bernadettelynn

Is it possible to take in the sights of New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Mass. along with a day @ Martha's vinyard in 5 days? We have never been to this area and mostly would like to take in the fall foliage and see the coast. If not, could you direct me as to a route that includes the white mtns., Martha's vinyard and coastal drives? We will be flying into Boston. Any resonable places to stay and eat along the way would be greatly appreciated. Also, do we need to make these reservations now? Thanks for the help! Bernadettelynn

cw

I'm confused. Didn't you just ask this question a few days ago? Click on your name to see the answers. Or are you asking something new?

Cranachin

It is possible to do everything you want to do in 5 days if all you do is drive.

New England is "small" compared to the rest of the US, but it is not tiny. In addition, many roads meander and/or go through populated areas, and speed limits generally are lower than in the rest of the country,

And as posters to your other thread said, best color at the time you want to visit will be very much inland, so to see both the coast and peak foliage will involve even more driving.

bernadettelynn

To cw, yes my questions were some of the same, however Cranachin gave me the answer I needed about seeing everything in the amount of time I have. I was also looking for more names of inns to stay in from anyone who may have take this trip recently. A place to stay in Boston that would be close to some walking sights would also be helpful. Thankyou for your time. Bernadettelynn

tchoiniere

I don't think you will have time if you mix in a stay in Boston as well. I still don't agree that 5 days is enough especially with Martha's Vineyard part of it. Lots of traffic and ground to cover.

cw

Here's a link to Yankee Magazines recommended Fall foliage drives in the different New England states. You should get a good map of New England, and work out how you can connect the routes (or parts of the routes). http://www.yankeefoliage.com/drives/

If you stay in Boston on day 1 (stay in Back Bay or the waterfront area), day 2, drive to Maine, day 3, drive to New Hampshire, day 4, drive to Cape Cod by way of Vermont, and day 5, take a day trip to Martha's Vineyard, and day 6, return home. If you have to go home on day 5, you could skip Maine or leave NH early, drive straight to Cape Cod and spend a few hours in MV.

This trip is all driving and you will not have much time at all for seeing any sights--you'll just drive by. The Yankee Magazine site also has recommendations for places to stay. Also check foliage websites to see where the color is before you go, and adjust your plans from there.

djkbooks

It depends on what you mean by "sights"? If you are referring to scenery: ocean, lakes, mountains, foliage, the very best way to enjoy all that is by driving all over. So, of course you can cover Martha's Vineyard, NH, VT, Maine, MA in five days.

Where to go would depend on your dates, if you want to see foliage.

Rates for accommodations will be at their highest in Boston and the foliage areas and you may run into minimum night stay requirements, whereas you'll find shoulder, or even off season rates, on the coast of Maine and on Martha's Vineyard.

bernadettelynn

Thanks and we will check out the websights you suggested. This will help a lot! I am getting a better idea of our driving time now. We do have 5 1/2 days to tour the area. Thinking about driving straight to Cape Cod and leaving out Vermont after the white mtns. Does it have landscape close to NH? (When I am talking sights in this area, I am refering to mostly landscape).B

djkbooks

Again, much depends on your dates and this year's season, which is unpredictable, as to whether it would be best to head for Cape Cod first, then the mountains for foliage.

If your dates will include Columbus Day weekend, you could enjoy Martha's Vineyard and foliage in the Berkshires, without so much driving, for example.

bernadettelynn

We will be there oct.4th-10th. I think we will take your idea and look into places to stay and visit in those areas. Thanks again! B

djkbooks

Well, then, my recommendation would be to head to Martha's Vineyard first. Then, drive as far north as you care to go into the White Mountains of NH or Green Mountains of VT. If you don't want to drive that far, you could head for the Berkshires in Western, MA. Then, wind up your trip in Boston.

You probably won't run into minimum stay requirements weekdays, but it is best to book ahead due to the tour groups if you plan to overnight in major towns.

There are websites for all the major areas - visitnh.org is excellent for New Hampshire, especially lodging. But, also see Vermont, Berkshires, etc., visitor websites.

You'd definitely want to book your Columbus Day weekend accommodations ASAP.

TerrMys

Out of curiosity, what is drawing you to visit Martha's Vineyard?

If you're looking for the quaint and scenic New England seacoast, why not focus on the south coast of Maine instead? This makes a lot more sense to me, because it doesn't involve driving in the opposite direction of the mountains, taking a ferry to MV and then doing the same route in reverse... That just sounds like a waste of time for such a short vacation, IMO.

Your dates are really ideal for seeing peak foliage in the White Mountains in NH and Green Mountains in VT. I would probably start by driving up the coast from Boston, stopping in Portsmouth, NH to explore the town and then continuing into Maine. A walk along the Marginal Way in Ogunquit and an evening in or near Kennebunkport would be ideal, IMO. Check out the Nubble Light in Cape Neddick or the Portland Head Light if you have the time and/or the interest.

