Lev

Hi,
We are planning the following trip to New England from May 29 to June 8:
May 29: Arrive to Manchester, rent a car at Manchester Airport and stay overnight in Manchester.
May 30: Drive from Manchester to Acadia NP.
May 31 – June 3: Acadia NP (staying 5 nights in Bar Harbor).
June 4: Drive from Bar Harbor to Boston area. Stay overnight in Waltham (near Boston).
June 5 – June 6. Attend our daughter’s graduation, take a side trip to Newport, RI. Stay 2 nights in Waltham.
June 7. Drive to Hartford, CT to visit our relatives in West Hartford. Stay overnight in Hartford.
June 8. Drive from Hartford to Manchester, NH airport to catch the afternoon flight home.

I have a few questions:
• May 30. There are many routes from Manchester to Acadia NP. Which route do you recommend to take and what do you recommend to see on our way to Acadia NP?
• May 31 – June 3. How do you recommend to plan our time in Acadia NP?
• June 4. There are many routes from Acadia NP to Boston area. Which route do you recommend to take and what do you recommend to see on our way to the Boston area?
• June 5 – June 6. Boston and side trip to Newport, RI. What do you recommend to see in Newport? Would you recommend to stop in Providence, RI on the way to Newport?
• June 7. There are many routes from Boston to Hartford, CT. Which route do you recommend to take and what do you recommend to see on our way to Hartford? What would you recommend to see in Hartford?

Thanks. Lev.

TwoFatFeet

I can't answer all the questions, but I would suggest checking out Providence for a day. It's a fun small city. College Hill is a cool neighborhood, where Brown U. and RISD reside.

I've been to Newport once, but there are the famous mansions. There's also the Tennis Hall of Fame, if you're interested in that.

tchoiniere

Easiest route from Boston to Hartford is 90 West (Mass TurnPike) to Exit 9 (I84 West) which brings you right into Hartford. Not very scenic but is the quickest.

wyatt92

Any reason you're staying in Waltham? Staying in Boston would be so much better.

As for Newport, check out the Cliff Walk and the mansions. Take a drive along Ocean Dr, stroll down Thames St, visit the Tennis Hall of Fame, have brunch at Castle Hill. Providence is nice but I think your itinerary is too packed already, I'd skip it.

capxxx

Things to see in Hartford: The Mark Twain house; Wadsworth Athenium. There is a Six Flags about a half-hour north, in Agawam MA. Springfield MA has the Basketball Hall of Fame.

(I'm guessing the dauthter is graduating from Brandeis, hence Waltham.)

If you are looking to make a stop on your way from Waltham to Hartford, you could drop by Lexington and Concord and visit the Battlefield, maybe.

Is it necessary to go all the way back to Boston from Newport, then leave for Hartford? Can you spend the night in Newport and then head for Hartford the next day? You'll save some driving that way, and there are some nice places to stop in coastal CT.

torimooney

Bar harbor is a small, rather touristy, but quaint town. You can kayak, or take a schooner cruise for a morning or shop or enjoy seafood at the harbor. There is a nice walk along the waterfront. Nearby, Acadia national park is fabulous if you like to walk, hike or bike or just enjoy natural beauty. I particularly enjoy walking the old carriage trails in the park. You can rent an audio player and tape that routes you thru the park pointing out where to stop. That could take you a full day. The tapes and players can be rented at the visitors center. Since you will be traveling up to Bar Harbor from Manchester on a holiday weekend, Rt. 1 will be slow so I would take the interstate. You could, however, take Rt. 1 down the coast of Maine when you are heading for Boston seeing Boothbay harbor and/or Ogunquit or any one of the many picturesque coastal towns. If you have had enough of Maine coastal beauty by this time, another option is to head directly south on 95 into Mass. Connect with 495 and stop at Lowell Ma., a national historic park before continuing on to Waltham. You can take a tour thru the old mills and around the area with a ranger.
En route from Boston to Hartford, just after the junction of Rt. 90. the Mass pike and Rt. 84, is Sturbridge another quaint new England town with good restaurants and also a old recreated new England village. In Hartford I’d suggest a visit to visit the Mark Twain house not far from West Hartford and of course the mansions and the cliff walk while in Newport. Hope that helps some.

