aussiedreamer

Ok, latest plan/thoughts. Our flights are all booked with points, so we wont be 'changing' them. And we hate the wasted time at airports so don't really want to do any extra. Plus the driving is half the fun, things you wouldn't see etc.

We will have our five recovery days in NYC, then train to Boston. I have looked on the Amtrak site and it looks reasonable. Can someone suggest which station I should be choosing for arrival? Then we will have a car organised for pickup the day after we arrive in Boston. Do a 'loop' drive for the next week or as has been suggested and then train back to NYC the day before our flight out of JFK (may just do an airport hotel that night)

As for interests. Just looking forward to a relaxing scenic drive stopping where ever the mood takes us. We are bits of 'foodies' so will love to try some local food and wine. Love to hear suggestions of best places for that.

We will now start trying to put together a general route to take. Sounds like we should head south to north????

Thanks as always.

Vttraveler

It depends how far north you think you will loop. I live in north central Vt and mid October would be late for good foliage here. Southern Vt and New Hampshire or western Massachusetts would be be better bets.

What are you interested in other than scenery? There are many interesting historic sites in New England but that may not appeal to you.

aussiedreamer

Not to be too vague, but pretty towns that are interesting to walk around, interesting walks, historical towns/sites. We are more about getting as much info before we go then 'discovering' along the way.

djkbooks

Beautiful seaport towns north of Boston (also wonderful dining destinations) include Marblehead, Salem, Gloucester, Newburyport, Rockport in Massachusetts, Portsmouth in New Hampshire, and York, York Harbor, Ogunquit, Kennebunkport on the Southern Coast of Maine. You might want to go as far north as Portland, which is a terrific destination, and a small city.

Then, you could head west to Lake Winipesaukee in New Hampshire. Depending on the foliage, you might want to head north to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, which are dramatic an beautiful any time of the year, then over to the Green Mountains of Vermont (ditto). Or, you could travel west through Southern New Hampshire and Vermont then south through the Berkshire Mountains in Western Massachusetts to the Northwest Corner of Connecticut then the Connecticut River Valley and then explore the coast of Connecticut. And, there's always Cape Cod. Newport, Rhode Island is a nice destination for dining and touring the "summer cottages" (grand mansions, museums on their own).

Wonderful resources for exploring these states are "Maine, An Explorer's Guide", "New Hampshire, An Explorer's Guide", "Cape Cod, An Explorer's Guide", and so forth for each of the states. (See www.amazon.com) They are particularly good for scenic drives. Also recommend Frommer's 23 Great Drives in New England (Best Loved Driving Tours).

ekscrunchy

You could see both New England and the North Fork of Long Island if you finish the New England part of your trip in New London, Ct. From there you can take the ferry to Orient Point, Long Island and drive west to the city via Long Island. This will allow you to skip the boring portion of the ride along traffic-choked I95, and allow you to see the vineyard area mentioned above by Steffiemax.

From the Orient Point ferry to NYC takes about 2 to 2.5 hours. You can stop in Greenport and also at wineries along the route.

http://www.greenport.cc/
http://www.shinnvineyard.recipesfrom...StartFrame.htm

dfrostnh

Portsmouth NH should definitely be on your list then head inland to Flag Hill Winery and Distillery. In addition to wine they also make Gen John Stark vodka, unique in that it is made from apples (not apple flavoried). You should probably eat at a good seafood place between Boston and Portsmouth. Steamed lobster and fried clams! Once you decide your route, people can suggest restaurants. Portsmouth is also home to Strawbery Banke historic area. If the weather is good, take a boat ride. You can get a list of apple orchards from each state's Dept of Agriculture website. Fresh apples are wonderful. Gould Hill Orchards in Hopkinton NH has lovely views of the mountains and grows a variety of heirloom apples. I still have a lot to learn about Vermont cheese makers but there's always the free samples of Cabot cheeses in Quechee VT.

Vttraveler

djk's has given you a good list of possible stops along the coast on the North Shore (north of Boston in Mass) into New Hampshire and southern Maine. Salem has the excellent Peabody Essex museum and a small National Maritime Historic site along the waterfront. For natural beach areas consider Crane Beach in Ipswich, Plum Island in Newburyport and Halibut Point in Rockport.

South of Boston you could visit Plimouth Plantation.

West of Boston are Concord, the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Sturbridge Village, Old Deerfield Village, Hancock Shaker Village and many other interesting historic sites.

You might be able to find some fall foliage festivals in small towns. These are usually fun with craft fairs, contests, good church suppers, etc.

djkbooks

Note that Lake Winipesaukee is surrounded by dense forests of trees and very beautiful during fall, which comes a week or two later, so you could get very lucky.

There are some gorgeous shots on Webshots.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/561046181pMIVqT

See also

http://www.lake-winnipesaukee-travel...l-foliage.html

aussiedreamer

Thank you all so much. Woh, I've got some planning to do. We are going to use mapquest and all your suggetions and come up with a possible route.
Thanks again. AD

aussiedreamer

Okay, I've got my map and calander. I've used mapquest and have put in Boston,Portland, Bethel, Concord, Monpelier and back down to Boston. I have only picked these places off the map to give a general route, I just needed to get some sort of route in my mind. Taking into account that we will now stay 2 nights in Boston (either before or after the drive) that will give us 7 nights on the road (departing via train for NYC on the 14 Oct).

