adventurer

Thinking of visiting the states from Australia in late Sept/mid October and wondering how feasible it would be to tour and enjoy foliage without our own car? If you suggest tours, are some routes better for avoiding crowds of tourist buses (like ours!!) than others? If you suggest that we stay in a lovely centre and enjoy the immediate surroundings more, do you have any ideas about areas and inns? Remember that the Aussie dollar is only about two-thirds the American dollar but we would definitely regard the inn as an important part of the whole experience. The good old "On Golden Pond" cabin and region looks mighty good to me!!!

luv2fly

One of the best New England Fall foliage tours is with Tauck World Discovery tours. Fantastic experience staying at the best hotels with most meals included, the best tour guide and a comfortable tour bus. You pay a bit more, but worth every penny.

www.tauck.com

They will answer all your questions.

mrsbu

In Connecticut there is a steam trasin ride in Essex that runs thru the woods along the Connecticut River. It is great, also close to Rhode Island and The Casinos. They have a website WWW>ESSEXSTEAMTRAIN.COM

dfrostnh

Here's an idea for you. You can use regular bus service on Vermont Transit
http://www.vermonttransit.com/fares.html
to get to Burlington VT. Having driven these routes via car I can say that once you get into NH or VT the highway is pretty. Concord NH would be a decent destination. It's a pretty small city on the banks of the Merrimack River. You can rent bicycles from a local shop plus there is taxi and CAT bus service. However, continuing up Rt 89 to Burlington would be my suggestion. Go thru Montpelier one way, return thru Middlebury. Burlington is a college town on Lake Champlain. There's one hotel overlooking the lake that I think would be most convenient to downtown and the ferry terminal. Possibly you could find day trips out of Concord or Burlington on a local tour bus. "Golden Pond" is Squam Lake in Holderness which happens to be a very exclusive lake in NH with very few rental opportunities and no public beach in an area without public transportation. Towns in New England are far apart making a visit without a car a problem. The closest bus stop to Holderness would be Plymouth, I think. Although downtown Main St in Concord lacks trees, the state Capitol building is beautifully landscaped and the nearby streets are residential and there are several lovely city parks. Good luck to you!

brooklyngal

Diriving up Route 7 from the Connecticut shore through Massachusetts to Vermont is, I think, one of the best ways to see the foliage. The difficulty is that the foliage will peak in different areas as you go North (i.e. if it's just before peak in Connecticut, it will be peak in Massachusetts, and past peak in Vermont). My personal opinion is that the best time to go is the first or second week of October, if possible, and make this drive. The leaves won't be that impressive in Connecticut, but there are still lots of beautiful little towns to drive through along the way on Route 7. There are several great Inns/B&B in these towns along the way to spend the night- some good towns are Kent or Cornwall on the Connecticut side or Great Barrington just over the Massachusetts border. Then, as you get into the Northern Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts, you should see peak or near-peak conditions. There are lots of places to stop and do some hiking, particularly in Williamstown, which is just South of the Vermont border - in fact, right at the intersection of Route 7 and Route 2 in Williamstown, there is a tiny visitors building on your left (if you're heading north) which will have lots of maps and hiking trails in the area - Hopkins Forest and the Taconic trail, both of which are in town, are great opportunities to see the foliage (and some amazing views) without a car - the visitors booth will tell you exactly how to get there. I would suggest spending the night in the Berkshires, even Williamstown itself - maybe even 2 if you want to do some serious hiking. Then, as you get into Southern Vermont, the foliage will be peak, and the views as you drive on Route 7 are simply breathtaking. You can go as far north as you like (Route 7 takes you to Montreal, eventually!) but once you get past mid-Vermont, the foliage will be past-peak if you go at this time (early October). Also, do searches on "Licthfield County," - in Connectictu, "The Berkshires," etc. to find specific hotel/restaurant, and perhaps even hiking recomendations.

lynn

we went to New England (from UK) to get married in Vermont in 1997. We spent first week of October on Cape Cod and travelled up the New England states by car, the fall was coming South, by the time we got to Stowe in Vermont (about 2nd week) the fall was past it's peak there. But we saw 'Gods Firesworks' in New Hampshire and they were fabulous and at Quechee Gorge and other places on the way up. The point is the actual fall can be at slightly different times each year, it's apparently down to a number of factors. but no matter because New England is one of the prettiest places we ever visited with or without the fall. try keeping an eye out for the predicted best. You'll enjoy it no matter what.

mclaurie

The NY Times has an excellent article in today's travel section on this subject. Don't know if it's accessible on line. Here are some highlights

EscapeMaker.com has info on weekend getaways
The Miracle of Fall at www.urbanext.uluc.edu/fallcolor provides foliage updates & webcams.

www.foliagenetwork.com has maps for different areas of the country.

New Paltz, New York is mentioned as a place to go without a car. EscapeMaker.com has info on b & bs & bike rentals, hiking trails etc.

puddy

Amtrak has a train that goes from NY to Montreal. Might be a nice way to see the foliage. Spend a night or two in Montreal then return.

massteacher

Although bus tours have their disadvantages (we have taken many), this is a comfortable and easy way to view an area. They know the best spots to go with your role just to enjoy. We usually do this when not time-sharing in areas that are unfamiliar and cover a wide scope. Tauck Tours are considered the best, but they are VERY pricey. There are middle of the road companies that do New England well. You stay in first class, but not deluxe venues and eat at average restaurants. We have found Globus and Collette to be very worthwhile.
We hope you enjoy your stay in America. We met a lovely couple from your country on one of our tours.