jdclark

Hello!

Planning family summer vacation in July with our 2 teens. Love the beach, hiking, small town feel and food!! We are driving from Michigan and would love some scenic drives. Our original destination was NH but would love to see Cape Cod, Boston, Portland. Would also love to do some whale watching. We don’t like to cram too much into the days so if I need to cut something out that’s fine. Hoping for 8-10 days.

Thank you!

tomfuller

Are you really intent on driving the whole way? You could fly one way to or from Boston and rent a car. The trip the other way could be on the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited.
The Lake Shore Limited leaves South Bend IN shortly after midnight every night. It arrives in Rochester NY before 10AM. Sleeping in coach seats on Amtrak is tolerable for one night.
I've driven across Ohio and Pennsylvania and New York enough times to know I'd rather ride the train overnight.
Amtrak also has several Downeaster trains per day from Boston north into Maine.

jdclark

Was planning on it but I will definitely look into the Amtrak. Thanks for the tip.

emalloy

You could drive to the Cape in two days and do the beach and whale watching there for a few days and then wander back to Michigan through New Hampshier and Vermont.

Do look for lodging in Cape Cod if you decide to go there.

dfrostnh

I think the trouble with Cape Cod, Boston and Portland is too much time on I95 for your limited time. Whale watching would take up a whole day. Perhaps substitute southern Maine coast beaches for the Cape. Portland is definitely a great choice for food. From Portland it's only about an hour to NH's White Mountains (Conway area) so hiking in the Whites could be a day trip. From Portland it would be about 2 hours or less to some great lobster shacks. I know Two Lights on Cape Elizabeth is closer but it's a large, very popular wait in line kind of place and further north there are much smaller places with picnic tables overlooking a beautiful working harbor. York Beach in ME used to be a favorite family place.

Best thing on a boat we did this year was a nature cruise on Squam Lake (a little north of Lake Winnipesaukee in NH) to see loons and eagles. This is right on the edge of the White Mountains. (Squam Lakes Science Center) You could split your visit between NH White Mountains and Maine beaches.

tomfuller

If you or your teens are into visiting new states, consider going south into Rhode Island and then CT. I really enjoyed the US Submarine museum in New London CT. I enjoyed the self guided tour of the USS Nautilus which was the first nuclear powered submarine.

capecod73

If you can fly and rent a car - DO IT. I went to Notre Dame and did the Cape Cod to Midwest drive many times...neither scenic nor exciting lol. We are big fans of finding reasonable flights and renting a car when you’re looking to travel far. I do think Newport RI is a place you might want to include...whale watch could be based out of Cape Cod, Boston, or Maine. As mentioned above Mystic CT area is great with submarine and excellent Aquarium (better than Bostons IMO). What else are you looking for from the trip? That will help determine where you should stop.