Boston MA ? please comment on my draft itinerary
 

I will be in the area in mid-October hoping to see the autumn colors.

Day 1 arrive in the morning, city sightseeing or wasting my time with relatives :)

Day 2 tour of Boston and on to Lexington and Concord, Plymouth Rock, Cape Cod.

Day 3 ferry to Martha?s Vineyard, back to Cape Cod.

Day 4 Newport RI, Mystic CT

Day 5 Mystic maritime museum, Berkshires Mountains, Rockwell museum, Green Mountains.

Day 6 Stratton Mountain, Woodstock, White Mountains, Franconia Notch, North Conway.

Day 7 Portland, Maine.

Day 8 Kennebunkport, Boston. Flight home.

You're kidding, right? Try again if this is meant to be satire.

It's fine as a driving tour, and you don't mind being in the car for many hours a day. [Personally, I don't mind either.] But most of your trip of New England will be observed from inside your vehicle, as you won't have time to go outside.

Faina, I honestly think you need to look at a map and start all over again. There are some serious design flaws in your itinerary.

Day 2, for example: The traffic getting OUT of Boston is horrendous. It's not that Lexington and Concord are that far away from the city, but driving there will drive you crazy! And both towns are worth a day's exploration in and of themselves, without tacking on a morning tour of Boston. Your map will show you that Cape Cod is in the exact oppocite direction of Lexington, so you'd be backtracking big time.

Another example, Day 4: It will take a while to drive to Newport from Boston (is that where you're basing yourself?) and again, it's a day's trip if you want to soak it all up. The mansions are wonderful to see, and the town of Newport is filled with nice shops and galleries. You shouldn't do a 'wham bam thank you ma'am' tour of Newport! Ditto for Mystic.

Please consider cutting back on all this frenetic activity! New England is so pretty at that time of year that you don't want to see it from a highway. Zero in on a few of your choices (they're all good choices, BTW, just too many) and see them well.

Day Two itinerary is pretty much impossible unless you don't mind seeing Cape Cod in total darkness. Even if you spend only spend 2 hours in Boston, you wouldn't make it to Cape Cod until after dinner time

Days Five and Six will not be feasible as well as the driving alone would not get you there with any time to see anything.

We live in the greater Boston area and when we go to places like the Berkshires, Maine, Vermont or the mountains of New Hampshire we make a weekend of it so we can actually see and enjoy the area. Otherwise it would be a drive up and turn around proposition.

HowardR you're setting the wrong tone :)

Actually it's a bus tour I'm considering.

This trip sounds about as pleasant as a New England Death March. Unless you prefer to spend all of your time in the bus looking at leaves-- which I find about as attractive as repeatedly running head-first into a brick wall until I pass out.

Boston, first of all, is a fantastic city. You should really spend a few days there; there will be a tremendous amount of cool stuff to see, including some pretty parks with autumn colors. A leisurely trip to the Cape will give you more autumn color (but believe me, it's not THAT thrilling after the first couple of hours), and you can enjoy the actual towns, the sites in and among the trees, the seafood, etc.

I don't understand how it could be your draft if in fact it's a bus tour itinerary, unless you're trying to plan this as a tour operator. If you're the one planning this bus trip, the travel time would take longer and I think you're packing in way too many sites, no one will be able to get off the bus! Even if you were to do this by car you would get there and have to leave again. If I were in your shoes and I had to pear-down the list, I'd either do Boston then West then North, OR, Boston then West and South, but that's just my opinion. Enjoy N.E. whatever you decide :-)!

This cannot be for real! It reminds me of those tours of Europe I've seen advertised -- "12 countries in 5 days!" Although I have been to and enjoyed each and every place mentioned, that itinerary looks miserable. Please tell us that it's a joke.

Okay, I apologize for the cynicism. I just googled "new england bus tours" and found this http://www.caravantours.com/fall-colors-tours.html. It's for real! Yikes! They make it sound so pleasant! I stand corrected, but I still wouldn't do it.

I agree that I think that you might be trying to do too much. I would look at you itinerary and try to pick out 4 or 5 places that you would like to focus on and really get to know them. I think that it will give you more flavor.

Faina, are these options each day? I cannot imagine what you have in mind. Not being negative, but what ....?

Fina, you posted your itinerary but not actually any question, so I'm not sure what sort of feedback you're looking for. But as a lifelong resident of the area, I must tell you that my first reaction was hte same as Howard's -- this must be a joke.

This bus trip will involve a LOT of time on the bus and very little time at the attractions. I strongly recommend that you keep looking, for something less ambitious.

I keep looking...

My cousin organizes some coach tours, and you should realize this. The rate for the bus & driver are per day (plus some extra mileage cost); so for them it doesn't matter how long you sit on the bus. Their cost is almost the same. And with everybody on the bus 8 hours a day, they don't need to plan too many attractions to visit.

Here are some sample itineraries that I've seen - 7-day Houston-Florida trips, when 4 days are spent on the bus, and no hotel stays on the 6th day coming home. Or a 8-day trip from NYC down to New Orleans and back up to NYC. Or 7-8 day trip from Las Vegas to the Yellowstone to Mount Rushmore in SD, down to Denvner and then SLC before going back to LV. Or 7-day trip from Toronto through Quebec, New Brunswick to Halifax, NS, and back to Toronto.

