I need traveling help for all you great DU guys and gals

[Lochloosa]

My wife has always wanted to go on a road trip to the New England states. We are starting in Boston and will spend a couple of days there. Then it's North to Maine and West to Burlington. From there we will drop down and cross back over to Boston for the return trip home.

We like out of the way towns and browsing shops. What I'm looking for is places to stop or avoid. We'll have about 10 days to travel.

We are not real mobile, we can walk just fine, but any hikes etc. are out of the question.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Ohio Joe]

1. My prime tip...

Don't drive into Boston. Stop somewhere a good bit outside and take the T in.

https://www.boston-discovery-guide.com/boston-subway.html

[Lochloosa]

2. Thanks for the link. It looks like the Charlie ticket will the my best option?

[Ohio Joe]

3. Yeah, that is probably your best bet...

There is tons to see and do there... Don't miss:

The Aquarium
Faneuil Hall and Boston Commons
Legal Sea Foods (A bit expensive but I always loved it)

Also, if you are up for it, the Freedom Trail (it's a couple miles)

[Lochloosa]

4. Thanks. The Museum of Fine Arts is also on my list

[Tetrachloride]

6. I like the sword there. Near perfection

at least it was there in 1992

[Ohio Joe]

9. oh... And if you want to take a drive...

Check out Provincetown... All the way out at the end of Cape Cod. Great for a day of looking through small shops in a beautiful setting.

[Tomconroy]

24. Just went there. The Turner exhibit may still be there.

Order tickets online. Ok lunch in the dining hall

[CTyankee]

30. The Isabella Gardner Museum is there right near the MFA so if you go to one, go to both.

The Gardner is charming. She was a big fan of John Singer Sargent.

[Boomerproud]

29. Yes, driving in Boston will ruin a fine city for you.

Trust anyone who tells you that!

[elleng]

5. Portland Maine and Portsmouth Mass both have interesting aspects, driving up/down coastal towns.

Portland Museum's interesting, as is the town generally.

The neighboring cities of Biddeford and Saco were once industrial giants. The Saco River, which flows between the cities, powered enormous brick mills – including the largest cotton mill ever built in America. Today, those vast buildings are being restored and reimagined. Both Biddeford and Saco have been designated Main Street Communities for their work in revitalizing their historic downtowns.

(We stayed @ a pleasant waterfront 'inn' in Saco last year.)

Enjoy!

[Lochloosa]

10. Thanks. I look into Saco for a stay.

[elleng]

13. THIS is where we stayed:

Rebekah Inn. 4 Cleaves Street, Old Orchard Beach, ME 4064,

I'd FORGOTTen the exact name of the town, here: Old Orchard Beach.

https://www.kayak.com/Old-Orchard-Beach-Hotels-The-Rebekah-Inn.2612910.ksp

[PittBlue]

16. My son lives in Saco...

There are only two hotels there. It is 4 miles from Old Orchard Beach which is 7 miles of the only sandy beaches in Maine.
We love Wilmington, Vermont...it is a cute little town with some great restaurants and cute shops.
Also, Oguinquit, Maine, is so charming. Saco is close to Kennebunkport...another beautiful place to visit.
Avoid driving into Boston...a beautiful city but a nightmare for drivers. Take the T as someone suggested. New England is so incredibly beautiful...you will love it.

[Tomconroy]

7. I know Maine pretty well. I would recommend Boothbay Harbor

For a stay. Fun town with things to do. Whale watch and a unique puffin cruises.
Fisherman's Wharf Inn would be where I would stay. Right on the harbor.
Many places to eat and well located to visit other places.

The beautiful nearby town of Camden would be a great lunch destination.
Boothbay is far enough north you would avoid some of the summer crowds.
If your not going until fall I might change my advice. This is a summer recommendation.
.in the fall I would say Kennebunkport and stay at the Grand Old Colony Hotel. Rates become semi affordable after labor day. My wife and I have stayed there often love it.
In Boston we just stayed at the Revere hotel. Not bad price for it's central Boston location. The nice thing was it was very easy.off the Mass Pike. We didn't have to deal with the traffic.
Lots of parking. Great front desk people.
Stop at the Street Bar of the Newbury Hotel right opposite the Public Garden and the swan boats.
If your lucky like us you'll snag a window seat. Light meals, good drinks, pricey. This is the old Ritz Carlton. Where Jack Lemmon's mother wanted her ashes stored. Legendary.

[Lochloosa]

11. Thanks. It's a July trip

[gibraltar72]

8. Acadia National Park is spectacular.

[elleng]

12. YES! Thanks for the reminder;

sorry I forgot. Visited it many years ago, and got some great pictures.

'Acadia National Park is a 47,000-acre Atlantic coast recreation area primarily on Maine's Mount Desert Island. Its landscape is marked by woodland, rocky beaches and glacier-scoured granite peaks such as Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the United States’ East Coast. Among the wildlife are moose, bear, whales and seabirds. The bayside town of Bar Harbor, with restaurants and shops, is a popular gateway.'

