Hi, I am trying to plan a trip for my older parents. They will be leaving from PA and have five days to explore the New Englad area. They will be driving & returning to NC at the end of the trip. They have 5 days for the NE area. They enjoy historical sites, shopping, architecture and seafood.
Does anyone know of or have a trip that might loop the NE area in 5 days, hitting some highlights?
Thank You
5 Day New England Trip for Older Couple
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Just wondering why Delaware and Maryland are included on your tags?
5 days is very tight to include any of Maine. Personally, I would stop in Mystic, CT for a day and go to the Aquarium and walk around the Seaport. Then head to Newport, RI for a couple of days. Maybe head to Boston for a day or 2 after that but thats really all they will have time to do.
Oh, it just said I could click 5 things...don't think I paid much attention, apparently.
I don't know if it is important to include Maine or not. I will add Mystic, thanks.
I wish there was a guide to a drive with the routes and times going up one side hitting sites & down a different route...
As you will probably find out, there is no easy routes whichever way you want to go. Most of the charm of New England is that there is no quick way to drive it. CT is a small state but it can take a long time to get across due to traffic or stopping, etc.
Drive to Norwalk, CT on I95, exit to Route 7 North. Drive up 7 thru New Mlilford, Kent, up to Williamstown, MA, up into VT cut over to New Hamp. down to Boston from there to Newport RI to New London CT Ferry to Orient Point Long Island, back to NYC and down NJ Tpke 95 etc to NC. Just a suggestion.
I definitely think you can see some of "picturesque" New England in 5 days! Here's my trip report from last summer:
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/my-trip-report-cute-call-it-picturesque-new-england.cfm
There is a guide
http://www.amazon.com/Frommers-Great-Drives-England-Driving/dp/0470423382/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275887197&sr=8-1
Five days is just not long enough to "explore the New England area".
I agree with sf7307. Obviously you can't see it all, but in 5 days you can see enough to make a worthwhile trip. Do the five days include the travel time tofrom NE, or just in NE?
Here's a link to some suggested routes on Yankee magazine's website.
http://www.yankeefoliage.com/drives/
The choice also depends on which 5 days they are coming. If it's the first week of October, the best color will probably be in northern VT and NH. The second week more central. Pick one of the historic areas that will have color during their visit. Portsmouth NH/Strawbery Banke or Canterbury Shaker Village would be my choices for NH and they are only about an hour apart. A drive thru the White Mountains or Lakes region could be just a day trip and then head over to VT. I think doing a slow 5 day trip to enjoy some highlights would be better than trying to cram too many towns/states into 5 days.
And make lodging reservations NOW.
thank you for your suggestions. i will definitely use them all to make a plan for them. I'm going to use them to map-out their trip beforehand and find a B&B for each stop. It is not a lot of days, but hopefully they can see a lot in the 5 days. They are leaving in June, but being from the mountains of western north carolina, they get to see pretty fall colors there.
If they plan their trip to go on north I 81 to I 84 east and then north on rt 7 to VT and NH as sobster suggested, they will avoid the NY city/ I 95 crazy traffic. There are lots of options from there, depending on what you decide to see.
Five days is a short time so it might be wise to focus on just a portion of New England. I will suggest an itinerary that might be practical for them and stresses historic areas in a compact area to lessen driving time.
DAY 1. Suggest they head to Scranton, PA and head east on I-84 to I-691 to Rt-66 thru Middletown, CT. Then south on Rt-9. This avoids the heavy NY metro traffic. Then take I-95 east to Mystic, CT where they can visit ...
Mystic Seaport - an old time seaport with sailing ships. Then head east on US-1 to Rhode Island Rt-138 to ...
DAY 2. Newport, RI. Visit at least a couple of the "cottages" of the wealthy of the early 1900s. Be sure to visit the "Breakers", which is an outstanding mansion.
(If your parents are interested in WW2 ships there is the USS Massachusetts and other ships in nearby Fall River, MA. I will assume that they will have an opportunity to visit the USS North Carolina, in Wilmington,NC, when they get to North Carolina.)
DAY 3. Then depart Newport, RI on Rt-114 to Rt-24 to I-195 in Massachusetts. Go north on I-195 to US-44 east to Plymouth, MA. Then head south on Rt-3 to Plimoth Plantation. This is a re-creation of the colonist village. The docents make it come alive.
In the summer heat they may wish to avoid Boston.
DAY 4. North on Rt-3 to I-93 exit 14 then east JFK Library and Museum. Then return to I-93 and go west to I-95 south to I-495 north to the somewhat scenic Rt-2 west to Williamstown, MA. This is a plesant college town with the outstanding Clark Art gallery. Then south on scenic US-7.
DAY 5. South on US-7. In Pittsfield (time permitting) go west on Rt-20 to Hancock Shaker Village. Learn about this former religious sect and their industious community. Then south on US-7 to Stockbridge and Great Barrington-both are like New England of yesteryear. Stockbridge has the Norman Rockwell exhibits. Your parents may have been raised reading Saturday Evening Post and enjoying Rockwell's illustrations.
Then south on scenic US-7 to go past the small villages with village greens and even some covered bridges to I-84 and then to Scranton and south to NC.