New England Road Trip

Old Nov 10th, 2013, 01:08 PM
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New England Road Trip

My aunt and I are flying into NYC from California and want to spend a couple of days to see the sights there. We are planning on taking the train or a bus out of nyc and will rent a car to tour the New England states, preferably the coastline. We have up to 2 weeks including flights to and from Calfornia. We've never been to the east coast and want to hit all the touristy sites - Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, etc. We like to shop, check out the history, etc. No hiking or sports...just sight seeing. Any advice on an itinerary and where to get off the train/bus to start the road trip? We thought we'd go all the way to Bar Harbor.
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Old Nov 10th, 2013, 01:31 PM
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What time of year?
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Old Nov 10th, 2013, 01:49 PM
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Sorry. I guess that's important! June 2014
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Old Nov 10th, 2013, 02:23 PM
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Here are a few of my favorite New England spots with lots of "touristy" appeal....

Boston - Freedom Trail is a historic walk through the city. You can take a tour or walk it yourself - the sidewalk is marked. Little Italy is a great place for dining.

Portsmouth, NH- Cool little city - great dining and tax free shopping in NH.

Kennebunkport or Ogunquit, ME - Great Southern Maine beach town with shopping dining and beaches.

Stowe Vermont - Picturesque and tourist friendly Vermont town. Mountain views.

Burlington, Vermont - Right on Lake Champlain. Good dining, walking, and lake views.

North Conway, NH - Mountain town in New Hampshire. Outlet shopping and hub for outdoor activities in the White Mountains.

Bar Harbor/Acadia, ME - Great dining, picturesque ocean views and access to the National park.


Have a great trip!
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Old Nov 12th, 2013, 01:05 PM
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You will probably want to spend more than a couple of days in NYC. There is tons of stuff to do and see there. Even if you just stick to Manhattan, big and fun.

June can still be rather spring-like in coastal regions and up north. Don't be disappointed if you don't have beach weather.

Have you booked your air yet? I would suggest arriving in NYC and departing from BOS. The airfare should be similar to a straight round trip.

If you do that, you can take Amtrak from NYC to Boston, spend a couple of days there, then rent a car and do a big circular trip. The idea is that you want to be able to drop off the car in the same location to avoid steep one way drop off fees.
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Old Nov 13th, 2013, 05:17 AM
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Perfect! How many days do you think it would take to see the New England sites?
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Old Nov 13th, 2013, 07:46 AM
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Fly into NYC and stay for 3-4 days
Train to Providence RI and rent car there, spend 1 day in Newport
Drive to Cape Cod - 2-3 days with day trip to Martha's Vineyard
(but if you want to take a car there in June you need reservations about a year in advance, as soon as the website lets you make them)
Drive around Boston up to the NH/Maine coast. York, Ogunqit, Kennebunkport, Portland, Boothbay Harbor area, up to Acadia - you need at least 3 days for this, 5 would be better
Cut over into NH/Vt for a few days (2-3)
Back to Boston, drop car, spend 3 days, fly out of Boston

These are minimum times. I'd probably drop something to have more time in the others - I'd probably drop the Cape. But you could do it all if you like to keep moving and don't expect to see everything in each area.
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Old Nov 13th, 2013, 07:48 AM
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Or since you said coast is your priority you could skip Vermont and then you could fit in both the Cape and Acadia.
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Old Nov 13th, 2013, 09:05 AM
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Add Camden ME to your list. If you don't make it as far north as Acadia, try to make it this far.
Portland ME is a fun city. You can take a mailboat cruise of Casco Bay. The Old Port area is fun shopping. You can also take a foodie tour but I don't think it's as good as the foodie tours in Boston.

You'll have to drive thru NH to get to Maine so I second or third the recommendation for Portsmouth NH. You can also take a boat ride here. Boutique shopping or head over the bridge to the Kittery ME outlet malls.
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Old Nov 13th, 2013, 09:37 AM
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Agree with recommendations for Newport - the mansions are great to tour, the Freedom Trail and/or Duck Boats, Portsmouth, Kennebunkport and Acadia.

You might consider a stop on our route from Boston to Portsmouth in Newburyport and Plum Island. Plum Island has a very long beach to walk and Newburyport is a nice dining/shopping destination.

Love Portland too!
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