IN A MOMENT of insanity, my husband, Weller, and I considered driving from Philadelphia to Boston, a grueling eight- to nine-hour road trip, before coming to our senses and buying train tickets instead for our recent three-day getaway.

That decision turned what easily could have been a marathon of interminable backseat fighting between two 8-year-olds - my granddaughter, Kendi, and a friend.

We traveled comfortably, stocked with books, enough food to feed a family of 10 and the very thing we'd always sworn we wouldn't allow on family vacations, a satchel full of electronic games. Reading a week-old Sunday newspaper, Weller and I smiled conspiratorially as the train sped along.

We stayed at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, an AAA four-diamond property on the Cambridge side of the Charles River. Each morning bikers, walkers and joggers traveled along the riverfront trail at the back of the hotel.

Royal Sonesta summers are punctuated with bicycle rides, ice cream and daily shuttle service to sites in Cambridge and Boston - all for free. It's an easy walk to the Boston subway's Green line, the Museum of Science and the popular Duck Tours. The Cambridge Side Galleria mall is across the street.

ArtBar, the hotel's casual restaurant, serves a wide selection of seafood, including mussels deliciously prepared in a light, buttery broth that had us dipping bread to sop up the juices. Children can eat free if reservations are made via the hotel's Web site.

The Go Boston Card, which starts at $37.99 for ages 3-12 for a one-day pass and $54.99 for adults, allows for a savings of up to 55 percent compared to buying individual tickets to more than 70 attractions in Boston, Cape Cod and surrounding areas.

The Boston CityPass, good for nine days, can be purchase at $44 for adults, $28 for ages 3-11. It includes admission to the Museum of Science, New England Aquarium, Skywalk Observatory, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and a choice of the Harvard Museum of Natural History or John F. Kennedy Library and Museum.

Go online and buy in advance; additional savings are sometimes offered. Here's a suggested itinerary for a family trip with children:

Friday

 

Long Wharf on the bustling waterfront is where you buy tickets for excursions that include whale watching, lunch and dinner cruises aboard various vessels, among them ships like those that plied Boston Harbor in the 1700s.

Our kids enjoyed the just-long-enough, 90-minute tour aboard the Lady Liberty, where characters in period dress coached everyone through a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party that ended with kids throwing tea overboard.

After the sail, you might want to grab lunch before heading into the New England Aquarium, which can be wall-to-wall kids and parents even on a sunny day. The aquarium cafe serves sandwiches, chicken nuggets and pizza. But if the weather's good, pack your own lunch and enjoy it at the Christopher Columbus Park, about two blocks away.

That evening we saw the Boston Pops. Symphony Hall on Massachusetts Avenue was set up as a cabaret, and as the orchestra played the music of Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington, dancing couples dipped and swung to the lively beat. We took the kids, though Kendi thought "Boston Pops" meant we were going "to see two or three old guys playing instruments."

Saturday

 

Our day began with a visit to the Haymarket, an open-air farmers market right downtown that operates on Friday and Sunday with low prices you'll never find in a supermarket.

The girls held their noses as we walked past some overripe fruit, but with strawberries a buck a basket and cherries at $2 a pound, "you gotta take the good with the bad," we overhead a vendor telling a picky customer.

Grab an outdoor table for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe across the street from Haymarket. It's a good perch to people-watch and enjoy strolling performers such as mimes and stilt walkers.

Of the many tours available, we opted for the quirky Boston Duck Tour, where our "con-duck-tor" highlighted the sites and sounds of Boston while we "quacked" on command. The girls had much fun listening to his Boston accent and spent the rest of the day saying "Boston Hah-bor" and "Charles Ri-vah."

They squealed when the amphibious vehicle transformed from a land to a water vehicle and splashed into the river.

We dined that night on authentic cuisine of Italy's Amalfi Coast at the Trattoria Il Panino, just off of Hanover Street in the heart the Italian restaurant district. Sitting on the outdoor patio, we feasted on shrimp in garlic sauce splashed with limoncello liquor, seasoned lamb scottadito and lobster stuffed with crab meat.

Sunday

 

After two full days of touring, ease into the morning with breakfast in bed - or, if you're staying at the Sonesta, as we were, grab a quick bite at one of the fast-food restaurants in the mall across the street.

Because it was a rainy day, we stayed around the hotel, but a visiting family might spend the afternoon on the Freedom Trail, a self-guided or audio tour of 16 sites of the American Revolution, a hop-on hop-off trolley tour, a Black Heritage Trail self-guided tour or a ride in the Swan Boats around the lagoon in the Boston Public Garden.

Dinner that evening was at the Union Oyster House. We sat in John F. Kennedy's favorite booth, where he often dined alone while reading the Sunday newspapers. Established in 1826, Union Oyster House claims to be the oldest restaurant in continuous service in the country.

If it swims, it's on Union's menu: exceptional prepared lobster with sherry wine and drawn butter, fresh calamari, seared haddock and, of course, "chowda." (We were all talking like that by now!)

Our trip was just 72 hours, though a longer stay would have allowed time to take in the free concerts around the city, tour the Harvard campus, or take a drive to the historic towns of Lexington and Concord.

At least we didn't have to drive home. *

P.J. Thomas is editor and co-publisher of Pathfinders Travel Magazine for People of Color, a nationally distributed publication founded in 1997, and co-host of "Travel with Pathfinders" on WPGC-AM in Washington, D.C. Contact her at

pjthomas@pathfinderstravel.com.