First time in New England.......

"PTHman" wrote in message
m...
"MLD" wrote in message news:yI_4d.25$OX.12@trndny07...
"PTHman" wrote in message
m...
It is our first time to visit New England this fall. We are interested
in
seeing (walk around town) a little bit of Boston and then drive around
for a few days--may be Vermont/NH-- to see the Fall's color.

snip
snip


Don't stay in Boston, the costs will wipe you out. Further out of the
city
along the "T" line (public transportation) will get you into Boston for
$1.00 pp. Best to stay North of Boston and then it will be an easy ride
to
NH and Maine. Don't want to get into all the details now but will add,
as
others will, if you're interested.
MLD

Thanks for your advise. I'm still not sure whether I should go North
or South to catch the foliage during the week that we will be
there!!!! Some friend suggested that we should drive to Montreal or
New York City. Do you think it is too much driving in 1 week? And we
would appreciate any details you can provide about this trip. Thanks,
Patrick

Stay in Boston first, find a place South on the T line and then---Go North!
NY does have some great foliage but I think that you'll like the more
"little" city/town, typical New England look. Boston is an easy city to get
around--seeing most of the sights can be done by walking, no need to drive.
Worst case is to take subway transportation which is very easy to manage.
To help you get an idea the area go to the following link. BTW, latest
comments are that the peak color will be around mid Oct.
Just hope that there is no severe weather all that all comes to a halt.
MLD

Left side has "Scenic Drives" through the various states--take a look.
http://www.boston.com/travel/newengl...cials/foliage/

"PTHman" wrote in message
m...
"MLD" wrote in message news:yI_4d.25$OX.12@trndny07...
"PTHman" wrote in message
m...
It is our first time to visit New England this fall. We are interested
in
seeing (walk around town) a little bit of Boston and then drive around
for a few days--may be Vermont/NH-- to see the Fall's color.

snip
snip


Don't stay in Boston, the costs will wipe you out. Further out of the
city
along the "T" line (public transportation) will get you into Boston for
$1.00 pp. Best to stay North of Boston and then it will be an easy ride
to
NH and Maine. Don't want to get into all the details now but will add,
as
others will, if you're interested.
MLD

Thanks for your advise. I'm still not sure whether I should go North
or South to catch the foliage during the week that we will be
there!!!! Some friend suggested that we should drive to Montreal or
New York City. Do you think it is too much driving in 1 week? And we
would appreciate any details you can provide about this trip. Thanks,
Patrick

Stay in Boston first, find a place South on the T line and then---Go North!
NY does have some great foliage but I think that you'll like the more
"little" city/town, typical New England look. Boston is an easy city to get
around--seeing most of the sights can be done by walking, no need to drive.
Worst case is to take subway transportation which is very easy to manage.
To help you get an idea the area go to the following link. BTW, latest
comments are that the peak color will be around mid Oct.
Just hope that there is no severe weather all that all comes to a halt.
MLD

Left side has "Scenic Drives" through the various states--take a look.
http://www.boston.com/travel/newengl...cials/foliage/

On 24 Sep 2004 21:43:40 -0700, PTHman wrote:

Thanks for your advise. I'm still not sure whether I should go North
or South to catch the foliage during the week that we will be
there!!!! Some friend suggested that we should drive to Montreal or
New York City. Do you think it is too much driving in 1 week? And we
would appreciate any details you can provide about this trip. Thanks,
Patrick

If it's anything like last year, the white Mountains will be past peak
by Columbus Day, but I would still go. There are some spectacular
waterfalls at Crawford and Franconia Notches. Drive the Kancamagus Highway
(route 112) between Lincoln and Conway. If it's past peak there head
further south or to coastal areas.
Acadia National Park will probably be around peak when you arrive.

Frankly I think you're wasting too much time in Boston, especially for a
time-critical thing such as fall colors. You always stop in Boston at the
end of your trip.