There are some people who have little time to travel, and don't know how to travel by themselves, like some minority communities in the US. These trips may make sense to them, but just be prepared to be on a bus for hours everyday, and little time on the ground.

Sorry, Faina, but as others have written as well, that itinerary is insane! So insane, in fact, that I thought you were joking.
For example, I can only laugh at Day 2's schedule. What kind of a tour of Boston can it possibly be, when you've got to cover Lexington, Concord, Plymouth Rock and Cape Cod in the same day? I can only imagine that the bus drives around a few sights and heads for the open road!
Then, there's Day 5. Mystic is in the extreme southeastern corner of Connecicut and the Berkshires and Rockwell Museum are in the southwestern corner of Massachusetts! And then, you go to the Green Mountains as well in the same day? Lady, I hope you like traveling in buses!

Yes, that was Caravan.

Here is an offer from Cosmos:

day 2 Boston- Sturbridge Village - Springfield - Stockbridge Rockwell museum - Lenox

day 3 Lenox Berkshier hills - Bennington monument - Billings -Killington

day 4 Killington -Middlebury - Shelburne Park - Burlington

day 5 Burlington -Maple farm - Montpelier - White Mountains - North Conway

day 6 North Conway - Lake Winnipesaukee - Concord

day 7 Concord - Shaker village - Kennebunkport - Ogunquit

Day 8 Ogunquit - Salem - Boston.

ALL tours have "blitzkrig" itinerary. I'm just trying to pick a slightly better one.

Somebody asked why "draft" if it's a pre-set tour? Because of the optionals: you may choose this or that or even those.

I was on a Cosmos tour of the canyons, and loved it! But for this tour I like Caravan's trail a little more.

Just please don't make a discussion of "to be or not to be" on a tour. I need a tour, period.

Faina, logiistically the Cosmos tour is much, much better and makes a lot more sense. And, since your stated goal is to see the foliage, that one is definitely closer to filling your needs.

I guess the question is "do you want to sit on a bus for entire days just looking out the windows and looking at leaves" or do actually want to see some of New England and the places that you mentioned. Both of those bus tours are insane!

The Cosmos one is much more sane. For example, Day 4 in VT and Day 6 in NH are very short distances. So, you actually have time to visit the towns there. 8 days to go around MA, VT and NH plus the southern tip of ME is quite reasonable.

The Cosmos one seems more reasonable, staying in Northern NE instead of trying to squeeze in the southern coastal areas of Plymouth, the Cape, Vineyard and Newport. (You'll have to save those for another trip ;))

It's still an ambitious itinerary, but if you're comfortable with the quality of their product, then Cosmos seems to be the better choice. Hopefully, you'll have a little extra time on the front or back end to see a little of Boston.

Cosmos is definitely more reasonable than caravan, but it still is not going to give you much time to get out, stretch your legs, and see the sites. Do people actually enjoy sitting in a bus for a week?

I'm glad I've posted this... So now I have 2 tours on a complimentary hold. As you guys advise I'll most likely go with Cosmos. Once more this site proves itself to be great!

Let us know how it turns out!

Sure, I'll keep y'all posted :)

Waiting if the manager will sign vacation, then I'll need to figure out if I can stay for additional day or two (depends on the family problems)

And of course I will post a report! I always do, don't know why :)

FYI, Faina, I tried to read the itinerary in your very first post to my teenage daughter. But by the time the words "Day 3" were out of my mouth, she was laughing too hard to hear anything I said.

Hey Anon, maybe faina should come to Boston and we meet up with her for a drink or two...:)

You're on! We could even give her a tour of the city that lasts more than an hour.

As soon as I know exact days (may stay after the tour) and hotel location I'll post a different thread for Boston get-together.

I don;t get this whole thing. Why torture yourself with sitting on some ghastly bus all day? Just get a hotel, stay 3/4 days in Boston, enjoy the city and Lexington/Concord, and then rent a car and do 2 of the places mentioned. You would see plenty of leaves - after all how many can you look at - and would actually have the opportunity to see and learn a little something about the places you're going. IMHO about a 1000% better use of your time.

The most memorable autumn colors I have ever seen were the subtle fall colors in the sand dunes of Provincetown. A delightful October day biking in the dunes is my way to see fall colors. Different strokes for different folks. A blitz tour would be torture for me (and many other posters in the forum). Evidently you've done one before and you're choosing to do one again. Have fun.

New England is a smaller region than other regios of the country but you are doing way to much for a one week stay.
You need at least one full day in Boston (acytualy a week isn't lon enough) You need at least a half a day in Lexington/concord without considering driving time. Itis an hour and 15 minutes drive from lexington to plymouth without traffic and an afternoon is fine for Plymouth. I would suggest you choose 2 states and perhaps skip either the cape or mystic area. Choose either Portlland or Kennebunk- both are too much in a day that you are leaving. I think you need to decide if you are history buffs or leaf peepers on this trip.