bachslunch

One can easily spend at least two fruitful days sightseeing in Newport alone.

Agreed that leaving Cape Cod out of this trip makes sense. The Cape is indeed nice, but fairly good-sized with spread out attractions, and the traffic can be murder there in season.

You'll also have several options in the Berkshires. Where were you thinking of going?

djkbooks

Some ideas:

Newport is a fabulous destination, especially if you tour a few of the mansions (two per day, max, as they're sizeable "museums"). Beautiful, gorgeous, seaport town, with tremendous fine dining at reasonable prices (especially considering that all is so "upscale").

You could spend a week or more in Boston, but also enjoy quite a bit in 2-3 days.

Wells/Wells Beach is a great place to stay along the Maine coast, as it's between Ogunquit and Kennebunkport, and you'll likely enjoy shoulder/off season rates in September. Much is within an easy drive - Portland to the north...

While all that would be plenty for enjoying the Maine coast, if you want to venture farther north, Boothbay Harbor and Camden could not be more charming.

Agree that Franconia Notch area is one of the best in the White Mountains. If you spend two nights there, easy driving all over for scenery - Routes 302, 2, 112 (Kancamagus), etc.

You could drive through Stowe on your way to the Berkshires. Fantastic towns there include Williamstown (awesome Sterling-Clark museum), Stockbridge (magnificent Norman Rockwell museum), or Lenox in between.

As mentioned, Hartford would be out of your way from the Berkshires to NYC, unless you have some reason to go there.

LakesideChick

Thanks again everyone, so many ideas and so many beautiful places to visit. We can leave Hartford out... it just seemed to be on the way Consensus seems to be to leave the Cape out. I'm sure I will be back with more questions soon, but now Im off to google some of your destination suggestions!!!! I LOVE planning holidays!!!

emalloy

If you are going to Boston on this trip and want a quick look at part of Cape Cod, take the passenger ferry from Boston to Providence, then bike or walk around town and/or local taxi to the National Seashore area. This would make a nice day trip.

wyatt92

emalloy means Provincetown, not Providence. I agree, it is a nice day trip.

Kwoo

Have you ever been to New England before? I would eliminate NYC from this itinerary and save it for another trip. You will see & learn a lot of history in Boston. It's a great, manageable, & beautiful city. You can do the Freedom Trail, Duck Tours, visit Beacon Hill, walk through the Public Gardens, then visit several museums if you like museums. I haven't read everyone's posts but I do recommend Cape Cod for beaches & scenerey, especially the National Seashore & such towns as Wellfleet, Truro & Provincetown. The sand dunes, walking trails, bike trails, lighthouses are all beautiful; you will get delicous seafood, can do a whale watch. Chatham is also lovely, too.

If you decide that the Cape is too much out of your way, then I do recommend southern Maine (south of Portland) for sandy beaches, then drive to Acadia National Park, which is beautiful with breathtaking rocky coastline. It's about a 5 hour drive from Boston to ANP. Also, drive to Schoodic Peninsula, about 1 hour from Bar Harbour. This is more breathtaking scenery & not commercialized at all.

HOpe this helps; you are trying to pack in a lot.

seafox

Time of year and days of the week are an important part of your plan. You have the risk of hitting some bad traffic,(tourists, weekend etc.). As you plan further and ID days of the week post more for comment. I truly love Cape Cod , but it is big and you may end up doing more driving than needed. I like the suggestion of the ferry from boston to Provincetown - do it as a day trip. (no cars). Once there, take Arts Dune tour, see the National Seashore, and the spirited town. Lastly, I live in Hatford and I would say skip it.... unless you are a Mark Twain fan - and then you should stop in ands see his home.

sf7307

All, is Cape Code awful (crowds/traffic-wise) on all days in the summer, or just on weekends? We're going to be back East anyway, and we've never been to the Cape, and we're completely flexible as to which days we would go....How many days would you spend there?

Kwoo

Weekdays are fine. We are always go to the Cape midweek & never have any problems. Rt 28 would be the most crowded. How many days depends on how many days you have & what you enjoy doing. Some people go for a whole week; we often times go for a night or two. The most beautiful part of the cape is the outer cape where the National Seashore is located. Go to towns such as Wellfleet, Truro & Provincetown. Brewster and Eastham are nice, too. You can spend all day at the beaches; the national seashore beaches are great, such as Herring Cove, Race Point & Head of the Meadow. Coast Guard Beach, Nauset & Marconi are very popular. These are ocean beaches. The bay beaches are warmer & calmer, such as Skaket Beach. You can rent bikes, go on a whale watch, play mini-golf, eat great seafood, shop. For shopping, Chatham & P'town are favorites. Brewster has lots of antique shops. If you have time for only an overnight, by all means go for one night. But stay longer if you have the time. One of our favoriate places is Inn at Duck Creek in Wellfleet. We love to have lunch at Bookstore Restaurant in Wellfleet overlooking Mayo Beach.

sf7307

Are these "beach" towns -- lots of stores selling tubes and googles -- or are they "quaint" and "charming" towns (like Woodstock on the water)?

We can go for as long as makes sense -- meaning more than an overnight, but less than a week! We'll look into 3 or 4 days. Where would it make sense to stay (I know it's very expensive)?

sf7307

I have another question, so I'm going to start a new thread on this topic.

