3 days between Boston and New Jersey
 

We're leaving Boston on Wednesday 10/22 and want to arrive Wayne, NJ by Saturday night 10/25. Our plan was to stay one night in Cape Cod and one night in Newport RI. We still need to decide where to spend our third night, any ideas? How about Greenwich, CT, anything exciting there. I'm hoping to find cute little country/folk art type stores. Our other option is to take the extra night and use it on our return to Boston via Hwy 84, any places to stop along that route. Any replies would be helpful, I know I'm asking a lot here.

How about Sturbridge; lots of quaint and cutesy there. Cold Spring, NY, is another spot worth stopping in, and there's lots crafty in the Warwick, NY, area along with wineries.

It's always better to have reservations than not for the best selection and prices. Reserve places that permit cancellation until 6PM day of arrival.

You probably won't have any problem anywhere on Cape Cod. Lodging is much more economical (at very nice places) in contiguous Middletown than Newport.

Here's another recommendation for Sturbridge. Lots of cute shops (including Yankee Candle) and the wonderful Sturbridge Bistro, open 7 days, breakfast/lunch/dinner - wonderful food, reasonable prices.

PS. My husband seems to think we can do our trip without making any hotel reservations in advance. I'm worried with this being the busiest time of year that we may end up sleeping in the car if we don't make reservations.

I'm new to this sight so I made a couple of errors in sending a PS to my original question.
Thanks for the ideas, now I have some idea of how to schedule this trip. I do agree with the thought behind making advance reservations.
Thanks again

Sturbridge is a bit over an hour out of your way. I would suggest Westport Connecticut. Nice, walkable downtown area with lots of little shops and restaurants. South Norwalk is pretty interesting too. Unless you have your heart set on the cape, I would skip that too and head straight to Newport. It's also a bit out of the way.

Ignore my comment about Sturbridge -- I didn't notice you comment about taking 84!

Yes, we're taking 95 from Boston to NJ, then returning via 84. I'm assuming a non-stop drive would take about 8 hours via 95 and a little less via 84. Am I close? The plan was to use Wed - Fri to arrive in NJ, and use Mon-Tue to get back to Boston. Then again, the more I read, we might enjoy the return trip via 84 and want to take it slower.

For you third night headed to NJ you might consider taking your car across the cross sound ferry from New London CT (near Rhode Island) to Orient Point, Long Island and staying in the Hamptons area if you are seeking country folk/art stores, there are also alot of vineyards, some with tours.

Hamptons, Long Island ~3 hour drive from Wayne, NJ.
website:https://www.longislandferry.com/Default.asp
:S-

Judy:

Boston to Wayne should not be an eight hour drive. My father used to do it in less back in 1950 and he used the Merrit Parkway and the Wilbur Cross. In fact he commuted by car from New Jersey to Boston, working Mondays and Fridays in New Jersey, driving to Boston Tuesday morning and heading home again on Thursday night.

Even with leisurely sightseeing, you won't need to make an overnite stop. But there certainly can be lots to see along the way.

Thank you once again! We're leaving in less than a week, I better start packing!

Boston to Wayne will be more like 5 hours. I'd definitely save the night for the return with more to do along the 84 Route, or even better would be to go up the Hudson Valley on Route 9, then the Mass Turnpike from Albany to Boston. Numerous things like the Vanderbilt/Roosevelt mansions, Rhinebeck NY, Williamstown MA, etc. along that route.

For your trip back via 84, you might want to stop in New Milford CT.

http://escapemaker.com/ct/newmilford/newmilford.html

It's a cute town with some nice shops. The Silo (here's the website) is not right in town but on rt 202. It's mostly kitchen stuff but fun.
http://www.thesilo.com/about_the_silo.html

The town of New Preston, nearby, is also lovely. Mostly antique shops as I recall.

Greenwich is a lovely upscale town with lots of stores & good restaurants but I think will feel more suburban than country. They have a Tiffanys & Saks etc. Here's a link to the shops & restaurants.

http://www.greenwichchamber.com/map/map.htm