The main airport in the area is Boston Logan Airport (BOS), in East Boston. The closest airport to Brown is T.F. Green Airport (PVD), south of Providence, RI; it is served by Southwest, as well as other airlines. Amtrak's trains from New York City and Albany terminate at South Station and stop at Back Bay station 5 minutes earlier. South Station is more convenient for Brown if continuing by bus (see here), Harvard (main, business, divinity, government, law), MIT, Tufts (main), and UMass Boston. Back Bay station is more convenient for BC, Berklee, Brandeis, Brown if continuing by train (see here), BU, Emmanuel, Harvard (medical, public health), LMA, NEC, Northeastern, Simmons, Tufts (medical), and Wellesley. All intercity buses, with the exception of MegaBus arrive at the South Station terminal; MegaBus drops off behind Back Bay station.

Travel to the immediate Boston area locations (all below, except for Brandeis, Brown, and Wellesley) by public transportation costs $2 (extra $1.50 to BU (medical) without CharlieCard) and should take under 1 hour, a bit longer late at night and a bit less at peak hour. A taxi ride to these locations is likely to cost $30-50 and take 30-60 minutes, depending on the exact destination and the time of the day (slower during peak hour, faster late at night).

For Brown, Harvard (main, business, divinity, government, law), MIT, Tufts (main), UMass Boston, and Wellesley, take MBTA's Silver Line bus from your terminal (lower level) to its end at South Station. The ride takes about 20 minutes and costs $2 if paid on board with cash (no change given).

• Brown: exit up the stairs to South Station, following signs for Commuter Rail and Bus Terminal. Take either MBTA's Commuter Rail Providence train (65-75mins, $7.75), Amtrak's Regional train ($12, 40-50mins) or Acela ($30-35, 35mins), or Peter Pan or Greyhound bus (60-70mins, $7-15) to downtown Providence. In all cases, tickets need to be purchased before boarding.
• MIT, Harvard (main, business, divinity, government, law), Tufts (main): go down to the Red Line inbound platform (direction: Alewife). Get off the train at Kendall/MIT, Harvard, or Davis Square, respectively. The Central Square station is the closest to some MIT dorms.
• UMass Boston: go down to the Red Line outbound platform (direction: Ashmont or Braintree). Get off the train at JFK/UMass.
• Wellesley: exit up the stairs to South Station, following signs for Commuter Rail and Bus Terminal. Take MBTA's Commuter Rail Framingham/Worcester train to Wellesley Square (35-40mins, $5.25); some Worcester trains do not stop at Wellesley Square. Buy your ticket before boarding.

For BC, Berklee, Brandeis, BU (main), Emmanuel, Harvard (medical, public health), LMA, NEC, Northeastern, and Simmons, take a blue-and-white MassPort shuttle bus #22, 33, or 55 to the MBTA's Blue Line subway station from your terminal (lower level). Purchase a $2 CharlieTicket from a ticket machine (or ask the station attendant for a CharlieCard, which provides discounts of about 15% on MBTA, but requires a starting balance of $5+); CC's accepted. Cross to the other side of the tracks and take Blue Line inbound to Government Center. Go up one level; you'll be taking a Green Line train.

• BC, BU (main): take a westbound B train (direction: Boston College). For BU, get off between Kenmore Square and Packard's Corner, depending on your exact destination (these stops are about 1.5 miles apart; there are several stops between them). For BC, get off at Boston College, the last stop. The westbound C and D trains also serve Kenmore Square, but not the rest of the BU stops.
• Berklee: Take a westbound B, C, or D train (direction: Boston College, Cleveland Circle, or Riverside) to Hynes Convention Center.
• Harvard (medical, public health), LMA: take a westbound D or E train (direction: Riverside or Heath Street) to Longwood and follow the crowd. The E line stop is closer to the main quad of Harvard Medical School and especially the School of Public Health; the D line stop is closer to most hospitals and Emmanuel College.
• Emmanuel: take a westbound D train (direction: Riverside) to Fenway or Longwood.
• Simmons: take a westbound E train (direction: Heath St.) to Museum of Fine Arts or D train (direction: Riverside) to Fenway.
• NEC/Northeastern: Take a westbound E train (direction: Heath Street) to Symphony for NEC and Northeastern for Northeastern.
• Brandeis: Take any eastbound train (direction: Lechmere) to North Station; exit following the signs for Commuter Rail. Take MBTA's Commuter Rail Fitchburg train to Brandeis/Roberts (25-30mins, $4.75); some Fitchburg trains do not stop at Brandeis/Roberts. Buy your ticket before boarding.

For Tufts (medical), follow the above directions to the MBTA's Blue Line inbound platform, but get off the Blue Line train at State Station. Transfer to the Orange Line southbound (direction: Forest Hill) and get off at New England Medical Center.

There are several ways of getting to BU Medical Center, all of which involve taking a city bus. One possibility is to follow the directions to Berklee above. After exiting from the subway, cross Massachusetts Avenue and take MBTA's bus #1 (direction: Dudley Square), exiting at Albany Street in Boston, or CT1 (direction: BU Medical Center). These buses run every 10 minutes or so and the ride should take less than 10 minutes.

