Connecticut or Vermont..
 

Hi, I'm interested in visiting 1 of these 2 states, neither of which I've been to before. Will be going in late-May or mid-June, and traveling by Amtrak. For CT, I was considering New London - would be open to other towns as long as they are accessible by train or Greyhound. *I won't be driving.

I understand there's a lighthouse in New London - what else is there to see over a 4-day period? I do like being by the ocean, if that helps.

Alternatively, what would be a cool city in VT to visit, just for about 4 days/3 nights? Would need to be accessible by Amtrak - I'm not really into hiking - a relatively short hike would be ok tho (like in a park). Appreciate your suggestions -just trying to check off another 1 or 2 states that I haven't visited yet. lol. Thanks, Greg

Well, I guess if your goal is simply to check off these two states as you've never visited them, you might as well go to New London and then find a bus or train to Vermont--maybe to Brattleboro. But off the top of my head, I would say that seeing the best of New England, or even the semi-best, by train or bus is not an easy task. You really do need a car--and time.

I think you'd enjoy Mystic more than New London -- it has a little more going on, and (I think I recall) is a nicer--looking town. Interesting things in the area are Mystic Seaport (an open air historical museum site), Mystic Aquarium, and the Mashantucket Pequot Museum (really very impressive if you can get to it), and boat excursions.

In Vermont, go to Burlington. Definitely. It is right on Lake Champlain, with a very nice pedestrian area in the downtown, several good restuarants, and lake excursions.

If you are traveling by train to Vermont the most interesting stop for several days would be Burlington. You can also reach Montpelier, the capital, by train or connect with it from Burlington by bus.
Public transportation in Vt is very limited

New London CT is primarily a naval base and not a tourist area.

You will be much better off in Mystic - as mentioned above. It has a wonderful sea port museums, a charming old town and an aquarium. Also - I believe you can get buses to the casinos at Foxwoods - with their dining, shopping and entertainment,

But you will have to do a lot of work to sort out trains and buses - since this is basically an area with minimal public transit - cars are needed for most places.

If u decide New London you can take the block island ferry over to block island. There are nice beaches, good restuarants. u can rent a bike or moped and tour the island. Really beautiful. How about Newport ri, mansions, cliff walks, ocean, shopping. There are also boat tours and u can get to block island from there too. New london is kind of an uneventful place for vacation in my opinion. Plus if u dont want to get a car, in newport there are plenty of places to walk to or take a trolly to tour sites.

Thanks for the replies. I would love to visit RI also sometime. I guess I figured that it might be a little out of my price range, since it has a reputation of being expensive.

So, are there options for budget accommodations in Newport? Any motels or the like in the area? If not, I'll probably just stick with Mystic for this trip.Thanks, Greg

* I really do want to experience the local culture of the place I go to. I was partially joking about checking states off my list, but I want to do that as well.

Best western in newport may have good rates. Mystic will take up about two hours of your vacation time. The aquarium is the only good thing there and it's nothing to get excited about. Good luck

flep -

Perhaps you missed the town of Mystic -and only saw the Mall near the aquarium?

Also - don;t know how you missed the seaport museum - where you can spend the better part of a day. (A whole lot better than a lighthouse.)

Agree that Newport has more than Mystic - but the OP didn't ask about RI.

Brattleboro, Vermont as mentioned already by Vallombrosa, would be doable on Amtrak without a car (not ideal, but possible).

It's a great town (i used to live there).