hedgehog

Planning a family trip (children aged 7 and 10) to New York, Boston and Florida - around 18 nights in total leaving UK March 25th. We will fly into and out of either New York or Boston and take internal flights to Orlando (flights direct to Orlando from UK VERY expensive and booked up over Easter). It's also possible to fly from London into New York and out of Boston or vice versa for a similar cost. We want to spend most of our time in Orlando (not least of all because of the weather!) maybe 9 days. Anyway, for the moment my main aim is to take advantage of the current BA flight sale so what I need to decide is whether we fly into New York or Boston for our first leg and, if NY, then which airport? JFK or Newark (same price). I guess we'll stay midtown somewhere and we'll be arriving with quite a bit of luggage for 4 of us and clothes for cold AND warm weather. Also I am undecided whether to make Orlando the middle leg of the three stops (which would make the most sense I guess if we fly from the UK into one City and out of the other) or 'do' New York and Boston together (which I would prefer so that we do the 'colder' destinations first and spend the second half of our vacaction in the sun). However, that would then present us with the question of how we travel between NY and Boston. Hmmm, you can tell this post comes very early on in my research process but I've been suddenly spurred into action by the British Airways sale. Thanks for your suggestions.

nytraveler

From NYC to Boston is really easy. It takes about 4 hours no matter how you do it - plane, car, train or bus. For 4 people with a lot of luggage you might find driving most convenient - assuming the weather is OK. Especially if you plan on doing one or more day trips from boston (ie Lexington, Concord?).

Otherwise I would probably take the train (Amtrak). You can get info on their web site. Do not pay extra for the fast train (Acela) - it is really only a few minutes faster - if it runs on time at all.

Third choice would be bus and 4th plane. (It's just too much trouble to trek in and out of the cities to the airports with all those people/luggage.)

How you schedule the cities may depend on your Orlando flights. If the cost NYC-OR and then OR-Boston is the same as NYC-OR round trip I would do the rrip with NYC and BOS as bookends. However, a RT flight from NYC-OR might be much cheaper - in which case I would do Boston, NYC and then ORlando, flying back to NYC and then on to the UK. (That should be doable in one day - there are tons of flights out of Orlando to the NYC area.)

That decision can also help you decide whether to use JFK or EWR as your UK airport - depending on where you can get better Orlando flights. (Have no info on this since we always you LGA to Orlando - but it doesnl;t have any international flights.)

Anonymous

nytraveler has given you good advice regarding boston/NYC travel -- for 4 people, renting a car would almost certainly be the cheapest and most convenient. Driving IN either city is no fun, however, and not needed since both have excellent public transport systems.

mclaurie

I think I was the one who pointed out originally that there is no added expense to coming into one (from the UK) and leaving from another. Putting Orlando in the middle of the trip makes the most practical sense. It avoids both the cost & time of travel (it kills the better part of a day any way you look at it) between NY/Boston AND avoids uneccesary backtracking from Orlando.

For the most practical route, I'd fly into NY (not a big difference to get to midtown from either JFK or Newark). Then you have your choice of airlines/airports to Orlando. La Guardia has some low cost carriers like Spirit and I think Jet Blue will also have flights from LGA which is closer to midtown than either Newark or JFK.

Then fly Orlando to Boston for just a few days and home you go.

I am sympathetic to your desire for getting the cold weather out of the way first though. In that case, pick the route/stops that are the most convenient. I agree with nytraveler on getting between ny and boston although I'm not sure I'd recommend a car rental. Parking/driving in Boston is a pain and it will be a one way rental which often carries heavy drop off fees.

hedgehog

Thanks for all your advice. Though it is not the most practical order to do it (and having spent a while researching internal flight prices to Orlando), I think I am leaning towards flying into Boston travelling from there to New York and taking internal flights in and out of (probably) JFK to Orlando and then flying back to LHR from JFK; the weather being the motivating factor for making Orlando the last leg as previously mentioned. With this in mind I imagine we will probably drive from Boston to New York (abandoning the car at a drop off point and taking a taxi to our hotel). Is the drive between the two cities in anyway scenic/interesting or could we 'map' it to be? Is there anything/place worth seeing en route or is it just a case of accelerator down, grit your teeth and head for the Interstate?

Anonymous

New England is usually at its least scenic in March and early April -- probably just lots of gray, unless there's a lingering snow cover.

But you'll be going through Massachusetts, Connecticut and possibly Rhode Island (there are two major highway routes). The kids might enjoy Sturbridge Village (see www.osv.org) or the various attractions in Mystic, CT. Or check past Fodors posts on those 3 states.

mclaurie

A few odd pieces of info

I see no reason to "abandon the car" before getting to your hotel in NYC. Unlike London, there's no congestion charge (some of the bridges and tunnels have a toll though) and it's not so difficult to drive in the city. Leaving the car to take a train or taxi into the city will only add cost IMO. Either take the train all the way, or drive and have the convenience of door to door transport. Most, if not all the major rental car cos. have locations in the city.

Found this old thread re doing a day trip between Boston & NY. While not totally relevant, pay attention to Neal Sanders advice in this thread. There's also some directions on the thread
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...=1&tid=1315648

Here's a trip report from a fellow Englishman (screenname Rickus) who did a Northeast trip this past Easter holiday. Again, while not what you're planning, some good info for perspective

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34417115

I would start a new thread titled something like interesting stops between Boston and New York. You should state the sort of things you'd like or how far out of the way you'd be interested in going. Mystic Ct is an obvious stop with kids (how old are yours?)

