KSelby1

My fiance and I want to take a road trip honey moon along the coast line of the new england states, and looping around to the west hitting Niagara Falls on the way back, starting and ending in Philadelphia. Our main interest are beautiful scenery, amazing food, and great history. We have from September 12 to September 22.. we definitely want to see NYC, Cape Cod, & Bar Harbor. Any Suggestions?

Jaya

The coastline of New England is about a 10 hour or more drive away from Niagara Falls. It would be quite out of the way to go from the coastline up to Niagara and back to Philadelphia without flying that part of your trip.

KSelby1

We planned to drive the east coast (north) then cross over and do the west side (south) with Niagara in the path.. or no?

KSelby1

Like a loop^

nyer

Here's a Google map for the shortest route covering the places you want to see It ends up as 1700 miles
http://tinyurl.com/6hg4sdl

What "west side" are you hoping to see? It would take you quite a few days to go to Niagara Falls and then back to Philly, and obviously you wouldn't be on any coastline.

Do you live in Philly? If so and you have other chances to go to NYC, you might want to leave it out of this trip. It's expensive to have a rental car in the city ($40 per day parking and you wouldn't want to use it anyway) and also expensive to get a rental car starting in NYC (rates here are crazy).

10 days just to Bar Harbor and back, stopping in different places in each direction sounds great to me. It gives you time to stay a few days and soak up the atmosphere in each place and then go to explore someplace new. You could stop in Mystic CT, Newport RI, divert a little to Cape Cod, Portsmouth NH, Portland Maine Bar Harbor--plenty of places with "beautiful scenery, amazing food, and great history."

dfrostnh

Maybe Mystic Seaport in CT, Newport mansions, Plimoth Plantation, Boston? ... waitaminute, you only have 10 days.
Pick one stop on your way that includes an overnight. Stop in Portsmouth NH for Strawbery Banke, harbor cruise and great food. Overnight Wentworth-by-the-Sea, visit a beach (Rye).
Next, mailboat cruise of Portland harbor if you didn't have time for Portsmouth cruise, great lunch, explore Old Port area. Get on I95 for speedy trip to Acadia. couple of nights there.
Southbound: if weather good, romantic picnic lunch on top of Mt Battie overlooking Camden Harbor. Afternoon at Farnsworth Art Museum or Owl's Head Transportation in Rockland, easy hike to Owls Head light. Overnight in Rockland because people on Chowhound.com recommend restaurants there.
Head home stopping in Sturbridge Village for 2 overnights and full day spent at the village.

I didn't count but think I ran out of nights.

nytraveler

Niagara Falls is really far out of your way - and you don;t want to go unless you're staying on the Canadian side. I think you can do a rip in that direction - OR - you can do a trip along the coast.

If you try to do both you will be doing nothing but driving and sleeping - no time to actually stop and see anything.

KSelby1

Ok so we've reviewed the above and you all make very true points.. so we have changed things a little. (Btw no we don't live in philly, but I have family there, we are from Panama City Beach FL.. and he has family in Syracuse, hence Niagara Falls) but ok. What about flying into Bangor International Airport, driving to Bar Harbor then down all the way to Philadelphia.. and stopping at a few key locations... but we want to take a VERY scenic route, closet to the coast as we can get.. ?? Any suggestions? Btw thank you all

dfrostnh

Bad news, if you take Rt 1, it hardly ever has coastal views. Also you might check air fares to Portland rather than Bangor. Manchester NH might be cheaper still and only 2 hours further south. Because of all the points of land that stick out, the best route is usually a numbered state road which is scenic but gets really nice when you get to the end and can see the ocean. When we vacation in Maine, it can take us most of the day to explore a small area (and have lunch at a good lobster shack). The Brunswick area is a good example. Camden is right on Rt 1 but it's the exception. Boothbay is quite a few miles off Rt 1.

South of Portland has some beautiful sandy beaches but most of the coast is privately owned. You can't see the water, just the fronts of vacation homes. Last year we drove the "coastal route" from Portland to Ogunquit. It took all afternoon. A pleasant drive but not a lot of great views.

Kwoo

I think you should definitely go to Acadia National Park for its beautiful rugged coastal scenery. Spend several days there. Have lobster at Thurston's Lobster Pound in Bernard. Stay at Inn at Southwest Harbor, it's quieter & less touristy than Bar Harbor. Drive over to the Schoodic Peninsula for more rugged & wild coastal scenery.

Then start driving south & make stops in places that dfrostnh suggests: Mt. Battie & Camden, Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland. If you have the time, I recommend the Brunswick, Maine area. You can drive to Harpswell, Orr's Island & Bailey's Island (all connected via small bridge/causeway) for more beautiful coastal scenery & seafood at Cooks Lobster House or any one of the 3 Estes Restaurant, or Dolphin Marina. You can overnight at Harpswell Inn.

Portland is a very attractive small city with nice Old Port area, art museum & nearby lighthouse.

You could also overnight in Kennebunk or Ogunqit.

If you fly to Maine, I think you would also have time to stop at Cape Cod and/or NYC on your way back to Philly. If you haven't been to NYC, & since you are from Florida, I would suggest NYC as the last part of your trip. It is an amazing city, lots to do, & this would make a nice mix/contrast of Maine coastal scenery and a huge vibrant city.

Kwoo

Just want to add that driving time from Portland to Boston is 2 hours, from Boston to NYC it's roughly 3 1/2 hours. This gives you an idea of what you can realistically do. Use google maps/mapquest, of course, to help you plan.

tracys2cents

That's a great time of year to visit New England and you can pretty much "wing it" as long as you don't have your heart set on a certain room or a particular Inn. I would adjust the plan as I go. You may find a town that you are enchanted with and decide to spend 4 nights. I agree that the driving will not be the scenic part. You really have to head off the main route to the little towns and peninsulas. If you really want just good food, scenery and history, you can easily do ten days just in Maine, or maybe add a couple around Boston. As for places to stay overnight, I would do a fodors search for information on Kennebunkport, Cape Elizabeth (near Portland), Camden, Boothbay Harbor, Southwest Harbor and Moosehead Lake. Take loads of information and leads-on-accomodations with you and hit the road for an adventure. A great unplanned adventure just like the rest of your life together, go for it.

LarryBee

Mix of scenery and history (all places will have great food): 2 days in Maine, 2 days in Boston, a day and a half in Newport RI (Stop in Plymouth, MA when driving between Boston and Newport), then finish with 3 days in NYC before driving to Philly. If you are less interested in big cities (even given your desire for history) you could cut days out of NYC and/or Boston and add them into Maine or add a day to part of the Cape (Woods Hole maybe). Part of the problem as others have pointed out is that along many parts of the NE coast there are no good long stretches of road that have scenic coastal views. Particularly south of the Cape, the stretches of scenic coastline are off the beaten path and even when you get there they are are quite short-as an example I am thinking of the 10 mile drive in Newport-beautiful, but way out of your way unless you are going to visit Newport as one of your destinations and it is only 10 miles long.