Bowsprit

All the whale watch boats leaving from the Cape go to the same waters so if you 'miss the boat' on the Boston to Provincetown ferry you can drive from Boston to Falmouth/Woods Hole to take a whale watch.

Here's the link for the Boston to Provincetown ferry, the last day for this trip this year is October 17th weather permitting: http://www.provincetownfastferry.com/schedule.html

Bowsprit

The Dolphin Fleet is going out for whale watches until Oct. 30th, weather permitting and if there are enough people. It would be a good idea to call them to make sure they're going out before you make the trip to the Cape for your watch.

http://whalewatch.com/dolphinfleet/2011whalewatches.php

Bowsprit

You can take a whale watch out of Boston too.

http://www.bostonharborcruises.com/b...ule-rates.aspx

Again, all these boats go to the same waters to see whales; the difference between departure points is the time it takes to get to the whales.

Bowsprit

You can take a whale watch out of Boston too.

http://www.bostonharborcruises.com/b...ule-rates.aspx

Again, all these boats go to the same waters to see whales; the difference between departure points is the time it takes to get to the whales.

sf7307

I don't know anything about the timing of the leaves changing colors, but I do know that when they change, the colors at Walden Pond, in Concord, about 30 miles from Boston (and a great place to visit for many reasons -- the Revolutionary War sites, as well as the many famous authors who lived there) are spectacular. Hopefully, yk will see this and post her picture of a fall day at Walden Pond. I used to keep her picture on my computer as my screen saver!

yk

To see Fall foliage around Boston area, you really would need to wait until the 3rd weekend of October. You can easily take the commuter rail out to Concord/Lexington area (or rent a car for the day). It's quite pretty out there during foliage season.

sf7307

yk, post your picture of Walden Pond!!!!

Barbara_in_FL

The Concord area is a great suggestion. Don't worry if you can't be there "on" the third weekend of the month; any time during the early half of October you are likely to see beautiful foliage. There are websites that track "peak" foliage that you can check as the time gets nearer, if you're really interested. I think you'll have a much better time by staying along the Boston-Washington corridor and saving time for whale-watching - you won't regret giving up Niagara (IMO).

Another planning consideration - are you getting an open-jaw ticket, or will you need to return to the city where you arrive? From Boston to Washington (or vice versa) is about 6 1/2 hours by express train, 8 hours by regular train (not local commuter train - I'm just talking about Amtrak inter-city trains). To see all three cities in just ten days, it would make the most sense to fly into Boston and out of Washington, and use Amtrak in between, so that you don't eat up a huge part of your last day getting back to your original city. If that's not possible, you might look into flying back from your final city to your original city (Washington to Boston). Jet Blue flies that route and their fares are often pretty reasonable.

You could easily limit yourself to just Boston and NY and have a great trip, but if you really want to see some of DC as well I think that is feasible.

sf7307

It was! Gorgeous!!!

yk

Sorry, here's the link for the Walden Pond fall foliage photo: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2474.jpg

[The other link was removed b/c it also links to other photos in my album.]

Barbara_in_FL

Beautiful picture, yk. We really miss the fall colors! We do have a sort of "fall" in North Florida, but not the colors you get further north.

hawksbill

Following up o Barbara_in_FL's suggestion, I just looked on Orbitz, and discovered that one can now fly between any two of Boston, New York, and Washington for $40-$60 per person! Not just on JetBlue, but on other airlines too. Even the least expensive ticket on the slowest train now costs the same as or more than flying.

Bowsprit

hawksbill: That is Great information. Thanks!

MiaMom

I have been checking the trains and it looks like the best option. But we may fly from Boston to Washington because that trip is longer.
The picture is very beautiful I would love to g there. Thanks for posting.
Also, now I know the term "fall foliage" so I can search for it.

You all are great, But Now I cannot find the flight I wanted (maybe sold out) so I need to find another one.

Bowsprit

MiaMom: Please read hawksbill's last post again. He has determined that flying is indeed the most affordable option and a huge time saver.

Barbara_in_FL

Not necessarily for the NY-Washington or NY-Boston segments. I think you need to wait to see where MiaMom and her family end up staying, for one thing. Depending on the time of day and other variables, flying between New York and Washington is not a huge time saver; Penn Station could be relatively close to her hotel, vs. an hour or more to get to one of the NY airports, and having to get there long enough ahead of time to deal with security. Same thing with flying between Boston and New York...it's one thing if you're traveling light and know where you're going when you get there; quite another to be dumped out at JFK during rush hour and have to get to a hotel in Manhattan.

MiaMom, especially given the ages of your kids, here is a suggestion for while you are in NY - I have not managed to do this with my kids yet but my nephews had a blast on it a couple of summers ago (the "Beast" speedboat ride): http://www.allnewyorktours.com/body....&headerson=off

Bowsprit

However, it's only 18 miles from JFK to midtown.

hawksbill

I've given a lot of attention to the subject of traveling between Boston and Manhattan, as I've had to make that trip maybe 800 times over the years. There are a lot of factors to consider, and different people will arrive at different optimal solutions. I personally drive back and forth. With no traffic, it takes me about 3:15 door-to-door, and with the worst traffic on both ends, it usually doesn't take more than 5:30 door-to-door. I also like having the ability to take a lot of stuff with me and not have to pack it into suitcases, and the ability to leave immediately whenever I'm ready. Of course, I can't relax or do work while I travel.

I determined that, getting between Back Bay and the Upper East Side, flying takes at least two and half hours for me door to door, assuming that I take the air shuttle that uses La Guardia Airport (which is closer to Manhattan than JFK or Newark), arrive at the airport just before boarding the shuttle, take taxis to and from the airports, and don't hit much ground traffic.

The train takes between 3:35 and approximately 5:05, depending on which train you take, but that's just the train time. The door-to-door time will probably be 4-6 hours.

In Boston, the airport is very close to town, and it probably wouldn't take much longer to get to the airport than to the train station. However, in New York, Penn Station (the train station) is close to where MiaMom would be likely to stay, whereas it would probably take longer to get to the airports, potentially much, much, much longer if one is going to JFK or Newark during rush hour. Nevertheless, now that I see that flying is less expensive than the train, I think the train becomes a poor option, worth considering only if (1) you have a flying phobia or don't like going through airport security, or (2) it's worth it to you to spend extra time and money to look at the scenery between New York and Boston.

Another option of course is to take a bus. There are now many buses that travel between Boston and New York. I've never taken one, but I think that the price for the least expensive buses that aren't terrifying is about $18 per person.

yk

I've taken Megabus and Boltbus many times btw Boston & NYC. I have scored the $1 ticket on numerous occasion. The bus takes 4.5 - 5 hours; longer if heavy traffic (eg, arr Fri afternoon). However, for $1 (+ $0.50 booking fee), I don't mind taking the bus.