aussie_10

We are planning a trip to the East Coast next year.
Some highlights have been on our bucket list for such a long time. Yes we know it is a long way away but we need to configure the flights and are hoping to use FF points.

We will have 6 weeks. Top of our list is:
New York City, Fall Foliage CT or NH?, Boston, Washington, New Orleans (I know its a long way from NYC but hubby is a music teacher so very high on his list and not sure when we would be back) and maybe looking for other southern ideas.

We don't like to rush our stays so would spend at least a week in NYC, Fall Foliage etc. Just trying to piece it all together and add on suggested places to visit.
Thinking of flying over mid to late September. Should we go north first or south?

Looking forward to your suggestions

tomfuller

https://www.google.com/search?q=fall...ml%3B565%3B277
My suggestion would be to fly to Boston First and rent a car in late September. The progression of peak color moves from north to south.
Return the car to Boston and take an Amtrak train to New York. When you are done in NYC, take another train to Washington. When you are done in Washington DC, take the Amtrak Crescent through Atlanta to New Orleans. Fly home from New Orleans.

BigRuss

You need a car in New England. You do not want one in New York City. And Amtrak from NYC to DC is decent.

Ditch any notion of the train south of DC. Good gosh.

Tom Fuller is the lone shill for Amtrak on this board. The service and reliability of Amtrak is poor. It is slow. It is expensive. It is inconvenient. Only the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston has reliable and moderately swift service.

Outside that region, Amtrak trains are subservient to every freight line whose tracks they use, therefore they must give way in a traffic conflict. The US passenger train system is not an equivalent to that in Europe or Japan - there is no true high-speed rail (average speed between NYC and Boston is around 65 mph including stops - compare that to Kyoto-Tokyo shinkansen). And the train from DC to New Orleans takes 25 HOURS. That is a ridiculous amount of time to waste in transit unless you routinely ride the Ghan for fun.

Fly to New Orleans if you're going there.

nytraveler

IMHO you are coming too early for the best of fall color. In the area around Boston the Columbus Day weekend - about Oct 12th - is usually the best color. For a lot of color earlier you might have to go to inland Maine (coasts get full color later).

IMHO it makes most sense to fly into Boston in early Oct, spend a week, rent a car to see the fall colors for a week and end up in NYC where you dump the car and spend a week, then take Amtrak to DC. (This is really the only leg train makes sense. Tom Fuller would reco Amtrak to go to the moon - he just thinks it's the only way to go anywhere.) Afterward fly down to NO - and it may be late enough in the year not to be too hideously hot.

BlueSwimmer

Are you dying to see New England fall leaves? If not, go later in the fall. Do NYC then take the train or Bolt Bus to DC. After exploring DC, rent a car and head out to the Blue Ridge Parkway to go south while enjoying beautiful fall views. From there, you could swing west to Nashville and Memphis for music touring or head straight down 59 to New Orleans. It is about a day/day and half drive from Virginia. You can break the trip in Knoxville or maybe a cabin in western Georgia in the mountains. This way it will be much less sweltering in New Orleans when you arrive.

tomfuller

Tonight's Crescent left Washington right on time 6:30PM ET.
It is expected into Atlanta on time (8:30AM ET).
It is expected into New Orleans 30 minutes early about 7PM CT tomorrow. The one time I rode the Crescent I stopped for 24 hours in Atlanta on my way from NOL to WAS.
I much prefer looking at scenery from ground level instead of flying over it.

rjasnumberonefan

I take offense in you calling TomFuller a "lone shill". He's our go-to-guy for train options. I find his suggestions very useful. I love to travel and see the land. My vacation starts when I leave home, not when I get there. Sure you can fly to get somewhere quicker if you are in a time crunch, but we all need to slow down a little in our lives. Our great country looks amazing from a train window. You see how the other half lives. The farm fields, the wooden forests, the big cities, the poor and the rich are all in your sights.

Open mindedness is the key to adventure.

dfrostnh

Mid-September is too early for fall color so go end of Sept and start north. We just returned from an overnight to VT and saw a little bit of early color where an occasional tree or branch had already changed. The scenery was beautiful and there wasn't any traffic since it was too early for leaf peepers. Although I live in NH, trips to the White Mountains are not my favorite. I always recommend the southerly east/west route from Rt 16 south of Conway thru Tamworth, Center Sandwich and Squam lakes area before connecting with I93 to go north thru the White Mountains. Color changes first north and at higher elevations. Then head thru Vermont to go south and the reason being the southern tier of New Hampshire is pretty built up and industrial (except for southwestern corner near Keene) and VT is still full of farms. Norwich VT is one of my favorite places right now between King Arthur Flour store and baking classes, Norwich Farmers Market and the Montshire Museum for the grandkids and the Norwich Inn is a lovely place to stay and/or dine. But also had a wonderful airb&b experience in a private home on top of a hill with a wonderful view. Maybe your husband would enjoy the music played at farmers market. You can do a nice foliage trip in just a few days but go mid-week to avoid the worst of the traffic.

aussie_10

Thank you all for your suggestions.
Leaving date would be around 18 September (tying in with our school holidays) but once it is booked i.e 12 months out we will be locked in. It will be my husband and me.

