hnl

I will be traveling to New England September 19-26 and this my 1st trip to this area. My daughter will be traveling with me and she is interested in the Berkshires, although I have told her it is too early for fall colors, and I am interested in the coastal towns. I have no idea what to expect and still in the very early stages of planning so tell me if this itinerary would be a stretch. Fly into Boston and drive to the the Berkshires to spend 2 nights (possibly Great Barrington, Lenox or another town to be determined). Next, drive to Portland for 2 or 3 nights and then leisurely drive down the coast and spend the last 2 or 3 nights in Boston. Time-wise is this too much. Any input would be appreciated.

emalloy

This is a nice time to visit the area and there will be a little color, especially the swamp maples. This site is one to check out, click on the states and areas you will be visiting and look for events, festivals, fairs etc. that will be happening when you travel. Go back when the time gets closer to the trip as some things don't get posted until closer to the happening.

http://www.visitnewengland.com/all/

china_cat

your itinerary seems fine. The driving is not too bad. Its a little hard to comment though, with no idea of what you hope to do or see?

Great Barrington is a very cute town, though Lenox would also be a good choice. Is there something specific about the Berkshires your daughter is interested in? One can easily keep busy for a couple of days or long.

dfrostnh

If you haven't gotten your plane tickets yet, I would try to travel so you have a full Saturday at the beginning of your trip. There are some great farmers markets on Saturdays. I have not been to the one in Portland ME but Brattleboro, Norwich and Montpelier VT are all wonderful. From the Berkshires, you can head up to VT then across NH to Portland. That's not a direct route but would give you more scenery.
But a visit to Concord MA, Lexington and Harvard (Fruitlands) would be nice to include.

The leisurely drive down the coast from Portland isn't very scenic and not near the coast. You would do best to visit a coastal town and then do I95 to Boston. One time dh and I thought we would do the coastal route from Portland to Ogunquit but it's very windy backgroads and not much coast. We finally hopped on Rt 1 to get to our hotel.

I think you can have a great week and visit all three areas. It will just be hard to decide how much time in each and whether or not to do any "short" detours.

hnl

emalloy- Thanks for the tip on the website, great information and will use it it to help plan my trip. Will definitely check events out prior to leaving since it looked like there was about 3 months of scheduled events on the calendar.
china_cat- the reason we were heading to New England was to see fall colors. I know it's a few weeks early for that but asked my daughter what area she was interested after checking out the travel books and that area impressed her. When i realized it was too early for color, I thought we could split the time between the Berkshires and the coast. I am interested in seeing the coastline, lighthouses, eating seafood and exploring areas of Boston and Portland. I really have no set agenda, just want to relax and spend time with my daughter. Can you advise between Great Barrington and Lenox? From reading about the two towns, I was leaning towards GB only because it seems a bit larger? than Lenox, so more more restaurant choices etc...
defrostnh- Thanks for tip on driving Portland to Boston, I had no idea it would not be scenic. I was very interested in your idea about going through Vermont and New Hampshire to Portland. Scenic route would be best, will need to do a bit more research on this area since I had not thought we would have time for Vermont.

dfrostnh

hnl, I hate most interstates esp the Mass Turnpike which is a very limited access hwy. If you do google maps you can head north from the Berkshires on I91 to VT. It goes up the eastern border of VT next to NH and is a prettier route with less traffic. Brattleboro VT is a funky small town. From there, you can head east to Keene NH, a college town, then Rt 101 thru the scenic SW corner of NH. You'll eventually hit the industrial commercial start near Nashua but if you want unusual, you could plan to have an herbal lunch (reserve well in advance) at Pickety Place in Mason NH. I would ignore gps advice to take rt 101 all the way to the coast. It's in my boring route category. But it can be seductive since you could end up in the Exeter and Hampton NH area. If you do a short hop north on I293 (not I93) you will go along the west side of the Merrimack River with a view of the old mills that are now restaurants, offices, and museums. Continue north to Concord NH, the state capital with a small, walkable downtown also home to the main store for the NH League of Arts and Crafts. Connect with I393 to bypass the commercial strip and then take Rt 4 that goes thru small towns and thru Antique Alley in Northwood. You might see some red swamp maples along the way but the real reward is Rt 16 bridges over Great Bay, your first view of great water. Rt 16 will connect with I95 at the Portsmouth traffic circle but the pretty part of Portsmouth is the Market Square area and Strawbery Banke Historic Area. You can take a harbor cruise or inland rivers cruise if you want a break from driving.

