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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)
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.