This thread would be a good place to startl

http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/family-road-trip-to-new-england.cfm

So you would suggest Mystic Seaport, Salem, Massachussetts, Portland and Acadia National Park? Can anyone add to that? We have two weeks and will skip Philadelphia, since we are planning a separate weekend there. Thank you so much.

Cape Cod is a must.

If you do an RV you really can't visit cities - no place to put it. If you drive you have the option of spending a couple of days in either NYC or Boston (you won;t have time to do both)

Either has a ton of things kids will love - as well as adults. And this is one of the more reasonnable times for hotels in NYC - since so many locals are away at the beach or in the country and business travel is down. (Not as cheap as January - but much less than it will be later in high season

For NYC you have SoLiberty, harbor cruises,
Topf of the Rock, Central Park with zoo and lake and the Museum of Natural History - which every child in the world loves. Also they are old enoght for a starter show - like Lion King - or even one specially for kids - (they rotate - but there is stomp, blue man, bubbleman shows etc.)

Boston has Freedom Trail, nice aquarium, whale watching tours, Duck boat and a plethora of historical sights.

I just have to jump in and suggest that you consider adding Cape Cod to your itinerary. If you make it an RV trip, there are plenty of great RV parks/campgrounds that are handy to everything you might want to see and do here.

Thanks for everybody's help!! We are undecided on car or RV. It seems like car would be much more convenient for sightseeing, but RV more comfortable for the actual driving and we could take the dog. I have heard that some RV campgrounds have shuttles that take you into nearby cities.

So it sounds like the not to be missed highlights would be (if time permits):
1. NYC
2. Mystic Seaport
3. Cape Cod
4. Boston
5. Salem
5. Portland
6. Acadia

Some RV parks do not allow dogs and if do ,cannot leave dog in RV alone.
Some RV parks do have access to public transit.
you will get lots of info..www.RV.net/forum.
Often you will find a car rental company that will deliver a car to RV park...
Hope this helps.

Well, compared to the others on your list I think Salem is somewhat miss-able. It has some history, but mostly kitschy stuff related to witches (i.e. the witch trials). Lake Winnepseauke or the White mountains may be more fun.

With the kids, you might want to look into the ``living history museums'' in New England, including (Mystic Seaport is one), Sturbridge Village, Plimouth Plantation, Strawbery Banke, and such.

As someone who lives near Salem, I would agree that you ought to leave it out, especially with children the ages yours are.

If you still want history I would go for one of the living history places capxxx mentioned or else maybe Lexington and Concord.

Freedom Trail in Boston, Lexington & Concord incl. Old North Bridge, Sturbridge Village, Mystic Seaport, Martha's Vineyard...of course and more! Over the years we've done our share of sightseeing with and without kids. We treasure the posed photo at Mystic with everyone looking grumpy. But so many museums too.

And with younger kids we did lots of RVing, some in the East but also further West with less traffic and better campsites. I think camping is more nature oriented instead of urban. In this regard, it depends on whether you have a truck camper, folddown, trailer as to how much you are tied down to a campground. Of course a big rig will likely pull a small car.

Bill in Boston

Areas immediately adjacent to majot cities usually do not have places for RVs. I believe there is a place in New Jersey where yuo can put an RV for about $80 per night. BUY, then you have to take the time and pay for the cost of getting in and out of NYC. Not access that often and not cheap for 4 people.

If you want to stick to nature RV makes more sense - but eastern cities - unlike many place in the west - just have no access for RVs.

Since you have 2 weeks, I would actually skip the cities this trip and concentrate on the National/State Parks, coastline, scenic beuaty of New England. Your life will get busier as your children get older and you can easily take short trips--even weekends to the cities you mention. It is going to get harder to get 2 weeks away as your children get into sports/school activities.

With kids that age, I would go more for nature and scenic beauty. Agree with LindainOhio. We live in a rural area and sometimes host some visiting children who live in city or suburbs. Some get out of the car and go absolutely crazy to be able to run around, climb rocks, look for salamanders. If you rented a lake side cottage in NH's lakes region, you could easily do day trips to the White Mountains. From the north and east side of Lake Winnipesaukee, Portland ME is only about an hour away. You could visit Squam Lakes Science Center in Holderness.

You could make Sturbridge Village or Plimoth Plantation a stop on the way.

We have a travel trailer we pull with a pickup truck. Setting up for the night/stay takes times. Get into position, hook up water and sewer. And don't forget dumping gray water before you leave. It's much easier to leave the camper at the campground for the duration and travel around in the truck. There are some campgrounds that have rental campers all set up. You might check into those.

More and more places are renting trucks and trailers & even pop up trailers so you might want to check into that. As dfrostnh has mentioned, it's easier to leave the trailer at the campground and go off in the vehicle. We went on a 10 week trip to the New England states in our motorhome but we had a tow car, I don't think I would have attempted many of the places we went in a motorhome!

Utahtea

For the kids, if you intend to include the White Mountains, I recommend a day at StoryLand. Its just the cutest amusement park around and geared toward young children. Its a family run place and lots of the "attractions" were made by the family decades ago and are based on nursery rhymes. Hokey as can be but really fun. Also its been updated with a splash park and newer rides. The admission price includes kenneling for your dog.

Acadia/Bar Harbor is beautiful. But it does book early so I'd recommend geting your site at the National Park as soon as you can.

To be honest, an RV in most of the places you mentioned, with the exception of Maine and The Cape, seems like a real bother. Could you do a car trip from DC to NY, then on to Mystic and rent an RV from somewhere in MA. I'm sure you could find a deal that would let you leave your car parked there for a week rental. Then you could do the Cape, daytrip in to Boston, then on up into Maine. Or you could rent the RV in NH after the Cape & Boston.