I90/Mass Turnpike to I495 to I95 will be a faster route but if you want scenery and have the time, you might enjoy a little bit of Vermont before you go to the coast. Rt 101 from Keene as described goes thru Dublin NH, home of Yankee Magazine so you might want to visit their website for some scenic drive suggestions. We had early color last year but I've been in Stowe VT (very north) the third weekend in Sept and seen no color at all.

Should you decide to go further north in VT to Norwich, home of King Arthur Flour, I89 is a scenic interstate that will take you to Concord NH where you can connect with I93 and my suggested route to the coast. If you like baking, you don't want to miss King Arthur Flour.

clarkgriswold

Portland is a major city, lots of traffic etc, good foodie scene and you'll find enough to do for 3 days, but you're not really getting to the "rocky coast" of Maine. South of Portland is pretty commercial all along route 1 and more beach than scenic coastline. I think I'd stay in Camden for a couple of nights, then a night in Portland or Ogunquit if it were my first time to Maine.

BigRuss

>

. . . for Belize, maybe. It has < 70K people.

You may want more time in Bawston, which is a great city to visit (although it's crap to live there) and has a lot for visitors to see and do. Stay somewhere with easy access to the T and ditch the car asap when you get settled in the lodging - Bostonians drive worse than New Yorkers and the streets are not nearly as logically laid out as in Manhattan. Central Boston is compact - physically it is a very small city.

china_cat

I think Lenox and GT Barrington are both pretty nice. They both have enough restaurants to keep you busy. I happen to know GB better, and I like the town. there are a number of fun shops, some crafty, some outdoors, old antique shops and such. We often walk through town visiting them. My favorite restaurants in GB are Prairie Whale, and Cafe Adam. for upscale, I really like John Andrews (south of GB in Lee)

So mostly I would pick based on what's convenient for other things you plan to do. The Rockwell museum is great, as is Chesterwood and is closer to Great Barrington. September is too late for Tanglewood, but there are other artistic offerings...I think the various theater companies still have plays through September.

If you leave for Maine from the Berks, you could head north to Williamstown, and then take route 2 east. It's a very pretty drive, particularly the western part of it.

fun01960

Great Barrington and Lenox are great places. But if foliage is your objective, I would suggest you head North from Boston, not west. Colors come earlier to the north. Consider the white mountains of New Hampshire. Check out towns like Woodstock, Bretton Woods and Jackson. Look at attractions such as the Kancamagus Highway, the Fluke Gorge and the Cannon Mountain tram.

Happy Planning!

rizzo0904

You could also fly in to Albany and out of Boston. Albany is close to western Mass.

Google Bridge of Flowers in western Mass too.

Ozarksbill

Seems you are a fairly new Fodors poster. And that you have traveled in Japan and Asia but no clues where you live. We ourselves moved to the Boston area 4 1/2 years ago (to be near family) and have explored New England and have several trip reports on Berkshires, Boston journeys, etc. Although we weren't strangers to N. E.

Anyway, yes coastal towns are a treat up into Maine, on up U.S. 1. Last summer we had a family gathering for a week at Ogunquit. And we've explored Boothbay Harbor, Bristol, Rockland, etc. We have a favorite modest motel we found. There's Acadia Nat'l Pk. to the north near touristy Bar Harbor. And must mention many sights in Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, etc. And then there's Boston and historic sights such as Lexington and Concord where the Revolutionary War began.

stoweflake

Great Barrington is a larger town then Lenox. I agree with Paire Whale, very Brookllyn, as my daughter would say. Stockbridge and Lenox are all 15 minutes apart and you should visit the historic Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge. Norman Rockwell painted this town in one his his famous paintings. You could catch a bite to eat in the Lion's Den in the basement of the Inn. There is often live music on the weekends. A great short hike called Ice Glen is on a road right near the Red Lion Inn. The museum is very interesting also. I do love Lenox, there are beautiful stone churches in the area too. Lenox has a great bookstore (called "the bookstore" on Housatonic Street), where my daughter just picked up a second hand book signed by "Alice" of Alice's restaurant. The old restaurant is in Stockbridge. New owners though.

I have to mention that there are two amazing coffee shops in West Stockbridge which is near Lenox and Stockbridge. One is called Depot Six. It is housed in an old train station. They roast their own coffee and and all sorts of cool entertainment. The other is called Shaker Dam, right on the river. Owned by one a photographer from National Geographic. His photos are displayed there and the eggnog coffee is amazing. cozy place.