For Brown, take RIPTA's bus #14 or 20 (20-30mins, $1.75) to Kennedy Plaza in downtown Providence. For all other Boston area universities below, you can either take

• a Peter Pan bus to South Station Bus Terminal in Boston directly from the airport (1 hr 40 mins, $22, infrequent), or
• MBTA's Commuter Rail train (65-75mins, $7.75), Amtrak's Regional train ($12, 40-50mins) or Acela ($30-35, 35mins), or Peter Pan or Greyhound bus (60-70mins, $7-15) from downtown Providence to Boston's South Station (or Back Bay station). The travel times and costs listed are from downtown Providence. In all cases, buy your ticket before boarding.

A rail station at T.F. Green airport is scheduled to open in late 2010; the MBTA's Commuter Rail will then provide direct service to Boston's South Station via downtown Providence.

Travel to the immediate Boston area locations (all below, except for Brandeis, Brown, and Wellesley) should take 15-25 minutes (30-40 mins to BC) and costs $2 (extra $1.50 to BU (medical) without CharlieCard). A taxi ride to these locations may not be much faster during rush hour and is likely to cost $10-30.

• Brown and Wellesley: follow the corresponding directions from South Station.
• Harvard (main, business, divinity, government, law), MIT, Tufts (main), and UMass Boston: follow the signs for Red Line subway and then the directions from South Station above.
• BC, Berklee, BU (main), Emmanuel, Harvard (medical, public health), LMA, NEC, Northeastern, and Simmons: follow the signs for Red Line subway, take an inbound train (direction: Alewife) to Park Station (2nd stop), go up one level to westbound Green Line, and follow the corresponding directions above.
• Brandeis: follow the signs for Red Line subway, take an inbound train (direction: Alewife) to Park Station (2nd stop), go up one level to eastbound Green Line, and follow the directions above.
• Tufts (medical): follow the signs for Red Line subway, take an inbound train (direction: Alewife) to Downtown Crossing (1st stop), switch to the Orange Line southbound (direction: Forest Hills), and exit at New England Medical Center. The distance is only 2/3 of a mile and is easily walkable in daytime: just follow Essex St. to Washington St. and turn left.
• BU (medical): there is no convenient way of getting there by public transportation given that the distance is less than 2 miles. One possibility is to follow the signs for Red Line subway. Take an inbound train (direction: Alewife) to Park Station (2nd stop), exit from the subway to Boylston St, follow it for one block to the right to Temple St, and then go up Temple St to a Silver Line bus stop. Take this bus to somewhere between Newton St. and Massachusetts Ave., depening on your exact distance, which will still be a block or two away to the left. These buses run every 10 minutes or so and the ride should take less than 10 minutes.

Travel to the immediate Boston area locations (all below, except for Brandeis, Brown, and Wellesley) should take 10-25 minutes (30-40 mins to BC) and costs $2 ($1.50 to BU Medical). A taxi ride to these locations may not be much faster during rush hour and is likely to cost $10-30.

• Brown: Take either MBTA's Commuter Rail Providence train (60-70mins, $7.75) or Amtrak's Regional train ($12, 35-45mins) or Acela ($30-35, 30mins) to downtown Providence. The tickets need to be purchased before boarding.
• Wellesley: Take MBTA's Commuter Rail Framingham/Worcester train to Wellesley Square (30-35mins, $5.25); some Worcester trains do not stop at Wellesley Square. Buy your ticket before boarding.
• Tufts (medical): take the Orange Line subway inbound (direction: Oak Grove) and exit at New England Medical Center (1st stop). The distance is about 2/3 of a mile and is quite walkable during the day: from the back exit of Back Bay station, turn right on Claredon St., then left on Chandler St, and finally left on Tremont St.
• Brandeis: take the Orange Line subway inbound (direction: Oak Grove), exit at North Station, and follow the above directions from North Station.
• Harvard (main, business, divinity, government, law), MIT, Tufts (main): take the Orange Line subway inbound (direction: Oak Grove), exit at Downtown Crossing, and transfer to the Red Line northbound (direction: Alewife). Get off the train at Kendall/MIT, Harvard, or Davis Square, respectively. The Central Square station is the closest to some MIT dorms.
• UMass Boston: take the Orange Line subway inbound (direction: Oak Grove), exit at Downtown Crossing, and transfer to the Red Line southbound (direction: Ashmont or Braintree); exit at JFK/UMass.
• BC, Berklee, Brandeis, BU (main), Emmanuel, Harvard (medical, public health), LMA, NEC, Northeastern, and Simmons: exit through the main entrance of Back Bay station and follow Dartmouth St. for 2.5 blocks to the right to the Green Line outbound Copley Square subway stop, across Boylston St. from Boston Public Library; then follow the corresponding Green Line directions above. The distance to NEC and Northeastern is less than a mile and is easily walkable during daytime: from Dartmouth, take first left on Stuart and continue left on Huntigton. So is the distance to Berklee: from the Copley Square subway stop, follow Boylston St. to the left to Massachusetts Ave.
• BU (medical): exit the station through the main entrance, cross Dartmouth St, and take MBTA's bus #10 to Albany St.. While the ride should take less than 10 minutes, these buses run only every 20-40 minutes. The distance is about 1 mile and is easily walkable during daytime: when exiting the station, turn left on Dartmouth, continuing straight onto W. Dedham St.; turn right on Washington St., and then left on E. Brookline St..