chillout

I would like to visit a few towns in New England, ideally some would be idyllic harbor towns that are typical of the New England.

I don't like to drive especially when on vacation so I would like to stick with towns served by the Downeaster Train, which stops at the following towns:

Brunswick, ME (BRK)

Freeport, ME (FRE)

Portland, ME (POR)

Old Orchard Beach, ME (ORB)

Saco, ME (SAO)

Wells, ME (WEM)

Dover, NH (DOV)

Durham, NH (DHM)

Exeter, NH (EXR)

Haverhill, MA (HHL)

Woburn, MA (WOB)

Which of these towns is worth visiting? any other suggestions in New England that can be visited via train/bus would be appreciated!

emalloy

From Boston, take the train to Gloucester and/or Salem, MA very worth visiting or any of the other towns in the Cape Ann area. You could walk from the Salem station to the historic, harbor area in 15 minutes or so if you didn't want to taxi.

For many of the places you are considering would be hard to really visit the areas without a car once you get to the train station.

I would not want to visit Haverhill or Woburn.

tomfuller

http://www.amtrak.com/downeaster-train
The Downeaster train leaves from Boston North (BON)
All other Amtrak trains leave from Back Bay (BBY) and Boston South (BOS).
For a scenic seaside town south of Boston I like Mystic CT. MYS

cw

Portland, Maine, is worth visiting and while not a huge city, it is the largest one in Maine. Freeport is dominated by L.L. Bean and some outlet stores. It is scenic away from the main street but you would need a car.

I would take the commuter rail from Boston and, as emalloy says above, visit Salem, Gloucester, Rockport (more your small New England waterfront town), and Newburyport.

You could also take the train to Providence and a bus to Newport, R.I., for another kind of harbor town.

You are hampered from exploring by not having a car.

chillout

emalloy- Gloucestor and Salem look great thank you for the suggestion.

tomfuller- I like the suggestion of going south rather than north for Mystic, CT especially because it has its own train station.

cw- I really appreciate you pointing out that Gloucester and the other towns were on the commuter rail system because I thought I was going crazy not finding any of them on Amtrak

So one question: Now that we have over six suggested towns to visit, most of which are very close to Boston, I wonder if I should just use Boston as a base and do without the towns in Maine including Freeport and Portland. Boston seems to be surrounded by great towns that can be reached through the commuter rail and Amtrak including Providence RI which is only 30 mins away. Or is Maine really that special and warrants spending a couple nights in? I would have to fly out of Boston at the end of the trip.

dfrostnh

It really depends on what you are looking for. If you want a small, rural experience, I would take the train to Brunswick then rent a care to explore the Harpswells and other mid-coast Maine places. There's plenty to do in the towns you can get to by train/commuter rail but keep in mind they are larger, more popular places with a lot of people and shops.

cw

Maine is special but without a car you can probably see more of what you're looking for in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

You could stay in Salem one night then go on Rockport or Gloucester for another night. That way you wouldn't be traveling back and forth to see Salem and Cape Ann. Another day trip for you is Concord, Mass. It is not coastal but is a picturesque New England town filled with history.

Check commuter rail schedules at www.mbta.com

xxx30

The Downeaster to Wells and hop the trolly that stops at the depot door. Take it to the beach,Ogunquit or to Kennebunks.
Train to Old Orchard Beach and it drops you at the Pier.stay on to Portland .....

Inakauaidavidababy

Most definitely keep Rockport MA on your list. You may recognize it from many movies shot there. xxx30 - how do they schedule those trollies off season? The wells train stop is a bit away from any action other then the freeway.

Fra_Diavolo

Maine is wonderful but without a car you will miss the parts you want to see, The small fishing villages are mostly on the peninsulas. I think the advice above suggesting visiting the North Shore above Boston is right on.

If you do go to Portland, the mail boat or other boat tours may give you a glimpse of what you're after.

gail

I would do Gloucester, Rockport and/or Salem as day trips from Boston. Providence and Portland are worth a night or 2 stay. (Only Portland is on the DownEaster route).

Note that you will need transportation from train station to anything worth seeing - but most stations have taxis available or a taxi phone.

Skip Haverhill and Woburn as stops. Less knowledge about your other choices.

china_cat

Another possible car-less option would be to take the ferry from downtown Boston to Provincetown. You could do as a day trip or stay overnight. if this is in summertime, there are shuttles which run down the Cape, so you can see a little bit, and visit different beaches.

I think Portland ME is definitely worthwhile, its not an idyllic New England Town, but its really quite lovely. I think there are buses or shuttles there as well so you can get to Portland Head Light.

Scratch Woburn MA right off your list