Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Montreal
 

Hello everyone. We are planning a July trip (last minute). We will be in this area for 9 nights (10 days) and we plan to fly into Burlington, VT and travel that day to North Conway to visit friends. We want to spend a few days in New Hampshire. We then plan to proceed to Western Maine and might drive to the shore. We want to then drive and possibly visit friends in Montreal for a few nights and then head back and spend a few nights in Vermont. We understand that there might be quite a bit of driving, but we are fine with this.
Can you suggest an itinerary for us based on our agenda and we are traveling with a 6 and 8 year old and would love plenty of outdoor activities. Thank you for the suggestions.

I'd say you are going to have to drop one of the places you want to visit! I'm not sure you have time in 10 days/9 nights for "a few days in New Hampshire" and "a few nights in Vermont" and Maine and Montreal to boot.

Montreal is worth at least 3 days, and I would guess you are going to spend 3 days (your arrival day plus two others, although that is maybe just 2 nights) in North Conway. That leaves just 3 days, not counting your departure day, to divide between Maine and Vermont.

I agree with the last post--N.H. plus Maine plus Montreal plus Vermont is too much for a 9 night trip. I would cut out Maine or Montreal. It's not only that your plan involves a lot of driving; it is also that you would not have enough time at each destination.

It isn't too much driving but it is a heck of a lot of back and forthing. Why don't you fly into Portland or Boston and fly out of Burlington?

Portland-Brunswick-North Conway-St Johnsbury-Montreal-Burlington takes you to the Maine coast, Outlet Mall City, through the heart of the White Mountains (Crawford Notch), the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, Montreal, and back to Lake Champlaign -- all without backtracking. I think you could have fun in 9 nights since the distances aren't very large, but you and the kids will spend a lot of time looking out the window of cars.

The BIG DEAL is that you will have to rent a car that you are allowed to drive into Canada. You may have to jump through a few hoops with your rental company, and you may not be able to find a rock bottom price. You also need to allow a bit of time for border crossings; sometimes they are trivial, sometimes a pain in the butt.

But I think you can have a great trip.

Thank you for the suggestions. I agree and have shared with my husband that I think we need to give up one of the locations. We unfortunately already booked our flight into Burlington (RT) so that is stuck in stone at this point. Using this as a base point and knowing we need to make it to North Conway the first day can you help with a possible itinerary. When in North Conway the adults are going to go to a zipline while some watch the kids (I forgot the name of the place). Thanks for the suggestions. Please keep them coming.

I think going to N.H. then to Montreal and back to VT makes the most sense if you are flying in and out of Burlington.

Look on the Canada forum for things to do with kids in Montreal--good suggestions on this and other threads, including lots of outdoor possibilities
http://www.fodors.com/community/cana...first-time.cfm

I know this part of the country reasonably well, and you aren't going to make it in less than about three hours driving time.

The route on Google Maps I89-US2-I93-US302 is as good as any and takes you through Crawford Notch, which I recommended above.

If you stay on I89 to US302, you see different pretty stuff. Both these routes involve a considerable amount of time on 2 lane highways, but there isn't really any other way.

You might make a day trip to the Maine coast from North Conway, and I still recommend Portland or Brunswick-Harpswell.

Great ideas everyone. I think we are going to drive from Burlington to North Conway and hang out with friends Night 1. We might explore NH area for 1 or 2 more nights and possibly a day trip to Orchard Beach pier just for the kids to say they were in Maine (Is it worth the trip). Where is NH should we concentrate on visiting with the kids ( 6 and 8).
2. Then Head to Montreal for 3 nights. We will explore the suggested link. Thank you. That is a fantastic suggestion.
3. Then a few days in Vermont.

Can anyone suggest outdoor activities for both? We want to visit farms, and take train and trollies up the mountains, and do some hiking.

I am interested in a suggested itinerary and/or suggestions on towns to explore staying in within a budget. Thank you so much. This site is very helpful.

within what budget?

100-200 per night. The less expensive the better.