If you do go to Williams the newly updated "Clark Museum is absolutely worth a visit.

The grounds are very cool too.
I recommend you stay at http://brookfarm.com
You can walk to Lenox up a short hill and the owners have lots of stories and advise.
The website also has the links to much of what I mentioned above.
Have fun. Oh and for yoga and spa (see I can't stop) lol There is Kirpalu, Cranwell and the expensive Cannon Ranch. The grounds at Kirpalu are worth a short drive and look around. You can walk from the parking to Stockbridge Bowl through their trails in the woods.
Have fun.

hnl

dfrostnh- Thanks for very detailed route to Portland. This seems like an excellent route and I marked it out on my map and both Brattleboro and Keene are spots that are highly recommended by my guidebook. I have recently gotten on a website discover America.com and will plug this route in. It will give me an idea of miles and time etc..
clarksgriswold- I do know I am missing a very scenic portion of Maine, Acadia National park and other areas north of Portland. If I had a bit more time I would have definitely put this area on my agenda. There is always next time, my expectations for trip will be to get a taste of N.E. so that I have something to look forward to on my next visit.
BigRuss- we are not going to keep the car in Boston. I enjoy public transport and would not want to deal with hassle of traffic etc.. when public transport is so convenient and affordable.
china cat- thanks for the restaurant recommendations. I am leaning towards G.B. so will let you know how this works out when I return.
fun01960- thanks for your ideas. I will talk to my daughter since if fall foliage was her goal for this trip. I sure wish we could have delayed the trip for 2 weeks but with her job was not possible.
rizzo0904. The reason we are flying into Boston is the flight is so affordable from Honolulu about 740.00. round trip which I thought was great. I also thought renal cars were cheaper if you return to original place of pickup. I will have to do more research to see if this true and well as research open jaw flights.
Ozarksbill- I hail from Honolulu, and yes it is a very long way to travel. This trip was started by my daughter and am running with it love exploring new areas so am game for anything. I have read your trip reports as well as many others. Trying to get feel for the place and learn as much as I can before the trip. I am a planner, to me is half the fun.

hnl

stowflake- just saw your post, thanks so much for the good coffee spots. This is very important to me, gotta have have good coffee! We will certainly do some exploring of Lenox, Lee and Stockbridge while exploring the Berkshires.

dfrostnh

I agree with clark about Maine. Rockland ME is about 2 hours north of Portland. There are other great places north of Portland you could do as a day trip from Portland. Rockland has the wonderful Farnsworth Museum but Camden has the wonderful view from the top of Mt Battie (auto road) overlooking the harbor.

If I had to choose between the Casco Bay mailboat cruise that I recommended and driving to the top of Mt Battie, I would probably choose Mt. Battie. Camden is an upscale town. Rockland is more of a working harbor.

clarkgriswold

Portland city proper is not that large, hence the small population. But Greater Portland has over 200,000 people which is 1/5 the population of the entire state. It's not what I would consider a "coastal town" but more of a busy city. I suppose there might be a few hotel rooms in the city that actually have "coastal" views.
If you choose Portland, plan on day drives out to Two Lights Park/Cape Elizabeth, the Sebago Lakes Region (beautiful in September), and maybe Higgins Beach or Ocean Park. All are less than 40 mins drive.

hnl

Cape Elizabeth was on my short list and am looking at Camden as well, originally from Texas so long drives are fine with me ( drive all night, drive all day and still in Texas)�� I owe y'all a trip report when we return, thanks. More questions down way as our plan solidifies.

aussie_10

Bookmarking for later reading

dfrostnh

I didn't mean to infer that I disliked Rockland because it is more of a working harbor. Great ferry terminal. There's some excellent restaurants. We went to Breakwater Vineyards for a tasting and nice view. One day we went winery visiting and accidentally found Morse's Deli in the middle of nowhere with great products and small café. I think it was Belfast one June when dh decided he needed a haircut. Enjoyed talking to the barber about living in the area. Also, it wasn't unusual to see a sign in a closed shop "closed - gone fishing".

South of Portland you are sure to see plenty of other tourists. If you want to see fishing boats in small coves and a quieter way of life, north of Portland is better. I think it's Five Islands Lobster that probably has the best view but most lobster shacks are open weekends only after Labor Day. Lots of lobster elsewhere but the college help goes back to school and the shacks aren't insulated. Too cool to sit at picnic tables but in the summer, we opt for a picnic table and wear a hat and sunglasses, next to the ocean.