Road Trip - Boston to New York
 

Planning on taking a Road Trip next Summer with the kids (teens). We will be flying to Boston and then driving down to New York. Want to see as much of the coast as possible. Have 6 hole days to do it. Any suggestions on sites to see on the drive down, A friend told me that Province, RI was nice and Clinton, CT too. We love seafood so restaurant suggestions are great. We like museums and historical stuff. I have a whole year to plan so please send me your suggestions.

Newport RI

There are a lot of things to do. I would suggest doing some searches on this board, using terms like Cape Cod, Hartford, Mystic, Newport etc. You will find a lot of information and I think you will find that you will have a busy enjoyable six days. I would suggest spending 2 days on Cape Cod, MA, 2 days in the mystic CT area, Newport RI and Hartford CT there is a recent post with some good info.) for a day each...... and I there is Boston too, at which you can spend many days!

Are the 6 days entirely for this "road trip"? Will you spend any time in Boston prior to the road trip? If you haven't been to boston before, I'd recommend spending at least 2 days IN Boston.

If the 6 days are just for the road trip, I concur with others regarding Mystic Seaport, Hartford, and Newport.

Hartford for Wadsworth Atheneum, Mark Twain House
Newport for gilded-age mansions
Also consider either Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth and/or Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge MA.

6 days are for the entire trip. In reality its only about 4 to 5 hrs. from Boston to New York. I was panning a couple of days in Boston and 2-3 in New York (kids never been there). Which leaves some time for sight seeing on the way. We could even spend a night along the way if there enough to do.

Your subject was a bit confusing because a "road trip" usually means a number of days driving from place to place to see the sights.

Leaving out MA and NYC, I have enjoyed the following all along the seacoast:

RI: Barrington, Newport, and WatchHill/Westerly
CT: Stonington, Mystic, the road through Noank to Groton, the ferry from New London to Long Island, Rocky Neck State Park (beach), Old Lyme. Sort of on the water: Yale in New Haven and its museums. Have not been to the Thimble Islands but would like to.

Ani1120 , I'm still confused. Are you just looking for the scenic way to drive from Boston to NY, maybe adding a few of hours to your trip? You wouldn't have time for much more than a meal, and a walk through some town or museum.
As an overnight stop--you have many choices. But for example Newport RI is not along the way, and so there's really no point going that route unless you plan on seeing some of the sites. It's not a drive through kind of place.
As you can see, there are enough things to do for the whole 6 days.

There's so much to do in Boston and NY. Neither cities are places I'd have a car. I'd skip the drive and take the train between the two cities. Cape Cod, Newport and Mystic are all nice but they are not "drive-by" places. The CT coast is not an ocean coast, it's the Long Island Sound. No waves - it's more like a bay. I'm a bit confused, too.

If you are doing NYC and Boston in 6 days, I am not sure I would even get a car. I would spend 2 days in Boston and then take the train or bus to NYC and spend the other 4 days there. If your kids have never been to NYC, 4 days will barely scratch the surface. Last summer my daughters and I did a trip through New Hampshire and Southern Maine, then dropped our car off in Boston. Stayed there two days and then took the bus to NYC where we stayed 3 days. We would have liked to have more time in Boston but we had already been on the road for awhile and were anxious to get to NYC where we all have friends.

We took the bus because it was cheap at $15 a person and had no problem getting there right on schedule in 4 hours. But I know sometimes there can be delays with traffic which you wouldn't have with Amtrak. Remember, too that even though it's only 4 hrs to NYC, by the time you get up, get to the station, make the trip and then get to your new hotel in NYC, you've spent the better part of a day. I know "getting up early" was never easy for my girls when they were teens.

If you feel like you need one day to do a scenic drive and a day to Boston and rent a car for the day to go out to Cape Cod. I am the type of person who will drive anywhere and loves to drive but I sure don't want or need a car in Boston or NYC.

If you take the train, sit on the left side (with the engine in front of you) as far as New Haven, and you will see the shoreline much of the way. From New Have to Penn Station, sit on the right, and you will have many views of the Manhattan skyline as you arrive.

The train is the best idea here.

Thanks everyone. I checked and Amtrak will take me from Boston to New York stopping in both Providence, RI and Hartford, CT. It's pretty economical and we don't need to rent a car.

If your Hartford stop allows for a short break, leave the train station and to your right is Bushnell Park - America's first public park and a mini version of central park.....

Ani1120, if you do decide to drive from Boston to New York, I recommend skipping the coastline, and taking I-90 to I-84 to I-91 to the Wilbur Cross and Merritt Parkways. The Wilbur Cross and Merritt are a nice scenic drive.

Having said that, I agree that you should take the train rather than driving Definitely follow Ackislander's advice about where to sit on the train. And don't bother getting out in Hartford or Providence, just go straight from Boston to NY and spend more time in either city.

If you do want to see some coastline, I like the idea of renting a car for a day trip out of Boston. If you want a shorter and lower-hassle trip than Cape Cod, you could go North to Marblehead, a very old town that's quaint and historic, with a New England-y atmosphere, and even has some beaches. That would be an easy day trip -- I do that commute to go to work! You could almost fit it into half a day. Even if you kept going as far as Cape Ann or Newburyport, that would still probably be simpler than going to Cape Cod.

You've probably figured this out, but when you're in Boston, make sure you do the Freedom Trail.

We make this trip about once a year and stop at Mystic, CT each and every time.