Originally I thought of flying into New York first, spending a week there and maybe doing Washington DC from there (by train) and then heading up to Boston. But flying into Boston does sound good but I think it will be too early. It is easier for us to get a direct flight to New York from Australia.

If we went to New York then to Washington DC by train and then flew (is flying best?) to Boston to pick up a car and then head to CT, would this work. Should we stop along the coast of Maine?

Would this route work. We like to stay in places a minimum of 4 nights and happy to stay a week to use as a base. Have read some mixed views on best areas for fall colour, suggestions?
We love markets and sampling the local food.

BigRuss

>

Your issue, not mine. Fact is, Amtrak is slow, unreliable, and untimely even if Tom can point to one day that the Crescent made its route on time. And considering the value of vacation time, blowing 25 hours on a rolling tin can vs. 2.5 hours on a flying tin can is an equation that solves itself.

china_cat

if that schedule puts you in Connecticut in late Sept/ early Oct, you are still too early for foliage. Plus you are really better off going further north. the foliage in CT isn't particularly good. You should try to hit the mountains somewhere. New Hampshire, Vermont, even the Berkshires are probably better choices than Connecticut. You could do a week-10 days from Boston, up to the Maine Coast, into New Hampshire, then back to Boston, then fly to NO from here. But that week-10 days should be no earlier than the 2nd week in October.

Washington-Boston...flying is probably the cheapest, and the fastest. I like taking the train because I only fly when I have to, but the Acela is expensive and takes 6 1/2 hours. It is a very pleasant trip however. And if you were actually going to Connecticut, you could take the train someplace like New Haven or New London and pick up your car there. it might make it more affordable/quicker than going to Boston.

aussie_10

I don't want to be too early for the Fall foliage, I know it is hard to get the timing right but 2nd weekend in Oct seems a good average.

So maybe if we arrived New York around the 18th Sept, and did the following:
New York 8 nights
Washington 4 nights
Boston 4 nights
Maine 4 nights (not sure where to base ourselves, suggestions)
New Hampshire and Vermont 4 nights each? (suggestions for a base?) That would put us in NH & VT 2nd week of October

Then fly south to New Orleans and somewhere for the last 2 weeks

Another thought, given that I don't want to be too early for the fall foliage, would it be better to go to New Orleans first or is it too hot?

aussie_10

Trying to piece it all together, as ithe trip has been on my bucket list for so long,

BigRuss

New Orleans too hot? For an Aussie? Probably not in mid-September. July and August would be the warmest months. Current 10-day forecast for NOLA indicates highs from 87-93 (31-34 Celsius) and some threat of rain almost daily.

dfrostnh

We're seeing occasional tinges of color in some trees in some places already. I'm guessing it might be earlier this year. Oct 1 is a Wed so first weekend in October is what I would choose for NH and VT but keep in mind there will probably be color as early as last weekend in Sept in NH's White Mountains. I would not do 4 nights each in VT and NH. Vermont definitely has more open farm land which makes some wonderful views. NH has the granite mountains. Portland ME to NH's Conway area is only about an hour's drive. Drop down a little bit and you're in the lakes region. Meredith on Lake Winnipesaukee is very beautiful in any season but will also be very busy. You could spend a couple of night IF you want to do some tourist things like boat cruise on Squam Lake or Lake Winnipesaukee or walk/hike The Flume. Continue north on I93 right thru the mountains and drive over to VT.

We just spent 2 days in the eastern mid VT area and had a lovely time following directions to see some private gardens open to the public for just one day. Drove over some covered bridges, visited the Norwich farmers market. Simon Pierce has a wonderful restaurant in Quechee and fascinating building/glass blowers. But the western route along the Champlain Valley from Burlington south to Middlebury is lovely. Brandon is another favorite town. Check to see when they have their scarecrows out. Stay in Burlington for some shopping, great restaurants and Shelburne Museum visit. Plot a route to visit the Vermont Country Store.

aussie_10

dfrostnh - fantastic ideas, just what I needed, taking notes.

Thanks for the advice on nights spent in various places and yes we would love the open farm land and covered bridges and farmers markets. We love walks and of course any water experiences are a plus. We like to drive on the smaller roads and take our time. So we would love drive suggestions.

Russ yes us Aussies are familiar with hot days but we do not like the humidity. Its not hurricane season is it?