whineparty

I'm new to this forum and am here because I could use a lot of advice. My cousin and I are planning a trip to the East coast. My main focus is New England; hers is DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Is there anyway we can do a nice "loop" and finish in New York - or is this not realistic given a 10-day time frame?

emalloy

Fly into Boston, spend a few days in the city using public transportation (the T), then rent a car and visit the New England sites that you want to see.

Return the car and take the train to Washington DC, spend a little time there using public transportation (the Metro), then rent a car and visit VA and MD sites. Return the car and fly out of DC.

If you already have plans to do NY, then train to Boston and do the above then train back to NY.

whineparty

Thank you for responding so quickly. Those are great ideas. I will print them out and look at a map.
Thanks again!

cw

Ten days is really a short time to make that loop. Does the ten days include time spend in NYC? It's not impossible, just a lot of driving.

Two questions: what time of the year are you traveling and what sites does your friend want to see in Maryland and Virginia? Are you more interested in interior New England or in the coastal area? Okay, sorry that was a third question.

nytraveler

There is not way you can cover that territory in just 10 days. You will need to defintieyl make some hard choices. Assuming you have not been before New York and DC really need 4 days each - so that's your trip right there.

If you want to fly into Boston (3 days) see a little of NH (you will need a car) and NYC - that's an option.

Or doing DC, Maryland and VA - that can be done in 10 days.

But to do 3 major cities and parts of 3 or 4 other states in 10 days means you will spend more than half of your time in transit and have about 1/2 day for sightseeing in each place.

whineparty

Hi:
We would be going mid-October (in about 5 weeks.) My cousin wants to fly into Norfolk, then visit Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown, then head to Maryland. I would like to go anyplace in New England (scenic, small towns are my favorite.) From what I've read, the coastal areas are the most popular. Prior to our return to the West coast, we will meet my husband in New York/Newark but will only stay there for a couple of days. We actually have about 11 actual vacation days as I deducted two days for travel. Oh - did I mention we love to shop?!
Thanks.
Thanks.

dfrostnh

Remind your cousin that NH doesn't have a sales tax. That might work! Mid-October is getting a little late for color in northern areas. You might get better weather in the VA area. The Kittery MA shopping outlets are very close to the ocean and not a long drive from Boston.

Flip a coin.

nytraveler

Have you looked at driving distances and time to get from one place to another?

From Wmsbrg to Maryland (not sure what you want to see there) is about 4 hours - but can be more due to traffic.

From Baltimore to NH is abuot 9 hours, again dependng on traffic.

And from Portsmouth back to NYC is listed at about 5 hours - but with traffic 6 plus is more realistic.

So you can do this if you are willing to give up DC and Boston - but will be spending a lot of time on the road.

Jaya

You can fly non-stop from Newark to Manchester, NH on Continental/United. You can rent a care at the airport and venture out from there. There are numerous towns to visit in NH that will be what you're looking for.

You'll get the most bang for your driving buck to go north on route 93 from Manchester (or Boston) and/or go east on Route 101 from Manchester to towns like Exeter and finish in Portsmouth.

NH is loaded antique stores and co-ops and in October the Halloween/fall atmosphere is just so "New England".

As already said, 10 days for Maryland/DC and New England is too much distance. You can spend 10 days in New England alone.

whineparty

Thanks everyone. I am going to propose that we do New England only on this trip. I'll be writing back for more advice on which towns are the best to visit there. I've also been warned that since I am booking so late, it might be tough to get accommodations so any advice in that area would be appreciated as well. Travel dates are Oct. 11-26.
Thanks.

330east

I would like to recommend the very pretty little town of Portsmouth,NH. And if you dont mind spending a "little" you might want to stay in the hotel Wentworth by the Sea.