Lizzie518

Is it possible to get a flight out of Bradley International (Windsor Locks) instead of Manchester? It would save you some driving on the last day. That would be preferable to me.

I would skip Providence on this trip. Newport is one of our favorite weekend getaway spots....it tends to get very busy in the summer, so your timeframe is quite good. There is plenty to see and do walking around downtown, and as others have suggested, doing some of the mansion tours (Breakers is the biggie) and the Ocean walk. I second stopping by the Inn at Castle Hill for a drink and some lunch. For an in-town lunch, you can't go wrong at The Black Pearl.

bachslunch

My guess is that the OP is staying in Waltham because the aforementioned graduation is taking place at a nearby college (Brandeis perhaps?). There are several worthy restaurants there, too: Il Capriccio (Northern Italian, expensive but excellent), La Campania (North and South Italian, expensive but excellent), Elephant Walk (Cambodian and French), Taqueria Mexico (Mexican), Sadie's Saloon (steak tips), Erawan of Siam (Thai), New Mother India (Indian), Bison County (BBQ), Domenic's (Italian style subs), Carl's (take-out steak subs). The Chowhound website will bring up good options.

If you're going to drive from Waltham to Hartford, the best way is to head westbound on the Mass Pike and take the Interstate-84 exit in Sturbridge to Hartford. A good attraction to visit on the way is Old Sturbridge Village, which could occupy the better part of a day if you see all of it; it's not far away after you've taken the I-84 exit.

One good thing to do in Acadia NP is drive the Park Loop Road (you can see things such as Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Otter Cliffs, and Cadillac Mountain along this route). Or better yet, do a search at the Fodor's or Frommer's websites -- they have plenty of good ideas.

Good possibilities for Newport, RI would include touring the various mansions that are open to the public, doing the Cliff Walk, and exploring the downtown area's shops and eateries.

And while I think Providence is a city worth visiting, I'm guessing your plate is pretty full as it is.

dfnh

First, if you have time for dinner in Manchester there are some terrific restaurants in the old mill section plus downtown area. But if your flight gives you some spare time I would be very tempted to spend the night in Portsmouth NH instead which has even better restaurants than Manchester. The quickest route to ME would be to take Rt 101 from MHT to Portsmouth and connect with I95. Since it's a long drive to Acadia I would aim to have some brief stops along the way. If you want a more scenic route from MHT to Portsmouth, go north to Concord via 293 then 93 then 393 bypass to Rt 4. This is my preferred route and it gets even nicer as you near Portsmouth and go over the bridges over Great Bay. We usually take I95 all the way to Brunswick but I would get off sooner for a nice lunch someplace or stretch your legs. Check mileage and map to see where good stopping places are. Don't miss Camden ME. Traffic on I95 is going to be extremely heavy on Friday afternoon and evening as well as Sat. If you don't mind another move, I think 5 nights in BH may be a bit long. There are so many wonderful places on the Maine coast. If you didn't make a stop in Portsmouth on your way north, don't miss it on your way to Boston.
From Waltham to Hartford... I try to avoid the Mass turnpike unless you want speed. There's a more scenic route that does thru northern CT without going all the way to the Springfield area. On your return from Hartford to MHT you can keep going north on I91 to VT. For an interstate it's pretty nice since it goes thru western MA. If you have time you could do something like visit Yankee Candles in Deerfield. Get off in Brattleboro to head to Keene. From Keene take Rt 101. Very scenic but not fastest. or take more scenic numbered state routes to MHT.

