Tom_Smith

Hi,

We recently relocated from Florida to the DC area. Before we get transferred again, we plan to take a 2 week summer vacation trip (July or August 2012) driving from DC up to Maine. Can anyone suggest the "not to miss" highlights for this type of trip? Our kids are 8 and 5 and love outdoors/cities/museums/history/pretty much everything. Thank you!!

emalloy

This thread would be a good place to startl

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ew-england.cfm

Tom_Smith

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.

nytraveler

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.

caper64

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.

Tom_Smith

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

traveler24

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.

capxxx

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.

Cranachin

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.

Ozarksbill

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

nytraveler

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.

LindainOhio

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.

dfrostnh

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.

utahtea

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

bennnie

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.

gardengrl

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.

Anonymous

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.

emalloy

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.

5alive

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.

RebMB

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!