aussiedreamer

After our 5 nights NYC we want to catch a train to our next destination and then pick up a hire car and spend 10 days driving back to NYC (to catch a flight to LAX).

I love the thought of Maine and the coast line. It will be mid October so I'm guessing we could see some beautiful foliage? The idea of the train is so we aren't driving up and back, therefore haveing more time to sightsee. Plus we quite like traveling by train as you see things you maybe wouldn't while driving.

Thanks for your suggestions as always.
(I'm having trouble with this new site.....I was going to give up but found I missed all the great advice and I just notice that 'preview' is back)

nytraveler

Maine might or might not be done by mid-October - since the leaves turning is timed differently every year based on weather. By mid-Oct the Hudson valley and lower CT and RI will be turned. To get the best colors further north you probably need to be a week or two earlier.

AAFrequentFlyer

I believe your best bet is to take the Vermonter from NY to St. Albans. You end up at the north end of Vermont, just south of the Canadian border. Maine is little out of the way, but Vermont can be just as pretty.

The other option is to go to Portland, Maine, but the city is at the south end of the state so you won't be seeing much of Maine.

www.amtrak.com

Have fun planning.

gyppielou

have you checked to see what a car rental that originated from Maine and is dropped off at NY would cost or even possible?

yk

I also have the same thought as gyppielou... it *may* be quite expensive to pick up in Maine and drop-off in NYC, so you should look into that first.

There's a GTG in Boston the weekend of Oct 10, if you're interested in attending:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...n-gtg-2009.cfm

gyppielou

I apologize aussie for the disruption.

If the car hire works out with the drop off at LAX, a train to Portland would be wonderful since you mention a desire to see Maine's coast. You can explore some of the places north and then start your journey southward, heading a little west to NH for some foliage if you'd like. So many wonderful places to visit between there and NYC on the coast. Going the Vermont route, I think you would need to forfeit the coastal tour. But is is equally gorgeous, and an inland trip is equally lovely. But I'm a coastal girl.

Look forward to hearing more and offering any advice I can.
g

aussiedreamer

Phew. thanks one and all. (no 'loud' shoutouts here!!!).

I will investigate the hire car issues but hopefully it wont be too big a pain.

gyppielou, thanks Vermont was also on 'my list'.
Thanks AAfrequentflyer, that sounds great I will investigate the train the route and the car hire form say, St Albans.

You guys are great.

emalloy

You could take the ACELA or metro north from NY to Boston and pick up a car and do a loop up to Maine over to NH and VT through the mountains then down 91 or 93 and back to Boston and drop off the car and train back to NY. This avoids outrageous drop off costs, gives you some train trip where there are a few places where you can see the coast in eastern CT and avoids the nastiest areas for driving near NY city.

steffiemax

I think a drive from Maine or Vermont - although beautiful but it will be expensive. You're looking at hours of driving. Boston is great and you can drive from Boston to NYC in 7 hours or less - but again it may be very expensive. Would you consider renting a car and driving out East to Long Island. Long Island is very beautiful along the South Shore and North Shore. You can rent a car and drive to Greenport. The vinyards are out there, farms, and great little stores along the way. I apologize but were you thinking about doing this in October? Even October is a great month to drive out East. You can drive out there and spend a night at a bed and breakfast (check out the Duck Pond Vinyards) near Duck Pond Vinyards - you can stay there one night and drive back to NYC and hop on your flight to LAX.
Its a thought - it cheaper, and maybe just as cute.

Have fun!!

aussiedreamer

Woh, so many great suggestion. I originally posted asking about driving from NYC to 'somewhere' and I was bombarded with the train suggestion.

Emolley, I will investigate your suggestion...... "two birds-one stone" thanks.

owlwoman

I second the option of taking Amtrak to Boston, renting a car there and driving through New Hampshire / Vermont / Maine. Then returning the car to Boston and taking Amtrak back to NY. Plus, if you'd like to see Boston, which is definitely worthwhile, you could spend a night there too.

These are my favorite places in New England, we were up in Bar Harbor mid-Oct. a few years ago, where Acadia is, it'll be cool, probably not much foliage left, but it will still be beautiful. If you don't want to go that far North, Boothbay Harbor is quite nice too....you have a lot of hard choices to make

doug_stallings

I think the two posters who have suggested training it to Boston from NYC and then doing a loop through New England are right on the money. This will save you literally hundreds of dollars. I suspect the one-way drop-off fee will be onerous.

