NE Itinerary - Thoughts?

Old Apr 25th, 2017, 09:42 AM
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NE Itinerary - Thoughts?

My husband & I, along with another couple, leave in about 5 weeks for a trip through the NE states (minus CT). After what felt like hours of reading forums, websites, TripAdvisor comments, reviews, etc. I've put together the below itinerary. I'd really like to get some "outsider" opinions as to the order of our visits (i.e. are we going out of our way; should we re-order our destinations, etc) as well as the lodging I've chosen. Naturally, everyone has their faves so I am most concerned with any good or bad experiences anyone may have had with any of the places I've chosen vs suggestions as to other places. By now, most of the accommodations have been booked for the dates we've chosen so changing places at this point may not even be possible. I've posted in the TA forum but my sister recently told me about Fodor's and said it's a great site and forum to post in so here I am - eager for thoughts, opinions, comments, etc. P.S. In case u may wonder why we're only allowing one day in Boston it's because we ran out of time AND the hotels are all so cotton-pickin' expensive! Thanks!

June 2 Arrive at BOS @ 12:15p ET / Pick-up rental and head to Maine

June 2 & 3 Old Parsonage Guesthouse, Kennebunkport, ME

June 4 Rockland Harbor Hotel, Rockland, ME

June 5 & 6 Highbrook Motel, Bar Harbor, ME

June 7 & 8 Comfort Inn & Suites, North Conway, NH

June 9 Knotty Pine Motel, Bennington, VT

June 10 Hampton Inn & Suites, Warwick, RI

June 11-13 Green Harbor Resort, W. Yarmouth, MA

June 14 Homewood Suites, Chelsea, MA

June 15 Depart BOS @ 7:05a ET
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Old Apr 25th, 2017, 12:24 PM
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Welcome to Fodor's danny liz,

Your general route makes sense if this is a trip to drive through and see what is there, but you seem to have rushed NH, VT, RI and the Cape.

Are you stopping in Warwick, RI because you don't want to drive all the way to W.Yarmouth, or as a place to visit other RI places from? If you are planning to use it to see Newport, it would make sense to stay in/near Newport and would make for and easier trip to the Cape (up 138 to 195 etc.)

Be prepared for any kind of weather. It's New England If you don't like the weather, wait a minute. June can be lovely and warm or cold and damp in the same week. The ocean will still be quite cold, but I love walking the beaches before the crowds get there.
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Old Apr 25th, 2017, 12:49 PM
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Agree on weather in June. Often foggy because the water is still cold and the air is generally fairly warm. The fog is pretty romantic, though! Great for holding hands on the beach, if not for outdoor weddings!

I know New England pretty well after living here for almost 40 years and want to suggest that in general the "places in between" are better than the destinations on your route. Warwick and North Conway are okay to stay, but the "good stuff" is nearby: Bristol and Warren and Narraganset in RI and Pinkham Notch and Crawford Notch in NH.

From North Conway to Bennington, select "avoid highways" on Google Maps because the glory of New England is found on its back roads: Route 6A on the Cape rather than US 6.
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Old Apr 25th, 2017, 01:28 PM
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E Malloy - thank u for your response. Re - rushing NH, VT & RI, etc.. I'm not intending to do that, just seems to not be enough time . Perhaps I'm spending too much time in Maine? Open for suggestions about that! We're staying in Warwick simply due to the lack of adorable accommodations in Newport. Our plans are to spend our time touring Newport, though.

Ackislander - thank u for your suggestions as to other places we need to visit outside of our overnight stay locations. In most cases, out hotel / motel locations aren't indications that we're only interested in that town but rather just to sleep. I was really surprised at how booked most places already were! I was I accurately told that we probably don't even need to make reservations in advance except for Boston!
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Old Apr 25th, 2017, 01:30 PM
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E Malloy - CORRECTION: "adorable" accommodations was supposed to be "affordable" accommodations!
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Old Apr 25th, 2017, 02:24 PM
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That would be far too much driving for little payback if I was in the back seat. Travel time from Vermont to RI will leave you precious little time. I'd consider losing RI and the Cape off your trip and expanding in the other areas. But I recognize some people like whirlwind driving tips. Just consider the comfort of that type of travel with your companions in the back seat.
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Old Apr 25th, 2017, 02:26 PM
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Actually, Maine is a great place in New England to linger, and you picked three good spots for it. But most of New England rewards lingering. It's well worthwhile to return and focus on smaller areas of the region -- so many great options.

Any specific things you want to see? Beaches, mountains, museums, historic houses? Two days in Bar Harbor will allow good time to explore Acadia National Park, which is a wonderful place.

