myomy

My husband and I would like to take this trip in Sept or Oct for our 45th anniv. Fly to Washington, staying a few days and renting a car going up the East Coast sightseeing
to Maine and circling back and staying in NYC a few days and flying home from there. Would appreciate any help on B&B's, hotels, quaint areas to visit in the New England states. $250 or less range in accomodations. Thanks!!

elberko

How much time will you have for this trip?

We drive from the Philadelphia area up to Maine on occasion, and I don't think much of the way is scenic or even pleasant driving...not to say there AREN'T great things to see! It possibly might not be what you are picturing, though.

~Liz

myomy

Probably take 10 days. I was hoping to hear that there are quaint towns and good sightseeing. We've been to Bar Harbor, Prince Edward, etc. on a cruise.

elberko

I think that's just too much mileage for a 10-day trip. Google puts it at 1200 miles.

~Liz

dfrostnh

Firstly, the first two weeks of October are prime foliage season in the northeast so expect crowded roads and no vacancy signs in some areas. If you were planning to drive everyday then I suppose it doesn't matter if you start in DC but we've always considered the I95 route MD thru NJ, NY and CT to be mostly a congested nightmare to get thru. We have mostly driven the route to get to a final destination without stopping along the way. We drove to NYC the 3rd weekend in Sept last year from NH and that was enough interstate for us. We have friends who live in lovely areas of CT but I'd just as soon not vacation there. Which is why since we live in NH, Maine and VT are our two favorite summer vacation places. With 10 days I would suggest 2 or 3 base 'camps' and explore from there. In Maine we prefer the mid-coast area, esp Wiscasset since you can easily drive north to Camden and Rockland and south to Bath and Brunswick. Keep in mind the popular lobster shacks will probably be open weekends only after Labor Day (these are the no insulation, by the water, picnic table kind of places). In VT we have enjoyed staying in the Burlington area and then moving to the Brandon area stopping for the day in between at Shelburne Museum. With 10 days, I would fly into Boston (take one of Michele Topor's culinary tours, visit JFK Museum, etc) for two or three nights, then head north stopping in Portsmouth NH for the day and then on to Maine.
Plan a day on the road for getting from Maine thru NH to VT. Take the route from Portland ME to the Conway NH area mid-week, take the Kancamagus Hwy then north on rt93 to the Littleton area then over to VT. From VT take I91 south to CT thru western MA and on to NYC.
I'll let someone else suggest lodgings since this close to home we usually camp. If you choose any time during the first 2 weeks of Oct I would get reservations now and buy a detailed road map of the area so you can avoid major highways as much as possible. We usually time our trips to visit a place or event that appeals to us. As a gardener for late Sept I would choose the Common Ground Fair in ME or the Fryeburg Fair. DH likes events that include antique tractors and trucks (see Owls Head Museum in Rockland ME). We have searched out unusual plant nurseries, gone on garden tours, and attended Old Time Farming Days and antique steam power events. For your time of year I would visit some apple orchards that specialize in heirloom apple varieties, some wineries and relieve the driver with a boat trip or two (i.e. Lake Winnipesaukee, Portsmouth NH harbor cruisse, or even the ferry from Burlington across Lake Champlain).

TDudette

Cape May NJ is nice if you like victorian architecture and the beach.

Or go west and you could see Falling Water and Kentuck Knob homes of Frank Lloyd Wright nearer PIttsburgh.

Pennsylvania Dutch country could be interesting also. Check on a B&B with cooking school in PA also if that is "up your alley".

In Wilmington DE area, several amazing duPont homes-easily worth a couple of days.

What are your interests?

Vttraveler

I agree with others the drive from DC through CT isn't very pleasant. you could consider flying to either Boston or Hartford, or taking an Amtrak train north, then renting a car.

I agree with dfrostnh that one possible route would be up I-91 into western MA and/or Vermont, then east to the coast or vice versa. For foliage, peak in north central Vermont is usually the first week in October; farther south the trees turn later. several small towns near St. Johnsbury VT (the Northeast kingdom) have a nice foliage festival in late September/early October each year.

RetiredVermonter

dfrostnh has given you some good info.

Our older daughter went to college in Fredericksburg, Virginia years ago. We also used to drive to Florida every spring to see family, so we checked out ways of getting to and from there to New England.

I agree that I-95 can be a nightmare, but it IS direct. Check out I-295 in NJ, though. Used to be NO trucks on that, no tolls, and less stressful for part of the trip.

We used to time our stops. We'd stay in MD, leave there about 9:00 a.m., drive right through Baltimore on the BWP around 10:00, and then drive through DC on I-95 before noon, thereby missing a lot of the rush hour stuff! Same timing in reverse may help going north.

I wish you a pleasant trip.