surich

We are looking to tour around New England in October. Can anyone suggest an itinerary. We would be flying into Boston from the UK and would like to visit Cape Cod and Marthas Vineyard. We would then like to drive to see the wonderful fall colours but not sure what area is the best for that. We then want to go to New York for a few days. We have heard there is a train you can get but are we better just driving. We are not sure how many days are needed to see each area and any help would be appreciated. We are not stuck with any time scale.

doug_stallings

You don't say how long your trip is or whether it's possible to fly into Boston and out of JFK or EWR. That information would be helpful. A trip of a week will give you a rather rushed trip with 2 nights in Boston (Cape Cod would have to be a day-trip), 2 nights in the Berkshires, southern New Hampshire or Vermont, or the Hudson Valley, and 2 or 3 nights in NYC. This isn't enough time in my opinion, but it would do. If you really want to tour New England, you could do it in 9 nights and spend more time in the Berkshires and also see the Hudson Valley. I'm choosing New York State over Vermont or New Hampshire just so you can see more fall foliage.

Here are some quick suggestions. If you have time, spend a couple of days in Boston itself since there's a lot to see. There's not much going on in the Cape in October, but a lot of places are still open. If you don't want to rent a car, then limit your trip to Provincetown by ferry (you can also spend a night). If you really want to see the rest of the Cape, then you'll need to rent a car. There are a lot of charming towns, and it's the off-season, so things are not crowded.

To see colors, it depends on when you're coming. But you can probably drive through the Berkshires and see something. But you're likely going to miss peak fall foliage season, which has already started. You might need to drive all the way to NY State. The colors are already changing upstate. There's a lot of fun stuff going on in Upstate New York, particularly in the Sleepy Hollow area around Halloween (this is near Tarrytown).

You are MUCH better off taking a train to NYC. Do not under any circumstances take a rental car there. If you rent, do a round-trip rental and drop the car in Boston before heading down, or you could take the train to New Rochelle and rent a car there (round-trip) from Enterprise, then you can take Metro North down into the city after a couple of nights in the Hudson Valley.

There's a lot to see there. I'd also plan a couple of nights in the Berkshires even if it's beyond peak season. But I don't think you'll see much in New Hampshire or Vermont, though both might still have nice, crisp weather in late October.

Dukey1

We really need to know how many days/nights you have to spend. Otherwise everything is conjecture IMO.

You can get from Boston to New York by rail which would probably end up being more convenient; you can also fly between the two cities. Be aware there are three different airports serving the New York City area (another reason taking the train might be a better option).

As mentioned above, you do NOT want a car in New York City.

As to foliage...a lot depends on WHEN in October and WHERE in the area you are. Some of the foliage typically peaks around the Columbus Day holiday which this year falls on 14 October;

You'll need a car to really get around on Cape Cod IMO.

The Berkshires mentioned above are in the western part of the state of Massachusetts which by fast road is only a couple hours' drive west of Boston.

You might consider doing some sort of driving loop out of Boston; return there to drop the car and take the train to new York City.

Michael

You may want to look at my trip report "Ten Days on the East Coast"; click on my name to find it. But you really should look for a guidebook for New England and New York State, Fodor's maybe?

J62

Fall colors are arriving quickly, as we speak, so the next two weeks will be just about perfect. The early trees, like the brilliant red/orange sugar maples are already changing in Northen NY/Western MA, Southern VT. There is still a lot of green with the later changing species such as oak, but those will start to change soon.

If you are in the area after mid October you can still find excellent color but the later you wait the more brown/bare trees you'll see. One hard mid October rainstorm with winds can blow down a lot of leaves too, so you are at the mercy of mother nature there.

nytraveler

Colors change from north to south and from higher elevations to seashore - but if you come at the end of Oct almost all will be gone - except perhaps NYC.

To get the best advice you need to give us your specific dates of travel - and if you are RT Boston or into Boston and out of NYC.

china_cat

you wrote
"We are not sure how many days are needed to see each area and any help would be appreciated. "
This is basically an impossible question. You're talking about 4 states, and 2 major cities. You could easily spend a full week in Boston and 1 in New York, and 2 or 3 weeks touring New Hampshire and Vermont. That's why everybody is saying to give your total time frame and they will help you divvy it up.

Also, if you mean THIS October, you are going to have some trouble finding accommodations in popular towns. If you are planning for next year, that's a whole different matter.

Finally, you should include some interests, as it will help people advise you. Are you interested in spending time in active outdoor pursuits (hiking, kayaking, climbing, fishing, apple picking horseback riding)? Do you just want pretty scenery and quaint towns? what about shopping? antique stores? museums? historic homes? craft fairs? I mean, if you hate museums, I'd probably reduce the Boston time a bit. If you love them, I would tailor recommendations to include a few out-of-the way ones.

Dukey1

Help, OP, HELP!!!!!!

surich

Thanks for your replies. We are very flexible with our time. We can leave late September and are lucky enough to be able to spend as much time as needed in the USA to fully enjoy our trip.
We enjoy sightseeing, walking, museums and my husband really enjoys fishing. We also like to visit towns and people that are off the usual holiday path. We are planning this trip for 2014.
Many Thanks

surich

Forgot to say we can fly into Boston and out of New York.

dfrostnh

2014 makes a BIG difference! It looks like you can take the train or bus to NYC at the end of your trip and then return to Boston for the flight home. I would leave the Cape Cod/Martha's Vineyard until just before going to NYC. I have only done a day trip via ferry to MV. In a way, it was a nice quick visit (did a van tour plus a lot of walking) but might have been even nicer for a night or two. There was a lot of MV we didn't see. Check the ferry schedule, the parking lots are remote so you need to get there with enough time to park and take the shuttle bus to the ferry dock.

