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Voykit pocket guide · United States
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth
Go for 2 nights on foot: Strawbery Banke, Market Square and the harbour fit one full day; add a beach or Kittery day if you have a car.
Portsmouth is a walkable colonial seaport on the Piscataqua river, 2 miles inland from the Atlantic, settled in 1623 and still the third-oldest city in the US. Downtown is small enough to cover on foot in a day; the wider Seacoast region — beaches, forts, the naval shipyard across the river in Maine — needs a car. Most travellers use it as a 2-night base between Boston and Portland.
- Country
- United States
- Local name
- Portsmouth
- Best months
- May–Oct
- Avoid
- Jan–Feb (cold, some sights closed)
- Stay
- 2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- USD
- Money
- Currency is the US dollar (USD, $). Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere; carry a little cash for tips and small vendors.
- Daily spend
- Budget $90–140 excl. bed · Mid $150–250 excl. bed · High $280+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile cover the country; prepaid SIMs at their stores and Walmart/Target (passport required), or an eSIM before you fly.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 911
- Plugs
- Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · Chargers are dual-voltage; hair dryers and straighteners from 230 V countries need a converter.
- Tipping
- Sit-down restaurant: 18–22% of the pre-tax bill.; Bar: US$1–2 per drink or 20% of the tab.; Taxi / ride-hailing: 15–20%, in the app.; Hotel housekeeping: US$3–5 a night.; Porter / valet: US$2–5 per bag or car.; Tour guide: US$10–20 per person for a day tour.; Counter service / tablet prompts: Optional; 0–15%.
- Water
- Tap water is drinkable nearly everywhere; boil or treat water from streams in parks.
- Toilets
- Free public toilets are scarce in big cities; use cafés, department stores, libraries, stations. Rest areas on highways are free.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | $3–6 |
| Lunch main (chowder, sandwich) | $12–20 |
| Dinner main, mid-range seafood restaurant | $22–38 |
| Draught beer in a brewpub | $7–10 |
| Strawbery Banke adult admission | about $25 |
| USS Albacore adult admission | about $5 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- PSM · Portsmouth International Airport at Pease
- Small local field, limited routes; check current service.
- MHT · Manchester-Boston Regional
- About 1 h by car.
- PWM · Portland International Jetport
- About 1 h by car.
- BOS · Boston Logan International
- About 1 h by car in good traffic; about 1.5 h by train plus bus.
Typical fares
- C&J bus Boston → Portsmouth
- about $30 one way, about 1 h 15 min (check)
- Taxi Transportation Center → downtown
- $15–20
- COAST summer trolley
- free (check season)
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
Downtown is compact and best on foot; the Portsmouth Harbor Trail links the main historic points. COAST runs a free summer–fall trolley and local bus routes to Dover and Rochester. A car helps for beaches, forts and Kittery; I-95 gets congested on summer afternoons.
See and do
Known for
- Strawbery Banke living-history museum
- Market Square and the harbour
- Prescott Park Arts Festival
- Craft breweries (Portsmouth Brewery, Smuttynose)
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Kittery, Maine (outlets and shipyard views) | Drive over the Memorial Bridge, 5–10 min | About 15 min |
| Hampton Beach | Drive south on Route 1A, about 20 min | About 30 min |
| Isles of Shoals by boat | Thomas Laighton cruises from Market St | About 45 min to the islands |
| Boston | C&J bus from the Transportation Center, or Amtrak Downeaster via Dover | 1.5–2 h |
Sleep
- Downtown / Market Square
- Walk to Strawbery Banke, Prescott Park and the waterfront; book early in summer and fall.
- Portsmouth Transportation Center area (Grafton Rd)
- Cheaper chain hotels by I-95; 3 miles from downtown, no easy walk — taxi about $15–20.
- Across the river in Kittery, Maine
- Often cheaper rooms, 5–10 min drive to downtown Portsmouth.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Where is Market Square? | Where is Market Square? |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card? |
| Is this walkable? | Is this walkable? |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and 'hi, how are you?' — reply 'good, thanks'; avoid: Treating the question as a real health enquiry
- Restaurants: Tip 18–22% and wait for the check; avoid: Leaving without tipping
- Personal space: Keep an arm's length in queues; avoid: Standing close to strangers
- Politics and religion: Listen more than you speak; avoid: Opening with hot-button topics
- Smoking: Smoke only in marked areas; avoid: Smoking near doors or in parks where banned
Scams and watch-outs
- The bus station is 3 miles from downtown with no signed walking route and no Sunday buses — arrange a taxi.
- Summer beach traffic and I-95 congestion peak in the early afternoon.
- Some historic houses and museums close outside May–October: check dates before you go.
- Sales tax is added at the till; restaurant tipping is expected at 18–22%.
A low-crime, walkable downtown; the main risks are winter ice on brick pavements, summer beach crowds and late-night drinking on the waterfront. Standard US city precautions apply.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Portsmouth, New Hampshire yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Strawbery Banke living-history museum
- Market Square and the harbour
- Prescott Park Arts Festival
- Craft breweries (Portsmouth Brewery, Smuttynose)
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- City of Portsmouth official site: www.cityofportsmouth.com/
- Strawbery Banke Museum: www.strawberybanke.org/
- COAST bus: www.coastbus.org/
- C&J bus lines: www.ridecj.com/
- Amtrak Downeaster: www.amtrakdowneaster.com/
- Wikivoyage: Portsmouth (New Hampshire), revision 5300492 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5300492
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Portsmouth, New HampshirePortsmouth
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
- Police, fire, ambulance911
No embassies in Portsmouth; nearest consulates-general are in Boston.
US tipping: 18–22% at sit-down restaurants, $1–2 a drink.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/portsmouth-new-hampshire). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.