Janh

Hi, we are a Belgian family with 2 boys 17- 18. Next summer We are going to make a road trip from NY Rhode Island Boston, we have 8 days for thi trip then we fly to Washington DC and have 7 days to go to NY. It's the first time we come in NY and Washington so we would spend 4 day in each city, who can give us some advice to make an unforgettable trip for us an the kids. What to do and maybe even more important what not to do..... Whit so little time we don't like to waste it on tourist traps. We are also looking for hotels, so all tips about lodging are also Welkom. Thanks

nytraveler

In order to give you info on hotels you have to give us a nightly budget - also if you all want to share one room. And a better idea of dates would help - as usually summer rates are quite reasonable - but can be higher if there are specific activities on.

For tips - what are your interests and those of your kids?

Also - not clear exactly how many days you have for this trip. Sounds like you are going first north and then south of NYC. It might make more sense to land in either Boston or DC and then return from the other to avoid wasting a day back tracking - if airfares are similar. And are you planning on stopping between cities? Since cars are useless in any of the 3 cities it doesn't make sense t rent a car unless you plan on seeing places in between.

As for what to do there are more major sights in each city than you would ever get to. It would help to know your interests and those of your sons so we can make recos.

Also as a reminder - the drinking age in the US is 21 and bars and restaurants are VERY serious about this - they can't afford to lose their liquor license.

Ackislander

This is a terrible road trip and a great train trip.

Traffic is very heavy, and tolls for highways, tunnels, and bridges are expensive. Parking in these three cities will cost you $40 per night. At least gasoline is cheap!

I assume you are visiting friends or family in Rhode Island. Correct me if I am wrong.

You have 15 days.

Go into NYC and spend four nights. Take the train to Mystic, CT where you can visit Mystic Seaport (restored sailing ships) and spend the night. If you see the movie "Mystic Pizza" before you go, you can see what life us like for the locals in a tourist town -- and enjoy your pizza.

Next morning, take the train to Providence, RI, where you can meet your friends. Spend five nights in RI with one or more day trips to Boston by train or bus. It takes about an hour.

Fly from Providence or Boston to Washington National Airport. Spend four nights in Washington. Your boys will love two of the Smithsonian Museums -- the Air and Space and the American History. The National Gallery of Art is spectacular, and all this is free, free, free, a huge advantage for families.

You can then take the train (Northeast Corridor, not ACELA) and spend the night before flying home.

Janh

Thank you for the replies, a bit more info about our trip.
We are arriving fri jul/15 in NY we want to visit the city for 4 days. than we drive direction Boston. we will calm down from NY and and relax 1 day somewhere at Rhode Island than drive to Boston and visit the city for 2 days. sat. Jul/23 we fly to Toronto to visit Family. Sat Jul/30 we flying back to Washington DC. there we want to spend 4/5 days and than dive Direction NY. we have 2 days to get to NY so wil will Visit Philadelphia and or a other town.(depending your advise)we are leaving Back home on sat aug/6 .We have a nightly budget of $200/250 and share one room. (For sommeting special we raise the budget to 300/350)I prefere to drive by car because we have more freedom. only NY and Boston (Washington I don't know) we are not going to drive.

usroadman

OK, so you're going to spend 4 days in NYC without a car. When you're ready to leave NYC, you'll get a car & spend 2 days driving to Boston, seeing Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and maybe the Hudson Valley (New York north of NYC). As you said, since NYC to Boston is only a half day drive, you should have a day and a half to see things along the way. When you arrive at Boston you'll turn in the car, so you don't have a car in Boston.

Fly to Toronto and then to Washington, DC. You definitely do NOT want a car in Washington. Like you did for NYC & Boston, wait until you are ready to leave then get a car. Maybe visit someplace on the shore (Maryland, Delaware, or New Jersey) on your way back to NYC. If you're going to visit Philadelphia, I'd drop the car when I arrived in Philly, and after visiting take the train back from Philly to NYC. While driving in Philly is nowhere near as bad as in NYC or DC (or Boston), like those other cities, the public transit is decent and driving is enough of a hassle that I wouldn't bother.

