East Coast in September

(it's been a while since I was on this part of the Board, so bare with me if I'm asking silly question)

Here's the plan for our trip in September:
Fly in to NYC and stay 4 nights
(hotel sorted, probably Hotel 31)

Take train/bus to Boston
Q which would you prefer?/any idea about costs

Stay in Boston for 2 days
Q no idea about accomodation yet, would love some tips in same budget range as Hotel 31

Rent a car
(Alamo so far seams the best option)

Drive through New England for two weeks
Q we would prefer not to pre book accomodation, but are not sure if that's wise, any suggestions? What are must sees in your opinion, what would be a nice route to travel (not expecting to see everything)

Thanks so far!

as for getting to boston, you should probably take the bus. Amtrak is quite a bit more expensive, for much the same experience (it might be an hour or so faster? maybe?). Greyhound will run you $35-40 per way and take 4-5 hours. there's also the Fung Wah and other private bus services which are half the cost of Greyhound and leave from Chinatown, taking pretty much the same amount of time. see the recent post about a Fung Wah bus crash near Philadelphia, with the caveat that tons of people take these buses all over the east coast all the time and arrive perfectly intact. the Chinatown buses often blare loud Kung Fu movies, too, which could be a downside (though funny enough i've never actually seen this on my many trips on Fung Wah and its sister companies).

as for itinerary in New England, depending on what part of September you arrive, you may be able to see some fall foliage if you drive far enough north. also, try to stay in a quaint Bed & Breakfast or guesthouse, which seems to be the classic thing to do. I'd also reccommend Concord, MA, and Walden Pond, and maybe a jaunt to Salem, MA, if you're into the witch hunt thing.

Check the FAQ for places to stay in Boston.....I think it's around post #115 or something like that.

You should be okay not to pre-book. Summer is kind of over and foliage season hasn't started. Two weeks gives you plenty of time, you could drive up the coast of Maine to Acadia national park, with stops in Portland and smaller towns on the way. That won't take two weeks, you could also drive up through the White Mountains of NH and back down through Vermont (or the other way around).

You can't beat the Chinatown buses.
http://www.chinatown-bus.com/<BR>http://www.staticleap.com/chinatownbus/<BR><BR>I would definitely spend a few days in Cape Cod. It's a beautiful area and you'll love Provincetown. Also, google the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Amazing places.

http://www.capecod.com/

Cookie, we did Boston this past October. Stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn in Charlestown--I don't know if that is the same budget as Hotel 31.

Spent 3 days there and then rented a car and took 8 days to travel the Maine coast up to the Canadian border. It was wonderful scenery and great food (I know you'll appreciate that). We did pre-book our accomodation, mostly because it was leaf-peeping time and we didn't want to be stuck with no place to sleep. Once we got in the area though we found we could have just played it by ear since the small hotels or B & B's we stayed in were never full.

Acadia Nat'l Park was beautiful, but I enjoyed the smaller parks and hiking trails we found along the way that weren't as built up as Acadia.

For transit between N.Y. and Boston, see FAQ post #200.

For car rental info, see FAQ post #148.

For more about Boston and nearby excursions, i.e., to Cape Cod, see FAQ posts:

113: "Reasonable or affordable hotels in Boston"

114: "More reasonable or affordable hotels for Boston"

115: "Martha's Vineyard Lodging"

116: "Another cheap hotel in Boston"

147: "Tourist’s Boston and Environs"

A two-week trip in New England? That's too broad a question here. You need a guidebook. The more specific you are here, the better the information.

Thanks guys. Bus it is then!

Oweena, have you still got the names/addresses for those places you stayed in while you travelled. Would love to hear your recommendations. The Marriot doesn't have any rooms left for that time, but looking at the rates it wouldn't be within our budget anyway. I'll go check the FAQ's.