LakesideChick

This thread is amazing and I so appreciate everyones ideas and input. sf7307, I will look for your new thread as it seems we have similar planning happening...

Underhill

Quaint places and history equals having dinner, and perhaps staying the night, at Longfellow's Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts. It's the oldest inn in America and has a fascinating history.

You might also want to put Old Sturbridge Village on your itinerary. We spent a wonderfully interesting day there and want to go back.

http://www.osv.org/

seafox

Longfellow's has been in a long time debate with the Griswold Inn and Beekman Arms in in NY over that title. Not sure of the official outcome but there is a subtlety around continuous operation.... Beekman may be the olkdest, with a break in service????

RetiredVermonter

I echo the observation that Old Sturbridge Village is a marvelous place to visit if you want to have a chance to see mid-19th century New England in as realistic a setting as possible. However, do NOT plan to "pop in" and spend an hour or two! Better to plan on a full day of relaxation, chatting with costumed "interpreters" at various stops would be better!

We lived close enough to have a family membership for years, and we used to enjoy all going there 3-4 times a year (at various seasons).

Hope you can fit this in.

bachslunch

Have eaten at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury before. Agreed that the inn and dining area is lovely and historic, but I found the food to be horribly bad:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/549590

In brief: thick and glue-like clam chowder, tough prime rib, and Indian pudding that was loaded with hard and fibrous pits and pieces that appeared to be inedible corn detritus.

Interesting place to visit and maybe stay, but I say eat elsewhere.

Underhill

Our eating experiences at the Wayside Inn were consistently good, with breakfast a real highlight. But it's the atmosphere that's special.

Juldie

LakesideChick, I am a native Bostonian and have traveled to the places you mention. What is so special about New England is that within 3-4 hrs. from Boston you have the most incredible mountains, beaches, quaint towns, history, etc.

I have re-read your post a number of times and it sounds like you are cramming way too much in unless you don't mind being on the go a lot and in the car a lot. Some people like to travel that way and see as much as they can.

I suggest at this point in your plans you think again about what kind of trip you want and the pace you will be comfortable with. Having never been here before everything you see is going to be wonderful and new. Do you want to spend relaxing time on a beach, do you want to go in and out of quaint stores or galleries for an afternoon, would you like to rent bicycles and ride along beautiful trails, do you want to slowly explore a quaint seaside fishing village off the highway,etc? I personally would attack this trip not so much trying to see as much as you can, but trying to see and experience the most with the least amount of excess traffic and driving.

dfrostnh

I agree with Juldie. If in search of quaint, I wouldn't visit the most popular tourist areas. Last year when we visited our favorite areas of mid-coast Maine, we spotted a 'wildlife area' on a small map. We asked at the restaurant if it was open to the public. The waitress said yes, but there's nothing there. Bingo! It was a little hard to find the right bumpy road but it led to a very quiet isolated section of beach where a couple of families were enjoying a swim and a few guys were fishing. Although in Sept you have a better chance of running into locals instead of other tourists.
I think Sturbridge is a good suggestion esp since the OP wants to learn some history. Although I don't care for Woodstock VT, the nearby Billings Farm Museum would also provide some historical perspective. We loved Shelburne Museum in VT. Canterbury Shaker Village in NH would also provide photo ops. It's a beautiful area plus it's apple picking season so a chance to visit some interesting orchards. Gould Hill Orchard near Concord NH has a great selection of heirloom apple varieties plus a great view.

Bowsprit

Leaving out Cape Cod on this trip would be like leaving out the Eiffel Tower if you were visiting Paris.

For two coastal regions: Cape Cod and Bar Harbor. On Cape Cod, make the effort and take the time to see the National Seashore beaches. They're consistently voted in the Top Ten beaches of the U.S. (or was it the world?). In Maine, take the time to visit Acadia National Park. It's quite a place.

I'd do a 'drive through' Newport and a 'drive by' Hartford. I live near Hartford and I assure you, there's not a thing to see here. .

You might consider flying into Boston, taking the ferry to Provincetown (check the schedules, I think the ferries continue to Provincetown until mid-October.) You could rent a car on the Cape from Enterprise car rental out of Orleans. Their big pitch is that they'll deliver the car to you and you can return it to a different place without exorbitant fees. If this works, you can drive Off the Cape, exploring as you go. There won't be any problems with Cape traffic in mid-September, a blessing, I assure you. You might want to visit Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket for the day. You can leave from Hyannis or Woods Hole to visit an island.

Another option: You might also consider flying into Providence, Rhode Island, renting your car there, visiting Newport for the day and then driving onto Cape Cod or even into Boston. You can reach the Cape from Boston via ferry, visit just Provincetown as suggested and then return to Boston before continuing on the rest of your trip.

What weeks in September? The weather begins to move from summer to fall around the 3rd week of September in Maine, Vermont, etc. Nights will be cool on the Cape at this time too.

NYC doesn't seem to fit in at all with this trip. The drive from NYC is boring and unscenic. Unless of course you would be interested in taking a modified coastal route from NYC to the casinos in CT and then drive on to Newport...?