Lev

Thank you for comprehensive answers to my questions. The reason we decided to stay in Waltham, not in Boston is the price. We will have a car and can drive to the subway or train station and park a car there for a day. Still much cheaper than spending at least $120 extra per night in Boston. What would you recommend: to take subway or train to Boston?
Thanks. Lev.

tchoiniere

From Waltham, the only option I believe is the subway.

www.mbta.com - look at taking the red line.

yk

There is no subway to Waltham!!!

Option 1: Take the commuter rail from either Waltham/Roberts (at Brandeis) or Waltham Center. It goes into North Station where you can change for the Green Line. There is NO PARKING at the Waltham Center commuter station.

Option 2: Drive to Riverside station and park there for the day ($3.75), and take Green Line D into the city. However, don't know how early the lot fills up on weekdays.

Option 3: If you're in Waltham during the week (M-F), it's worthwhile to investigate several Express Bus Lines (#505, 556). They go thru part of Waltham, including the Commuter Rail stop, then get on the MassPike and have 2-3 stops in downtown. One stop is near South Station and another is in Financial District. The bus is very fast (<30mins) and cheaper than the commuter rail. However, the Express Bus doesn't run on weekends.

You should find out the what kind of shuttle service your hotel provides. Hopefully they will have service from the hotel to the Waltham Commuter Rail station, where you can either take the commuter rail or the bus (as listed above).

yk

An addendum to Option 1:
The commuter rail also stops in Porter Sq where you can change for the Red Line.

There is also Bus 70/70A which goes from Waltham thru Watertown Sq and ends in Central Square. Bus 70 runs all 7 days/week.

tchoiniere

Addition to my last post. I usually drive to Alewife and take the red line. I thought that the Alewife Station was in Waltham but agree that it is incorrect. I would just drive there and take the subway from there.

yk

Considering that most hotels in Waltham congregate at the junction of Rt 128/Totten Pond Rd, it will be almost a 10-mile drive to Alewife T Station.

It will be easier for the OP to get on Rt 128 South, and exit for Riverside Station. It's about 5-6 miles.

But it depends on where the OP wants to get to. If they want to vist some place along the Red Line, then Alewife might be easier (or Commuter Rail to Porter Sq; or Bus 70 to Central Sq). If they want to go to Back Bay/Green Line area, then Riverside is a better option.

tchoiniere

Agreed. Riverside tends to fill very early on weekdays so it just boils down to where they want to be.

gail

Any chance you can fly into Portland, ME instead of Manchester, NH. Much easier trip to Acadia? Jet Blue flies into Portland - my guess is you are picking MHT because you are flying SWA, which I do not think flies to Portland.

One warning about MBTA to Boston - many MBTA lots fill quite early on weekdays - some by 7:30 or 8 AM. I am not as familiar with lots west of Boston, where you will be. That makes hotel with shuttle more important.

Can't imagine what the "many routes" are from Boston to Hartford. You get on the MassPike and go to I84.

yk

Just re-reading the initial post.

OP will arrive in Waltham June 4th evening, and stay June 4/5/6. This will be mid-week.

Harvard commencement is June 5.
MIT commencement is June 6.

So I'm assuming your daugther is graduation from either one of the 2 schools.

Either way, both are on the Red Line. So your best bet on the commencement day is:
1) Drive to Alewife T station and park your car there (not sure how early the lot fills up, but mbta says there are 2700 parking spots there). Perhaps tchoiniere can tell you more about the parking situation at Alewife.
2) Commuter Rail to Porter Sq
3) Bus 70/70A to Central Sq

Lev

It is Harvard. The Commencement will be in Cambridge in the morning and in Boston (Medical School area) in the afternoon.
I called the hotel and they do not have shuttle service to the Commuter Rail Station..
It seems that the best option for us is to drive to Alewife T station and park our car there.. Correct?
I called the hotel and they do not have shuttle service to the Commuter Rail Station..

shaz60

You can also take the MA Pike to I-91 South to get to Hartford. Very little traffic on the Pike after Auburn.