We are planning to travel to the East coast of America for a 2 week vacation. Which places are the best to visit (including New York). We have never done this before, so any advice would be most welcome.

Where are you coming from?
What do you like?
- Palm trees or Pine trees
- Crabs or Lobster
- People or scenery
- Walking or riding
How much can you spend?

The "east coast of America" involves thousands of miles of coast and over a dozen states, plus Washington DC, in an area more than twice hte size of the UK. Perhaps it would help you to narrow down your project if you read some of the posts on this board that are about these areas.

Are you interested in museums, architecture, history, outdoorsy activities? Help us narrow it down for you!

oops...

missed the *.uk

We are looking to visit New York, Boston area. Coming from the UK. Looking for reasonably priced places to stay close to attractions.

OK, so we just got rid of the palm trees...that's a start.

As the crow flies, it's about 200 miles from NY to Boston...a 4 hour drive, and a wealth of interesting stuff in between.

Can you arrive at and depart from different airports?

Julie - The above posters are right - the East Coast is quite large. But here are what I would consider the highlights. Others will add their 2 cents in also.

From North to South
Maine - rocky coasts, lobsters, sailing, inland lakes and pine trees. Very scenic
NH - more mountains, outlet shopping in Conway
Massachusetts - Cape Cod has sandy beaches, seafood. Boston is a walking city with museums, history, great food
Rhode Island - Newport for the mansions of the Guilded Age (Vanderbilts and Rockefellers)
Connecticut - Foxwoods Casino, antiquing
New York - Times Square, Central Park, museums, restaurants, lots of shopping,
New Jersey - sandy beaches and Atlantic City
Pennsylvania - Philadelphia - history, Liberty Bell, Ben Franklin home, Gettysburg (Civil War battlefield) much more
Delaware - its okay to skip Delaware unless you want to register a corporation or see a chicken farm.
Maryland - Annapolis, Baltimore - maybe catch a baseball game in one of the nicest ballfields in America (Camden Yards)
Washington DC - Smithsonian, White House, Monuments, the Capitol
Virginia - Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, Monticello (home of Thomas Jefferson- architect of the US Constitution and of the home)
North Carolina - more beaches and mountains
South Carolina - Charleston - beautiful old Southern city
Georgia - Savannah - beautiful old Southern city. Atlanta - ugly new Southern city
Florida - Disney World, St. Augustine - beautiful old city with Spanish influence, Miami - beautiful new city with Latin influence, the Keys for scuba diving and fishing.

My suggestion would be to get a guide book and pick out the things that interest you most, such as museums, cultural attractions, etc. and then come back here and let us know what you would like to see, where you are interested in going and we will try to help you with your intinerary. Right now, it's just too vague for anyone to provide meaningful assistance. Happy planning!

Obviously it would help to know your interests, whether you have children, etc.

But in general, you should first know that the East Coast of the US is tremendously diverse, ranging from the rocky, cold coast of Maine to the tropical environment of Florida.

If I were seeing it for the first time, I'd consider: NY City; for history, Boston or Philadelphia; Washington, DC, especially the different sections fo the Smithsonian; Baltimore Inner Harbor and Aquarium; the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The list goes on. Good luck.

Of course,

The wise guy advice to a Brit is to see Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill.

A couple of years ago, we hosted someone from England for a week. He was amazed at the distances between places here in the States. Julie, you're probably right in limiting your stay to a geographic area. gc mentioned that it's a 4 hour drive from New York to Boston. Are you planning on renting a car? I'm sure that you'll find more than enough to do between NYC and Boston. Each of the states in that area will have a tourism bureau. Contact them to see what they have to offer and what will be happening during the time you'll be here.

Here is a Mapquest road trip...you can look at historical sites, tourist attractions, etc. along the coastal route from New York to Boston.

http://www.mapquest.com/rtp/route.adp?rtpid=3d0a1db0%2d00367%2d014c6%2d400c330 d

It's a start.

From the UK to the US Northeast for a two week visit, the perfect itenerary for you is:

1) Fly into Boston, take one of early afternoon or evening flights from London, get a good night's sleep, wake up, visit the art museums, walk around, definately go to Lexington and Concord; stay in Boston area for several days, go to a baseball game if you can.

2) Go to Block Island in Rhode Island; I have a friend from the UK who says this is his favorite spot in America; a quiet (relatively) beach island; stay there for a few days

3) Go to NYC - make a stop in CT if you wish (Foxwoods if you gamble; Essex Steam Train and River Boat if you are nostalgic, Mystic if you are a sailor...) or go straight through to NYC; do that for a few days, fly home from JFK or Newark and save a day or two to recover at home.

4) Let us know what you liked; trip report expected in return for advise.

Hi Julie!
Definitely visit Newport, Rhode Island. You may want to check out the Best Western Atlantic Beach Hotel on the Middletown line. There is a fun interactive murder mystery show at the Astors' Beechwood that you might find interesting.
I think you would also enjoy Cape Cod. If you go, stay around Chatham and visit the National Seashore in Eastham. The Chatham Motel and the Old Harbor Inn are reasonable; I like the Bradford Inn.
Be sure to visit the Massachusetts Northshore, as well, including Salem, Gloucester, and Newburyport.
I think you would also find New Hampshire and Maine worth a visit. Inland you would find the the Warner Indian Museum in Warner, NH and the Lost River in Lincoln, NH of particular interest. Staying at the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods would be lovely, but expensive. You may want to consider flying out of Portland, Maine or Manchester, NH - even if only to get back to NYC. Have a great trip!

Julie,
I'm familiar with the NY area. Tell us which attractions you're interested in and I can make recommendations.