From the Kennebunkport/Portland area, Route 302 will take you towards North Conway, NH and the heart of the White Mountains. Consider spending two nights in either Jackson or Lincoln, exploring the various attractions of the mountains and the scenic drives through the fall colors.

On Day 4, head into Vermont. Consider passing through picturesque villages like Danville, Peacham, Topsham, Corinth, Tunbridge, and Pomfret. Maybe spend the night in the charming town of Woodstock (I'm tempted to recommend heading towards Stowe, but the drive back to Boston would be longer). If you do have time to meander slowly back towards Boston, check out the Cornish-Windsor Bridge and the villages of Grafton, VT; Harrisville, NH and Hancock, NH.

Vermont definitely offers a different type of scenery than NH. Vermont is more agricultural overall and offers many splendid vistas of rolling hills, pastures, and gentle mountains. It is probably the most quintessential image of New England, in a sense.

At any rate, I stand by my warning about Martha's Vineyard - I really don't think including it would make your vacation particularly enjoyable. It would be too fast, too driving-heavy, and would shortchange the wonderful display of color in the north country at that time of year.

bernadettelynn

Yeah! These are the kind of tips I was looking for. Thanks so much to all of you! I needed a little more advice on how to approach this driving trip and you have been a great help now. We did decide to add 1 more day to make that stop at MV. We may make the effort and after the trip may not feel that it was worth it. However, friends that toured it last year recomended a day there, so we thought we wanted to see it since we may not make it back that way again. I hope to have our route planned out within a week and then I will have more questions on specific town inns and good eats! B

djkbooks

It is definitely a big decision as to whether to go that far out of your way to visit a place your friends enjoyed, when there are so many unique and just as appealing towns along the coasts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine on your way to the mountains.

bernadettelynn

Do you have an idea how long it takes to drive to MV from Boston? It would be on a monday. B

emalloy

Well, you need to take the ferry from MV to the mainland and if you did not take your car you will have to take a shuttle to the parking area then drive to Boston. There is a fast ferry that does the trip in an hour. The steamship is longer.

Ferries go from Hyannis, Falmouth, and Woods Hole. If there is no traffic, no construction on the bridge over the canal or on the roads, it should take and hour and a half to two hours to drive from these to Boston.

emalloy

There also is a ferry from New Bedford, I forgot about that. Won't shorten the trip.

irishface

Just back from visiting family on the Cape. The bridge traffic is awful with the construction! Two of us were going to visit cousins off Cape and it took us an hour and a half to go the last two miles to the Sagamore Bridge and over on a Thursday afternoon. We came back early evening and it wasn't quite so bad, but we had to slow down to a crawl the last three miles before the bridge. So take that into consideration if you are heading to the Cape from Boston.

Also, if you are planning on taking your car to MV on the ferry, you need to make reservations ahead.

alley

Under the best circumstances it will take you 1.5 to 2 hours to drive from Boston to Woods Hole, where the Martha's Vineyard Steamship Authority runs ferries to and from the Vineyard. (On a holiday weekend, especially if the weather is nice, it could take much longer.) If you plan to take your car over to MV, you need to get a reservation in advance and you cannot show up to the Woods Hole wharf much earlier than an hour or so before your scheduled ferry. This is because they line all the cars up to await the next ferry and there is not much room in the lot. Woods Hole is tiny, so be aware that if you are told to come back closer to your ferry time you will find yourself winding through very narrow streets with nowhere to park. The ferry will then take 45 minutes to get you over to the island.

Alternatively, you can drive to the bus lot (about 2 miles before the ferry landing) and leave your car for the day or overnight and take the shuttle bus to the ferry. You will then be without a car on the Vineyard. Depending on what you want to do there, this might not be a problem. If you take a ferry to Oak Bluffs, that is a cute little town with shops, a working carousel, a beach area, and restaurants. You can wander around easily for a day. If you take a ferry instead to Vineyard Haven, that is a dry town with a few shops and the Black Dog restaurant (which I HIGHLY recommend), but not much of a beach and not much else.

There are lots of other great things to do on the vineyard if you have a car: go out to Aquinnah and see the cliffs, check out the glass blowing gallery, go to Chilmark Chocolates, go out to Edgartown and take the ferry over to Chappaquidick etc.

We go to the Vineyard most every summer so I would never say you shouldn't go, but understand that getting there from Boston will take you at least half a day. Also, I think the beauty of MV is great summer weather. You might luck out in October, but I think the fall foliage in NH beats MV by a mile that time of year.

bernadettelynn

Thanks for the tips on time at MV. We are still debating on the drive. It may be too much.