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Boston and surrounding area trip

sun starved Gayle

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I have traded into Marriott Boston Customs House beginning on Friday, October 6, which is the beginning of Columbus Day weekend. Am I going to regret this because of the crowds? We will have two full days of travel from the west coast, so we will have about 5 days to explore the city.

Also, we want to take the week before or after our Boston stay and do an area driving trip, probably staying in hotels or inns along the way. Which week would be better weather, less crowds and have a better chance of seeing fall colors? September 30 to October 6 or October 13 to October 20? My husband wants to go to Acadia National Park. I see there is a ferry from Bar Harbor to Nova Scotia. He has also wanted to visit there as well. Would anyone recommend doing this ? Or do we not have enough time?

We have never visited this area before and any suggestions would be appreciated. We are in our sixties, one of us is very fit and the other is not. (Not saying which one I am.) We are hoping to see some fall colors. We both are interested in history as well as the outdoors. I don't want to spend all the time in the car, driving from place to place. We might spend two nights at each stop. This might be our one and only trip this way, so I want to make the most of it.
 

TheTimeTraveler

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All lot of the colors depend on amounts of precipitation over the summer and leaf colors are likely to be history by October 13th. Your better bet is September 30th to October 6th time frame. Be sure to head into northern New Hampshire and northern Vermont for some very vivid colors while you visit ...... Check out the White Mountain National Forest while in New Hampshire.

Enjoy your trip.




.
 
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sun starved Gayle

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Thanks for the reply. That's really interesting to me because the later October week is more the peak season for fall colors here in Washington state.
 

Passepartout

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Thanks for the reply. That's really interesting to me because the later October week is more the peak season for fall colors here in Washington state.
Either time is a right lovely time of year in New England. I think though that your touring expectations are a bit broad. Boston area for 4-5 days, with a Freedom Trail walk, perhaps a drive out Cape Cod and maybe a ferry ride to Martha's Vinyard. Perhaps another 3ish days in coastal Maine (Gotta see L.L. Bean) Then, either the Bar Harbor ferry trip (PEI anyone?) or White Mtns in New Hampshire or chase some tree color wherever it might be at the time.

Jim
 

sun starved Gayle

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Either time is a right lovely time of year in New England. I think though that your touring expectations are a bit broad. Boston area for 4-5 days, with a Freedom Trail walk, perhaps a drive out Cape Cod and maybe a ferry ride to Martha's Vinyard. Perhaps another 3ish days in coastal Maine (Gotta see L.L. Bean) Then, either the Bar Harbor ferry trip (PEI anyone?) or White Mtns in New Hampshire or chase some tree color wherever it might be at the time.

Jim
I thought they might be. I'm going to tell my husband I don't think including Nova Scotia is possible on this trip.
 

Passepartout

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I thought they might be. I'm going to tell my husband I don't think including Nova Scotia is possible on this trip.
There are some really great (but spendy) cruises from Boston that include coastal Maine, PEI, with multiple stops and ending up in Quebec. That might be a fairly low energy way to experience that beautiful neck-of-the-woods.
 

ScoopKona

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My old school stamping grounds.

What is it you want to do? Except for a "great traffic system and friendly drivers," Boston has it all. Museums? History? Food and drink?

I'm heading there for a quickie trip shortly. And all we're going to do is seafood and my wife's favorite band in concert. That's it. No sports. No museums. No history. Just the best fried clams on the planet, lobsters and a show.

And for what it's worth, all my favorite stuff around Boston is just outside of Boston -- Salem, Ipswitch, Cambridge, Nahant, Gloucester etc. (I like the North Shore, as you can see.) You can get to most of it on the MTA. Say hi to Charlie if you do.
 

WinniWoman

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I have traded into Marriott Boston Customs House beginning on Friday, October 6, which is the beginning of Columbus Day weekend. Am I going to regret this because of the crowds? We will have two full days of travel from the west coast, so we will have about 5 days to explore the city.

Also, we want to take the week before or after our Boston stay and do an area driving trip, probably staying in hotels or inns along the way. Which week would be better weather, less crowds and have a better chance of seeing fall colors? September 30 to October 6 or October 13 to October 20? My husband wants to go to Acadia National Park. I see there is a ferry from Bar Harbor to Nova Scotia. He has also wanted to visit there as well. Would anyone recommend doing this ? Or do we not have enough time?

We have never visited this area before and any suggestions would be appreciated. We are in our sixties, one of us is very fit and the other is not. (Not saying which one I am.) We are hoping to see some fall colors. We both are interested in history as well as the outdoors. I don't want to spend all the time in the car, driving from place to place. We might spend two nights at each stop. This might be our one and only trip this way, so I want to make the most of it.
I live in New Hampshire. The week before your Boston Trip is better for Fall colors than the week after. Be prepared for major crowds. Better have reservations everywhere you want to stay. People have already booked I’m sure.

