anacleton

Hi everyone,
We are planning the summer travel for me and my family (wife and two kids -9 and 11-).
Last year we went to Yosemite. We rented an RV in San Francisco and then travelled to LA passing through Yosemite and the Sequoia National Park.

This year we will be traveling to US East Coast from 07/ 5 to 07/18, and the plan is again to combine city and nature if possible.

TRAVEL ITINERARY
07/05 - Lands at JFK approx at 6 AM. And move towards Washington D.C. by car.
07/06 - to 07-08. Whashington D.C.
07/08- Leave Whashington D.C.
07/14 – to 07/18 NYC.

We have no hotel reservation yet from 07/08 to 07/14.
We are interested in Philadelphia and Atlantic City, and to stay in a campground (tent camping) or a hotel-motel, near nice places to visit or trails in the woods, lake or beach to spend the day there.

Is it worth to consider a place in a state like Maryland (Ocean City), New Jersey (Cape May, Wildwood), Delaware (Rehoboth or Dewey Beach), considering that we live in Mexico City and have great beaches 4 hours driving from home??

My Questions:
1.- Since this is a long trip, we are in a budget. Would you suggest any particular place to stay with Kids from 07/08 to 07/14?
2.- Is it worth to go to Philadelphia and Atlantic City, or we better stay in NYC and D.C. and than head to the country side?
3.- We can rent a car for those days.
4.- Any suggestions to improve the itinerary?
5.- Is there anything else we need to take note on that is important?

Thanks for all the inputs you guys gonna provide.

vincenzo32951

I would skip AC. Philadelphia is worth a visit, for many reasons -- history, food, sites. Finding budget accommodations might be a challenge there. No car needed.

nytraveler

AC is a waste of time except if you want to gamble the rent money.

Most places on/near the beach in the summer along the cost rent by the week - and usually at quite high rates.

Are you interested in the beach or the countryside - keeping in mind it;s likely to be hot at this time of year.

Philadelphia is worth a couple of days and NYC a week or more - depending on how much time you have and what your budget is.
You can find family priented places on the Jersey shore or on Long Island might want to look at beach front condos in Amagansett - cheaper than the real Hamptons and more kid friendly.

longhorn55

First of all, I would add more days to the Washington, D.C. portion of your trip. You only have 2- 3 days allotted to D.C. and that will barely scratch the surface. I'd plan to spend at least 5 days in D.C.

From D.C., I would drive to Shenandoah National Park for a couple of days of nature. There are cabins and lodge rooms available in the park with reasonable rates. If you want to stay in the park, you should book those rooms now.

After Shenandoah, you could drive to Philadelphia for a couple of days (which should be enough time to see the sights there).

zootsi

Shenandoah is an excellent idea if you want mountains and hiking. NJ has some very nice beach towns, but Atlantic City is not one of them. Wildwood and Cape May are good choices but are totally different. Cape May is historic homes, lots of charm - Wildwood is the boardwalk, rides, games, bars, teens. They both have nice beaches.

Dukey1

OK, you want "nature" and the beach..then drive the 300 miles south of Washington, DC, to the North Carolina Outer Banks. Yes you have plenty of days to do it.