Travel 2 weeks in USA

[Myrkur]

Time to bump this thread! Last year was a very hectic year, so we did not make it to the US.

Anyway, we just booked our tickets to Boston (early June) and we will be traveling through New England and New York for a little over 2 weeks! We decided to take a bus/train to NYC first, stay there for 3/4 days, rent a car from there, travel through New England (And New York state) and end in Boston again.

Any tips?! I have found the following things, but I have a hard time coming up with some sort of logical traveling plan.
- We want to visit a Maple Syrup farm (I found Vermont Maple Syrup industry is the biggest in the US)
- Kancamagus Highway (anything else in that area we should see, any highlights? We love nature and walks in forests , breathtaking views, etc. )
- New Haven, New London, Providence, Cape Cod area, is it worth going there? ( What can I expect? Any other places or things we should see in that area? )
- Foxwoods Casino , we just want to go there to see what it's like.
- How about any lakes? Are there any breathtaking lakes we need to see?
- What is the best place to eat fresh Clam Chowder?
- BagLady14 mentioned Mt Desert Island, that was also on our list, but what is there exactly you can do? And are there other places in Maine we should see?
- Adirondacks , any highlights ?

We like food, no LOVE food.. so any recommendations on food in New England/ New York?

Also, about car rentals, what will be the best (reliable/price) company to rent a car? We found Budget is the cheapest to rent a SUV from NYC-Boston but not sure about taxes, traveling through different states, unlimited mileage etc. And another thing is, we want to book our stay in NYC in advance through Airbnb, but we don't want to book the rest yet as we don't want to be forced into a schedule. Is this a stupid idea? Is it easy to find a motel/hotel/airbnb in New England that won't be too expensive if we book upon arrival?

 

[shoes319]

I'm in Maine and may be able to help with things near me - Boston isn't far from me and I've been fairly often (was there Saturday!) - love it - NYC is awesome! sounds like a great trip - enjoy!

 

[BagLady14]

A Maple farm is basically an area of forest where the trees are tapped in early spring. The sugar house where the the boiler is, is only open for a couple of weeks in early spring, so it'should hard to visit any other time, not much to see. I would recommend that you go to Sugar Hill, NH.

http://pollyspancakeparlor.com/

The town is north of Franconia, so would work since your driving the Kangamangus. Hiking trails are every few minutes, on the Kangamangus as well as Franconia...

https://www.nhstateparks.org/visit/state-parks/franconia-notch-state-park.aspx

I would recommend the Flume..

Cannon mountain tram

Some hikes. http://hikethewhites.com/hikes.html

I could go on and on.

 

[Kellybuzzbuzz]

I've heard great things about Lake Tahoe from my parents who used to go quite a bit. I'll always recommend New Orleans in Louisiana but that's far from where you'll be.

 

[Myrkur]

I've heard great things about Lake Tahoe from my parents who used to go quite a bit. I'll always recommend New Orleans in Louisiana but that's far from where you'll be.

I hope to visit New Orleans one day! Been on my travel bucket list for a long time now.

 

[Myrkur]

I'm in Maine and may be able to help with things near me - Boston isn't far from me and I've been fairly often (was there Saturday!) - love it - NYC is awesome! sounds like a great trip - enjoy!

Oh yes please, any tips on Maine are more then welcome!

 

[Myrkur]

A Maple farm is basically an area of forest where the trees are tapped in early spring. The sugar house where the the boiler is, is only open for a couple of weeks in early spring, so it'should hard to visit any other time, not much to see. I would recommend that you go to Sugar Hill, NH.

http://pollyspancakeparlor.com/

The town is north of Franconia, so would work since your driving the Kangamangus. Hiking trails are every few minutes, on the Kangamangus as well as Franconia...

https://www.nhstateparks.org/visit/state-parks/franconia-notch-state-park.aspx

I would recommend the Flume..

Cannon mountain tram

Some hikes. http://hikethewhites.com/hikes.html

I could go on and on.

Haha I already figured about the Maple farm was just a forest (read The Little House on the Prairie series [emoji28][emoji13]) but thanks for all the tips!

 

[Myrkur]

Ok so far this is our planning (June)
10 - Arrive in Boston - Take bus to NYC
10 - 14 NYC
14 - Take bus from NYC to Albany
15 - Rent car and drive to Adirondacks and spent the night there
16 - Drive to Stowe, VT area and stay for 2 nights
18 - Drive to Mt Desert Island through White Mt National Forest and spend 2 nights there
20 - Drive to Newport, RI and spent night
21 - Drive to Foxwoods Casinos and spent night
22 - Drive to Boston and stay until 26

We booked all our hotels and Airbnb, but we are thinking about cancelling everything except NYC, Albany and Boston and go camping instead..

 

[ap.]

Ok so far this is our planning (June)
10 - Arrive in Boston - Take bus to NYC
10 - 14 NYC
14 - Take bus from NYC to Albany
15 - Rent car and drive to Adirondacks and spent the night there
16 - Drive to Stowe, VT area and stay for 2 nights
18 - Drive to Mt Desert Island through White Mt National Forest and spend 2 nights there
20 - Drive to Newport, RI and spent night
21 - Drive to Foxwoods Casinos and spent night
22 - Drive to Boston and stay until 26

We booked all our hotels and Airbnb, but we are thinking about cancelling everything except NYC, Albany and Boston and go camping instead..

That's a lot of transit time.

 

[Myrkur]

That's a lot of transit time.

Yes we decided to skip staying at Adirondacks and spend 3 nights in Stowe, but I'm used to driving a lot. I love to drive when I travel. Our last trip was to Iceland and I drove everyday for at least 5 hours with 3 times 12 hours a day and I love it.