Of course, that means leaving the dog at home. But traveling in the summer with a dog can be tricky.

If you want to visit NYC, then Liberty Harbor RV Park is an easy commute into the city via public transit, and much cheaper than a hotel. You might want to also post your question on RV discussion boards; there's a friendly one at rv.net. Having lived in the Boston area all my life, IMHO the kids are too young to appreciate historic sites like Lexington or the Freedom Trail, but would enjoy re-created communities like Sturbridge Village or Plimoth Plantation, as well as Mystic Aquarium.

There is a campground in Mystic, off CT route 184 also known as the Gold Star Hwy. The Seaport and Aquarium have parking lots that could accommodate an RV if you didn't have a car to get around with.

We like camping and I think your kids will always remember this trip fondly if you camp.

Our family has a dog. When we go to just a beach, we bring her. But for a multi-stop trip, a family member took her to their home. Envision leaving your pooch behind at the campground and have him overheat in your unit, or knock his water over and then have nothing to drink all day. These would be real concerns in the summer heat.

Oh, and I have been to both Sturbridge Village and Plimouth Plantation and I would have loved a chance to do these as a kid.

We did a similar trip with our kids, 8,11 & 14, a couple years ago. My kids still say it was the best vacation ever! We went to NYC first for a few days, then rented an RV on Long Island and went north to the Boston area. We did Boston, Salem and the coast, and they loved it all.

A couple a words of caution. The tunnels around Boston are not RV friendly, so plan accordingly. One cool thing is that over the summer, you can park the RV on the Harvard campus for about $5-10 per day. Then you can take the Metro into town.

Another problem we encountered is that in the old, small towns, Salem, Marblehead, etc. the roads are very narrow and difficult to navigate with an RV. Fun nonetheless.

Have an amazing time!

Hi,

Thanks for everyone's wisdom/suggestions! We have decided to skip the RV and do car/hotels/cabins. It's cheaper. Here is what we have booked or held:

Day 1- Drive to NYC
Day 2- NYC
Day 3- NYC
Day 4- Mystic, CT
Day 5- Cape Cod
Day 6- Cape Cod
Day 7- Cape Cod/Plymouth
Day 8- White Mountain Nat Forest
Day 9- White Mountain
Day 10- Acadia
Day 11- Acadia
Day 12- Acadia
Day 13- Portland/drive part of the way home
Day 14- drive part of the way home
Day 15- home

I had two other questions. Can anyone recommend which toll transponders we should buy? Also, can anyone estimate how long it would take to get from Upper East Side to Statue of Liberty by subway? I would like to purchase Statue of Liberty tickets but I'm unsure of what time to get. Any other comments/criticism would be appreciated. Thanks.

How to see or visit the Statue of Liberty: http://gonyc.about.com/od/attractionslandmarks/tp/Statue-Of-Liberty-Visitors-Guide.htm
You can't get there by subway.
On the return from Portland consider going to Binghamton NY and south on I-81 through Harrisburg and then south through Fredricksburg MD (no tolls). Why can't you just pay the tolls in cash? The transponders work better for people who commute and need them for more than a month.

Hi Tom_Smith,
In your OP you mention either July or August. Have you confirmed what dates your trip will be? I ask because if your travel days will be Friday/Sunday/1st/15th/last of month, the traffic will be a lot worse - and you'll want the toll transponder. (Of course compounded if you travel at the end of the day on any of those.) Otherwise, as tomfuller says you save time and a little cash but not a ton.

FWIW, the transponder in the NY metro area is the EZ Pass; in MA it's Fast Lane, but the two systems work together. (You can use the EZ Pass in a Fast Lane.)

From the UES to the Statue of Liberty, you would take the 4/5 subway line to Bowling Green: the last stop in Manhattan and the one closest to the ferry departure point. For the subway ride, I'd leave yourself 45 minutes. (Not knowing how far uptown you'd be, or how far a walk from your lodgings to the subway.) However, depending on a number of factors including day of the week and time of day, you might be in line to go through security and get on the ferry for up to two hours... I don't remember how long the ferry ride takes, but I don't think it's more than 30 min or so.

// I'm curious why you have a full day at Mystic. Or does that include leaving NYC and traveling there? It's a nice place for a stop, but IMO it's better to spend your time on the Cape! In what town on the Cape will you be staying?

I also agree that you might want to look at a different route back than you take out. Another suggested route would be from Portland, ME, head inland in MA along the I-495 loop to the Mass Pike west (toll) to I-91 south. That way you could stop at the colonial recreation at Old Sturbridge Village, if you're not filled to the brim with that stuff by then(!). Or take the Mass Pike all the way west to Albany, NY before heading south...

In fact, IMO your itinerary has you zigging-and-zagging more than I personally would do. (Out to the Cape in the east, back west when you head north to the White Mountains, then east again to Acadia...) Also, your current route would have you passing right through Boston and near many historic towns nearby like Lexington and Concord. If you can, some time in any of these would be great for history, museum loving kids.

Sorry - but the Statue of Libertyis closed for renovations. Yuo can get the ferry to Liberty Island and look at the outside - but that hardly seems worth the wait for the ferry unless you are going on to EllisIslad Immigration Museums which is brilliant. For the ferry the security line in about 45 minutes and the ticket buyers line (if you don't have advance tickets) ranges from 30 minutes to eternity - based on time of day and day of week.