New England Honeymoon?

kshively

Does anyone have any tips/ hints/ ideas on where to go or avoid in the New England area?  We aren't big city people so we'd like to avoid NY and Boston as much as possible.  I am an ocean/ sea side type of gal and he is a mountain man lol. I wouldn't mind staying on the coast but we'll probably split the time between there and more inland.   We're looking to go the very first week of September 2010 and don't have a budget nailed down because we're still in the planning stages but noting too over the top.  Thank you for any and all input. 

shauni27

Hi!  I was born and raised in New England and my favorite place is the Champlain Valley Region in VT--you can go stay in Burlington (or near it--Shelbourne is BEAUTIFUL) and then you get lake Champlain (huge lake, with great beaches!) as well as mountains that are just beautiful.  If it is early in Sept. it can still be warm enough for beach days, but if it is towards the end of the month you might get some foliage.  There is great biking around the area, and downtown Burlington is so cute, great little shops and restaurants.  You are also quite close to Montreal, so if you have your passport, in 2 hours you can be visiting Montreal for a day.  I really recommend it.  It is beautiful.  Try googling Burlington for some pictures and ideas.  Good luck!

MNVegas

For ocean/beach you can't beat Newport RI. Beautiful beaches, great restaurants, mansions, harbor cruises. If you are interested in Newport, post on the RI Knot board and you will get lots of info and suggestions from the ladies over there. Also check out gonewport.com

LaFemmeRousse

Taking a trip in Maine might be perfect- FI and I did this for nine days a few years ago at the end of August, and it was lovely and romantic!  We road-tripped it and stopped at a few different places- we stayed all along the coast and only went up as far as Bar Harbor, but you could definitely go inland or farther north to get to more mountainous regions.  We stopped in Portsmouth (actually NH), the Yorks, Kennebunkport, at Old Orchard Beach, Portland, Brunswick/Bath, Camden/Isleboro, and Bar Harbor.  (We only stayed overnight at Kennebunkport, Portland, Camden, and Bar Harbor.)

adamnkel

New England is pretty large. You might want to nail it down to a particualr state. Im from MA and there are some great beach areas in MA, NH and Maine.  I love north conway NH there are some great outlets as well as a lot of out door stuff to do there.

kmt_cas

If you can narrow it down a bit we could help you a little more.  I'm from MA, near the cape, so that's always an option.  You can always travel to Martha's Vineyard/Nantucket/Block Island either for the whole trip or just a day or two.  I love the idea of Newport as well.  Touring the mansions is always fun.  Did you ever think of doing a cruise out of NE?  Some go up to Nova Scotia, which I've heard is just gorgeous.

melpfaff

To please both of you, I would pick a coastal town in Maine or Nh, such as the Kennebunk or even up to Bar Harbor.  You will get hiking and the beach. The beach may just be chilly, but still beautiful and nice to go for walks.  Acadia National park near Bar Harbor has great hiking.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

I LOVE Newport. Also, the very southern tip of Maine is great. Convenient to Boston (for the airport) and lots of awesome B&Bs. Arrow (?) restaurant is to die for.

Don't rule out Boston though! It's a really nice city.

jquirke9881

I have loved in MA my whole life.  Maine and Vermont are my favorite New England states.  Vermont is beautiful and the mountains are gorgeous.  Maine has a pretty coast, and a lot of the towns there have a lot to do. 

Sue-n-Kevin

I'm also a midwesterner, but lived in the suburbs of Boston for 6 years. I moved back to Michigan because of family, but would still live in New England if I could. I've traveled all of New England, and actually can't pick a favorite spot, because I love it all! Drive any direction, for 1-3 hrs, and you see mountains, oceans, historic sites. Very  nice change for us midwesterners used to flat land!

If neither of you has ever been to New England, I'd first discuss what your interests are and what you DO want to see. Don't diss the cities or historic sites, because they are very cool, especially around Boston.

After you both decide what you HAVE to see, then discuss the best way to see it all, and how long you want to be there. Trust me, in a week you can see it ALL, but you have to like driving together, and New England is a lovely place to drive, especially in early September. Some of the trees will have changed, and the weather is usually still nice.

Here's my recommendation, which is actually a trip I took my kids on a couple of years ago. We did this in 7 days.....

- We flew into NJ, but if you don't want to start that far south, fly into Boston. We flew into NJ because we wanted to see NYC, which we did in 2 days, one day the northern part of Manhattan, one day the southern part of Manhattan. You could then head north.

- Newport RI is lovely, and the historic HUGE homes are great. A while ago, when I lived there, I stayed in a B&B that was fun and fabulous. There is a walk of some type that overlooks the ocean along the rock facing.

- Boston has some reasonable hotels, and a pretty good subway system. We saw the Old North Church, the Boston Commons, the JFK Library, the south end (Italian area and restaurants) and Faneuil Hall. In less than 2 days. Most of it was within walking distance. There's also Gloucester, north of Boston, which has whale watch cruises, and south of Boston there is Plymouth, where you can see the rock (pretty underwhelming), but Plimouth Plantation is cool if you like history. Here's their website:

http://www.plimoth.org/?gclid=CI3oi87OsJ4CFQjyDAod5x66nQ

- We headed north through NH and VT. Go where you want. NH has great oceanside locations. VT has lovely little towns in the mountains, as mentioned above.

- Then you can end up in Maine, where the southern oceanside is the best! York Beach is cute,  has reasonable B&B and hotels, and lobster (if you like it) is more reasonable than anywhere else. There's "long sands beach" and "short sands beach" in York, plus you can see the grand homes in Kennebunkport. Here's the link to Maine beaches with additional links to lodging:

http://www.visitmaine.net/beaches.htm

Ahh, I get nostaligic just looking at the pictures. There's a great candy store in York Beach called Goldenrod's, which has the best candy!

Then turn your car in at Portland Maine airport and fly home from there. You don't have to fly into and out of the same airports, and 3 way travel is not always as expensive as you think.

If you are here, you are internet savvy. Google what you want to see, and fill out online applications to have travel books sent to you for every state and area you want to see, ahead of time. It's easier that way, you both don't have to sit at the computer at the same time.

I'm envious, but I've seen it all already. You'll have a great time.

Good luck and have fun.

CCBelle

I live in Mass just outside of Boston.  If you have enough time, I would try to hit two spots.  Spend part of the time in VT for your FI, then spend the rest of the time on Cape Cod so you can get to enjoy the beaches.  It is absolutely gorgeous on the Cape, and you should really try to spend a couple days on Nantucket Island.  It will still be warm enough to hit the beaches, but the crowds will be gone as it's after Labor Day.  There are amazing restaurants out there, too.

Ideally you could fly in and out of Logan so you could at least spend a day in Boston.  It's a really nice city and not at all overwhelming like a NYC or LA.  Once you narrow it down, hop on the Boston board for some advice from the local ladies.