If you can fly from LGA to Orlando (and then return to JFK) it's much closer to NYC.

highledge

not so sure a car would be the best option. You can still hit some major snow in NY and Boston in late march/ early april. THAT could really ruin a trip unless you are comfortable on the wrong side of the road in snow!

Cicerone

IMO doing all this to save the airfare of a direct flight from the UK to Orlando seems like more trouble than it is worth. Have you actually be able to get cheap return flights from JFK to Orlando in March, and have you confirmed that the all-in costs of flying UK-Boston, renting a car one way from Boston to NYC, flying Orlando -NYC return and then JFK-UK is actually cheaper than just a UK-Orlando ticket? That is a popular month for US travellers as well, and I can't really imagine that that there are cheap internal flights from JFK to Orlando.

Have you considered flying into and out of Atlanta? BA has a non-stop flight. You could rent a car and drive to Orlando from there. It would take 6-7 hours, as opposed to about 4 hours from Boston to NYC, but no snow in Georgia. (They occasionally get freak snowfalls which melt almost immediately.) You would then have a car for Orlando, and no drop off charges.

Other airports to consider are Daytona Beach Florida (about 1 hour drive), Tampa Florida (1.5 hour drive), Jacksonville, Florida (2.5 hours drive), West Palm Beach Florida or Miami, Florida (about 4 hours drive), Tallahassee Florida (4 hours) and Savannah, Georgia (about a 5 hour drive, worth a day or two it itself). Tampa, Daytona and West Palm/Miami are great beach destinations and would be a nice start or finish to a holiday in Orlando, IMO.

Weather in Boston and NYC are VERY iffy in late March, could be freezing with snow or sleet, not a pleasant time to be walking around the streets of NYC, let alone driving down from Boston in it. I assume you have never driven in snowfall, it takes practice, and there may be ice on secondary roads. Also, as you are only renting the car to drive to NYC, that seems like an expensive transport option, as you don't need the car in NYC. If you really want to see NYC on this trip, consider taking the train. With a one-way car rental and petrol (US$2 a gallon) the price of the train tickets for the family may not be much more than a car.

Anonymous

Don't assume high drop-off fees. A spot-check on Budget actually shows a lower rate ($41) for Boston-NYC than for Boston/Boston ($55) on March 28. Gas estimate: 200 miles @25 MPG is 8 gallons, or $16. That's about the same as a single adult fare on Amtrak, and the OP would be paying for 3 (kids under 15 go half-price). And of course driving gives more options for travel times, side trips, etc.

Icy weather is possible but not probable in late March/early April.

vacationdreamer

As someone has posted, by the end of March/early April, snow/ice is possible but unlikely. Bigger risk at that time is "icky" weather - 40's, overcast, with showers - at least it will make you feel right at home Make sure to check jet blue for the domestic flights to Orlando - tickets are priced one-way, so if you decide to do Orlando in the middle, it won't cost you more.

If you rent a car, try to find a place that is walkable to your NY hotel (or at least an easy subway ride), that shouldn't be much of a problem as all the major car rental places are all over the city. That way you can drive the luggage and kids to hotel, and then just drop of the car afterwords.

If you like to ski, that is a good time for some late season skiing (still full snowpack, not extremely cold) you might want to consider a diversion between NY and Boston.

sturgeon0

The Boston - NYC drive iws very straightforward however I have to warn you about the traffic. This stretch of highway always has heavy traffic, however this weekend I was taken aback as we were leaving NY towards Providence, RI. The NY police department were stopping and checking vehicles that were trying to enter the city. This was causing HUGE delays. When we drove past the roadblock at 2 pm the back-up was about 20 miles long!

I know that the city was implementing road blocks in Westchester Co for the Republican National Convention, but does anyone know if these will be more permanent?

I'd ate to see hedgehog sitting in traffic with the kids!

nytraveler

All of this extra security was for the RNC - it is not permanent.

Ryn2691

Odds are that your internal flights will be MUCH cheaper from the NYC area to MCO than from Boston. JetBlue flies from JFK, too, which means that you can skip the ground transfer if you take a same-day flight transfer there on one or the other end of the trip. If you go through Newark, ATA is a discount carrier that flies from there to MCO. BTW, do *not* expect internal flights here to be as deeply discounted as internal flights in the UK; due to the sheer size of this country and the way that we tax internal flights, we just don't get the kinds of sales you get there.

Have you priced US-based carriers from London? I just randomly priced Apr 6-18, and I found a price of US$507 from USAIR on non-stop flights from Gatwick to Tampa. Try using itasoftware.com to price itineraries; the search engine lets you put in airports by proximity and fiddle the dates. When you get a good fare quote, print the details and go to the airline's own site to book the tickets.

Anonymous

Ryn, the March 25 date cited in the OP is probably the start of their Easter vacation, whereas your random April 6 is midweek, 10 days after Easter, bound to be less demand.

linden1228

I have lived in boston for the past four years and lived in New York for four years before that. Driving between Boston and New York at any time of the year is not scary (ice, snow, or regardless) unless there is a major storm happening, in which case everyone would stay off the roads. Even when it is snowing, roads between Boston and New York are extremely well cared for, iced and cleared regularly. Driving is not a problem. Nor is traffic at that time of the year...the Merrick parkway/Hutchinson is a nice alternative to 95 between Hartford and NYC and rarely congested.
What you should know however is that driving in boston is extremely difficult, even if you live here and know the city. THere is also very little parking in Boston for non-residents, so if you're renting a car, you should leave the city directly.
That all said, the method of travel of choice for many Bostonians is the train, Acela or regular, because it goes directly from Back Bay station to Penn Station in about four hours.
Jetblue flies to Orlando from both Boston and JFK, so you could fly straight to Florida and then back into New York.
happy travels.