augustab

Hi, this August we will travel to the US and visit Washington, NY and Boston.
For NY we don't have any probem, we have way too many things to do, but we are a little worried about Washington and Boston.
First of all, I was thinking of traveling from city to city using the AmTrak trains, while my friend seems to prefer the Greyhound: what is better, in your opinion?
Then.
Can you help us build an itinerary?
Washington 3 days
NY 5 days
Boston 4 days

Washington: I want to see the White House, Capitol Hiil, Lincoln Memorial, Arlington, Georgetown.
Shall I reserve the tickets from Italy, on the web?

Boston: we don't have a clue... except for the whales watching and a visit to Oxford and/or Cambridge... and still, I don't know if it's better to see them in Nantucket, that will take less time to reach, or to go somewhere else. Even in this case, shall we book our visit before leaving?

Thanks for all your tips!!

bachslunch

I'd personally give an extra day to Washington and remove one from Boston for your itinerary. From the things you listed, I don't think booking ahead is needed or likely even possible.

Re Washington: you probably won't be able to visit the White House, as admission is pre-arranged (if memory serves, only though your US congressman and then usually only as part of a group) unless you have some sort of insider connection. The Lincoln Memorial is free and open to walk in anytime. I'd check a guidebook to see what's needed to see the US Capitol. Arlington is a nearby city in Virginia with several attractions, the most "must-see" of these being the National Cemetery. Georgetown is an area of Washington DC, and I'm not sure there are much in the way of tourist attractions there. There are of course scads of things to see and do, including some world-class museums.

Re Boston: Cambridge is the city across the Charles River from Boston and has attractions of its own, most allied with Harvard or MIT. There is no "Oxford" there that a tourist would be obliged to consider visiting (there is a small town by that name south of Worcester in Central Massachusetts, but it need not detain you). And with a limited amount of time, I wouldn't consider Nantucket, which is a long ways away -- there are a ton of excellent close-in day trips you can consider.

In any event, you really should do some solid guidebook research (and forum research here -- Boston and New York are arguably the two most heavily covered US cities on this forum) for ideas, then submit a draft itinerary here for comments. We can't do the research for you, after all, at least in part because we don't know what your interests and budget would be.

Kwoo

It is helpful to know what your interests are, but I will list sightseeing suggestions.

DC: Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial. There are several "newer" memorials, too. I think they are for WWII & the Korean War.
Smithsonian Museums are world-class and free: such as Air & space, Natural History, American History, some art museums. The Capitol Building, the DC zoo, etc.

Boston: Walk the Freedom Trail (history), Boston Public Gardens & Swan Boat ride, Duck Tours, Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Museum of Science, Aquarium, Harvard Square in Cambridge, walk along the Charles River during the day, window shopping on Newbury St., walk through Beacon Hill (architecturally very pleasant).

Taking the train is probably faster but more expensive. There is a Bolt bus from NYC to Boston, which is very inexpensive. It might go to DC but I'm not sure.

Hope this helps, but you definitely need some good guide books.

tchoiniere

Where are you flying in /out of? I would arrange it so you fly into Boston / out of DC or vice versa so you don't have to backtrack. Amtrak is the easiest way to go between these cities but it is more expensive. There are buses as kwoo pointed out. Do NOT take any of the Fung Wah buses (saw 2 dead on the road in the past week) - stick to the MegaBus, Bolt Bus, etc if you go this route.

I would definitely take a day out of Boston to spend more time in DC and I really enjoy Boston...

For DC, there are night tours of the monuments that will allow you to go to most of them. I have done the OnBoard Monument Night Tour. Tourmobile also has one as well as DC Trolley's "Monuments by Moonlight Tour". This will also help as it will be hot in August...Also freezes up time for museums during the day. My favorite Smithsonian was the Air & Space or the Portrait Gallery. I was there for a week and haven't seen it all. Im going back in a few weeks. What is your hotel budget so that we can give you recommendations on where to stay?

capxxx

The best whale-watching tours are from Boston or Provinctown -- easiest for you to leave from Boston harbor, no need to buy tickets in advance. Forget about Nantucket this trip.

One possible reason to keep the extra day in Boston is the weather -- August in Washington D.C is brutal, and Boston should be more comfortable at night, anyway. But there may be very little difference depending on what the weather gods choose, so you may want to decide once you get here.

The Amtrak trains between Washington and NYC and Boston require reservations, so you might want to get tickets in advance in case they sell out (most Amtrak routes do not require reservations). This will guarantee you a seat on the train, but you do not buy a particular seat -- you sit wherever you can once you get on board.

You could wait to buy tickets once you arrive in the U.S., and then take the Bolt Bus if it doesn't work out ...

HappyTrvlr

As mentioned above, tickets to the White House are obtained through a US Senator or Congressman. Perhaps they will help those from other countries as well. We needed to submit social security numbers for everyone in our group four months ahead, children included, so a security check could be done.