street programs, an estimated 130 access points, with work targeted at Nubian Square, Mattapan Square, Egleston Square, Maverick Square and Malcolm X Park.

Do not plan around it. It is a public amenity in specific places, not a substitute for a data plan. Cafés, the Boston Public Library and the universities are the practical fallbacks in the centre.

Mobile coverage in the core is good, as it is in any major American city. The gaps a visitor actually meets are underground on the older subway sections rather than at street level.

Boston is a safe city to visit by the measures that matter to a visitor, and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office puts the national picture plainly: "Violent crime and gun crime rarely affect tourists, but take care in unfamiliar areas."

The advice that actually applies is about where and when, not what. The FCDO's guidance is to "try not to walk through quieter areas alone, especially at night" — which in Boston means the emptier stretches between neighbourhoods after the bars close rather than any particular district.

On mass shootings, the FCDO's framing is worth quoting rather than paraphrasing: "Mass shooting incidents can happen but are a very small percentage of murders." It is a real feature of the country and a very unlikely feature of your trip.

The practical risks are ordinary city ones. Opportunistic theft in crowds — Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, the Common, Fenway on a game night — and things left visible in parked cars.

In a life-threatening emergency, call 911.

The health risk in Boston is financial. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office states it without qualification: "Medical treatment is expensive and there are no special arrangements for British visitors." Its advice is to "make sure you have adequate travel health insurance and accessible funds to cover the cost of any medical treatment abroad and repatriation." This is the single most important thing to arrange before flying.

Bring your medication, and the paperwork. "UK prescriptions are not valid in the US. To get pharmacy drugs, you need a prescription from a US provider." Some medicines that are ordinary at home are restricted here, so check before travelling rather than at the border.

Vaccinations are worth checking early — the FCDO advises checking recommendations at least eight weeks before travel.

The city's own hazards are seasonal and mild. Summer humidity and stretches above 90°F; winter cold, ice and heavy snow, which in a city of brick pavements and uneven kerbs is mostly a falling risk.

For an ambulance, dial 911.

911 — police, fire and ambulance. The UK FCDO's instruction is direct: "If there is a life threatening emergency, call 911", and for medical help, "dial 911 and ask for an ambulance."

Boston has an unusual concentration of major hospitals, several of them teaching hospitals attached to the city's medical schools. Emergency care is excellent and expensive; see Health Considerations on insurance before you need it.

Carry proof of insurance, not just a policy number. Treatment is charged to you, not to a national system, and there are no reciprocal arrangements for British visitors.

For a lost passport, contact your own country's consulate. Boston hosts consular representation for a number of countries, being a major port and university city.