Theresa

Hello to all! I am planning a 10-12 day trip in May with my family of four. We have experienced the awesome coastline of New England over the past several years and are looking for a new adventure.

We would like to explore the Western region of Massachusetts, Vermont, Quebec and then back. We are not sure if this is workable with the amount of time we have allowed and we haven't explored any ideas for our return trip. Any and all suggestions and tips will be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Lori

Of course it's doable. Just figure out your priorities and go for it!

One suggestion, you might want to fly into Manchester, NH; Providence, RI; or Burlington, VT instead of Boston.

Theresa

We are planning to fly into Providence, RI. How many days do you think we should allow to actually get to Quebec City? We would like to take a scenic route and enjoy what each state has to offer.

Thanks!

Ann

New England is a lot smaller than people realize. If you were driving flat out, you could make it from Providence to Quebec City in one, long day I suppose. The drive from Boston to Montreal, for example, is probably around five to six hours without pushing it. QC and RI are somewhat further apart. 10-12 days is a great amount of time to really explore the region.

If you're going to explore Western Mass, VT. etc. you'll get to Montreal before QC, so plan to spend some time there as well. Then, up to QC, and down via interior Maine or New Hampshire. Study maps! It will be a great trip.

Theresa

Thanks so much Ann for the info. We are really looking forward to an exciting trip. You mentioned we could return through New Hampshire or Maine. Would you suggest the Eastern route to Quebec and back through Vermont or does it really matter?

Ann

Theresa, I'd really have to suggest that you study maps. I've only been up to QC once, and that was via Jackman/Moose River where we were spending a few days. On the Maine side it's wilderness, but as soon as you cross into Canada it's developed and settled (i.e. no forests, lots of farms/small towns). Interesting contrast.

I think the usual way to make this trip is to cover both QC and Montreal, and drive one way via Vt. It's really up to you, but I'd say to get out the maps. You can't go wrong in any of the New England states. Sorry I can't be more specific here.

Theresa

Thanks again, Ann. Any and all info is helpful. I see now I really need to focus on building an itinerary. On the first trip to the coast of New England we used the map to set up an itinerary but did not reserve places to overnight in the event we found a place we wanted to linger in. That worked out well and in more recent trips we reserved those really neat places we found on the first visit.

In your experience is Vermont a place you can do that? I mean, would it be feasible to expect to find places to overnight as we go?