Acadia National Park is beautiful but it will be crowded as well. That said, it’s far from other parts of New England like Vermont and New Hampshire and their beautiful mountains and landscapes.

Skip the ferry to Nova Scotia. Way too much for this trip.

Boston is great for those who are interested in our country’s history.
 

sue1947

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I did 2 weeks for leaf peeping similar to what you are looking for. One week was at a timeshare near Lincoln, NH which is fall color central. We were there the week of Columbus Day which is a big holiday in NEngland. It was crowded over that weekend, but the colors were superb. We then moved to Bar Harbor for Acadia and had a week at Harbor Ridge which is right in Acadia NP. The latter was at the top of my wish list for years, but I found it did not live up to expectations, or at least the ocean part. As an example, Thunder Hole in Acadia is a very small and unimpressive version of Devils Churn at Cape Perpetual in Oregon and even Cadillac Mtn (really a hill that you and the tourist buses can drive to the top) was underwhelming. We were there mid-Oct and the colors were fading and things were shutting down for the season in the park. The crowds were less and we did a lot of drives around to see the area and enjoyed the stay, but a couple days in the park were enough. We did We went to Campobello in New Brunswick and I remember looking at the ferry to Nova Scotia, but the logistics didn't work and I think I always planned to come back and do that as a separate trip; but haven't. In hindsight, I wished I had done the trip to Nova Scotia.
 

sun starved Gayle

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Looks like we will not be able to arrive from the west coast before early evening. I don’t want to set out in the dark from the Boston airport on strange roads in rush hour traffic. Any suggestions for a hotel near the airport that has a shuttle? We will pick up our car in the morning and set off on our trip.
 

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The Marriott TownePlace suites in Chelsea has a shuttle and it's about 2 miles from the airport. Free Breakfast also.

If you have time Rockport, Ma is a great place to visit. About an hour north of Boston. Great lobster at Roy Moore's along Bearskin Neck. Fried whole belly clams in Essex at J. T. Farnham's is also great.
 
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Passepartout

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Looks like we will not be able to arrive from the west coast before early evening. I don’t want to set out in the dark from the Boston airport on strange roads in rush hour traffic. Any suggestions for a hotel near the airport that has a shuttle? We will pick up our car in the morning and set off on our trip.
If you have any hotel loyalty programs, (or not) you can search Trivago, Booking or Hotels (all dot com) for locations and rates.
 

ScoopKona

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We will pick up our car in the morning and set off on our trip.

I would do as much as humanly possible using rail first. I've driven in worse places than Boston -- Cairo, for instance. Seriously, you couldn't pay me to drive there. Ideally, after seeing everything you can via the MBTA, take a train to someplace which isn't Boston, rent a car there, and then look at leaves.
 

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We travel to Boston a lot, mostly early to mid-October, and stay at Custom House.
We've been 9 times in the last 13 years, and only missed a few because of the pandemic.
We've done many fantastic out-trips, all taking the better part of a day---
to Lexington & Concord (towns and battlefields/historic);
a bus tour to Newport RI to see the many famous mansions (Vanderbilts had two on tour: Breakers and Marble House), and to spend the day walking around Newport;
to Ogunquit ME (great shops and cafes, and the glorious walk along the magnificent spectacular shore, called the Marginal Way);
through the countryside just to see the foliage; stopping at an outdoor produce/apple cider market;
and visiting many other historical places around the Boston area like Waldens Pond,
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (and the specific area there where many, many famous authors are buried----Author's Ridge).

One time, back in 2019, we rented a car and drove up to Vermont for a few nights and then to New Hampshire for a few more nights....
the foliage was peaking at both places we went (by design as we traveled to NH after VT, and the peak followed us).
We drove the famous Kancamagus Highway, and it was jaw-dropping.

In Boston, there's more to do than you can imagine, and around town the "T" will get you there cheaply and easily.
The Boston Museum of Fine Arts is fantastic. The Harvard campus is beautiful & fascinating. Great architecture. Bookstore alone is great!
Back Bay and the cobbled stone streets of Beacon Hill are a must!
Even the nearby Boston Market is amazing---produce, flowers, etc.

Google "Things to do in and around Boston" and also visit the concierge as soon as you get there.
You may even get a full list of bus day tours (and book one or two) prior to going so that the special tour you want isn't already booked.
I also highly recommend doing the city bus tour which leaves just off Atlantic Street in front of the Marriott Long Wharf Hotel & near the Aquarium.
We neglected to do that for at least 6 years, but now we do that at least twice a day when we're there. It looked "touristy" at first but we were truly missing out on a treat.
It's relaxing just to sit and listen, and each tour guide is totally different, and the places you see and the things you learn are NOT in books----absolutely fascinating.

