uprivermama

So we'll be travelling at the end of June 2013 for 14-16 days, flying out of Seattle. I know some of the things/cities we want to visit listed here:

Williamsburg, VA (Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens/water park)
Charlottesville, VA (Monticello)
Washington, DC (Smithsonians, Monuments, Arlington Nat. Cem.)
Philadelphia, PA (Historic Sites, Rocky statue)
Hershey, PA (themepark/factory tour)
New York City, NY (Statue of Liberty/Ellis Is, Rockafeller Ctr, NBC tour, 9/11 memorial)
Boston, MA (Historic sites, Fenway/game?)

We are a family of 4, with two sons aged 12 and 15. We prefer skimming the surface of historical sites; after that, the boys' eyes glaze over and the whining begins. The things I've listed above are only the preliminary list; we'll be fine tuning that as we research. My main questions are:
-What's the most time/cost efficient way to travel between major cities? I know we'll need a rental car at some points, and I'm fine with renting for a day or two for some portions; that's what I expect we'll need to do. I'm just not sure at which points that might be.
-Does this order make the most sense? Should we start in Boston and work our way down? Not sure if flights would be cheaper one way or the other. I foresee Williamsburg being a 3-4 day stop that might be nicer at the end, as it involves more recreation time and less sightseeing....opinions welcome!
-Given that we won't be sucking every last piece of history out of each stop due to the kids' interest level, how long should we plan for each stop?
I've visited most of these sites before when I was the same age as my kids will be when they visit them. I remember the trip vividly, and have been wanting to return with my own family, so this will be a great trip, I know! We are planning on returning to the east coast in the future to do a New England trip without kids in a few years; also plan on doing a road trip from North Carolina and points south at a later date, so our focus will really be on the region we've outlined. I appreciate any tips and input!

vjpblovesitaly

I would say travelling between the cities (the real cities, not the small ones) Amtrak would be good. You will not need a car within Philadelphia, Boston, NYC, or Washington, DC. For the other places you will probaby need a car to get there and to get around once there.

I guess you will have to check the prices to see if flights will be cheaper one way or the other. There is no set answer to it.

debsnj

My opinion and others may disagree, I think your plan is very ambitious for your two boys. Check the travel times (either by bus or car) between cities, I think you will be spending a lot of time traveling. I also think that unless your boys love history and museums your plan might be overkill.
We liked Williamsburg alot, we only spent one day there and it was totally in Colonial Williamsburg, I think our daughter was 10 at the time. June is a good time to go because August gets brutally hot. Try to sit in on a court trial. It was worth a little bit of a wait. They reinact a typical Colonial trial and was fun.
I've never been to Monticello.
Washington DC - your boys will probably LOVE Air and Space. To conserve time you may want to do a city tour if you don't mind not actually being in the monuments. I haven't been to DC in a very long time, when I was a kid, I loved the FBI, White House and Bureau of Engraving; these may not be open to the public with the new security requirements.

There is so much in Philadephia. You can spend a full entire day at the Franklin Institute. I went in high school and my daughter when she was 5. What I like is that we usually tell our kids "don't touch" this museum is very interative. Of course the Liberty Bell. Betsy Ross' house was fun and you don't need lots of time for these two. You can also see Ben Franklin's home and print shop. The Constitional Congress and that whole area is interesting but the tours are long. You can buy a family bus pass which will enable you to easily get around the city.
Hershey is fun, however, the tour is not of the actual factory (when I was young we saw actual swimming pool size vats of chocolate). You may want to skip Hershey if it is out of the way.
I'm not going into your New York plans because I have lived in NY/NJ my whole life and it is hard for me to be objective. Search these forums and you will get tons of suggestions. One that I will mention is that you can very easily spend an entire day at Ellis Island, although it is very interesting, plan your time accordingly. Many will advise you to take the Staten Island ferry to get up close to the Statue of Liberty, they are right, unless you have your heart set on being on the island.
I really don't know enough about Boston to comment. I only go there to visit my brother (we don't do much sightseeing) and this fall I will be going to look at colleges for my daughter.
Like I started this post, this is all MY opinion.

emalloy

I would fly into DC, rent a car and do the VA sites then return the car and do DC. Then train to Philadelphia,car to Hershey, back to Philadelphia, return the car, do Philly, train to NY, do NY, train to Boston do Boston. The cities have public transportation so you won't need a car in them and DC and/or Philladelphia could be done before or after you rent the car for the travel in state.

