need advice for winter trip to North East Coast
 

Hi!
We're planning a trip to the nth east coast (end of Dec to mid Jan) and would appreciate suggestions about what to see and do there. We're planning to make NYC our base and this time, visit places at a more leisurely pace. (we were in NYC for 6 days in summer 3 yrs ago and it was so rushed!).
What shld we do, see, eat, not miss in NYC, Boston, Washington, Philly, Toronto? any other cities too?
Much appreciated!
thks!

I don't quite understand your post. When you say you're "planning to make NYC [your] base," do you mean you're staying in NYC the entire time? Or do you mean you'll fly in/out of NYC, but will be traveling to Boston, Philadelphia, DC and stay at each place for a few days?

Since you have 2 weeks, it'll make more sense for you to fly open jaw to Boston and fly out of DC, or vice versa. Even though all these cities look "close" to each other, you'll waste a lot of time back-tracking.

BTW, for 2 weeks, I'll just stick with Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, and DC. There's more than enough for you to do in those 4 cities. I'd skip Toronto - it's kind of out of the way, and it'll be so cold there (<i>way</i> below freezing) that you won't enjoy much.

thks for that. We'll have 3 weeks all up. Did consider doing 2 to 3 day stays in DC, Boston and Phil and just having 2 weeks in NYC. Then a friend of ours in CT said that we cld do day trips instead and leave the travelling itinerary really open for the whole 3 weeks and not be locked into definite accom bookings in those cities.
Not a good idea?
We wondered if the weather at that time wld impede travel.

Your friend in CT is suggesting you to do daytrips from NYC to Boston, Philadelphia, and DC?

First of all, one day for each city is not enough.

Second, with the potential snow &amp; ice delay, you may easily spend your entire &quot;daytrip&quot; just traveling and never get to see anything!

I'm appalled that your New England friends would make such a suggestion. (Unless I'm misunderstanding this whole thing completely???)

not misunderstanding.. you've got it right. How many days in each wld you recommend? have been googgling for things to do mostly in Jan (3 to 14) and there isn't much happening.

Wow, lets see 21 days:

6 nights in NYC, over xmas. See the pretty lights and holiday shows.

5 nights in Boston, go to First Night (city-wide new years eve celebration).

5 nights in Washington DC, January (after holiday closings). Museums, monuments, history, concerts.

3 nights in Philly. Do you like history?

3 extra days for side trips. Baltimore has a nice waterfront area. Or Providence

I think Montreal and/or Toronto are a little too far away, if you are looking for not-rushed. You could do Montreal instead of Philly, but in Janurary I think the southern route would be easier on you. Or you could find a cosy winter cabin in the Berekshires or Adirondaks for a few days.

The logical geographical sequence would be Boston/NY/Philly/DC, but NYC is best for xmas and Boston best for new years, so I switched them, even though there is more travelling involved. Boston is about 4+ hours drive from NYC.

I agree that day trips to cities 4 or more hours distant from NYC makes no sense at all. I like capxx's itinerary, though I'd spend one or two days less in Boston, and more in DC. There's probably more to do in DC, and the weather will almost certainly be milder.

Although early January is quite while peole recuperate from the holiday bustle, all the usual sights, museums, shows, etc. will be available.

It is possible to do a day trip from NYC to Philly - since Amtrak takes little more than an hour. Day trips to Boston or DC are not realistic - since the travel is at least 4 hours each way.

Really there is no reason to constantly go back and forth fron NYC. Agree that you should start in Boston and end in DC - or vice versa. You can certainly visit your friend in CT from NYC for the day (assuming they're not at the far end of the state) but other daytrips should be no more than an hour or so from NYC - or Boston (you could do Lexington/Concord) or DC (you could see Mount Vernon easily enough).

Also - I'm not sure you have take the weather into account. These areas will be cold and can have a lot of snow that time of year - considerabley slowing up traffic (car, train or plane) or even cancelling it altogether if there's enough snow.

Also, agree that Toronto is going tomake the trip more difficult (since it's either a flight or a full-day train ride to anyplace else).

Or, you can drive between Boston and DC - seeing a couple of things between each depending on how bad the weather is - and how comfortable you are driving in snow or sleet. But - the countryside is certainly not at its best at this time of year - so I would really concentrate on the cities.