Talk in real numbers. "Affordable" is a sliding scale. What's the price per night, and do your points apply to hotels too?

Agree that with a dollar amount we can do noting. Also - will you have a car - or do we need to assume that you need a town with public transit.

amtrak.com vermonter hop on/foo check fall color calender

Mapleleaf to Toronto can be better sometimes

otherwise carrentals.com cheap hotels on your way

Yes, you have to tell us what "affordable" means to you but have you looked at staying in places like Motel 6, Red Roof Inn or other lower priced "chain motels" - they are about as "affordable" as you can get.

We would consider staying in a motel 6, or do you know of any cute b&b that is not too pricey? We are also thinking about maybe renting a car for only a few days or can you recommend a town where we can use public transportation most of the time?
One thought was to stay in Kennebunkport and have that as our base but that I think we might have picked the most expensive town of all. What town do you recommend to have as "your base" to be able to see as much as possible in a week without going all over the place and overdoing it.

There are coastal motels and route 1 motels that are quite inexpensive because the immediate area surrounding is not known for fall colors. You could consider these, taking day trips to see the fall colors, though with todays' gas prices it's not as good a way around the high accomodations prices as it used to be.

Have you checked car rental rates? They might determine where you fly in to, they change quite a bit and if you see a decent one you should reserve at once even though you haven't finalized your other plans...you can easily cancel your car booking.

You still haven't told us what you consider "affordable." And now you want to know about "a cute B & B that is not too pricey." So, how much is "not too pricey"? We can be of much better assistance if you'll give us actual dollar amounts for both of these descriptions.

You might want to stay in a single location, where the price for multiple days might be lower than on a daily basis. For example, we stayed in Chester, VT. and found that it was well located to cover the area from Brattleboro to Woodstock and east to Manchester and what was in-between. But travel might be a different story because of the storm damage to the roads.

Using public transportation to view fall colors throughout New England is not a viable option. Most reliable public transportation is only good for traveling around in the larger cities (think Boston, Hartford, Providence, etc.) and not going out to the countryside where al the fall color is usually found. Plan on using and budgeting for a rental car. You could take a train or long distance buss (like Greyhound) from point A to point B but the busses usually stick to the interstates and trains don't always pass through the nicest areas of the states so your viewing would be somewhat limited. Also, the buses and trains won't be making stops at scenic overlooks, points of interest, etc. so you'll miss out on a lot of what you came to the area to experience.

People here have tried to help you but until you tell us what your actual budget is and how long you plan for your visit there's not much more they can do.

You keep saying "affordable" and "not too rice" but you don't tell us what that means to you.

When you decide on a town/city to base yourselves, I recommend Priceline. That way you can decide what price you are willing to pay, read BetterBidding.com and see what hotels are going for and the area they are in and bid.

You MIGHT find a cute B&B with off season prices, but that will take some work and some luck to find. On the other hand Motel 6 in Portland, Me and in Portsmouth NH are between $45-75 in October (depending on when in October, and day of the week). They are charmless but generally clean and if you are on a budget they are fine. I do think you need a car though, you really can't see much without one unless you want to spend all your time in Boston. There is color in Boston, and you can do day trips to places like Salem via train that has more of a small town feel to it. So you need to check out the cost of car rental versus hotel in Boston prices.

My first choice would be to stay in Motel 6s in Portland and/or some other towns and rent a car and drive up and/or down the coast. I think there are plenty of trees along the coast, you don't need to go 'inland' to get fall color. And on the coast you get fall color plus the ocean.

My second choice would be to stay in Boston and not have a car and perhaps do some day trips via train.

But as others have said, to give good advice we need to know: how long a trip, how much money you want to spend, where you have been previously.

If your trip is longer than just a couple of days, have you looked into a vacation rental? It may end up cheaper than a moetl 6, and most certainly will be cheaper than a B&B. With a vacation rental, you can prepare all your meals yourselves, saving a lot of money by not having to eat our 3x/day.

You really need a car in New England to see foliage.

yk is right. I just got back from a weekend in Wells ME at Summer Village. Off season, a 2 bedroom cottage was about $150 a night (4 friends sharing) but we ended up only eating one meal (lunch) at a restaurant. With a fully equiped kitchen, some food from home and some grocery shopping, we were all set. A local fish market provided incredible shrimp and crab. Local grocery stores usually will steam a lobster for free and a Portland fish market had soft shell lobsters at $3.99/lb.
I would suggest looking at rentals in the ski areas as well. I think saving on meals balances paying a higher lodging fee for a cottage instead of Motel 6 type accomodations. You should be able to do a mix of accomodations, maybe some nights at a Motel 6, price line in the city and cottage or condo stay. Also look in less popular areas for listings for independent motels.

