East Coast Itinerary Help
 

Planning two weeks in late May or early June for the East Coast... SFO to Boston then Maine (maybe?) then New York then DC

What weeks are better should I do it late May or the beginning of June? What is the weather like? Should I include another cities? How should I spread my days apart? What are the major sites to see?

How about trains to take from Boston to New York? Which ones to use?

Where to stay in New York? Hotels choices?

Um - there is only one train - Amtrak. It works well between Boston throgh Phily, Baltimore and then to DC. Going north of Boston you will need a car. Amtrak trains runs about once an hour during most of the day. Acela is fster (a little) but more expensive.

Weather is completely different in different places: DC can be quite warm in May while Maine will still be cool/cold. (Maine season is really July and Aug - and even then can be cool at night. No swimming unless you're used to the north atlantic.)

If I were you I would fly into DC and then head north. To see much you need at least 4/5 nights in DC, 5 or 6 in New York and 4 in Boston - not leaving much time for Maine - so you will need to decide on your focus - cities or nature or a combo. If you want to see CT and other parts of Ne England on the way - you will need to rent a car - and will have to lop off either the south or north end of you trip - you can't cover middle Atlantic and New England in 2 weeks.

For hotel recos you will need to give us a budget and tell us how many people will be traveling.

Am thinking that's not a lot of time for all this in two weeks. You could easily spend a week each just in New York and Washington and find tons of things to see and do. There are in fact several good cities in this area, as well as numerous good beach/forest/small town options. I'd pick up a couple good travel books on this region or search the online versions (Frommer's and Fodor's are both good) in Boston, New England, New York State, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, and Wilmington DE to see what appeals most to you. "Musts" are a very subjective thing depending on one's interests and priorities.

If you're planning to go to Maine or Northern New England, especially if something like mountain trail hiking is of interest, I'd wait until June as some ice and snow can often still be found on such trails on Memorial Day or even later. Conversely, May might well be a little cooler in Washington than June is likely to be.

Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington are all linked by reasonably good AMTRAK service. The Acela train is somewhat faster than the regular train and is a little more comfy, but it's also often notably more expensive and isn't anything approaching European bullet-train speedy. There's also decent bus service between these cities via several carriers who offer deep discount rates (Greyhound/Peter Pan, Megabus, Bolt Bus) -- they're notably cheaper than the train.

The best advice I can give re NYC hotels is to stay in Manhattan where the action is. It will very positively impact your experience in this city despite the cost.

Two weeks - meaning 14 days - would be tight, but if you were a little flexible on days, I think 3 days in Boston - 3 days driving around parts of New England - 5 days in New York (including the time it would take to get there by train), and 5 days in DC (including the time it would take to get there by train) would be great. Even 3-3-4-4 would be great.

I will be traveling with a friend from SFO to Boston

I will stay with a friend in Boston

And Us three might just us two will go to New York for about 4 -5 days

Then go to DC for 3 days


It seems like I'll skip Maine..

I've look at expedia and hotels in new york are 200 dollars a night.. for 5 nights that almost two tickets from sfo to new york.. my goodness... if I am just sight seeing and only using it to rest.. I have to say 200 bucks a night is pretty steep.. maybe 100 or 120? is that reasonable or are those places not safe.. your opinions would really help!

Thanks in advance for all of those that have gave me your input! :)


What kind/type of clothes should I pack. I am a women in my 20's

<<<I have to say 200 bucks a night is pretty steep.. maybe 100 or 120? is that reasonable or are those places not safe.. your opinions would really help!>>>

There's really no such thing in Manhattan. You might, in very low season, be able to score a decent hotel for that price using Priceline or Hotwire, but late May/early June is not low season (that would be late August, and January/February).

I guess I can cut down my days in new york then..

Would you suggest 3 or 4 days? or am I selling my self short..

You are selling yourself short. Look at the big picture as far as travel expenses go. Your NYC hotel will be higher thatn the other cities but after flying from the west coast, you should spend some time there..

Actually Amtrak runs all the way up to Portland maine, and has a stop in Wells, Maine near Ogunquit.

For NYC in May $200 is a modest budget for 2 people - that will get you a small room with probably 1 double bed. If you take the trouble to learn about Priceline and the work to bid you may get something better for that price. Also look at travelzoo.com and other discount sites. But realize that you MUST check on the hotels - some sites list places you would NOT want to stay. And look as soon as you have your dates - the bargain rooms are grabbed up quickly.

It's true, Amtrak does run from Boston to Portland, ME, with Wells as one of its stops. Note well, though, that this train leaves out of Boston's North Station, while the train up from NYC arrives into Boston's South Station. Allow sufficient time to get between the two if this option is chosen -- an hour isn't too much time.

Hi caliss,
It looks like money might be a big concern and hey, we all like to save if we can, so rather than Amtrak, I suggest you check out some of the busses from NYC to DC. I take Bolt Bus all the time. It is super cheap and has always been on time when I used it. It is clean, and safe. Also, it runs many times a day from right near Penn Station and a couple of other places in NYC.

$200/nt in Manhattan in June is a steal. I just did a quick check of all of my favorite go-to hotels in midtown and they are all showing $300 - $450 a night for the first week of June. Looks like that is getting into prime season.

For Manhattan you would probably get better rates in May than in June - and yes - $200 is really rock bottom. (A hotel survey rated the price of a modest hotel at about $250 per night, but that includes the $100 in January as well as the $400 in November/Dec.

If you are willing to go to a small B&B and get a room without private bath and with stairs instead of elevator you might find something in the $150 or range. Less than that isn;t realistic unless you get lucky on Priceline - or find a special deal for your dates.

Keep in mind that late May and early June are prime field trip times for local schools, so attractions might be crowded with school groups when you are visiting.

You can do D.C. the quickest. I went for the first time last August from Friday (got there around 8 p.m) and left Monday afternoon and it was plenty of time! We rode bikes through D.C. so did all of our sightseeing in one day. I loved the city, but we were thinking afterward we should have made a quick trip to Philadelphia. I went to NYC back in 07 for the same amount of time and still had sooooo much stuff to see, so I would definitely spend time in NYC.

Not sure about Boston yet. We are planning to go there this summer.

The weather in NY and DC in May and June could be warm. In DC you could almost bet on warm and muggy. NY could be the same but we also have really nice dry 60,70 degree days in NY in May. Just delightful.I would pack a good pair of walking shoes for the daytime along with some capri pants and even shorts. I think someone else already spoke of north of Boston and they would know better. I am only speaking to NY and DC. You want comfortable clothes when you are sightseeing. For the evening I would pack a few nice outfits. You picked a good time of the year to visit as far as weather. I would pick up Fodors travel guide. It is my bible when I travel. Enjoy your travels.