New York but branching out...

Old Jul 12th, 2013, 02:07 AM
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New York but branching out...

2 adults (child free) mid 50's visiting NY (12 days) for 2nd time (first time in Winter), staying with friends, wanting to 'do' NY in warmer temps but also interested in visiting Philidelphia, Boston, Gettysburg and anywhere else on the East coast which is able to be done in a few days without too great a cost. Would love to go as far south as N Carolina to the Outer Banks but fear not enough time. Would value any suggestions. Not too keen driving ourselves, prefer a bus tour or maybe rail. Having seen NY once and made a good attempt to visit museums, churches, etc...now ready to take advantage of warmer weather and less obvious sights. Help Gill (NZ)
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Old Jul 12th, 2013, 04:54 AM
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You can get to Philly and Boston easily by train. Philly can be done as a (rushed) day trip, but since Boston takes at least 4 hours each way I would spend at least a night or two there - depending on what you want to see/do.

Train really doesn't work for Gettysburg since the battlefields are quite spread out. I would investigate the option of taking a bus tour there from Philly.

Given your limited time I think the Outer Banks are really too far and too much to try to see in the same trip.

You might want to avoid back tracking by starting in Boston and ending in Philly - or vice versa - depending on flights from where you live. (3 night Philly, 4 NYC and 3 Boston would be reasonable.)
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Old Jul 12th, 2013, 05:20 AM
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You could do Washington DC easily by bus or train as well, as well as Providence, RI. You can get to Block Island, RI, by train and ferry if you want to see it. Mystic, CT, is also easily reachable by Amtrak.

And there are tours that utilize Metro North commuter trains to see sights in upstate New York, or the Long Island Railroad to see sights in Long Island. There are a lot of interesting things you can do in just a day. And you can take Amtrak to Hudson or Rhinebeck, NY and see those charming Hudson Valley Towns (well, Rhinebeck is more charming than Hudson), but you miss a lot since many other things can only be visited by car.

There are also bus tours from NYC, but I don't know much about them.

North Carolina is too far for such a short visit, but there are many cities close to NYC that are worth a look.

One final thought: if you don't want to drive, perhaps your friends would. You could cover the car rental and see Gettysburg and more farflung historic sights.
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Old Jul 12th, 2013, 09:28 AM
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Just noticed you said in winter. Is this trip in winter or was the previous one?

If this is winter, when matters a lot. and you may not oVato plan so much time for countryside (Hudson valley, etc)
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Old Jul 14th, 2013, 12:30 AM
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Thanks everyone for such helpful advice. This trip is happening first 2 weeks of September. Looking forward to Autumn colours. I can see the Outer Banks will have to wait. Meantime will investigate Boston, maybe tour down to Plymouth and around to Providence. Would it be too much to try to go to Charleston ? I suppose I could narrow this down to asking the big question: Given a week, what 3 places should one visit using NYC as a starting point ? They don't have to be the most obvious, but interesting and quirky and memorable...
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Old Jul 15th, 2013, 04:58 AM
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You will see no good autumn colors in early September unless you go to Maine or perhaps northern Vermont.

Charleston is FURTHER than North Carolina as it's in South Carolina. It's way too far unless you want to fly.

Three places are easy: Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC.
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Old Jul 15th, 2013, 05:18 AM
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OK -

Boston will really need 3 nights (2.5 days), Philly/Gettysburg the same or a day more) and DC at least 4 nights (3 and a part days).

I would make sure you get open jaws flights - into the first city and out of the last - to avoid wasting time backtracking.

And anything south of DC is going to be just too far.

And sorry lly prime leafpeeping is usually the first or 2nd week of Oct - and later as you head south from Boston (Central Park is early Nov).
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