Or start in Boston. I said DC first because you will be going from warmer to cooler (although not much) and you want to make sure graduation season has ended in Boston before you get there.

nytraveler

Agree that you are trying to cover an awful lot of ground. I wold start in the south to try to get out of it before the weather turns completely hellish. I think 2 days is enough for Williamsburgh - one for Colonial and one for the Yortktown battlefield

In terms of the cities - use Amtrak in between. And NYC and DC each deserve at least 5 nights (4 days) with Boston requiring 4 nights (3 days). So you may need to reconisder some places.

Philly has some good sights - but I;m not sure how you will fit it in - or Hershey (which I don;t really get).

IMHO vacations should be a learning experience - otherwise kids never get the idea that museums are FUN - not just a chore. Naturally you will want to do other things - boat rides, biking or boating some places - but I would never waste time at chocolate town esp with older kids - one of whom will be going off to college in two years. (It's not like they're toddlers.)

uprivermama

emalloy, that is exactly the info I was looking for. Thanks for your response. I wish all responses were so on point and without condescension and snobbery...

debsnj

Upriver, I hope you were referring to the comment that was deleted. I appologize if I offended you in any way.

fourfortravel

Realistically, as a DC area parent of an 11 and 16 old, we've taken your itinerary in bits and pieces, and you really do need more time than you've planned. I’m not trying to be condescending or snobbish; I’m just putting your plan into perspective, because we all have different travel styles. I also agree that starting in the south and working your way north is wise. Late June can be miserable in the DC area.

Day 1. Assuming you land at Dulles from Seattle in the early afternoon and rent a car, by late afternoon/early evening you will be in Williamsburg. This also assumes you are not traveling south at the same time that many DC-area families are heading to the Outer Banks, in which case all bets are off on when you might arrive.
Day 2. Williamsburg still needs the bulk of a day if you just want to see the buildings and not go inside, stop for lunch, or use the WC more than once or twice.
Day 3. Busch Gardens needs that much time, as well, especially because most of it will be spent standing in line for the water rides.
Day 4. Williamsburg to Charlottesville is 2 hours via car. If your plan is only to "skim the surface," I would skip Charlottesville (lots of walking=lots of glazed eyes) and just buy a postcard somewhere along the way back to DC. Otherwise, it takes about 2 hours to tour Charlottesville, and 3 hours to reach DC.
Days 5 and 6 could be spent visiting the inside of one, perhaps two museums, and taking the Hop On, Hop Off bus to see the monuments.
Day 7. Arlington Cemetery and perhaps more monument hopping in DC.
Day 8. DC to Philadelphia is 2+ hours, not including transfer time or service interruptions on Amtrak. That leaves the afternoon to see the Rocky statue and perhaps see some of the historic sights. I’ll assume that Reading Market and the Art Museum are not on your list, among other sights to explore.
Day 9. Hershey is 2+ hours from Philadelphia. Assuming everyone is up and going early, the park and the factory tour is “doable” in a very, very long day.
Days 10 and 11. Philadelphia to NYC on Amtrak is 1.5+ hours. There is no way to see the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, NBC tour, and 9/11 Memorial in one day without stopping to eat, use the WC, or making your family hate you.
Day 12. NYC to Boston is 5+ hours on Amtrak. After checking in at your hotel, etc., there’s not a lot of time for sightseeing, unless you catch a 5:00 a.m. train.
Days 13. Walk the historic sights along the Freedom Trail until everyone gets bored, take in a game at Fenway. Maybe spend time at Faneuil Hall.
Day 14. Assuming you’re not flying out of Boston, the Amtrak ride to DC is 8 hours.
Day 15. Return to Seattle.

girlonthego

I think it is too many cities and sights for one trip. The kids will be ragged by day 6. I would fly into Boston and spend 3 days there, fly to NY and spend 4 days there. You can take the train to DC non stop and spend 3-4 days there. Rent a car and drive to Williamsburg. Spend two full days there. One for the colonial town and one for Busch Gardens. (William and Mary college is right in the town. Maybe inspire the kids to see a college with great history behind it.) Busch gardens has no real water rides.(I think one) There is a separate park called Water country that you can go to if it is really hot, but Busch Gardens is a very nice theme park to go to and walk around. End with 2- 3 days oceanfront in Virginia beach relaxing. Fly out of Norfolk VA home.
I have two kids and they are good travelers, but so many cities with so much history and sightseeing would have put them under.
Some things to see: In NY, I would go to Ellis Island and the statue of liberty. You may need to book those in advance. See a broadway show. You can buy tickets in time square for shows that have seats still available and sometimes get great seats last minute for a good price. Go to China town and Little Italy. Times Square is a great area to stay in. You walk around at midnight and it is like 2 in the afternoon with tons of people and lights.
Save the museums for Washington because the Smithsonian are all free and that is where you will really get the kids into the history of the country and the politics of today. White house tours should be booked in advance. You can also ask your congressman for a private tour of the capital. We did that and we got to ride underground in a little train. It was neat.
Good luck in your planning. My advice is to remember to not over do it and allow for some downtime or kid friendly stuff to do.

