Travel Information

The nearest airport to University of Massachusetts – Amherst is NOT Boston, but rather Hartford, CT (airport code: BDL), also known as Bradley and Windsor Locks. Hartford has nonstop flights to Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Washington, but not to Boston. There are also flights from LaGuardia Airport in New York, which is not an international airport (passengers arriving internationally will need to change airports). Travelers coming from outside of the United States may find travel to Boston Logan Airport (airport code: BOS), New York JFK International Airport (airport code: JFK), Newark International Airport (airport code: EWR) to be more accessible, although they are at a greater distance from campus.

Driving to Amherst:

Amherst is situated approximately 3.5 hours northeast of New York City and 1.5 hours west of Boston by car. The UMass Campus Center, Hotel UMass, and a paid covered parking garage are all located within the same building (campus map here). The parking garage is accessible from Commonwealth Avenue; to access the garage, visitors must turn right at the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Campus Center Way, next to the physical plant and across from the Mullins Center. There is an Enterprise Car Rental facility in the Amherst town center for travelers who wish to deposit any rental cars that they acquire when driving from airports of arrival.

Traveling to Amherst from Hartford:

Visitors can use Uber or other rideshare apps to reach campus. Typically, fares for Uber range from $60-$80 per ride. The ride takes approximately 1 hour. Conference guests wishing to use public transportation will need to use the local bus #24 (see instructions here) to travel from the airport to the Windsor Locks CTRail train station, then take the CTRail train to Springfield Union Station (schedules here) and connect to the Peter Pan Bus to the UMass Amherst Campus (schedules here; please select Amherst UMass as your destination).

Traveling to Amherst from Boston:

The only method of public transportation available from Boston Logan Airport to Amherst is Peter Pan Bus. Conference guests will need to travel from Boston Logan Airport to Springfield, and then connect to a bus traveling to Amherst (please select Amherst UMass as your destination). Ourbus also provides daily nonstop services from Boston city center to Amherst, but not to campus. For visitors traveling in groups, there are limousines for hire starting from $325 from Valley Transporter.

Traveling to Amherst from New York City:

There are bus and train options for travel to UMass Amherst from New York City. From the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, travelers can use Megabus for nonstop service to the town of Amherst (weekly frequencies available), or can use Peter Pan Bus to travel from New York to Springfield, and then connect to travel to the UMass Campus (please select Amherst UMass as your destination).

Amtrak also offers multiple daily frequencies from New York Penn Station to Springfield Union Station. For visitors wishing to travel exclusively by train, there are two daily frequencies between New York and Northampton, MA, the nearest Amtrak station, which require a transfer in New Haven, CT (Amtrak schedule here). Passengers who travel via train to Northampton will then need to use the B39 bus operated by PVTA (schedules here) from the Northampton Court House to the Haigis Mall stop on the UMass campus. A final option is for travelers to use Amtrak to reach Springfield Union Station and to connect to a Peter Pan bus from Springfield to Amherst. Valley Transporter also offers limousine transfers from Springfield Union Station to Amherst with fairs starting at $62 per person.