If you want to see mountains, I would go to NH's White Mountains first as that will be where color changes first. This could actually be a day trip from Boston but it would be nice to have enough time to do either a foliage cruise on Lake Winnipesaukee or a cruise out of Portsmouth NH. If you have plenty of time, I would go from NH over to Portland Maine to explore the Old port area. You can also take a mailboat cruise. Park in the parking garage at the ferry terminal and walk every place else. If you like shopping, there are lots of interesting shops and great places to eat. From there you can go to Portsmouth NH, great place for lunch and then to Boston. Portsmouth is another great place to walk around and you could visit Strawbery Banke Historic Area.

That said, these are all very popular areas. Along the way you could stop at smaller, quaint towns. For example, on the way north stop at Canterbury Shaker Village (check hours and days open) just north of Concord NH. Very interesting tour and a very pretty little town.

Instead of Lake Winnipesaukee, maybe a visit to the science center in Holderness with a pontoon boat ride on Squam Lake. Very beautiful area but not built up. Center Sandwich NH is one of my favorite picturesque small towns. Nothing much there.

You can get maps from the dept of agriculture in each state for a "cheese trail" or "wine trail" to help you locate some farms and small wineries you can visit. There are also some nice farmstands where you can buy just picked apples.

Dukey1

I would not return to Boston to fly home if I didn't have to. Before buying tickets look at the price of an open jaw itinerary (into Boston and out of New York JFK or EWR). I think you may find the price to be very similar to an in and out of Boston.

schnauzer

Booking marking as I M planning to do a very similar thing next year. Just booked my first lot of accommodation in Vermont.

Which is a good town/village to stay in New Hampshire for the first couple of days in October? Looking for B and B.

panecott

Jackson is a cute little village in the White Mts. of NH.

Lots of B&B's in the area and it's a great location for touring the White Mts. I stayed at the Inn at Ellis River and liked it a lot.

There are lovely drives and plenty of hikes in the area.

North Conway is nearby but it is very commercial and I much prefer Jackson.

isabel

I would fly INTO NYC and back home from Boston. In late Sept there won't be fall foliage in NY but that's not the reason to go there anyway. That time of year is often delightful in NY. Spend 5 nights, to give you 4 days to see the city. Then rent the car as you leave.

Drive north through either the Hudson River Valley of NY state or the Connecticut River Valley of Ct, Mass and Vt. Spend one night in the Berkshires (between those two rivers valleys).

Then spend about 2 days in mid Vermont. This year most of Vermont is peak this weekend (Oct 4) but that's early, most years it's next weekend (which is Columbus Day which means book hotels months in advance). Then spend 2 days in NH (White Mountains and/or lakes region). Then drive east to the Maine coast. Acadia National Park is beautiful. I would spend 2 days there. The foliage along the coast turns later than the same areas inland but by now it should be mid Oct so it should be beautiful. Then maybe spend another 1-2 days around Portland as you head back south.

So far you are up to about 2 weeks. You would want at least 3 nights/2 days IN Boston itself I would think. You could easily spend longer. And if you have the time you could also go around Boston and down to the Cape/Martha's vineyard before going to Boston. You don't want a car IN Boston so you'd do Boston last so you could drop the car. You'd need about 2-3 days to do the Cape and the Vineyard. Another day or two if you wanted to go to Nantucket.

So that's about a three week trip. If you can afford four weeks then add a day to each location. Boston still has some color and nice weather up to the last week or so of October most years.

Here's a link to a foliage predictor map - http://www.yankeefoliage.com/peak-foliage-forecast-map/

J62

2014 definitely makes a difference. That point was not obvious to me - I was thinking 2013.

china_cat

ah but September is the perfect time for fishing in Cape Cod. I read that stripers and blues are both running as of last week. So you might want to do that earlier rather than later. Skip the Vineyard, and spend a few days in the outer Cape, somewhere between Chatham and Wellfleet. I think you can get fishing charters out of Orleans, or Chatham, and those are really nice towns to stay in.

Since you like museums, consider 2 possibilities. One of the nicest small art museums in New England is the Clark out in North Adams, which is the northwest corner of Massachusetts. You could definitely include a few days in the Berkshires to visit this, and several other museums. There are lots of nice places to walk, and some lovely historic homes. This would fit nicely in between New York (Hudson Valley) and Vermont.

Definitely include a little bit of Vermont, perhaps around Burlington and Lake Champlain. You'll love the Shelburne museum (somebody just did a trip report about this...do a search).

surich

Many thanks for your helpful suggestions and advice. We are starting our planning now and looking forward to our visit.

maxima

The Clark Art Museum is lovely but is presently under renovation for an expansion. by 2014 the wonderful permanent collection should be back from trips abroad and on view. The musueum is in the town of Williamstown not North Adams,, its a lovely collage town with very good professional theater. I can certainly recommend staying at Journey's End a lovely B and B about a mile out of town.. a few miles from Williamstown is Mass Moca a modern art museum in North Adams which is well worth the trip..and to the north you can see some of southern Vermont. to do all of this you will need to rent a car. This area is approximately 3 hours or so from Boston and about the same from NYC. ..however you would have to return the car which can be expensive if you don't back track you definitely do not want a car in either nyc or boston...

It may make more sense to head north of boston to New Hampshire and then back down to drop off the car. you can take the train ( Amtrak ) from boston to nyc

schnauzer

I'd start your planning in earnest, I have already booked some places for next october after finding out that quite a few we're "booked out" already....yikes. Remember the holiday weekend ......