I live in WA but plan to travel east in Sept. I'm thinking about flying into NYC, taking Metro North to Boston and maybe pick up rental car there or New Haven/Hartford and drive to Niagra Falls. Drive to Buffalo and fly home. Obviously, I'm not familiar with the area, so would appreciate recommendations of must-sees. Places to stay and eat. Thank you!!

Not sure why you would go East to then drive West to Niagara Falls. What are you most interested in seeing and doing in both NYC and Boston?

How much time do you have for this trip? And, as Madam397 asked, what are your interests and aspirations for this trip?

We want to see Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, 9-11 Memorial, and usual tourist places ... and maybe a baseball game. Same in Boston - tourist places and Fenway Park for a game. Husband has never been to either city.

7-10 days. Would you recommend a different route/order to see Niagra Falls, NYC, and Boston?

I don't think you have enough time to see all of those places. It's about a 6 hour drive from NYC to Niagara Falls, and about 7 from Boston. I would divide my time between Boston and NY, then save Niagara Falls for another trip. If you still insist on doing all these, then consider flying between locations. The drives to and from Niagara Falls will consume 2 days of what's already a very short trip.

I agree with P_M.
And even if you drop Niagara Falls, it should be a wonderful trip!

I just re-read the OP and I see you would fly home from Buffalo. I still stand by my recommendation to skip Niagara Falls this time, or fly there is you really must see it. Maybe on another trip you can combine Niagara Falls with Toronto.

Agree with the other posters. There isn’t enough time to do all three unless you flew to Buffalo. There is so much to see and do in both NYC and Boston. Save Niagara Falls for a different trip that allows you to visit other NYS upstate destinations such as Cooperstown for the Baseball Hall of Fame in a beautiful area or combine with a trip to Toronto and the very charming town of Niagara On the Lake.

As a person who likes nature a little more than cities, I would fly to Boston, train to NYC then fly to Buffalo, rent a car drive to Niagra Falls, drive back to Buffalo and fly home. It is only about a half hour from Buffalo to Niagra Falls the only hold up might be the border crossing. I don’t know if going the US side first then crossing over to Canada would be a faster border crossing than doing the border crossing near Buffalo.

My guess is the cost of flying to Buffalo and doing a round trip car rental might be about the same as renting a car for multiple days Boston or NYC, paying toll, gas, probable drop fee and probable lodging on the road, not to mention time to go that far.