Touring New England Advice

[Kosta]

Dear All, the girlfriend and I will be in the US in the first week of October. We are meeting in New York and from there have a week to explore. The plan is to hire a car and head up New England way... no plans, no schedules, just take each day as it comes on a fun, relaxed road-trip.

Having said that I would still be interested in any thoughts, tips, recommendations, etc that anyone may have. Places to see, places to stay, places to avoid, general advice, that sort of thing would be most appreciated.

It doesn't even have to be NE we head to... we are happy to drive anywhere reasonable, it just seems that NE is a good place to explore.

Thanks very much in advance.
Kosta

[molson]

Montreal's not too far - and you could take the scenic route through northern Vermont. Hotels are super cheap there if you wanted to spend a night or two.

[Wolfpack]

If you're there in October, getting up into rural New England, especially anything in the Appalachians, should produce spectacular fall colors. It may be a bit far, but I recommend Acadia NP on the coast of Maine, as well.

[George]

That's a great time to visit. The fall foliage should be at about peak during that week in the Berkshires. It's also a nice time to visit the coastal areas such as Mystic and Newport, where there should be fewer crowds and nice weather (hopefully).

[flere-imsaho]

"Fun", "Relaxed" and "Road Trip", combined with driving anywhere near New York and/or Boston just don't mix. :)

Having said that, I've got two general options for you:

Option 1: More People, More Civilized, More Expensive

Rent a car in New York, and drive through Connecticut, Rhode Island and up to Boston, possibly making a loop, or just driving one way and then back.

Both Connecticut and Rhode Island are pretty wealthy areas. You'll likely never have a problem finding a place to eat or a place to stay, but in a good number of areas, especially by the shore, you'll end up paying a fair bit. My personal recommendation would be to hug the coastline and stop often to check out the seaside towns, making your way up to Boston and possibly taking in Cape Cod as you do so. Since I'm not terribly familiar with Connecticut & Rhode Island compared to some members of the board (Masked, perhaps?), I'll not get into specific recommendations, however.

Option 2: Less People, Less Expensive, More Rural

Do the New York thing, and then take a train or flight to Boston. Rent a car in Boston and drive into Northern New England, with various options depending on your inclinations.

(Disclaimer: Northern New England in October is the height of "leaf-peeping" season. What is this? It's the time of year the trees change color, and there's about a billion tourists in great big buses that roam the countryside taking pictures of the leaves. If you go this route, however, my recommendation is to get off the beaten path, and you'll end up leaving them all behind. How to do this? Take smaller roads, for one. For two, these tourists don't hike (climb, ramble, whatever). So, find a trailhead and climb a mountain. Terrific views, fewer tourists.)

People have differing images of New England. If you're looking for genteel towns by the sea with immaculate marinas and lots of neat yacht-watching, then check Option 1 above for Connecticut and Rhode Island.

If you're looking for quaint seaside villages that still have a blue-collar fishing component, for rocky coastline, for natural beauty, then the coast of Maine is your ticket.

If you're looking for hilly and mountainous wilderness, with the option to have the comforts of civilization one day and trekking into the unknown the next, New Hampshire is probably your place.

And if you're looking for rolling green hills, a good number of mountains, and a lot of quirky villages (as well as some higher-priced spa towns), look to Vermont. Plus, they have Ben & Jerry's, which, though hokey, is a good visit with free ice cream. Yum.


flere's specific and utterly un-objective recommendation:

Since I'm from Maine, I'm biased, so this is what I'd do:

Day 1: Get to Boston, rent a car, drive to Portland, Maine (about 2-3 hours, depending on traffic out of Boston). If your budget can swing it, stay downtown, otherwise stay in a chain motel/hotel and park downtown. The neatest part of the city is probably Exchange Street, so check out the shops and galleries there. Walk down to the harbor.

