Home Destinations USA Vermont Planning Your Trip

Planning Your Trip

Budgeting Your Time

There are many ways to take advantage of Vermont's beauty—skiing or hiking its mountains, biking or driving its back roads, fishing or sailing its waters, shopping for local products, visiting its museums and sights, or simply finding the perfect inn and never leaving the front porch.

Distances are relatively short, yet the mountains and many back roads will slow a traveler's pace. You can see a representative north-south section of Vermont in a few days; if you have up to a week you can hit the highlights. Note that many inns have two-night minimum stays on weekends and holidays.

When to Go

In summer, the state is lush and green, while in winter, the hills and towns are blanketed with snow and skiers travel from around the East Coast to challenge Vermont's peaks. Fall is one of the most amazing times to come. If you have never seen a kaleidoscope of autumn colors, a trip to Vermont is worth braving the slow-moving traffic and paying the extra money for fall lodging. The only time things really slow down is during "mud" season—otherwise known as late fall and spring. Even innkeepers have told guests to come another time.

Getting There & Around

Vermont is bifurcated by a mountainous north-south middle; on either side are two main highways: scenic Route 7 on the western side, and I-91 on the east (I-91 begins in New Haven, and runs through Hartford, central Massachussets, and along the Connecticut River in Vermont to the Canadian border). Flights from Boston connect to Rutland; otherwise the only major airport is Burlington.