Familyof6Travels

My family and I are driving from Dallas to DC to Philadelphia next week. We plan to continue on from Philly towards Boston and want to drive through every NE state ending in Niagara Falls before heading home. We'd like to spend a day in NYC (without driving) so if anyone can suggest how best to do this (drive to NJ and take train in?) and what we must see in New England. We'll have children ranging from 7-16 and this will be our first time visiting this part of the country. We are interested in American History too

Thanks!

J62

For NYC, I think a better option than NJ would be to take the train in from somewhere north of the city. That way when you return to you car, you'd already be past NYC traffic when you head out to New England.

If you are going along the coast in CT and RI, then I'd say stay somewhere near Greenwich or Stamford CT for 2 nights, or maybe White Plains, NY. You could take Metro North RR into Grand Central in the morning for a day trip, and return to the same hotel that night.

It would not be a glamorous location, but could function well for your stated purpose. There are enough chain hotels that would be ok. Hyatt Greenwich, LQ Stamford are a few options, but there are others.

nytraveler

This trip covers a LOT of territory - not just geographically but also in terms of the number and variety of historic places included.

How many weeks do you have for this trip so people can make some suggestions as to what you want to see.

Be aware that speed limits in the NorhtEast are often much lower than in the western states - and on parkways (nothing but cars allowed) may be a low as 40 mph, with 50 mph common. and often 25 mph in cities.

tomfuller

Do you all have passports? The view of the falls is better from the Canada side.
Are you sure you want to drive your own car all the way from Dallas?
My plan would be to fly DFW to Buffalo and rent a car to see the falls etc. Return the car and take the Lake Shore Limited to Boston. The train splits in Albany with part to Boston and part to New York.
Rent a car in Boston to see the states of the Northeast and then return the car to Boston and take the train to NYP.
When done in New York take the train to Philadelphia which is also very historic. Next stop Baltimore and Fort McHenry.
Take a train onward to Washington DC.
Fly back to Dallas from Reagan National which has its own Metro stop.

Familyof6Travels

Thank you for your replies! We are driving only because we are 3 adults and 4 children, and it is saving us a lot of money in airfare. We are planning 2 - 2 1/2 weeks, all the hotels we have booked thus far, have free parking. Thanks for the idea about staying north of NYC, we had not even considered that, so I will look into that. We want to spend a day (or so) in Boston, then hit each NE state as we make our way to Niagara. We don't plan to spend a lot of time in the New England states. Make sense? Thanks again for taking the time to share your knowledge

nytraveler

This trip looks like 3700 miles and almost 65hours of driving - without any deviations to see anything off the major highway route. So 5 hours of driving EVERY day - and more when you start exploring any places off the major interstates. (This does NOT included going to every NE state - that would add a significant amount of driving time.)

With so little time and so much territory to cover you will be spend a lot (most?) of the time in your car. How old are the kids? Are they good spending 5 or 6 hours a day just driving from place to place? When will you have time to see anything?

To see much of anything in Boston, NYC, or DC you need at least 3 days in each place - but it sounds like this is a hit and run trip. Do note the speed limits in the northeast and the fact that many sights are on local roads so 60 mph is just not realistic.

If I were you I would curtail the trip significantly - pick just a couple of places to see and spend a couple of days actually seeing at least a small portion of them.

garyt22

Are you on a quest to drive into every state? If not, there is no need to circle around New England for days... Just do NYC, Boston area, then head west along NY Rte 20 along the top of the Finger Lakes...stops could include Cooperstown baseball hall of fame, lake tours, Geneva, and great scenery and history...also Letchworth State Park, known as the "Grand Canyon of the East"...

Also, in Niagara, don't miss Cave of the Winds, Maid of the Mist, and the Whirlpool Jetboats... all three are must do!