Driving from NY to Boston in February
 

We are a family of 6 (couple + 4 children) who will be arriving in JFK, and have rented a car to drive to Boston for 4 nights. Could you recommend any place to visit on our trip taking weather into consideration? We could take a different route to get back to NY and continue our vacation. Thanks!

What are your interests? Skiing, winter sports, etc?

Depending on the weather and your interests,

Connecticut, east bound on I 95
New Haven -- Yale Art Museum, Yale Center for British Art, Beinecke Library at Yale
Groton -- Nautilus, first nuclear submarine
Mystic Seaport -- outdoor museum with ships and much original material
Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun -- casinos

Rhode Island
Newport -- cottages (actually mansions) of the wealthy c 1880-1910
Providence. -- RISD Museum (famous college of art and design)
Johnson and Wales Museum -- cooking through the ages

Massachusetts
Battleship Cove, Fall River
New Bedford -- Whaling Museum and Seaman's Bethel, a chapel which is a scene in Moby Dick and still in use
Brockton -- Fuller Craft Museum

Returning to NY via I-90, I-84, I-91, i-95

Massachusetts
Worcester Museum of Art, now includes huge Higgins armor collection
Old Sturbridge Village -- 18th an 19th century life in preserved buildings

Connecticut
Hartford -- Wadsworth Atheneum (art)
Hartford -- home of Mark Twain
Hartford -- Colt firearms museum or am I dreaming?

Since it's Feb do check the web sites to see which places are open what days and for what hours.

Also, assuming you mean this Feb, be aware that weather may affect your plans. We do have 2 more snow storms on the horizon now - one small and the other not yet determined.

I like ackislanders list and would add that in Mystic there in addition to the Seaport there is the Aquarium, both are expensive but may have a combined ticket.

Also, if you go to Foxwoods, there is an excellent interactive museum showing the history of the Native Americans in the area from glacial times till present.

There is a science museum in Hartford, but I much prefer the Boston museum of science.

What nytraveler said about the weather is so true. If you had tried to come yesterday you would have been in a raging snowstorm with 8 to 12 inches of snow along the route. Today the roads are clear and mostly dry except for where the sun is melting the piles on the edges and water is running into the road.

Thanks for all your advice! It is this February (travelling next week). We don't expect to practice any sports, just visit interesting places on our way. It will be our first time in Boston. Hope the weather helps! :)

You've gotten some answers from one who knows yet question too general.

Sorry - hope you know that driving a car IN Boston is not a great idea. The city can be very confusing and parking is expensive anywhere downtown. If I were going from NYC to B in the next few weeks I would definitely be takig the train.

The train is the best bet, but since the OP seems interested in stops along the way, a car is a necessity.

Suggest renting a car to get from NY to BOS, getting rid of the car in BOS, and taking the train back to NY.

I have considered taking the train but for a family of 6 the round trip NY- Boston is much more expensive than renting a car and paying for 4 days parking. The idea is to leave the car at the hotel and move around on foot or subway. Thanks for the warning.

Is it "much more expensive" if you take the train one way back to NYC v. keeping the rental car and paying for parking, gas and tolls to drive back to NYC? Just off the top of my head, it seems the cost would be pretty close, depending on what you're paying for a 6-passenger rental.

Is it much more expensive to fly to Boston first and then go to New York by whichever mode of transportation you choose?
Children age 2-12 travel at half the adult fare on Amtrak.
6 adult fares from NYP to BOS on Feb 25 can be as low as $296 (saver fare) and less if one or more of the children are 2-12.
Check the fares on NE Regional #170 and #172.
Buying Amtrak tickets on the day of travel is always much more expensive. Buy more than 3 days in advance if you want cheaper prices.

It is much more expensive to take the train back to NYC than to pay $40 a day to park a car there. There's no doubt about that for 6 people. (Train costs are significantly higher now, so it's also far too late to make this change.)

It's a LOT cheaper to take a bus even now, but the one-way car rental fee may be prohibitively expensive, too. I think the plans are made, so it's not very fruitful to talk about upending everything a week before the trip.

There's going to be cold and snow in Boston this week, and it's supposed to be bitterly cold this weekend (but clear) and then more moderate next week, but it may rain a lot, which will make for a miserable trip and possibly dangerous driving. Please whatever you do keep an eye on the weather.

Are you looking for things to see/do in Boston once you're here or just to break up the drive along the way? Winter does make it difficult to move around, but not impossible! A few transit-accessible ideas for once you're here in Boston with kids:

FYI, it's a school vacation week in Massachusetts Feb. 15-19, so there will be a lot of families out and about in the city and a lot of free and discounted events.

Ice skating at the Boston Common Frog Pond is free next week if you get there at 10:00 for timed entry tickets (http://www.highlandstreet.org/programs/winter-camp.html) and the setting is lovely. There's a concession stand that sells hot chocolate too. :)

Museum of Science is a must in my kids' book and if you have younger children (I'd say under 10), the Children's Museum is a ton of fun. Aquarium will be PACKED, but is really good if your family is really into marine life, ecology, etc.

The Museum of Fine Arts is wonderful and free for kids next week! They have lots of interactive activities for kids during school vacation week. http://www.mfa.org/programs/special-...eek-adventures

The JFK Museum and Library has special Presidents' Day programming on Monday the 15th and is free for kids. (http://www.jfklibrary.org/Home/Visit...ay%20Week.aspx) The new Edward Kennedy Institute is next door and I've heard good things for older kids who are interested in how government works. There's a shuttle from the JFK/UMass T stop.

If you've got budding engineers, the MIT Museum has special programming as well: http://web.mit.edu/museum/programs/feb-fest.html.

Bring warm clothes (VERY warm and many layers), good waterproof boots, and you'll have a wonderful time. :)

Thank you all for your advice! Just to let you know that our trip was excellent. We LOVED Boston and we visited New Haven on our way from NY to Boston and Newport as we drove back. Next to our hotel there was a street where we could park for free so renting the car was great even if we didn't use it while staying in Boston.