rv trip to north eastern usa
 

we are a family of 3 boys (10 8 4) and parents traveling to the US for vacation. we want to rent RV for 2-3 weeks and drive through the northern eastern parts of US and or canada in a circular route starting and ending in new york. this would be our first RV trip. any recomendations re were to go and for how long?
tnx

First of all lots of info about RV trips is available --
www,rv.net..
another issue to consider is price if gas--predicted to be close to $4.00 gallon by summer. AND most RVs only get 8-10 MPG AND overnight spaces for RV can be $25-40 dollars. (except for state and national parks which are cheaper but sometimes unavailable unless reserved far ahead)
Just some stuff to think about. Also you do save some money by not having to eat out all the time..
personally I love RV travel, especially with kids.
good luck

I've done this trip so many times it's hard to know where to start!

Lake Saranac or Lake George NY state.

If you want to go to Niagra Falls, cross over and stay in Canada. See the Welland Canal while there.

Then drive north to Algonquin Park (moose, bears, wolves). Come back south throughh the Thousand Islands. this could take a week.

Sorry, wrong order (above). Saranac Lake NY - Thousand Islands (Alexandria Bay) - Algonquin Ont. - Toronto - Niagra Falls Ont. 1 week.

You have 2/3 weeks? Go northeast first to Massachusettes, then work your way up to New Hampshire, west through Vermont, then further west to Saranac Lake in NY. Then proceed north into Canada.

We love our pull behind camper but I'm not sure an RV is a good idea for a northeastern vacation. It depends on how you want to travel. If you plan to stay at a campground a few days before moving on that's fine but if you want to move every day or two keep in mind that there are chores like hooking up to the sewer that would be tiresome on a daily basis. Some people simply don't hook up but then dump their gray water every few days. With 5 people, the capacity of the holding tanks will have to be monitored as to how long you can go between dump stations. A lot of people with RVs pull a car behind so they have an easy way to travel when they are at the campground. Now that there is just the two of us we tend to hop in the truck every day so we can explore the surrounding area. On a recent trip to VT staying 3 nights in the northern part of the state then 3 nights south of Middlebury was very handy. We spent the day at Shelburne Museum when we moved the camper. If you reserve now you might be able to rent campers or cabins at many campgrounds. For Maine I highly recommend two small family campgrounds: Searsport Shores (on the ocean but rocky beach - no pool) and Chewonky in Wiscasset (nice pool, former farm on saltwater river). Both are near enough to different attractions i.e. Owls Head Transportation Museum in mid-coast Maine. However you might prefer large resort style campgrounds with lots of activities for kids. Beware however of a campground so large that you have to drive to the evening activity. (You might want to carry a bike for everyone.) Also, some campgrounds have parking lot type sites for people who come just for one night. Best sites are usually reserved far ahead by regulars. In the olden days of camping families spent a week in one spot and the kids made friends with other kids. There are some good deals in state parks but you might not have 3-way hookups. If you have to run on battery power you will not be able to use the microwave, tv, etc (frig and stove run on gas). We can only go 2-3 nights on battery power. You may have parking problems in some places depending on what you want to do. For example last summer we went to Bath ME's 4th of July. Great parade, midway, etc but I'm not sure where you could have parked an RV unless you got there very early. Then if you want to go out to see fireworks at night you've got to 'break camp' again. At grocery stores make sure you park at the edge of the lot where no one is apt to park next to you. We loved Nickerson State Park in Brewster MA on Cape Cod when I was growing up but we had to drive to the swimming area. We noticed that families at Chewonki tended to stay put during the day, enjoying the pool and just relaxing. If you are trying to see all the sights and move around a lot, RVing might be a hindrance. Renting a camping cabin might be a better idea.

I just checked rates on cruiseamerica - one of the larger rv rental companies here. A sleep-6 rv (about the size you want) costs about $4000 to rent for 21 days (I entered 7/10-31) plus about $1000 for mileage. That does not include gas, campground fees each night and assorted extras. If one figures just $25/night for campground fees, 10 mpg, and gas at $4.00/gal - that adds up to just under $7000 for the 3 weeks.

Continuing with my math, that is about $350/night. You certainly could lodge and feed your family for less than that amount in this part of the US.

Since you state "traveling to US" I am assuming you are not from US - if it is Great Britain from which you travel, do you want to drive one of these things on "the wrong side of the road".

Now move on to vacation style. There are quite a few advantages to travel by rv, and some negatives to consider. You do not need to pack/unpack every few nights. Everything is there. The kids can settle in for the long time on the road.

But as a poster mentioned above, you do need to haul it with you everywhere and find parking for it.

So some things to consider before you make your decision.

dfrost and gail have good points. We pulled a travel trailer, unhooked it at a site and took the truck into towns. Depends if you are interested in seeing wilderness or culture, driving in cities might be difficult. I assumed you wanted the RV to stay "woodsy".

Also, WHOA on the rental cost! That IS high. Unless you really want to stay in the woods and "camp", or photograph wildlife, a rental car and chain motels would be a less expensive.

thank you all for your edvices. actually we allready reserved an RV for 3 weeks for 3000 including 2100 miles. we are from israel and will like to stay in nature and less city area. we need to be in NH july 3rd so our trip is planned acordingly. the information we are looking for is sights parks and atractions wothgoing for. things that are nice for kids (10 8 4 years) and nature including hiking campgrounds that you can park for couple of days and have atractions/hikes/pool/lake and boats on sight etc. we know that is not the cheapest way to travel but we think it will be fun. we know that at cities we will have to find a campground and travel public transportation if there are cities u think are a must (dc boston toronto etc) and know of nice parks near them this info will also be very helpfull
hapiness to all

How about something like this.

From NYC, drive north along the Hudson and stay somewhere in the lower Adairondaks, corner of Mass/Vermont and New York State -- Lake George, Lake Placid, Saratoga, or even Brattleborough would be nice areas.

Then drive east along Rt 2 (Mass) to Cape Anne. Camp at Wingaersheek Beach, see the ocean.

Then to NH, wherever you have to be.

Then Northwest up to Burlington and then Montreal.

Then west to Toronto, along the north side of the lake -- many lakeside campgrounds available.

From Toronto, go south to Niagara Falls -- you have to see Niagara Falls....

Then back to NYC.

For practical advice on RV travel, including places to stay (especially near urban areas), try the discussion boards at www.rv.net. You need to make your campground reservations right awy, since many places are already booked for the holiday week.