Do you guys have any feedback on Provincetown, Cape Cod and/or Franconia NH when it comes to activities/accomodation and/or general info? Are they worth the trip in your opinion?

a bit more detailed plan (nothing definite though yet)

If you plan to travel in New England in September, be prepared for what is usually the best weather of the year but also a large number of tourists. I live in New Hampshire and it can get quite crowded on the weekends. Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard are usually just as popular in September and they are during the summer months.
If you want to go to coastal Maine, I would suggest going beyond Portland. The coast is lovely up there. As for New Hampshire, you will want to go north of Concord and much of the south is really just a suburb of Boston. Vermont might be my top choice. Travelling Route 100 in the Green Mountains is truly beautiful. And it is not that far from Boston. You will want to have a rental car in all of these places as the only public transportation is the bus and that only really travels on the main corridors.
In Vermont, you may want to go to Burlington. In September that will be great. Also, Hanover on the Vermont/New Hampshire border is very nice - it is the home of Dartmouth College. Franconia, New Hampshire is a tiny town. Mostly, it is a good area to hike in the White Mountains. Take a look at climbing Mt. Washington. You can climb up and down in 8 or 9 hours. You can also drive up or take the cog railway. It is a beautiful mountain and due to its extreme weather, the top half is above the tree line.
If you want other hiking ideas, contact me. It is really the best thing to do in New Hampshire.

Moirnh, this is the plan so far, as yo can see quite a few of your suggestions we have incorporated when we went more into detail yesterday. We're skipping Boston, it's just too expensive because I really wanna stay in NY a couple of days and we can't do both. We've got a car when we leave NY. Now we just need to find places to stay in North Vermont. I would also love to take a daytrip to Montreal. How easy is that to do? Can we just cross the border without any problems (visa or rental car wise?)

27/8 arrival NY (staying at Hotel 31)
28/8 NY
29/8 NY
30/8 NY
31/8 NY
01/9 leaving NY for Cape Cod (via New Port) /- 5 hr drive
02/9 Cape Cod (staying at Gull Wing suites)
03/9 Cape Cod
04/9 Cape Cod
05/9 leaving Cape Cod for Franconia (/- 4 hr drive)
06/9 Franconia (staying at Kinsman Lodge)
07/9 Franconia
08/9 Franconia
09/9 Franconia
10/9 leaving Franconia for WoodStock
11/9 Woodstock
12/9 Woodstock
13/9 Woodstock
14/9 leaving Woodstock for somewhere in northern Vermont
15/9 undecided yet
16/9 undecided yet
17/9 undecided yet
18/9 driving back to NY
19/9 NY Hotel 31
20/9 back to Amsterda

The answer to your post #7 is in my FAQ post #147, which I listed in my post #5. All of which is very efficient.

have checked those WillySnout, don't worry, I do do my homework, but you are not the only person on this board and others may also have something to say to my questions.

Just returned from 3 days in Franconia, NH, a couple hours ago. We went there on a whim because it was the bull's eye of the recent snowstorm, having received over 2 feet of snow. And it was subject to continual snow squalls throughout weekend. In all, a delight for the senses.

In September, not sure why one would go there, other than to get oneself into a remote corner of the country, which also doesn't sound bad to me. But the big draw up there is generally the White Mountains. Fall foliage season starts in late Sept at the earliest. More commonly, second week of Oct.

Just not sure why pick Franconia then, as much as I enjoy it. Well, if you have a car, it IS within striking distance of much of the White Mountains attractions. So there's that.

Btw: The 2 local cops seemed to be everywhere, dressed in black leather from head to calve-height boots, acting all-powerful. And we heard they were pulling people over for any excuse. Do not drink and drive.

If you're going to be in South Yarmouth (Cape Cod), definitely take a trip to Provincetown. And I mean don't miss it! About an hour's drive (tops) from Yarmouth, park the car and walk around. Two or three hours, and you'll cover the main part of town. Great little shops and galleries, plenty of places to get lunch or dinner. Take a walk through the dunes at the National Seashore. You'll see a slice of Cape Cod that Patti Page once sang about.

you could fly with JETBLUE.COM
JFK to Logan(Boston) more info MASSPORT.COM
Look at ABOUT.COM / type in Newengland for vistors
there's a link to KAYAK.COM / compare rental car prices
Also if you like GOOD WELL PREPARED seafood
head for a restaurant called LEGAL
site: LEGALSEAFOODS.COM loads of them downtown
for a b&b in downtown look at CRAIGSLIST / BOSTON
Sept,5th from Cape Cod drive up I- 495 stop at exit 15
Welcome to Wrentham Village,more info SIMON.COM
Will talk again luv.
enjoy.

booking hotel rooms:
With the chain hotels you can hold a room with a credit card upto 4pm usually
this means you won't be charged until 4pm on the day of arrival
make sure you carefully read the hotel(s) TERMS and CONDITIONS
to be safe.
So please book your rooms now for the w / ends
at least.
September on the w / ends is very popular with the locals, getting away from the city
especially along the coastline from Cape Cod all the way to Nova Scotia
more to follow.....