Am planning a trip for May 2007 around New York and Toronto areas. It will be my first time in the east coast. It will be for my husband and myself and intend to be there for 2-3 weeks. Your suggestions for an itinerary would be very much appreciated. Do not need to go to Florida as we have been there. Thanks so much in advance.

Here are some options to chose from.

You might want to visit Niagara Falls which is not too far from Toronto. Unless you already have your airline tickets, you could perhaps drive to the falls from Toronto and then fly to NYC from Buffalo, NY which is usually much cheaper than flying from Toronto.

Phildadelphia is an easy day trip from NYC by train. Boston and Washington DC are NOT day trips. Boston needs at least 2 days and DC probably more. Depending on where you're from, your interests and how likely you are to return, you might want to include a southern city like Charleston or Savannah.

From NYC I would go up the Hudson and then over to Mass. and NH, etc.

Boston and Washington DC.

However, I could easily spend (and have) two weeks in New York and would like to spend three.

In 2-3 weeks you can see quite a bit of the east. When you said New York I presume you mean New York City? Not New York State?

What do you like to do? I like Boston a lot, but I hate DC, although I suppose everybody American should go there once. I like Montreal, but I don't love Toronto. I like Quebec City quite a bit. I don't love anything in Pennsylvania. NYC is fabulous. Even though I live in Rochester NY, I wouldn't go out of my way to visit any upstate city (including Niagara Falls - I mean ALL it is is a huge waterfalls. It's cool, but not a life altering experience.).

A lot of the east that's great is not big cities. I like Vermont, New Hampshire, parts of Maine, the Adirondacks...

I guess what I'm saying is what are you looking for?

<<New York and Toronto areas...intend to be there for 2-3 weeks>>

Well, if it's TWO weeks you could easily spend a week each in Toronto and NYC. If it's three weeks, add a few days in Boston and a few days on the sea coast in RI or Mass.

It's worth going to Niagara Falls if you'd never been, plan on a hectic day or two easy days.

We also enjoyed walking around Youngstown and Lewiston. Lots of arts & crafts shops, great view of the Niagara River (Youngstown) and great parks for the kids.

Depends on your situation, I suggest driving down to NYC and stopping on the way (Finger Lakes Region for lunch). We have a beautiful country, take advantage of it.
I mean, a day of travel will be a day of travel by land or by air.

I believe it's only about a 7 hour drive, and a beautiful drive at that. We did it this summer.

If you are going to Toronto, then you should definitely see Niagara Falls. True, it is a big waterfall. But, it is spectacular. There are so many ways to experience it, and I highly recommend the Cave of the Winds tour on the US side. You can reach out and touch the Bridal falls! I also suggest making time for the Jet Boat, either out of Niagara-on-the-lake or Lewiston, NY. It is such a rush zipping through the Niagara Rapids! But, the water will be COLD. Niagara-on-the-Lake is a charming town. If you like wineries, there are quite a few in this area. Buffalo is also worth a stop if you enjoy architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin Martin House has just been restored, and there are several other FLW homes in Buffalo.

As for the logistics of your trip, it is a 2 hr drive from Buffalo to Toronto. You may want to find a low cost carrier that flies into Buffalo (Jet Blue or SWA), and drive to Toronto. You could then fly Jet Blue from Buffalo to JFK. After visiting NYC, you could take the train to DC for a few days. You could then fly back home out of BWI.

Good luck!

Assuming you want to drive I agree that Toronto, Niagara Falls, across New York seeing a little of New England, Boston and then down along the coast to NYC. This will easily fill up 3 weeks and will be too much for 2 weeks.

I would start now checking to see if you can leave a Toronto car in NYC without a large penalty. Otherwise take train fromToronto to Niagara Falls and then get a US car there or Buffalo for the rest of the trip.

Also - it;s not too early to get hotel reservations. New York is always busy and getting a room early will get you a better price. And Boston hotels are typically mobbed in May due to families in town for all the college graduations.

I knew that I would receive a lot of suggestions as these are cities that are well travelled and if I said that you are all so helpful, it would be an understatement. Thank you everyone for your quick suggestions. I guess I should have described our interests a bit more. We are from Australia and although my husband had been to the east coast for business meetings before, it was not sight seeing. We would not be driving as we are not used to right-hand drive. I tend to agree with wliwl and would like to spend less time in big cities. Would prefer scenery and quieter places. As for Niagara Falls, we intend to see it, as it's a must-see even if you only do it once, as is a lot of the big cities. We will be getting around by train or coach tours for part of the time. I shall look further into some of your suggestions on the web. Thanks so much again.

Since you mentioned that you would probably be taking train or coach tours, Tauck has a tour through New England (Boston and area, New Hampshire, Maine, western Mass) that seems to touch on some of the historical aspects of Boston and then the scenery in New Hampshire & Maine, with stops at Sturbridge and Woodstock.

If you can find one that combines Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York and Boston, you’ll get a good selection of the northeast in your journey with lots of history and scenery before you head to Niagara Falls/Toronto.

Unfortunately, the best way to see our scenery here is probably by car. As you probably know, our trains are not very good... (I have a personal phobia about bus tours, so I can't comment on that.)

That said, lots of people manage to make the switch to drive on the other side of the road (lots of us have driven in Ireland for instance). I bet you'd get used to it really fast! Our roads are good!

Maybe check out the Finger Lakes region of New York state, or the Adirondacks, and be sure to check out Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine. I'd recommend Boston too. New Jersey's Cape May is cool.

Sounds like a fun trip; good thing you've got a lot of time to plan!

Thanks heaps again. I think I shall do my homework on the info given so far.

Unfortuntely scenery and small towws are really best seen by car.

In the US train servicce is VERY limited - doesn't go most places except for a limited numberof larger cities - and what you see from the trains tends to be the industrial back ends of the wrong end of town.

And bus service - unless you take a true bus tour (like 2 weeks in New England) while more extensive is not for touring (all you'll see is a lot of major highways and tacky wrong end of town bus stations.)

To see the countryside and small towns car is really the only easy option.

I was thinking - imagine seeing America on a Greyhound bus!

Might be OK for teenagers, but, um, yuk for the rest of us...