Washington, DC to Boston

Old Apr 14th, 2014, 08:54 PM
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Washington, DC to Boston

Planning a trip late June flying into Washington, DC, then driving to Philly, NY, and Boston (where we will fly home from). Wife and I plus 18 and 15 year olds. Currently plan for 3 days in Washington and one each in the other 3 cities.

Thinking of dropping Philly and then having a day between Washington and NY and between NY and Boston to take in the countryside and a little more relaxing.

A. Will we be disappointed if we skip Philly?
B. Is 3 days enough in DC?
C. Is 1 day enough in NY (to do Ellis Island, Statue, Central Park, Empire State, 911 memorial, Trinity Church, Times Square) if no real shopping and no shows desired?
D. Is 1 day enough in Boston?

Any answers/opinions to any/all of the questions would be greatly appreciated.
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Old Apr 14th, 2014, 10:42 PM
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Driving up the east coast isnt exactly relaxing countryside....

Does 1 day in NYC and Boston include travel time? Or do you also get partial travel days?
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 02:46 AM
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I answer no to all of your questions. I don't think you should bother going if for only one day.
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 02:49 AM
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Why not take your six days and split them between DC and Baltimore or Annapolis? Or DC and Williamsburg. You are trying to tackle too much.

As for Philly, I'm not a big fan. But you can see the liberty bell, the art museum, the mint, reading terminal market.

Boston is compact and walkable. You can cover a lot in one day, but you will also miss a lot.
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 03:27 AM
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Not sure exactly how your days re laid out - but if the one day "in" NY and Boston includes the time to drive there - it will just be a complete waste of time. In any case - I would pick one. And you really can;t see all those sights in one day - plus I believe Ellis Island is still under repairs and since you have to take ferries and go to Liberty Island first you really need to allow 5 or so hours for the 2 island and the 3 ferry rides - as well as waiting on line.

There are pleasant areas to visit between the cities - but you will have to pick them out and get well off the highways to see them.

Agree to consolidate the trip to have time to see more - perhaps DC, Philly and Gettysburg.
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 05:33 AM
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No, it's not nearly enough time, and you're going to be wildly disappointed. You need to do less. I'd combine DC with no more than 1 or 2 other places for a week, and I'd skip the car entirely, taking the train whenever possible. You will probably find that, with parking of $40 a night, the train costs little more than the weeklong car rental and saves you considerably on time.

If you really want to rent a car then limit yourself to DC, Baltimore, and Philly or just the DC area. But I like nytraveler's suggestion about DC, Philly, and Gettysburg the best.
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 05:58 AM
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I really like Boston, but it does not have the number of attractions that DC and NY have and Philly has less than that. If the traffic is decent it is a 5 1/2 drive (without stops) from DC to NYC and about the same from NYC to Boston.
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 08:16 AM
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I'm wondering where you are from? Driving in and out of all those cities is not the easiest thing in the world. Traffic, construction, traffic, getting lost, finding parking, traffic....it is a time consuming process. I wouldn't even entertain the idea of driving into NYC for one day, or Boston. Maybe, if you take the train, your time is more predictable and you can cover some ground.

Not to pile on, but I agree with the others...way too much in too little time. 2 destinations in a week, or you are wasting your time in traffic and looking for parking lots.
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 09:12 AM
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I agree as well, but here's a thought: you could do Philly in a day if you take the train to and from DC. There are Amtrak trains that leave around 7am, getting you to Philly around 10 am, a bit earlier if you take the Acela. You can depart Philly as late as 7pm, I think. No car needed. Just hit the historic sites in Philly and perhaps a museum or two, and/or Reading Market. Walk everywhere or take taxis. The train station is quite centrally located in both DC and Philadelphia.

Your day in NYC is not doable--sorry, that list would make a full two days. In one day, you'd have zero time to eat food of any kind and be rushing madly from one end of the city to the other.

As for DC, sure 3 days is doable. Is it enough? Not really, IMO. As I said, I'd skip Boston, skip NYC, do one day in Philly and the rest in DC. Or substitute NYC for DC. That's my two cents.
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 11:51 AM
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Hate to see you do just 1 or 1 1/2 day anywhere, but esp. NYC. Sounds like you are determined to 'do' DC, which is fine, but taking the train to any ONE of the other cities makes the most sense. I have to drive the route from south of DC to Boston frequently and I HATE it! I'll go widely out of my way to avoid the NYC area, and truth is, I don't lose that much time because the congestion and construction along the way make driving a nightmare.

By train, you can get to Balt. in 1 hr., Phila. in 2, NYC in 3 to 4 (depending on whether you take the pricey-but-faster Acela or not), and Boston in 6 1/2 - 8 hrs. (again, depending on high speed vs. "regular").

I love Phila and Boston but 1 day for either one of them is a little thin; but my feeling re: NYC is that it takes a minimum of 3 full days just to get the feel. So think about which pair of cities make the most sense and go with that.
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 11:53 AM
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"I love Phila and Boston but 1 day for either one of them is a little thin" - I mean that it just isn't enough in either place (although I think Boston offers a little more, depending on your preferences), even with 1 overnight.
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 01:57 PM
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>

Huh? DC to NYC is 4.5 hours, max, unless it's a horrid driving holiday like Thanksgiving. From NYC to Bawstin is about 4. How slow do you drive?

And to the OP: No, you cannot do NYC, Philly and Bawstin in one day each even with highly limited itineraries (and your NYC itinerary is not a one day shot by any means). Sheeyoot, it'll take you that long to understand the Bawstonians.
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 02:22 PM
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I'm curious about travel time, too, in that I hope the OP added time into that highly compressed schedule, and is not planning to drive to NYC AND do that itinerary all in the same day.
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 04:31 PM
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BigRuss, how the heck do YOU pronounce Boston? Bahstan? Good grief. Probly ther's a reezin you and Bostonians might have failure to communicate.
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 06:51 PM
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Big Russ, even if you speed those are optimistic times. How about just getting in and out of NY, DC, and Boston? Those are the type of times if you travel between 10 PM and 7 AM.

The NJ Turnpike is the most heavily traveled road in America.

When I travel those routes I prefer he train. It goes from downtown to downtown with the hassle of airports or driving.
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 07:17 PM
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I did realize when I wrote the driving time, there is always someone who did it faster but I wrote it any way.
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 09:15 PM
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Great feedback, thanks all.

My alternate itinerary is DC, NYC, and Boston only:

Mon-Fly to DC
Tues, Wed, Thurs-see DC
Fri-Drive or train to NYC
Sat-See NYC
Sun-Drive to Boston, stopping at Mystic Seaport on the way
Mon-See Boston
Tues-Fly home

So yes, travel time between these cities is one day each. If needed, I could also add one, maybe two days to the whole trip.
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Old Apr 15th, 2014, 09:36 PM
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Add at least one day, ideally, 2, to NYC, and I think you have a jam packed but doable trip.
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Old Apr 16th, 2014, 02:07 AM
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IMO mystic isn't worth the stop.
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Old Apr 16th, 2014, 02:54 AM
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If you are interested in boats or history, Mystic is worth a stop. There is a very nice aquarium in Mystic too and if you are interested in 18th and 19th century architecture, visit Stonington Burough, about 5 miles from the seaport.
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