We usually camp when we go to VT so no lodging suggestions. Not too far from Middlebury VT is Bristol. As you leave town heading over the mountain (I think it's Lincoln Gap) toward Rt 100, just outside of town is a popular swimming place on the river. You'll see the cars parked. Great place for a picnic. You'll need water shoes because the bottom is very rocky. In the shallow area you could walk across the river but just up stream is a small waterfall and deep pool. Older kids were jumping off the ledges into the pool.

Depending on when you visit, there's a very unusual pizza place near Charlotte VT only open Thurs and Fridays
http://www.pizzaonearth.com/ It's on a farm. There's a couple of tables outside. The pizza is very good.

In NH, the Remick Farm Museum in Tamworth isn't too far from N Conway. We haven't been to this museum but it has some interesting activities. I love the drive over the Sandwich NH. Get very good directions to Sandwich Creamery where you can sit in their garden and share a pint of ice cream. It's almost an adventure to find it. Twice we have seen black bears in this area so keep watch.
http://sandwichcreamery.com/html/vis...irections.html

Although Sandwich Notch Rd isn't very scenic, a short walk into the woods will take you to another place we've picnicked. According to website it's also a swimming area. Look under Lakes area, Beebe Falls.
http://www.nhoutdoors.com/waterfalls.htm

The Flume is a very popular NH tourist attraction, a hike thru a gorge.

Kayaking is very popular in our area. My husband doesn't care for it but a very much enjoyed going with a friend last summer. This trip was on the Merrimack River. There's a rental place that will drop you off and pick you up at the end. A half day paddle including time to picnic on one of the many secluded sandy beaches was great fun. Last year was dry so the river was very low. There are rental places all over. This one is near Concord NH about 1 1/2 hours from the Sandwich area. I'm sure there are rental places in the mountains esp on the Baker River (Campton/ I93 side of the mountains).

Shelburne Farms and Shelburne Museum in Vermont, just south of Burlington, might be interesting to visit at the end of your trip. The Museum is a collection of different buildings with lots to interest kids including a steam boat, some railway cars, a toy collection, a big collection of circus animals, a carousel. The Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory in Waterbury, east of Burlington, has popular tours. There are many places to hike depending on the length of time and level of difficulty your family wants.

There are some interesting historic forts to visit on your way back from Montreal toward Vt--Fort Chambly and Fort Lennox. The latter is on an island and involves a short boat trip.

For a ride up a mountain, the Stowe gondola is very popular and it goes nearly to the top of Mount Mansfield, the highest mountain in VT. There is a good restaurant at the top called the Cliff House. Or, to get to the top, drive up the toll road. There is a ranger station at the top and the ranger on duty can point you to the Long Trail which crosses the top of the mountain range there. It's a magnificent place to hike with unusual alpine plants and great views but don't bother if it's raining - the mountain will be in the clouds. Ask the ranger for directions to Frenchman's Pile. It is a pile of rocks and I don't don't know why it is called Frenchman's but it is where you will have a 360 degree view of Burlington and Lake Champlain, the Adirondack Mtns in NY, the White Mtns in NH, the Worcester range in VT.

If you will be driving from Burlington to Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory tour as suggested above, take Interstate 89 to exit 10 and exit at Waterbury/Stowe exit 10 - about 45 minutes from Burlington. Drive north toward Stowe on Route 100 and B&J's will be a couple of minutes north from the highway. After that tour, turn left to continue north on Route 100, go a few more minutes up the road to the Cabot Cheese store (free sample) and Lake Champlain Chocolates. From there, turn left onto Route 100 again to continue north and stop at Cold Hollow Cider Mill a few miles north, on the right. Great cider doughnuts made fresh all day long plus many VT made canned foods. Stowe is another 10 minutes or so north of Cold Hollow.

At the stop sign in Stowe (it's a small village that does not even have a traffic light, just a flashing red light at the stop sign) turn left onto Route 108, also called Mountain Road. Before you leave town, you may want to explore some stores and art galleries in town. The toll road, ski area, and gondola are about 10 to 15 minutes from town.

After the gondola or toll road, turn left onto Rout 108 and drive through Smugglers Notch, a beautiful drive that you should be sure not to miss is you do get to Stowe.