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Itinerary help for DC, NYC, Boston & New England

Itinerary help for DC, NYC, Boston & New England

Old Jul 16th, 2008, 02:22 PM
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Itinerary help for DC, NYC, Boston & New England

I need some help planning a family trip for about 3 weeks next summer to the Northeast. We would like to visit sights from Washington DC to Boston, perhaps as far north as Rockport, MA.
My husband and I have been to these places before but the “kids” have not. (Son aged 20 and daughters 17 & 9).

With a family of 5 finding a single hotel room for all of us in most cities is difficult, so I am looking at renting an apt for the nights in NYC and Boston. I also would like to rent a cottage/house for one week in an interesting area of New England, perhaps on the coast. Any suggestions for a base for that week?

I originally thought of the following itinerary:
Fly into DC (stay 3 nights), drive to NYC (stay 4 nights), drive to Boston (stay 3 nights), quiet cottage for a week somewhere, then drive back south by another route to fly out again from DC (allow 2-3 nights to travel back to DC).

I know we will not need (or want) a rental car when we are in the larger cities (esp NYC). I wonder if we should fly in and out of NYC instead of DC, see the NYC sights those first 4 days and then rent the car as we are leaving. (We are using free tickets that require a round trip, so we will need to make the loop back to where we begin.)

I have also thought of combining the cottage rental with the NYC time – renting somewhere on Long Island or southwestern Connecticut close to a train link so we can do day trips into the city. However, I am not familiar with the train/subway system to/from Manhattan.

Any help from those familiar with these places would be greatly appreciated!


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Old Jul 16th, 2008, 02:38 PM
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Just a suggestion:

You do not need to rent a car to go between DC/NYC, and NYC/Boston.
BoltBus and Megabus both serve this route for a very low price, esp if you buy in advance. Both companies are reputable (BoltBus is a subsidary of Greyhound, and MegaBus' parent company is in UK for years); and both buses offer free wi-fi.

Even with 5 of you, you may end up paying less by taking the bus then renting a car (as you'll have to pay for gas, toll, and 1-way drop-off surcharge).

When you say "Free" tickets, are these frequent flier tickets or are truly free? As I know FF tix allow you to fly open jaw.

If you absolutely HAVE to fly into/out of same city, I'd pick NYC. It's right in the middle between Boston and DC, with each about a 4-hour drive from NYC.
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Old Jul 16th, 2008, 02:42 PM
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Just to give you an example of how cheap the bus fares are:

BoltBus starts at $7pp each way;
MegaBus starts at $1pp each way. Yes, $1, not a typo.

For July 4th weekend, DH & I took Megabus from Boston to NYC. The total fare for both of us roundtrip was $28.

www.boltbus.com
www.megabus.com
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Old Jul 16th, 2008, 03:24 PM
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"I wonder if we should fly in and out of NYC instead of DC, see the NYC sights those first 4 days and then rent the car as we are leaving."

That makes the most sense to me though I suppose you should cost-out all the alternatives. Even if you have to buy gas and pay for parking in DC and Boston, a 2-week rental might be the best choice; certainly it's the most flexible option.

As far as hotels, there are plenty of suite hotels, notably Embassy Suites, that will suit your group just fine if the daughters are willing to share a bed, and they might be able to squeeze in a separate cot for you. IMHO, free breakfast on the premises makes the morning preparations so much smoother for a group!
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Old Jul 16th, 2008, 04:17 PM
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I would organize to fly into DC and out of Boston. Take either bus or Amtrak from DC to NYC. Pick up the car in NYC and drive up to Boston (seeing Newport briefly on the way), garage the car in Boston (not much for a couple of nights) and then keep it for the week on the coast.

As for a hotel in NYC have a look at the following (but far in advance) for suites suitable for 5: Radio City Apartments, Affinia group of hotels. They have much better location than Embassy suites in NYC - which is in a downtown business district that is very quiet at night.
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Old Jul 16th, 2008, 09:58 PM
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Thanks for the information on the cheap bus tickets from NYC to Boston and DC. I think this may be a good option for us.

Our free airline tickets are strictly round trip, so I will have to plan for that.

And I am still debating about my "week in a cottage" location.

Thank you for all the suggestions! After I mull this over and read some more I will be back with questions again!
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