Another option would be a one-way flight on Jet Blue to Portland, ME and doing your loop from there. By October, the flights up to Portland should be pretty cheap. Then you can take the train back to NYC from Boston. It's fairly easy to get to Boston from Portland.

djkbooks

For foliage, the better bets are New Hampshire and Vermont, rather than Maine. Leaves change last near water, but there aren't nearly so many trees as in the mountain areas, and foliage is not nearly as plentiful or colorful.

In addition to one-way drop off, you might want to shop hotel rates, which will be very high in Boston during foliage season, even if the foliage is past peak.

For mid-October, best chance of foliage would be in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts, and/or the Northwest Corner of Connecticut, but even there you could be too late.

If it were me, I'd wait and check the foliage reports upon arriving in NYC. The fall colors could be early or late or usual, you never know. All the states have toll free phone numbers for foliage reports, or you can check online.

Then, you could decide whether to take a train to Boston and where to go from there, or maybe head for Hartford, Springfield, or Albany, and tour from there.

If a one-way rental proves impractical, especially when added to the train fares, driving both ways is fine, particularly since you won't have to haul your bags on trains/transfers, and the train won't save you that much time.

However, most oceanside destinations (coast of Maine, Cape Cod, Connecticut coastline) will have shoulder/off season rates and all are beautiful anytime.

Another consideration would be the weather. October is wildly variable. You could get lucky with a spell of Indian summer, or it would be more like winter, or anything in between.

So, all in all, I would have a few plans in mind and see what the foliage/weather happens to be once in NYC.

djkbooks

Note also - unless you've made plans in NYC you cannot cancel, you may want to adjust your itinerary and head to New England, then spend your five nights in NYC. Foliage season is roughly the last week of September and first two or three weeks in October - so, five days can make an enormous difference.

And, NYC (especially Central Park) is very beautiful when the fall colors are in full bloom, which is a couple of weeks later than New England.

aussiedreamer

all great thankyou. I'm soooo confused, but I'm now thinking of waiting 'till we get there, with a couple of flexible plans. the idea of haveing our nights in NYC on arrival is to adjust to the time difference and recover from flight.

PamSF

How about Montreal? I love this city and it is Europe without the Euro. You can take a train (10 hours) from NYC to Montreal and then take a longer time to drive back.

djkbooks

This may help. On this map, scroll to October and click on your dates. You'll see what I mean about the difference five days can make...

http://www.yankeefoliage.com/peakmap/

Here's a map for New York State (you may find a better one with a web search:

http://iloveny.com/SeasonsInNY/FoliageForecast.aspx

I live in New Hampshire. To my observation, the prettiest colors are "mid". "Peak" means it's pretty much over, and "Late" means gone...Others may argue with those definitions, but I'll stick by my descriptions.

Problem is, as the season progresses, rain and wind could take all or most of the leaves off the trees.

At any rate, your best bet for colorful leaves in mid-October is western Massachusetts and western Connecticut, along with the part of New York state just west.

With ten days, though, you could take a train to Portland, ME, rent a car and explore from there. There are many beautiful seacoast towns, all unique, within and easy drive both directions. Portland is a terrific base point. Then, take a train or drive to wherever the foliage is best.

dfrostnh

djbooks has given great advice. Keep in mind that NH and VT abound with foliage in many areas. As for distance, it would be possible to drive from Portland ME to NH's White Mountains in an hour then over to VT is less than 2 hours. You don't want to drive that fast but I thought it would help to understand distances here. The color difference between Concord NH and 2 hours south can be great. Explore to the north first and then head south (back to NYC). Sometimes a valley can be colorful while the color is gone from the hills. You are going to have a terrific chance to see foliage in all its variations. By Oct 15 it is usually peak color in the Concord NH area.
I also vote to leave NYC as soon as possible.

aussiedreamer

Ok lots to think about. As lovely as it will be to see the foliage we certainly aren't planning this trip for or around that. It will be a bonus.

mclaurie

If the trip is not focused on fall foliage, then you have to tell us what other things interest you. Art? Nature? I think the idea of train to Boston and then rent a car for a while and then head back to NYC for plane to LA makes sense. If you're flying from JFK to LA, you might even consider flying home from Boston. Jetblue.com and others have some good fares. By leaving your plans til you arrive though, you will lose out on best airfares and you should organize a car rental in advance for best prices. Mid Oct. is also a popular time for leaf peeping in the Hudson Valley.