[gibraltar72]

14. Did it as part of a motorcycle trip

up the North Eastern sea board great little port towns so picturesque on trip.

[mopinko]

21. i second both acadia and bar harbor, but

acadia is rough camping only, so prolly not a place to stay.
took this trip and stayed at acadia quite a few yrs ago. good thing we had a fully stocked camper.

i liked bar harbor. we happened go be there right after julia child died, and many folks were talking about her many trips there, and her love of the place.
but it is pretty touristy.

[Marthe48]

17. We went to Maine in 2012 and did a day trip to Acadia

Our son-in-law drove a loop around the park and stopped at the highlights, such as Thunder Hole, Sandy Beach, and Cadillac Mountain. Really beautiful park.

[cachukis]

15. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in the Fenway, a must.

Gilley's, 175 Fleet St. Portsmouth, NH for chowdah.
Strawberry Bank, before lunch.
Paramount, 44 Charles St. for breakfast, Boston.
The Cannon Mountain Gondola in Franconia Notch. They take you up and down.
Buy your own steamers at a Market Basket and steam them yourselves. Same for lobster. It's not hard. You can pick up a pot at a Salvation Army or buy a new one and donate it with the money you'll save.
Rococo Ice Cream, 6 Spring St. Kennebunkport for a wild blueberry ice cream cone.
Avoid Red's Eats. Wave as you drive by. Plenty of places for the roll without the wait.
Wild blueberry pie, wherever. August is best.
Walk the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston.
Hanover Street, just for the aroma of garlic and maybe a cannoli.
The Old Port Tavern in Portland for lunch. On the water, in the Harbor for a piece of the past, although modernized. Portland is a serious foodie town so reservations are wise at other evening establishments.
Camden is worth a cup of chowder. though crowded.
Rolling Bale Farm, Shoreham VT for the best, although expensive butter, $60.00 a pound. An hour below Burlington. Lot's of cheese artisans in Vermont. Sharp cheese on a slice of apple pie is a tradition.
Enough.

[Lochloosa]

22. Enough. Lol. Thanks

[ironflange]

18. Sorry, never been there, but it sounds like a great trip

Bon voyage!

[DFW]

19. As one who has made the trip to New England every summer for the last 37 years...

And from 4000 miles away!!

I can second many of the recommendations here. Acadia National Park is a pure treasure, and you can do much it driving and stopping off for views. If your path takes you anywhere near Freeport, Maine, stay over a Saturday night at the Harraseeket Inn, and reserve for Sunday Brunch. Bring clones for both of you because you won't be able to stop eating.

Provincetown on Cape Cod is a place we visit about 15 times during our stay (we stay down Route 6 in Truro). ON route 6 toward P-town is a pizza place called "Sweet and Savory" that has some of the best homemade ice cream ANYWHERE. If they aren't out of it, try the cranberry, the Mississippi Mud Flats or the Maple Walnut. IF you can get a table, eat at The Mews or at the Red Inn in Provincetown. Both are memorable occasions, though reservations are a task.

Everything said about Boston is true. Legal Seafoods is a must, and so is the Boston Aquairum. Driving IN Boston is something only characters played by Jason Statham should attempt. If you have never seen a whale up close live, go on a whale watch. The next time you see a "save the whales" bumper sticker, you'll understand why people feel that way.

The Franconia Notch State Park is worth a stopover in New Hampshire, and Lake Champlain, whose eastern shore is at Burlington, Vermont, is a marvel on its own. Say hi to Howard Dean for me if you see him there. He lives like a meteor, but always tries to get home to Burlington on weekends.

Come back down Route 91 back into Massachusetts (stop off at Norwich or Woodstock, VT if time allows). Stop in Lenox, Mass. if you can, before taking the slow drive back toward Boston. If you have half a day, Old Sturbridge Village is a preserved, living colonial age town with great insight of how life was there about 350 years ago.

If ever we get tired of Europe and want to move back to the USA, it's to New England we will be going.

[Lochloosa]

20. Thanks so much DFW. I'll make sure and say hey to Howard.

[DFW]

23. I have met people from Chappaqua, NY

They tell me they sometimes see and greet Bill Clinton on the street there, so why not see Howard Dean in Burlington? When we meet up in the USA, it's usually in NYC or Washington, DC, but we have also had dinner together with the mayor of Düsseldorf right here on my doorstep, so why NOT see him in Burlington?

[ReluctanceTango]

25. I'm a baseball fan

So a game at Fenway Park has always been on my bucket list of things to do in New England.

[Lochloosa]

26. I'll have to check the schedule. And bonus. My wife loves BB

[Tomconroy]

27. Forgot to mention Union Oyster House in Boston.

Dates to the early 1800s. Decent reasonably priced new England fare. If you ask they'll show you President Kennedy's favorite booth where he would read the Sunday papers and enjoy the clam chowder. Near Quincy Market.

[Lochloosa]

28. Thanks.