At this point, if you're definitely going to do Maine's coastline, my heartfelt recommendation would be to find a bookstore and buy a Delorme Maine Atlas & Gazetteer. This is basically a big book of maps of the entire state, and will be invaluable for you as you drive so that you can get off the main roads but not get lost at the same time. You will not regret this purchase.

Day 2: Drive to Camden, Maine. Since you've got your Delorme, I don't need to give you directions at this point. Camden's probably only 3-4 hours (max) from Portland, but make a day of it with numerous side trips. To whit:

*Freeport: Shopping mecca. More "outlet" stores per square mile than, I think, anywhere in the U.S. If you like shopping (a lot), then do this. If you don't, then avoid Freeport like the plague.

(NOTE: Once past Freeport, get off Interstate 95 and take Route 1 for the rest of these up to Camden.)

*Brunswick: Home of Bowdoin College, and a nice town to boot. A lot of neat old homes built by 19th century sea captains, which are always neat to look at.

*Harpswell, Orr's Island, Bailey's Island: Down the peninsula from Brunswick, this is archetypal seaside Maine. Rocky coastline, small fishing villages, etc.... Very picturesque.

*Bath: Old shipbuilding town. Bath Iron Works still pumps out big ships, including warships for the U.S. DoD. Again, lots of old sea captain's homes here. I think the Maine Maritime Museum is here as well.

*Reid State Park: Just north of Bath, over the bridge and a 20 minute drive east, this is a beach & marsh state park. It'll be October, so there's no way you'll want to go swimming, but just parking in the lot and walking the beach is a worthwhile endeavor. Watch the crashing waves, check out the birds, see some crabs, etc....

*Rockland: Near Camden, this is another quaint small town, largely notable for the Farnsworth Art Museum (http://farnsworthmuseum.org/), which is a good one, especially if you like American art, specifically of the Wyeth clan. Plenty of good food and coffeeshops in this area as well.

Day 3: Camden: By the way, if you want to stay in Camden, you might want to think about booking a place now. Go the B&B route, as opposed to motels/hotels.

Camden's got lots of neat galleries/shops, and a working waterfront. When you tire of the town, go for a hike. Here's a link to Camden Hills State Park (http://www.state.me.us/cgi-bin/doc/parks/find_one_name.pl?park_id=14). I recommend climbing Mt. Megunticook, which isn't that hard of a climb and has unbelieveable views.

Day 4: Explore North of Camden: Keep Camden as your base, but you can do several things this day. If you like hiking and the weather's still good, do another hike in the Camden Hills.

Or you could drive north on Route 1, through the scenic villages of Searsport, Belfast and especially Castine, home of the Maine Maritime Academy. Castine is particularly neat. At this point a lot of people may advise you to get all the way to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, but it's quite touristy, it's a long drive, and I'm not quite sure it's worth it, unless you dedicate a visit to it, in which case it's so worth it.

Day 5: Meander inland to Augusta: Take some road west to Augusta, which is the State Capitol. Visit the state capitol, and the adjacent Museum of Natural History, which I always found neat.

But, if you do this, there is one thing you must absolutely do: Visit the nearby town of Hallowell (nearby to Augusta, not Camden). It's a small town whose main road runs parallel to a river. Park, walk around, and (and I cannot stress this enough), at least grab a local beer (and food as well, perhaps lunch or dinner) at The Liberal Cup.

Day 6: Drive to Boston: From the Augusta area it's a straight 3-4 hour shot down I-95 to Boston. Get there early and you can explore a bit of Boston, which is always cool. I'll let real Bostonians regale you with their favorites.

If you're the worrying type, travel to New York in the afternoon/evening. If you're not, do that on Day 7, and then fly home.



Anyway, hope that helps. ;)

[vtbub]

New England is beautiful in fall. I did a road trip from Rutland to Montpelier ten years ago that ranks as one of the highlights of my life traveling.

However, it's peak hotel season here, and I'm sure in Northern New Hampshire and Maine as well. Book now, because you can't walk in to anyplace not rated 5 fleas in the flea bag directory, and expect to pay much more than you would anytime the rest of the year.

