Mid October trip to New England. Need help with itenerary
 

My husband and I are travel to the New England area for the first time this October. We love food, history, relaxation, and, agriculture. We are not outdoors people. I have worked on this itinerary and am not sure if we need to do all the towns on it, since it seems like a lot or if we are missing anything. I also don't know if we should travel North first or South. Any advice would be welcome. Is Nantucket better than Bar Harbor?

Friday Oct

Fly into Boston MA

Food Tour

Walk the Freedom Trail

Mike’s Pastry

Saturday Oct

Rent a Car head to Salem MA- 56 mins from Boston

Portmouth NH- 56 mins from Salem

Portland ME- 1 hour from Portsmouth

Overnight in Portland

Lobster Rolls/Seafood for Dinner

Sunday Oct

Explore Portland

The Holy Donut

Old Port District

Love Padlocks

Bar Harbor ME- 3 hours from Portland

Overnight

Monday Oct

Explore Bar Harbor

Acadia National Park

Dinner on Conway Scenic Railroad- 4 ½ hours from Bar Harbor

Overnight

Tuesday Oct

Kancamagus Highway to Watersbury- 2 hours from Conway

Ben and Jerry’s

Cold Hollow Cider Mill

Cabot Cheese

Visit Little River State Park- Ghost town

Woodstock VT- 1 hour from Waterbury VT

Overnight

Wednesday

Explore Woodstock

Sugarbush Farms

Cheese

Maple Syrup

Thursday Oct

Providence- 3 ½ hours from Woodstock

Friday Oct

Boston- 1 hour 15 mins from Providence

Saturday Oct

Fly Home

I think it will be an excellent tour, though I have three things to think about:

1. Your driving time to and from Bar Harbor are optimistic, and you are missing out on some sightseeing opportunities in Rockland, Rockport, and Camden. Take US 2 westbound, then turn south on NH 16 for fantastic White Mountain views on the way to Conway.

2. Salem is extremely crowded on weekends leading up to Halloween. Unpleasantly crowded, which is unfortunate because there is beautiful architecture, quaint streets, the historic "House of the Seven Gables", the waterfront, and the Peabody-Essex museum, which includes four more historic houses. What if you did your trip in reverse? Providence early, Salem at the end on a Thursday.

3. You will be at the end of the Bar Harbor season and toward the end of the leaf season BUT YOU SHOULD RESERVE LODGING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

That's a long drive to Bar Harbor just to spend the night there, and part of the morning. Especially since you're not "outdoor people". I guess it might depend on the weather, but if you book accommodation in advance you'll have to stick to that plan. So, maybe book something with a 24 or 48 hr cancellation allowance if you can, then check the weather forecast a few days before your trip. Or, spend another night in Portland and visit Cape Elizabeth or take the drive down into Kennebunkport that day.

Also I think the last dinner train is Oct 15, so does this mean you are traveling over the Columbus Day weekend?

Why did you choose Providence for a night?

Stay INDOORS (your car) and take Vermont Rte 100 from more or less the top to bottom would be my one rec.

What are your dates? If one of your weekends is the Columbus Day weekend, you will face a lot of traffic on Friday and Monday. Your dates also have a bearing on where the leaf colors will be, although predicting that is an inexact science.

It's a lot to drive to Bar Harbor for only one night. I'd skip it and visit some of the other towns mentioned above or spend two nights in Portland with a day trip to explore a part of the coast.

Is there a particular reason to go to Providence?

In Boston, good, or better alternatives to Mike's Pastry are Modern and Maria's. Everyone has different favorites.

Does your ID mean you bake? If so, you should be heading to Norwich VT, home to King Arthur Flour. The classes are great so I would devote a half day to a baking class (they fill up quickly) instead of doing Ben and Jerry's, etc. Norwich is a much quieter town than Woodstock but just a bit further north. The Norwich Inn is a great place to stay with a good restaurant and there's another good restaurant across the street. There is a wonderful farmers market on Saturdays which has some prepared foods as well as live music, very festive.

If you want to stick with your original route, I would visit a farmers market on Saturday. A Boston food tour is great, I have done both the North End and Chinatown with Michelle Topor's group. The Portsmouth and Portland ME farmers markets are pretty good but I don't think as good as Norwich VT.

Skip Salem unless you have a specific destination. The Peabody Essex Museum is very nice.

If you like wine or beer, get the trail maps. I just discovered that NH seems to be the only northern New England state with an ice cream trail map. I would not go to Ben and Jerry's during tourist season. You don't have time to wait in long lines.

I agree Bar Harbor is too far for an overnight. I would agree to substitute Rockland/Rockport/Camden or similar. Check ahead of time for best lobster roll list and whether or not the lobster shack will be open. Some of them are literally shacks and operated by kids who go back to school so after Labor Day are open weekends only with Columbus Day weekend being the final one. There are plenty of places where you can get lobster/seafood but a lobster roll sitting at a picnic table overlooking a beautiful little harbor is part of the fun. Our June visit to McLoon's in South Thomaston (near Rockland) included an eagle swooping among lobster boats trying to catch lunch.

I hope you have a boat ride scheduled for Portland or Portsmouth. Inland Rivers out of Portsmouth would be great for foliage viewing.

We sat in some I95 traffic south of Portsmouth yesterday. What were we thinking! It was a beach Saturday and I heard there was an accident. I would stay off all major highways on Friday afternoons, Saturdays and sundays unless you are going in the opposite directions. For example, southbound I93 was fine, north was heavy. We headed west on Rt 101 and then got caught in the I95 northbound traffic jam. Hence, leaving Boston on a Saturday morning heading north is going to be heavy traffic unless you leave very early.

I'm not a fan of the Kancamagus Hwy. I prefer the southern route from Rt 16 to Tamworth, Center Sandwich and then to Meredith which would connect you with I93. We have not been to the Remick Farm Museum in Tamworth except to walk around it on a bird walk. NH Mushroom is located in Tamworth but I don't think you can buy mushrooms there. They set up at farmers markets and sell to restaurants, etc. It's one of those great small businesses that set up in the boonies and become successful through a combination of an unusual product and hard work. Since you mentioned agriculture, it might be something to look at if only to check out their website.

You could get maple syrup and cheese (and honey) at a farmers market where you could talk to the farmer. While Cabot cheese is very good, many times you can sample cheese at the farmers market.

Depending on the timing of your visit, there should be some great apples available at orchards. Some of the orchards in New England grow heirloom apples. I discovered a wonderful apple for baking last year so I got a mixed bag of cooking apples at the local orchard and asked that they put in a lot of that particular apple. Calville de Blanc is an October apple.

Unless you have a specific reason for visiting Providence (i.e. the kitchen museum), I would omit from your trip and add a night someplace else.