jeci

Hi.

We are a couple from south EU and although this is our second visit to USA I am a bit anxious if this is a good idea at all.

The outline plan is to land in DC , stay a couple of nights than take the road to visit Niagara Falls. Than cross to Boston and wife would like to stop over in NY, Philadelphia on our way back to DC.we plan to stop overnight each leg.

All this in 14 days, and never drove in USA.

Now are we being over ambitious, and doing too much? What do you think?

I thank you for reading and for your contributions,

Regards

Jeci

yestravel

It's a long drive from DC to Niagara Falls (between 7-8 hours) and also that far to Boston from Niagara Falls.
Boston to NYC is approximately 4 hours. NYC to Philadelphia is about 2-2.5 hours and same from Phila back to DC.
I think you could easily cover this in 14 days. Driving outside cities in the US is fairly straightforward. Driving in Boston, NYC & DC may prove challenging. (Do you drive on the right as we do in the US?)
Perhaps you could drop the car in Boston and take the Amtrak train from Boston to NYC to Phila and DC? You won't need a car in the cities and parking is quite expensive. The drive from city to city is not particularly interesting. Mostly on freeways/hiways with little to see.

joetriple7

Just did boston to nyc to phila to dc. Four cities in four days. It was exhausting. Looking back, however, it was a lot of fun! I would suggest spending more time in each city. Picked up the rental car in boston and dropped it off in dc. No big price difference than dropping off same location. Train sounds like a good idea.

tomfuller

Train from Washington (WAS) to New York (NYP). Spend a day there if you want to. Take the morning Maple Leaf train from NYP to Buffalo Exchange St. (BFX) and rent a car near there.
Go see Niagara Falls. Do you have a visa that will let you come back into the US if you go into Canada? The view is better on the Canadian side or so some say.
After your visit to the falls, take the Lake Shore Limited to Boston from Buffalo. Amtrak splits the train in (Albany ?). Part goes to New York and the rest goes to BOS (Boston South station) Rent another car if you want to see things outside Boston; otherwise just ride the "T".
Go back to New York on a Northeast Regional train.
There would be no need to go back to Washington if you don't have a rental car to return

nytraveler

This is a lot of driving just to sees some falling water. And if you do to to Niagara you need to be able to get to the Canadian side - which has the best views and much more pleasant hotels - so you need to be sure your visas will allow you multiple entries.

Once you hit Boston you need to drop the car - which is worse than useless there and in NYC and Philly.

I think you are trying to cover a lot of territory in limited time and will have to make some hard choices on what you want to see/do. Dc and NYC are good for 5 or 6 days each, while Boston needs at least 3 and Philly 2. Niagara Falls is the outlier - and IMHO isn;t worth it versus the other places.

But I'm a native New Yorker and didn't see the Falls until we drive to Toronto about 8 years ago. Worth stopping on the way - but IMHO not just to see the Falls.

And agree that you should look into open jaws tickets -

emalloy

Would it be possible for you to fly into Buffalo or Toronto rent a car and do the Falls then return the car and fly to Boston, use public transportation to and in NY, Philadelphia and DC, then fly home from DC? Would make for a much more relaxing trip and probably not more expensive than renting a car and doing all that driving.

In any case you do not want a car in Boston, NYC or DC. Parking is limited and expensive and especially in Boston there is a different set of rules for driving that are only known by people who drive there regularly and many one way roads that make the trip one way very different from the trip back.

nytraveler

The only reason to do all that driving is that you want to see the countryside on the way to Niagara Falls or from there to Boston. Yes, the countryside can be beautiful and worth the time and several stops - Finger Lakes, etc - but then you would have cut some of your other sights or extend your vacation.

garyt22

14 days is plenty of time for this trip as long as you enjoy driving...

jeci

Thanks for your informative contributions.

We sort of have decided that we drift with the flow instead than putting ourselves into s schedule.

So first preference is to go to Niagara Falls, and than we take it from there.

Any suggestions or recommendations on this route?

Thanks again.

tomfuller

Could you fly to Buffalo or Toronto first? After returning your car in Buffalo, take the Lake Shore Limited to either Boston or New York.

nytraveler

If you do this trip by car there will be an awful lot of days (Boston, NYC, Philly and DC) when it will just sit in a garage at $30 per day and you won't be able to use it. Cars are useless in any of them.