[Desnudo]

It depends on what you want, rural or city. If it's city, I'd just head straight to Boston on a shuttle flight.

If you want to meander from New York, you could trace a loop north along the border of New York and New England (Connecticut River) and then into Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine. And then looping back through Boston on the way back. To be honest, I think Rhode Island and Connecticut, especially Connecticut, are optional. Connecticut doesn't really have a whole lot going on. Rhode Island, it might be worth stopping in Newport. Parts of the town are beautiful.

Plenty of bed and breakfasts to stay at in the rural areas. Looking at fall foliage is a prime couples activity that time of year.

Something to keep in mind is that New England is small, even though it contains six states, so you'll be able to get around fairly quickly.

[Klinglerware]

To be honest, I think Rhode Island and Connecticut, especially Connecticut, are optional. Connecticut doesn't really have a whole lot going on. Rhode Island, it might be worth stopping in Newport.

Talk about crapping on 1/3 of New England. :)

Seriously though, New England is surprisingly varied, and as other people have said, it really depends on what you are looking for.

If you are going for the natural beauty angle - try driving up Route 7 from Connecticut to Vermont. The leaves should be turning around this time. In general, the scenery is gorgeous, and there are lots of quaint small towns on the route (Yes, even on the Connecticut portion... well, north of Danbury anyway). The terrain gets more mountainous (for the Northeast) the further north that you go. I especially enjoyed southern Vermont--there are numerous bed & breakfasts on the way, and there are many excellent restaurants.

Other ideas:

- Key touristy shore regions: Cape Cod, the outlying islands of Nantucket/Martha's Vineyard/Block Island, southern coast of Maine, Newport RI. There are an innumerable number of small coastal towns along the New England shoreline (in Rhode Island and Connecticut, even). See if you can arrange to go to a clam or lobster bake. Touristy, I know, but I suppose that it is in order (though it may be out of season by the time you go). Also see if you can find a town holding a seafood or lobster festival--there is nothing in the world like eating a complete lobster dinner on the cheap

- Boston/Cambridge is of course New England's quintessential metropolitan area, but I wouldn't dismiss some of the smaller cities though. Cities like Providence, RI, and Portland, ME are in the midst of cultural renaissances--they have a lot to offer if you like the funky urban artsy experience. See if you can sample some of the ethnic culture and fare too in these cities (this goes for Boston too)

[Desnudo]

No offense intended, but CT and RI are rather boring states.

[DaddyTorgo]

i think it'd be helpful for us Kosta if you could provide a lil more guidance. Are you just looking to hang out in a city and do touristy sightseeing? In which case Boston has plenty to keep you entertained...or do you want to go for day-hikes? Mount Washington perhaps? Are you interested in seeing the leaves, or would you like to go to Newport and see all the old sea-captain's mansions?

[jeff061]

Federal Hill and the whole fire water thing in Providence is not bad.

Nothing in CT though unless you are the type that likes to drool over houses and neighborhoods you'll never afford to be a part of. I know people who like touring Greenwich CT for some reason.

I'd just avoid Fall River, MA :). Luckily I live on the outskirts.

[DaddyTorgo]

Federal Hill and the whole fire water thing in Providence is not bad.

Nothing in CT though unless you are the type that likes to drool over houses and neighborhoods you'll never afford to be a part of. I know people who like touring Greenwich CT for some reason.

I'd just avoid Fall River, MA :). Luckily I live on the outskirts.

woot. fall river is ICKY

[jeff061]

Yep, thankfully I can just hop on 24 and avoid it all. I only technically live there.

Newport is of course a nice spot to hang out as well, if you can take the occasional rich asshole and the constant college atmosphere.

[Sublime 2]

Come to the 'Shire in the fall!! The Kankamangas highway is great in foliage season.

[Kosta]

Thanks so much to you all for the great advice thus far. Especially flere for the great detail... much appreciated.