We are returning to our "favorite big city" this upcoming October again, and can't wait.
We love walking to dinner each evening somewhere in the North End ....that's our favorite activity!
We stop in at Modern Pastry (on Hanover Street) way too much ---- it's the best! I also have a great restaurant list for Boston.

BTW, two of our trips in early December, just to experience the Christmas season, and that was so memorable......
Spontaneous musical groups at Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market each day/evening, and the famous huge Christmas Tree is spectacular.
The crowd even joins in on the carols.
Great shopping all over...... and we also attended the Christmas Holiday Pops concert....WOW!
Boston can be cold during Nov/Dec but we just bundled up and went just as in October---it never slowed us down one bit....
even continued our walks to North End for dinner each evening. Some amazing food there..........:thumbup::thumbup:

P.S. Confession of our secret....Shhhhhhhhh.......We truly love Boston because we can just FEEL the presence of SueDonJ .....
 
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sun starved Gayle

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@jme, great information! Would love your restaurant list, if you would care to share. A day trip via tour bus to Newport sounds interesting, I was thinking we would not have time to include Newport when we had a car, so this is an option. I have always wanted to see the Newport "cottages". You are getting me even more excited for this trip!

Are you referring to the Hop on Hop off trolley when you talk about the city bus tour?

@ScoopKona, any recommendations on where to rent a car outside of Boston airport area for the driving portion of our trip ?
 
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ScoopKona

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@ScoopKona, any recommendations on where to rent a car outside of Boston airport area for the driving portion of our trip ?

Literally anywhere. You can get from Logan to 90% of everything interesting without worrying about driving and ESPECIALLY parking. Parking is a nightmare. The world's most expensive parking spot was auctioned off in Boston, after all. There's really no down side -- cheaper, faster, and considerably less hassle.

Then take a commuter train to Gloucester or similar and rent a car there to look at leaves. Boston is CONSIDERABLY less fun behind the wheel of a car.
 

jme

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@jme, great information! Would love your restaurant list, if you would care to share. A day trip via tour bus to Newport sounds interesting, I was thinking we would not have time to include Newport when we had a car, so this is an option. I have always wanted to see the Newport "cottages". You are getting me even excited for this trip!

Are you referring to the Hop on Hop off trolley when you talk about the city bus tour?

@ScoopKona, any recommendations on where to rent a car outside of Boston airport area for the driving portion of our trip ?

Yes, the hop on/hop off trolley tour...it's a lot of fun, and very informative. The Paul Revere story is something I had never heard, and only one tour driver told it.
For the restaurant list, please private-message me your regular email....too long for a PM. (I'll send you my email in a PM.)
 

winger

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...

P.S. Confession of our secret....Shhhhhhhhh.......We truly love Boston because we can just FEEL the presence of SueDonJ .....
Oh Sue, Sue, where are you ? :ROFLMAO:

First time visiting Boston in just about a month - can't wait !!!
 

mdurette

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Don't worry about being in Boston Columbus Day weekend, you will be fine with crowds. Just DO NOT go north that weekend to leef peep that weekend.
I would not bother renting a car for the time in Boston, I think CH charges around $50 a night to park and you really don't need it. Plenty of Uber/Lyft/Taxi and public transportation available right outside the CH door.

Suggestion, Salem MA in October. But, book a hotel there soon though.
 

jme

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Don't worry about being in Boston Columbus Day weekend, you will be fine with crowds. Just DO NOT go north that weekend to leef peep that weekend.
I would not bother renting a car for the time in Boston, I think CH charges around $50 a night to park and you really don't need it. Plenty of Uber/Lyft/Taxi and public transportation available right outside the CH door.

Suggestion, Salem MA in October. But, book a hotel there soon though.
Uber, Lyft, the “T”, and cabs are all great—I would NEVER attempt to drive around Boston, and parking is even worse—we only rent a car when we’re visiting another destination and leaving Boston…. After trip is over (week or more) we drive back to Boston to fly home… that works well.
 

sun starved Gayle

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Thankfully, we are not planning on having a car while in Boston. Just for the road trip prior to our week at Custom House.

I am considering expanding our road trip a couple of days so we won’t be rushed. We will lose a day to travel the day we arrive. We will be using miles, and the Alaska flight would get in around 5:40 PM. I don’t want to set out in the dark on unknown roads during rush hour. Especially since I’m the navigator.

Thanks to all for your very helpful advice!
 
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