girlonthego

Oh and if they haven't seen the Lion King, that would be a great show to take them to.

dshamritsky

I would say that you cut out Hershey, PA, I have been there when I was a kid and recently and can not say that I was amazed by anything. It cuts out a valuable day and is extra driving time when you already are kind of short on time. I suggest that if you do Hershey then use a car and go while driving from Dc to Philly because it is a more scenic route in general and keeps you moving in the same direction as you want.
1. Land in DC, rent a car drive to Williamsburg
2. Walk around and see Williamsburg
3. Go to Busch Gardens, do NOT go to the water park if it is hot. You will spend hours in line, go on the roller coasters and drink water instead
4. Drive to Charlottesville (again if you really want, if you are impartial just drive back to DC)
5.Spend in DC, go to Air and Space, and Lincoln and washington memorial. Will fill up the day.
6. Do one or more museum in DC and walk around the White House and Georgetown area.
7. Get on Amtrak to Philly. Spend afternoon on a hop on hop off bus.
8. Make it a easier day/rest day, they will be so tired by now that you should just give the kids a the morning off, trust me they will like you much more for that. The Rocky Statue is on the steps of the Art Museum so you will be at the museum either way. When I was a kid my parents really did not care if I did not want to go to the art museum so I sucked it up. You probably are only going to Busch Gardens because of the kids right?
9. Amtrak to NYC visit 911 memorial and Times Square at night
10. Do the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferry. Walk around Little Italy and Chinatown, watch a broadway show in the evening, Lion King is great if they have not seen it. Since your kids don't want to see museums, there is not much else because the MET and Natural History Museum are both great.
11. Amtrak to Boston- Go to a Red Sox game if they are at home.
12. Freedom Trail, Faneuil Hall.
13. If you have a day rent a car and drive to Portsmouth, NH (1 hour) or Portland, ME (1.5 hrs) for some real New England coast, I recommend Portland and get a giant lobster for lunch.
14. Visit Bunker Hill Memorial. Allow the afternoon for anything else you guys might want to see
15. Fly out of Boston, doing the Amtrak to DC is long and boring, will be a bit more expensive but you will enjoy it much more then spending 8 hours in a train and then six hours on a plane

Hope all of this info helps, sorry that I could not think of anything in Boston because when you are a native it seems like they are not really tourist attractions but they might be for tourists.

padams421

I am responding with the perspective of a parent with 14 and 16 year olds. I am assuming your 15 year old is at least a high school freshman currently. You wrote that you intend to do another east coast trip in a few years without the kids. Do you plan to have your kids consider east coast universitiies? If so, you'll have at least one more east coast trip in the next couple of years with kids. You may want to tour a few universities on the trip you are currently planning. You may also want to cut back on the geographical distance of this trip if you are returning to the east coast for college visits in another year or so. I'd skip New England and do that area closer to senior year because there are so many schools in that region.

As other have suggested above, Williamsburg to Boston is a lot of distance to cover, both literally and figuratively in terms of things to do and see, in 2 weeks. It's the equivalent of doing San Diego to Vancouver, or a European tour of London, Paris, Berlin, and Rome in 2 weeks. I would do Virginia, DC and Philly at the most, or a split between Boston and NYC.

uprivermama

Wow, thanks everyone. These are excellent suggestions and very helpful information. Sorry to have snapped a little in my last post; it was really directed to nytraveler's post.

At this point, I think Hershey will be taken off the itinerary. I have fond memories of the stop, but I don't think it's essential.

I appreciate the suggestions about the college visits; I highly doubt my kids would consider an east coast college, but you never know...maybe they'll be inspired.

I'll keep working on narrowing down the list. I would love lodging suggestions if anyone has any. Thanks again!

nytraveler

I have yet to meet a kid that did not LOVE the natural history museum - and it's the standard 2nd grade school trip for NYC kids.

As for the Met - even if they don;t like art, they are sure to be fascinated by the arms & armor, the Egyptian section and the Temple of Dendur. They may also want to see the Intrepid.Space shuttle and take a trip on either the free Staten Island ferry or the Best jet boat.