Like to hear your thoughts (hope I've narrowed it down a bit so your advice will be easier to give ) which way to go, what nice places along the way and where to base for two nights in Boston and at what 'end' of the trip we should have our two nights?

This route is a guide for us really, something to work to.

Thanks.

gyppielou

How blessed are you!!! That time of year you might priceline boston as the whole city is wonderful and walkable. Portland maine is a great city. If you are not a heart patient I would recommend Duck Fat for lunch and frittes. There is a wonderful waterfront partk to walk, very dog friendly, community friendly.

Not sure if Monpelier has much to offer. Perhaps Stowe or Woodstock would be nicer.

Concord MA or Concord NH??? Again too many big towns if is is NH.

I hope you get more advice, and if I ever had a chance to go to you country I would need just as much advice.

I like the advice to visit southern Maine and the coastal towns. There is so much to see in our country, and the coastal towns of New England own my heart.

aussiedreamer

thanks gyppielou. Very blessed And this is only a small part of our 6 week adventure.

(and if my DD hadn't spilt a glass of juice on the key board researching would be much easier!!!!! )

djkbooks

Well, my recommendation, if you're going to start in Boston, would be to stay to the south at first and head west in hopes of foliage. New England is scenic all over, and even the interstate highways offer excellent scenery. You could go first to Stockbridge, MA, which is a quintessential New England village chock full of historical places to visit in the area. One of our favorites is Chesterwood, the summer home/studio of Daniel Chester French (sculptor of the seated Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial).

http://www.chesterwood.org/

Then, head north via Lenox to Williamstown, MA or Bennington, VT. The circular drive Williamstown MA/BenningtonVT/Wilmingon VT/Charlemont MA/Williamstown MA is absolutely gorgeous with dramatic mountain roads (about 2 hours with no stops).

From there, you could explore the White Mountains of Vermont and/or Green Mountains of NH. Then, head over to Portland, ME and work your way south back to Boston.

If the weather is favorable, I would highly recommend visiting at least a few of the aforementioned seaport towns along the Maine, NH, and northern Massachusetts coasts.

Since the leaves change last near water, it would be best to save the coast and Boston for last.

Note that, during October, rates for accomodations will be their highest at the most popular leaf peeping destinations, such as Stockbridge, Lenox, Williamstown, Bennington, Stowe, Woodstock, etc. But, if you shop diligently, you can find reasonable rates in those towns or neighboring towns.

All of the states and specific areas have terrific websites full of valuable resources for planning.

For example: www.berkshires.org

It's probably best to select places to spend 2 or 3 nights and explore from there. In fact, some, but not all places may have 2 or 3 night minimum stay requirements.

djkbooks

That's the Green Mountains of Vermont, White Mountains in New Hampshire.

aussiedreamer

djkbooks, thank you so much. Thats exactly the info I needed. Now I'm excited................ we don't want to book accommodation in advance, (except Boston of course)we like to see 'where we end up', I'd really like to stay in cute b&b's and inns but will quite happily settle for a decent motel if need be.

Be assured your suggestions are being printed and researched, hope you know how helpful this all is. How did we ever travel without Fodors?

ps, when I use amtrak to look for trains from NYC (Penn) to Boston quite a few stations (Boston) come up. I've no idea which one to select. I guess the most central is the way to go? But I have no way of knowing which that is.

yk

For Amtrak, either South Station (the terminal), or Back Bay station. Back Bay station is closer to the hotels in eh, Back Bay (or Copley Square). The prices should be the same whichever one you choose - so just pick South Station and no one will yell at you if you get off at Back Bay station instead.

aussiedreamer

awsome thanks. Do I need to get tickets before we go or can we just get them on arrival into NYC?

yk

You probably will be okay to wait until you're in NYC - since you said you'll be in NYC for 5 days before you leave for Boston.

However, there *might* be advance discounted tickets available online, so it may be prudent for you to check Amtrak's website 4-6 weeks before departure to see if any available.

Having said that, if you HAVE to travel on a specific train on, say Friday afternoon or Monday morning, or over the Columbus Day weekend, you should get tickets in advance because those may sell out.

If cost is a concern, there are always much cheaper bus options. They take 4-4.5 hours.

djkbooks

South Station and Back Bay Station are only about 1.5 miles apart, so you'd use whichever is closer to your hotel. As mentioned, you can get off at either.

And, don't pick up your rental car until you're ready to leave Boston. No point paying expensive overnight parking.

djkbooks

About accomodations - in the foliage areas: Western MA, Vermont, New Hampshire, Western Maine, finding reasonably priced B&B's and inns (most of which are quite pricey) will be quite the challenge, even reserving ahead. Unless travel is unusually slow this year, it's not recommended to rely on "where you end up", especially weekends, especially Columbus Day weekend. Even if you're able to locate lodging for the night fairly easily, you may not get a good price as a walk-in. And, depending on where you "end up", if everything is booked, could be some distance to the next town with lodging choices. And, keep in mind that it gets dark fairly early, and many roads are not lined with street lights.

So, if you stick to that plan, be sure to have a list of towns with abundant lodging choices, such as Pittsfield in Western, MA, and so forth.

On the seacoast, except for Boston, it will be shoulder/off season with plenty of availability and good rates.