immrlo

This is my first post here! From reading several posts, I'm excited to read all the helpful info I'm sure to get

I'm 26 and I am heading to New England Oct. 25-29 from the Manchester airport in NH. My bf and I will be staying at the Northey Street B&B in Salem. We will be renting a car. I like history, and I love beautiful natural scenery.

We def. want to tour Salem, see Boston (Freedom trail, MIT, Harvard, Fenway) and *hopefully* see what's left of fall foliage.

Any advice or suggestions to our itinerary would be greatly appreciated! Also, we were thinking about taking a ferry to Provincetown, but I'm feeling like I could probably visit another town to get the same feel without the crowd or the distance?

Thanks!

gail

Read several more posts - you seem to have done a good start at research.

First, I hope when you speak of staying in Salem, you mean Massachusetts and not New Hampshire. There are Salems in each state, and the reason I ask is that the New Hampshire one is about 25 miles from Manchester airport - so just check your reservation to be sure. And you will be in Salem, MA rigtht before Halloween - while I usualloy do not recommend the hokey witch stuff, at Halloween time it can be more fun and you will be there anyway.

For day trips into Boston, check schedule and consider taking commuter rail from Salem. MBTA.com has excellent routing advice, maps.

Certainly spend a day strolling the Freedom Trail, perhaps ending in North End (Italian) for dinner.

A car day trip for remnants of foliage and some scenery might be west out Route 2 - you can stop in historic Lexington and Concord, continue west and stop at a farm stand where there will still be local apples and lots of pumpkins.

Depending on where you are from, if you want ocean and beach (obvioiusly not to swim in in October) another day trip would be to head north from Salem to Rockport - cute little town, very picturesque.

For the length of your trip I might skip Provincetown - althoughno real worry about crowds at the end of October. Instead, if weather is decent, take a Boston Harbor cruise or even whale watch. If you do, even if weather on shore is warmish, take very warm clothing.

Museums I might recommend are new Institute of Contemporary Art and Isabella Stewart Gardner (also art). I am not a big fan of New England Aquarium but others here are. JFK Library/Museum is also a good choice (MBTA Red Line)

That should give you a start.

immrlo

Thank you Gail!

denise8101214

There is also a ferry from Salem, MA to Boston which might be fun.

http://www.salemferry.com/

Gene

I don't believe there are any Boston/Provincetown ferries running after mid-October.

Vttraveler

If you like history be sure to visit the Beacon hill area in Boston--not on the Freedom trail. Link to a walking tour that starts at the state house
http://www.beaconhillonline.com/cgi-...dex.cgi?cid=21

You might want to consider Cape Ann north of boston instead of trying to get to Provincetown. Newburyport is another interesting town full of beautiful sea captains' homes. Plum Island is a beautiful 11 mile barrier island off the coast.