Another plea for help for a New England trip please! My husband and I are from the UK and we are planning a trip to Boston and New England at the end of September/beginning October this year. We plan to spend about 3 days in Boston, we hope to take in a football game (we are HUGE Patriots fans)and then travel around New England and possibly drive to New York for a couple of days at the end of the trip. We will have two weeks available and would welcome any tips on accomodation and recommended places to visit...

Regarding New England Patriots - tickets are close to impossible to get in a regular way - most seats are sold on a season-ticket basis. Every year in early summer they make available on-line single-game seats. These are also difficult to get, as they are often sold out in an hour or so and the date is not well publicized.

Tickets are always available from a secondary market source - ticket brokers (legal), ticket scalpers (illegal) and from various on-line sites. EBay always has tickets but Patriots regularly threaten to pull season tickets from anyone caught selling in this way. Legitimate ticket brokers, at a great mark-up, are the safest way to go.

All that said, Patriots play only one home game in September anyway - first game of season on 9/9. Imagine these will be harder to get and even more expensive - it is a nationally televised Thursday night game.

New Englanders/Bostonians are nuts about baseball and football, making tickets tough to get - don't want to be so depressing about tickets - just want you to know what you are getting into.

October is peak season in New England, because of the fall foliage. The roads will be crowded with "leaf-peepers," and prices are high. That said, it's the most gorgeous time of year in New England! There is no time to waste in making your reservations. If you weren't planning to go to New York, I would advise you to go north to New Hampshire and Vermont. But northern New York State is also very scenic (and touristy), especially around the finger lakes. Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. Do a search for hotel recommendations in these areas. Have a wonderful time!

I am also a huge Patriots fan and have found it impossible to get tickets unless you are willing to pay big bucks for tickets (>$200).

End of Sept and early Oct might be too early for foliage in NH (you never can be sure). I had friends come from out west last fall for a New England tour that included the Cape and Islands, NH/VT and the Boston area. Their most memorable time was in the White Mountains of NH; we did the Flume, had drinks on the porch of the Mount Washinginton Hotel, did a loop through Jackson (either Route 16A or 16B, can't remember) and drove the Kangamangus Highway. From NH we we traveled to Vermont; my favorite place was the Shelburne Farm; wish we could have stayed at their inn. From there you would be close to the NY border. Yankee Magazine.com is a good site for checking out day trips in New England.

Well, maybe someone can suggest the BEST local pub or venue to watch a Patriots game on TV with a bunch of other Pats fans....for someone from the UK, I imagine that would be an experience in itself!

I agree that Shelburne Farm is wonderful - near Burlington, VT. I camped when I was there, so unfortunately I can't comment on hotels or even much food. We also enjoyed the ben & jerry's tour while we were there, but VERY touristy. Other favorite spots in New England: Mystic, CT (or if you like smaller and quainter, North Stonington, CT, just up the road), Marblehead, MA, and Newport, RI.

You can find lots of places to sit and watch a Patriots game. Some of my favorites are in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. However, anyplace is great to watch the Patriots. You've picked a great time to come. I don't care for New York City and love Boston so I would skip that part and just travel around New England. New York State is beautiful. Everyone has their own preferences. During the time you are here, prices are likely to be higher than usual inland but you should be able to find deals on the coast. Don't forget that everything is close. Have a great time.

We stayed in Stowe one late Sept weekend. It was great even if the foliage hadn't started yet. Stowe was having an Octoberfest, we attended a play on Friday night, parade on Saturday, etc. From Boston you would take I93 N then Route 89 from Concord NH into VT. We aimed for lunch in Montpelier at the Main St Grill which is operated by the Culinary Institute. Then head to Waterbury for the Ben & Jerry's tour, stop at Cold Hollow to watch cider being pressed and go across the parking lot to another gift shop for a wine tasting. A roundabout day trip from Stowe would be to visit Burlington, esp the Church Street shopping area. If you take the long way back to Stowe via the Boyden Valley Winery you could stop for another wine tasting (we liked this one best).
I would also recommend a visit to Portsmouth NH and a morning cruise to see the harbor or inland rivers. You can park in the parking garage, walk to the dock, then choose a great place for lunch. There are many choices. The dock area also has nice shops and art galleries. Your next stop might be two nights in Maine which is just across the bridge from Portsmouth. From Boston you could easily spend the day in Portsmouth and then head to Maine for dinner and hotel. If you like fine handcrafts and organic living, the Common Ground Fair is held in late September in Unity. It's not far from Camden which is probably the prettiest coastal town in Maine. If you include NY, Maine AND Vermont might be too much for one trip. Good luck choosing!

Definitely spend a couple of nights enjoying one of the lake regions. They are beautiful in Sept/Oct.
www.bayside-inn.com
www.migis.com

if you come through Brattleboro Vermont,
look for the Belle of Brattleboro
( a pontoon boat)on the river.
It has a fabulous tour/cruise that lasts about 1 1/2 hrs , and is fun, relaxing and picturesque.

I live in Massachusetts so hopefully my native knowledge can help you. Patriot tickets are difficult to get but not impossible. One of my favorite places to go in Boston is the New England Aquarium and the adjacent Faniuel Hall. The duck tour boats are a great afternoon too. If you are in the Foxboro area (near the Pats stadium) you are not all that far from Cape Cod. There are some fantastic whale watches that leave from Provincetown and the area itself is beautiful. Province town also has some fun night life. Finally, one of the most beautiful spectacles in nature would be the Berkshires in early October as the foliage peaks. There's lots of great B&Bs out there. Good luck driving with all of us too. We are crazy on the roads.

You may want to check out Salem,MA. This is where all the witchcraft happenings took place. Also in Salem is the Peabody Essex Mueseum which is really nice. You can go on the web to check out this area. Lots of restaurants and places to stay in this area also. Lisa

Regarding Patriots tickets. Single game tickets went on sale today - were sold out in minutes.