So you're really only talking about having a car for 3 or 4 days to do some "out in the country" sightseeing, and the rest of the time you'll be in the cities and depending on public transport. That sounds like a good plan, and a good balance of city vs. country. Enjoy your visit.

janisj

You don't want to drive DC > Philly > NY/which ever airport. Take the train. So you just want a car between NYC and Boston (even that wouldn't be my choice but its OK).

>>We have a nightly budget of $200/250 and share one room. <<

The vast majority of hotel rooms in Manhattan sleep two, so you would either need a suite or two room. That would be pretty difficult at $200-$250.

usroadman

If the boys like hiking there's a trail called Breakneck Ridge just north of Cold Spring, NY. It's a steep but pretty quick hike up a mountain right on the Hudson River with really nice views the whole way. Also a scenic drive to get there (up Palisades Parkway, across Bear Mountain Bridge, then up Rte 9D until you go through a tunnel - trail starts on north side of tunnel). Also a bunch of historic sites and river mansions all along the river. Pres. F.D. Roosevelt's home and museum is one of them, about 45 minutes from Cold Spring.

I was trying to think of what else 17-18 year old boys like, and it just occurred to me ... they like teenage girls. So I'd definitely visit one of the shore towns on your way from DC to NYC so they can meet some bikini-clad girls. They'll probably really like that, even if they won't admit it to you. Being foreigners they'll likely be very popular. Others can probably suggest which shore towns and beaches are especially popular with older teens.

nytraveler

There are a good number of hotels in Manhattan that have rooms with 2 double beds - and a number in the budget range would be not far off your budget. But they will be simple/budget.

Have a look at the Newton, a reliable budget property on the upper west side (mid to upscale residential area and right on top of the subway with easy access to all of Manhattan). They show a double queen room at about $250 per night at the time - with advance purchase. (More like $290 if you wait and IF they still have rooms - they very often sell out.)

There will be other similar options around the city but do reserve as soon as you have firm dates to get the best rates. Check out the discount sites as soon as your dates are final.

Ackislander

It would have been useful to have had all that information up front.

I guess this is your first time posting, so I am not yelling, but the quality of information you get is completely dependent on the quality of information you give up front.

usroadman

For your DC-NYC trip, if you want to spend the night in Philadelphia, thinking some more I agree with the others, I'd take the train DC to PHL and PHL to NYC. Unless there is some particular thing you are going to stop at along the way between DC & PHL, the train will be faster, easier, and have better scenery then I-95 will (I prefer the views on the right side of the train). If you want to stay at the beach, then I'd drive from DC to the DelMarVa peninsula, explore it a bit and stay either at the Delaware beaches, or take the ferry to Cape May and stay in Cape May, Wildwood, Ocean City, LBI, or something else in south Jersey.

The nice thing about the beach will be that it'll be different from what you did for the previous 2 weeks. The problem is it sounds like you'd be there on a Friday night, which means hotel rates will be higher (and most won't even let you book only 1 night), and traffic Friday afternoon and Saturday can get horrendous on the routes out to and around the beaches. Spending your vacation sitting in traffic is not fun.

Also, on the NYC-Boston drive, the highways through NY & Mass (Taconic or I-87 & I-90) are (much) longer but prettier than those through Connecticut (I-84 or I-95). Connecticut has plenty of gorgeous small towns, just the highway is kind of boring. So if you do find places in NY or western Massachusetts you'd like to visit, that is another option.

janisj

>>They show a double queen room at about $250 per night at the time - with advance purchase. (More like $290 if you wait<<

Since you are from the EU and may be used to room rates being what you pay all inclusive -- those $250-$290 rooms will cost significantly more since tax is usually not included and charged on top.

@ $250 it will end up about $290, and if you book a $290 room . . . almost $340.

Janh

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions. Now I'm can get started with planning our trip

nytraveler

For the Newton I believe the rates quoted are inclusive of tax since the amounts are uneven. However, it's true that if the amounts are round numbers they usually do not include tax, which is 18% in NYC - but tax rate differs by city.