Zeyd

arcel Lachenmann wrote:
In article yI_4d.25$OX.12@trndny07, "MLD" wrote:


snip
You may be disappointed in fall colors by Oct. 16th in Vermont
and NH. In a normal year, they would be past peak by then (at
least in the mountains). Columbus Day weekend is traditionally
the big weekend, but the colors are usually slightly past peak
in the mountains by then, in my experience. The Berkshires are
a better bet by then in most years. And the hills of CT are
also a possibility after Columbus day.

It does change from year to year. A few years ago we went around this
time of year and had to go almost to Canada in VT/NH to find the peak.

Then again there will be a peak somewhere between New York City & Quebec

However, this year, colors seem to be coming early, at least
in Boston. We're seeing touches of color in the city, which
in normal years wouldn't happen for another week or two. The
temperature has averaged about 1 degree below normal per day
for the entire year, which may be contributing.

That said, I'd still recommend visiting NH and/or VT, even if
the leaves are past peak. The mountains are nice in almost
any season, and small-town New England is worth seeing.

You can find foliage predictions online (warning: most of these
are optimistic, since they are run by people hoping to attract
tourists). Here are a few:

NH

http://foliage.visitnh.gov/index-flash.html

VT

http://www.1-800-vermont.com/seasons/report.asp
http://www.foliage-vermont.com/ (includes a discussion forum
for current foliage reports)

MA

http://www.mass-vacation.com/jsp/fal...cat=36&level=3
&g=d&region=empty&org_id=empty



We would appreciate any suggestion/advise of where to go and stay on
this
trip and transportation around Boston and to/from the airport. About


If you are a budget traveler, and don't have an inordinate amount
of luggage, you can take the T from the airport to most central
Boston hotels.


the hotels, we are budget travelers but if the higher cost is
justified (convenience or pamper yourself for a few days) we would
mind to pay for that.
We will be traveled with a 2 year old boy so too much walking or any
hiking that requires climbing up and down may be very difficult for
us.


There are a number of nice, not too strenuous walks in the NH
and VT hills (of course, there are also many strenuous ones).
Mt. Monadnock in southern NH is a great family hiking trail
(and one of the most popular in New England), but might be
a bit much for a 2 year old.

You could also consider visiting some of the touristy, yet
fun, attractions, such as Ocean Spray Cranberry World (free)
and Plimoth Plantation ( http://www.plimoth.org/ ) both in
Plymouth, MA, south of Boston. Or Sturbridge Village
( http://www.osv.org ), which is west of Boston.


Don't stay in Boston, the costs will wipe you out. Further out of the city
along the "T" line (public transportation) will get you into Boston for
$1.00 pp. Best to stay North of Boston and then it will be an easy ride to


Prices have risen. The base fare on the T is now $1.25 (but
your 2-year-old rides free). Also,if you stay outside of the
city, you will probably have to pay to park near a T station,
which can be in the $4 to $5 range (which is still much less
than it costs to park in town). However, there is the added
expense of renting a car for the first days, which could be
avoided by staying in the city.

There are now some decent hotel deals in Boston (at least
compared to a few years ago), so staying in the city doesn't
necessarily have to be a wallet-busting experience. Priceline.com
has worked very well for friends of mine (check out the helpful
forums at http://biddingfortravel.com before making a bid, if you
are unfamiliar with Priceline).

You can also check hotel discounters such as
http://www.Quikbook.com (my personal favorite)
http://www.cityres.com/ (a Boston agency)
http://www.bostonhotels.net/ (another Boston agency)
http://www.travelweb.com/

And, of course, there are the big ones like http://www.orbitz.com/ ,
http://www.expedia.com/ , and http://www.travelocity.com/ which
offer some pay-in-advance discounts (but you can often beat those
by booking directly on a hotel's site). Remember to watch out
for restrictive cancellation policies.

If you have questions about a particular hotel or hotels, you can
always post them here, and people may be able to give you more
specific recommendations.

Marcel