sammy614

My wife and I are starting to plan a trip in the fall to New England, probably Massachusetts. We will probably go in late September or early October. We would like to spend about half our time in a coastal town, and the other half enjoying the fall colors in the interior. We enjoy staying in B&B's. We live in South Texas and would most likely fly into Boston. I would appreciate any travel tips. We are in our mid 50's and it will just be the two of us. We are physically fit and enjoy walking, shopping, eating, and sight-seeing. One specific question - if we fly into Boston, I assume we will need to rent a car to get to our ultimate destination. I was looking at Nantucket as a possibility. I understand that I don't need a car on the island. Rather than pay $60 or $70 per day for a rental car that is sitting at the port for 3 days, can rental cars be returned at the port, and re-rented when we are ready to leave? That could save us a couple of hundred dollars. Thanks!

dfrostnh

You should probably make reservations as soon as you can. Fall color in MA will probably be around 2nd week of October but it will be an easy drive to find color if you have to go further north. (Boston to NH's White Mountains is about 2 1/2 hours)

We did a day trip on a sat in late September to Martha's Vineyard. There were a lot of visitors that day. I would expect you might find it less crowded if you go mid-week but in general weekends are very popular almost everywhere in New England esp the first two weekends in October because of the foliage. Some places may already be booked.

nostongirl

How long is your visit? If you have enough time, I would suggest a stay in the Berkshires for the " interior" portion of your trip. We stayed at The Green River Inn right over the western border of MA in NY to enjoy the Berkshires. Gorgeous area: mountains, lakes, shops, great restaurants, trails for hiking.

emalloy

The color change at the coast is usually a bit later and not as spectacular as it is in the interior. I would head west as nostongirl suggests. You won't need a car in Boston, so if you want to do an island trip, consider flying to Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard first and renting the car when you get back or last and returning the car to the rental before you go there.

suesox

I live in Northampton which is in Western Massachusetts. The fall colors here are spectacular, especially if you travel along Route 2 (The Mohawk Trail...but it's a road) toward Charlemont.I agree that the first two weeks in autumn usually yield the best color foliage.MA,NH,and VT are really close to each other,and you'll find good foliage in any of those states.

There is a ferry that goes from Woods Hole to Oaks Bluff or Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard. There's a place to rent bicycles right where you get off the ferry. That might be the best way to get around. (You can leave your car in one of many parking lots run by the Woods Hole Authority (I think it's called.) No reservations are needed for the parking lots, but reservations ARE needed to take your car on the ferry. Make the reservations EARLY, months in advance if you can.

Nantucket is really small. I've been there only once, and all I saw was stores which sold baskets.

Martha's Vineyard has distinctive sections, and all are nice.

On the East Coast, there's Rockport and Gloucester on Cape Ann. The beaches are kind of rocky (though not all are). Gloucester is a fishing town where you can go on a whale watching expedition. Rockport is more of an artsy, touristy town.

Then There's Cape Cod that juts out into the water in the southwest corner of the state. You pretty much can't go wrong there. I stayed in a lovely bed & breakfast in Orleans which was in walking distance to a nice beach.

Provincetown is an experience like no other. It is known for its large community of gay people, and it's a very crowded and welcoming place.

charsuzan

How sad that all you got to see of Nantucket were a few basket stores. There is so much more there.

flpab

Nantucket is great. You can take the day ferry over and back for the day. I went last year for Columbus day weekend. The color was just changing. Cape Cod was borderline but all depends if they get a frost soon. There is also a ferry from Boston to Provincetown for the day but Oct might be not as frequent so check the ferry schedule.