If airfare is cheapest to Boston, think about taking a bus to Manchester or Concord NH (or VT) and renting a car there. Bus fare from Concord NH to Logan is about $35 RT per person. Compare car rental prices in the different locations.

Some places are offering a free 4th night. Arrange your route so you stay in the cheapest places at the cheapest times.

I think the best fall feeling is in rural areas with apple orchards and pumpkin displays. Try cider donutes. Get fresh apples for snacks. Buy a pie for desserts. A friend is crazy right now for Pumpkin Head Beer from the Shipyard in Portland ME (I think the tastings are free.) Check the local newspapers for ham and bean suppers (usually price per person is under $10). Some places have free wine tastings. When Pigs Fly Bakery in York Maine offers free samples (bread) and Stonewall Kitchens (also on Rt 1) has lots of free jam and condiment tastings. There are places around New England with free cheese samples.

Bring picnic supplies with you i.e. insulated bag, cups, plates, utensils. If you have a room with at least a microwave you can buy chowder to go and have a reasonably priced meal. Lots of ways to budget.

Take a look at Roomsaver.com for discount coupons for hotels/motels. Most of their offerings are close to the larger roads or interstates, but it will give you an idea of prices and locations of lots of places. Generally tourist areas will be more expensive on weekends, less mid week and to some extent cities will be the opposite.

Thank you for all your valuable advice and recommendations so far. We don't really have a budget but are trying to keep costs down as much as possible. We have come to our senses and agree that you probably will need a car. I think we will fly into Boston and start there but I will take ones advice here and look into renting a car outside Boston airport. I will definitely look at roomsaver.com for deals. We are thinking about being gone for about a week. Now we have to figure out the foliage report and see when it's peaking in Boston and where to go from thereThanks so much!!!!

The one drawback to your plan (i.e. figure out the foliage report and see when it's peaking in Boston and where to go from there) - is that by the time you determine when there is peak color you might have difficulty finding places to stay. Many places are booked up weeks in advance at that time of year. Suggest you just pick a time to make the trip (around mid-month) and GO. You may get there at peak time, you may not but there will be plenty of color regardless. Just don't wait too long as once the leaves turn they can drop pretty quickly leaving nothing but bare tree limbs. Better to be a bit early than too late.

Also, remember that when it's peak in Boston, it will be past peak in New Hampshire and Vermont.

The good news is, even if you pick a place that turns out to be pre- or past- peak, you are probably no more than an hour's drive away from a peak area.

Don't know your dates but checked first week of August. Book Alamo now while the rates are low. Use I.D. 7014650 and coupon AD2338FDF. $155 per week in Portland Maine, slightly higher in Manchester NH or Boston airport.

The old Higgins Beach Inn near Portland is $60 per night to $90 per night on Orbitz, on the coast not a foliage area but easy day trips to Sebago lakes area, NH lakes area, Western Maine from here. The old Penobscot Bay Inn near Belfast is $64 per night starting Oct 2nd. Nearby Belfast Harbor Inn is $79 per night. Again, some nice colorful day drives from this area over to the lakes regions, also nice lakes and mountains nearby.

$700 a week for www.laposa.moonfruit.com Awesome

www.freedombb.com

www.mountwhittiermotel.com

www.ogunquitmotel.com (this one is on the coast, you'll have to take day trips to the colors in nearby NH or Naples maine). Or $50 per night, 3rd night half price here: bluehorizonmotel.net (rooms are tiny but spotless).

Vrbo has some $500 per week lakeside rentals at Embden, Maine. Cook your own meals and $ave.

If you can't get in anywhere on Sat Oct 1st, try Sunday through Thursday.

I'm so very grateful for all your advice you've given us. We looked at Laposa and it does look wonderful and affordable too! That will definitely be an option if we go to Maine. Such a good point someone brought up that we are only an hour away from each place to chase the leaves change colour
We are still thinking about starting in Boston and we also want to spend more time in Rhode Island and the Cliff walk that was gorgeous and the little picturesque town of Kennebunkport. But I've taken notes of all the places you mentioned so far.

Sounds more like you're looking for a nice COASTAL trip, which would have been quite affordable mid September, and maybe still in October. But coastal isn't where the fall colors will be peaking.

The alamo deal looks fairly good for Boston, too but their fees/taxes/add-ons are higher. Rates on cars do change and could go WAY up so if you have dates in mind, book now they don't charge you up front.