For Newport, you can always drive around and see the mansions, but it's great to stop at a couple to tour them. The Breakers and Marble House are especially nice.

Enjoy.
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Old Apr 26th, 2017, 03:52 AM
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You might hit the beginning of the Lupine Festival in NH. I'm curious about your route from Bar Harbor to North Conway. Summer before last we took the northern route from NH to just south of Bar Harbor area. Although it was a nice drive it was well off the beaten path once we got past Sunday River ski area.

Had to see Google Maps choices of routes from North Conway to Bennington. Via Rt 9 is one of our traveled routes but you don't get to see much of Vermont (goes over Hogback Mountain to Bennington). Via Rt 4 gives you more of VT including tourist popular Woodstock (but I like Norwich better). Via Rt 11 would be my least favorite unless you had something along the way you wanted to see like the Fells.

If you're looking for good lobster places in Maine, be sure that they are open that early in the season. Some might be weekends only. Even if you don't like lobster, some of the best lobster roll places have wonderful views looking out on the water.
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Old Apr 26th, 2017, 05:34 AM
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Inakauaidavidababy - thanks for sharing your thoughts! We know it will be a good bit of driving but we really don't want to skip RI or the Cape. Fortunately, we'll be in a luxury SUV so it should be a comfortable ride, ha! And, the way I'm seeing it, the furthest distance we have to drive is from Rockland to Bar Harbor but with the various scenic stops we'll be making I don't think we'll be sitting in the vehicle for extremely long periods of time without a break. And of course, we'll be switching off drivers periodically.

Bachslunch - thank you for confirming that we actually should be spending more time in ME! It definitely seemed to be the largest area to cover with the most to see. As for specific things we're wanting to see, I would say mostly just the scenery, historic sights, lighthouses, covered bridges, and of course the beautiful beaches (although we may not do any actual swimming, depending on the water temp). Oh yeah, I can't forget the food. We plan on eating good on this trip As for the mansions in Newport, we definitely plan on touring a couple of them. I've read a lot about The Breakers and The Elm but I'll check into Marble House as well!

drostnh - Hmmm...I need to check into the Lupine Festival - hadn't read anything about that. I mapped the route from BH to NC and it looks like its about 211 mi if we take I-95S or a little less miles via US-1S. We'd prefer the scenic route, of course, so i'm open to your suggestion on that. On the trip from NC to Bennington, I'm wanting to take a detour through Weston to visit The Vermont Country Store. I've been receiving and loving their magazine and merchandise for years so I'm eager to actually visit the store! And then at some point while we're in that area I want to ride the 34.5 miles on the KANC, even if it's out of our way. From the routes you listed (Rt9, 4, 11) does any of those take us through Weston? Maine lobster - yes we're gonna be looking for some good lobster in Maine!! Thanks for the tip on places being open that early in the season. I'll be especially paying attention to that. I'll be super bummed if we can't find a lobster place open while we're there!
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Old Apr 26th, 2017, 06:42 AM
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I95 is a boring interstate. I think US1 and Rt 3 is a good choice since I like Fryeburg Maine but we rarely take any of the possible routes, except for portions, since we aim for further south.

You will be in the Conway area long enough to do a round trip east/west over the Kanc and return via another route. The route west to VT would take you over our favorite drive thru Tamworth and then Center Sandwich NH. The Kanc is National Forest whereas Tamworth and Sandwich are lovely small towns. Center Sandwich is considered one of the prettiest small towns in NH but keep in mind there's not much in either just nice scenery. You're almost in the mountains, lots of mountain streams, and nice views. Many years ago sled dogs were trained for polar expeditions in this area. You might see some road markers about this.

Looks like my choice of Rt 4 goes thru Weston. You will also be near Norwich VT (near Woodstock) which is home to King Arthur Flour. If you're a baker, you don't want to miss their store. VT Country Store will be a fun stop. My husband would choose Bennington for the Hemmings classic car store.