While college visit is may be a great idea your itinerary is already really packed - and you may be underestimating the amount of traffic you will run into everywhere and how long it will take to get from place to place.

yk

I still think your itinerary is too ambitious, even if you're cutting out Hershey. You still have 6 destinations for 14-16 days, and when you add in traveling time between the cities, you barely have 1.5 days in each place.

During June/July, it makes most sense to start in the South and work your way north, hoping for better/cooler weather. OTOH, the week around July 4th is A TON of fun in Boston. It's a one-week celebration with lots of events surrounding the revolutionary war, so it's something to consider. Obviously the details for 2013 events aren't out yet, but if you click on the link, you can see what type of events were available in 2012: http://www.bostonharborfest.com/dailyevents.html

isabel

We live in Massachusetts and for years we vacationed in Chincoteague VA so covered the route you are talking about, including when our kids were the age of yours. Definitely ditch Hershey, even my kids were pretty bored there. Philadelphia didn't really match up to the other places either. My kids loved Colonial Williamsburg, Washington DC, NY and Boston. Since Philly is right on the way you could certainly spend a day there. But otherwise I'd split your time between the other four, that's still only about three days each, really the minimum. Girlonthego's plan looks really good except I wouldn't fly from Boston to NY, just take the train, much faster and easier.

So I'd do train between Boston and NYC, and between NYC and DC, then rent a car for the Virginia part.

fourfortravel

What I was trying to suggest in my earlier post is that if I proposed that plan to my family there would be a mutiny. Too many destinations and too much down time in transit, not to mention all the lost time for checking in/out of hotels and picking up/returning rental cars.

Like others have suggested, reconsider the itinerary. Perhaps replace Williamsburg/Busch Gardens and Monticello with Mount Vernon. Scrap Hershey Park and use the extra time for NYC and Boston. Use the rental car and Amtrak savings to fly into DC and out of Boston.

girlonthego

Since it is June, I think ending with a day a busch gardens (which has great coasters) and day or two in the ocean would be appealing to teens. There is a sand soccer tournament usually the second weekend in June. Hotels book up fast, but it is neat to watch the kids/teens/adults play. My kids played a few years in high school.

If you are from the west coast, the atlantic is a much different beach. Water should be warmer, although June not as warm as July/Aug.

The museum of natural history in NY is great, but if you are going to museums in washington, I think with teens that would be plenty. There is a bus that drops off and picks up at all the sights. Old Towne Trolley? I think in Washington.

NY has so many cool things to see and do. I also like the idea of a red sox game in Boston!

Going to college across the country is not for everyone, but Boston has so many great schools to go to if truly interested. It is a college city.
William and Mary is connected to the colonial town, so you can visit it without a formal tour.

I do think dropping Philly and Hershey and Charlottesville is probably best. All great places with things to do and see, but out of the way or just too many things! Have fun planning the itinerary!

girlonthego

Since it is June, I think ending with a day a busch gardens (which has great coasters) and day or two in the ocean would be appealing to teens. There is a sand soccer tournament usually the second weekend in June. Hotels book up fast, but it is neat to watch the kids/teens/adults play. My kids played a few years in high school.

If you are from the west coast, the atlantic is a much different beach. Water should be warmer, although June not as warm as July/Aug.

The museum of natural history in NY is great, but if you are going to museums in washington, I think with teens that would be plenty. There is a bus that drops off and picks up at all the sights. Old Towne Trolley? I think in Washington.

NY has so many cool things to see and do. I also like the idea of a red sox game in Boston!

Going to college across the country is not for everyone, but Boston has so many great schools to go to if truly interested. It is a college city.
William and Mary is connected to the colonial town, so you can visit it without a formal tour.

I do think dropping Philly and Hershey and Charlottesville is probably best. All great places with things to do and see, but out of the way or just too many things! Have fun planning the itinerary!

Barblab

I think if you ditch Hershey and Montecello you can skim the other places on your list. You don't want to see everything anyway, as it gives you, and them, a reason to return one day.

In Washington DC I would tour the memorials at night when it is cooler and they are beautifullly lit up. In NYC I would pack a fresbee, buy a local pizza, and head to Central Park for a picnic. If it is stiffeling in Boston I would consider taking a Duck Tour of the historical sights as opposed to walking to them via the Freedon Trail. The disadvantage there is you don't get to go inside anything, but at this point in your trip that may be ok.

I would assign each of your sons one city on the trip and put them in charge of being the family guide. Taking ownership makes for a more meaningful experience. Have fun!