You will find lots of lobster in Maine but the lobster shacks on the water with outdoor picnic table dining are our favorites. Near Rockland: Waterman's and McLoon's. McLoon's is our newest favorite with a very beautiful small working harbor. I think the kids run the shack. Opt for a lobster roll with mayo plus a side of hot butter. Take the pieces of lobster that are going to fall off the roll and dip them into butter. But there's a drive in restaurant Claws on the north side of Rockland that has great lobster burgers and also a chowder sampler that comes with a crab cake. dh didn't care for the chowders, too much fancy seasoning, but I loved it. They are seasonal but likely to be open mid-week by then. Not a great view but it does have a view of the water.
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Old Apr 26th, 2017, 06:49 AM
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ps you need to understand that there's a lot of Maine that is not seacoast. You'll be traveling through some rural areas that are more logging history. Bangor ME has the Cole Transportation Museum which is more about work vehicles than classic cars. There is a small logging museum Leonards Mills near Bangor but unless they are having an event I don't think you would enjoy visiting.
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Old Apr 26th, 2017, 08:03 AM
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dfrostnh - Wow...a great wealth of tips and information you just provided - THANK YOU! I'm excited to see you mention that Sandwich is a town we'd come across on the KANC. I've read a lot about that place but wasn't sure if we would see it on our "path". We're staying in Bennington and plan to visit the Hemmings classic car store! You mention a round trip east/west over the Kanc and returning via another route. Can you clarify? Hwy 112 is the KANC, right? So if we traveled the first leg of it via Hwy 112 what we travel on the return to NH?
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Old Apr 26th, 2017, 10:03 AM
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Correction, Sandwich is on a more southerly route that somewhat parallels the Kanc. Are you sure you aren't confusing Sandwich NH with Sandwich MA? What we did for a half day r/t was leave Thornton NH on I93, took the Kanc east to North Conway. Spent a little time in North Conway (beautiful but not our favorite place), then south on Rt 16 then Rt 113 to Tamworth and Center Sandwich. You can also include a visit to Squam Lake where On Golden Pond was filmed and then end up on NH Rt 25 - we like the tiny Red Hill Dari in Moultonborough where you can get a decent lobster roll and onion rings. Sit at picnic tables.

We did the complete RT in half a day but we didn't spend much time in any area. It's been ages since we've taken the pontoon boat cruise to see loons on Squam Lake and I hope to do that this summer. Meredith is a lovely town with shopping on Lake W that is further west from Moultonborough but then you can hop on I93 to go north to the Kanc. I93 cuts thru the White Mountains and is very scenic.
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Old Apr 26th, 2017, 10:20 AM
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Ok, gotcha - thanks for making that distinction between "Sandwiches" ha! I am familiar with Sandwich, MA and we intend to stop there. I had also thought I read about another town by the same name which I guess that was in NH. I really appreciate all of your tips! They've very helpful and I'm printing them out to take with us.
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Old Apr 26th, 2017, 12:34 PM
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Another option in the White Mountains is to spend a few hours in Franconia Notch. The Flume is especially nice to hike though.
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Old Apr 28th, 2017, 04:45 AM
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Thank you bachslunch! I will add that to list of things to do in NH!!
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Old Apr 29th, 2017, 04:32 AM
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although I live in and love VT I would consider changing the itinerary and eliminating the Bennington stop if you are set on R.I. and the Cape.

If you do want to spend some time in VT Bennington is out of the way -- is there something special you want to see/do there?
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Old Apr 29th, 2017, 08:27 AM
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Re Newport mansions, am thinking The Elms, The Breakers, and Marble House are the best three mansions to visit. It would be wise to do no more than three in a day regardless, as fatigue factor (physical and mental) tends to set in beyond that.

If you decide to keep Bennington on your itinerary, consider seeing the Bennington Battle Monument (a short visit and nice view), as well as the Bennington Museum (a pleasant catch-all of art, artifacts, and decorative arts), both just down the street from Hemmings Sunoco. Also, Robert Frost's gravesite is in the Old First Church Cemetery just down the hill from the Battle Monument. South of here is Williamstown, home to two art museums (Williamstown College Museum of Art, Clark Art Institute) and to the north in Manchester are Hildene (a historic mansion once owned by Lincoln's only son to survive to maturity), the American Fly Fishing Museum, and the Southern Vermont Arts Center.
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Old Apr 29th, 2017, 10:08 AM
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Fatigue factor for me is ONE mansion per visit. (And I'm an art/museum fan.)
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Old May 2nd, 2017, 04:30 AM
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Vttraveler- thanks for your response! We really don't want to bypass VT completely. I've loved the beauty of that state only from afar up until now and would sure hate to take a NE trip and leave it out of the itinerary. As for staying in Bennington, there's no particular reason we chose there for our overnight stay other than the fact that my sister recently stayed at the motel we're staying at and gave it a glowing commendation (The Knotty Pine). I figured we could use it as our home base during our short visit. I know I want to visit The Vermont Country Store, which I believe is in Weston. I was thinking that when we leave our hotel in N. Conway, NH that we would first drive to Weston before making our way to Bennington. I have looked for accommodations in Weston but wasn't able to find any. As a matter of fact, several of the places we're lodging isn't the main attraction for us, it's just the only places I could find that weren't too far to drive to the things we really want to see.
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