Help with New England Vacation

[jms531]

Hi everyone!
We are looking into a week-long vacation in New England in October but I have become so overwhelmed with the choices I don't know what I'm doing anymore. Hoping to get some advice from locals or those who have done a New England vacation.
Things we know we want:
Scenic-want to see some great fall foliage.
Close proximity to seafood, shops.
Ideally a free standing house/cabin where we can sit outside and possibly have fire.
Close to activities-taking our 5 year old daughter.

Any help will be much appreciated! Thanks

 

[soxfan11901]

North Conway area in New Hampshire will fit most of what you're looking for.
-Foliage is spectacular in the White Mountains.
-Many outlet stores for shopping (tax free even)
-Lots for kids to do
-Storyland
-Santa's Village
-Polar Caves
-Flume gorge
-Attitash Alpine Slide
-Minigolf
-Easy hikes, some with waterfalls and places to swim/splash in the water

Don't know about cabin rentals, but there are tons of lodging options and they fill up fast during foliage season.

You would be missing seafood, but if you wanted to take a day trip it's only 1.5hours to Portland, Maine which is filled with great restaurants.

 

[STAYC18]

North Conway area in New Hampshire will fit most of what you're looking for.
-Foliage is spectacular in the White Mountains.
-Many outlet stores for shopping (tax free even)
-Lots for kids to do
-Storyland
-Santa's Village
-Polar Caves
-Flume gorge
-Attitash Alpine Slide
-Minigolf
-Easy hikes, some with waterfalls and places to swim/splash in the water

Don't know about cabin rentals, but there are tons of lodging options and they fill up fast during foliage season.

You would be missing seafood, but if you wanted to take a day trip it's only 1.5hours to Portland, Maine which is filled with great restaurants.

Posted from Disney Forums Reader for Android

 

[happy2012]

Mystic CT for the boats & they have an aquarium I've never been to but the Kardashians have. lol!!!

 

[TJDisneymama]

North Conway area in New Hampshire will fit most of what you're looking for.
-Foliage is spectacular in the White Mountains.
-Many outlet stores for shopping (tax free even)
-Lots for kids to do
-Storyland
-Santa's Village
-Polar Caves
-Flume gorge
-Attitash Alpine Slide
-Minigolf
-Easy hikes, some with waterfalls and places to swim/splash in the water

Don't know about cabin rentals, but there are tons of lodging options and they fill up fast during foliage season.

You would be missing seafood, but if you wanted to take a day trip it's only 1.5hours to Portland, Maine which is filled with great restaurants.

I agree N. Conway is beautiful BUT, Storyland & SV are only open on the weekends and they close for the season after the first weekend in October.

I don't know where exactly you should stay, but if I were visiting in October I'd def. consider visiting Salem, MA for the Halloween happenings.

Also, a couple days in Boston would be fun - Faneuil Hall, Museum of Science.......

The Topsfield Fair is the first week of October this year.

 

[Micka Mouse]

I agree N. Conway is beautiful BUT, Storyland & SV are only open on the weekends and they close for the season after the first weekend in October.

I don't know where exactly you should stay, but if I were visiting in October I'd def. consider visiting Salem, MA for the Halloween happenings.

We've been to North Conway quite a few times.....it's beautiful, but as pp said, SV and Storyland are only open weekends that time of year. It is still worth going up, though.

Salem is awesome. However, it may be too late to book a room for Haunted Happenings. I booked last November for this year....

If you are going to spend time in CT, I would tour Litchfield County....Kent Falls is beautiful, and you can look into Action Wildlife, which is in Goshen.

 

[jvattes]

Come to NH! I live in Manchester and within a 1-hour drive we have all the things you are looking for:

Go an hour or so north to visit the mountains - Franconia Notch is full of great stops to make - The Flume, the site of The Old Man of the Mountain, Clark's Trading Post (with the famed dancing bears), Six Gun City, The Basin, and lots and lots and lots of great hikes of varying difficulty... Go here to see the full list of all your options: http://www.franconianotch.org/things-to-do/attractions.aspx

Go 30 minutes east to visit our (short) shoreline and have some of that yummy seafood you are looking for. Markey's and Brown's are well known. Drive a smidge north and walk around historic Portsmouth where there are some fantastic shops and dining options. http://www.portsmouthchamber.org/

Drive 1 hour south to visit Boston - possibilities here are endless, but include Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market, Museum of Science, Childrens' Museum, Aquarium, Museum of Fine Arts, Fenway Park, Freedom Trail... I could go on and on! http://www.bostonusa.com/visit


I highly suggest my home city as a home-base for your stay. Not sure you'll be able to have that cabin or fire outside you are looking for, but we have a lot of great food and activities (in October you will find minor league baseball winding down and AHL hockey starting up, within blocks of each other). And with a regional airport right in town, the convenience can't be beat. And then like I say above you can easily drive daily to where you want to spend your day and be back at home base for a good night's sleep.


Let me know if I can help any further!

 

[cornflake]

There's plenty in Vermont that meets your list - but it really, with the seafood and stuff, sounds like you might want to look into Maine or the Cape. There're plenty of towns around southern Maine that have beautiful beach area and abut towns, though for stuff to do at that time of year you may need to do Cape.

 

[cmdg]

Definitely try Maine or the Cape! Maine will be beautiful in the fall and there are many lakes with cabin rentals.

 

[wallawallakids]

Maine is beautiful in the fall. A lot is still open. Island boats are still running. It isn't as crowded as Conway NH is but there is still a lot to do. I think it really depends on what you like to do. Are you hikers, boaters, shoppers, museum going types? Maybe if you know what you would like to do that could help point you in the right direction. The one nice thing about New England is that everything is a pretty close drive. You can take a car ride and go to a lot of places in just one day. I really enjoy that. For example, Conway is less than a 2 hour drive from Portland ME. After moving out of New England and living in Washington and Oregon for 12 years and then moving back, the proximity of things is not lost on me! Everything out west is a 4 hour drive. Good luck planning your trip. You really can't go wrong seeking out a place in VT, NH, ME, or MA. They all have something different to offer and all are really great. (I have lived in three of those states and enjoyed each of them!)

 

[wallawallakids]

Oh...also, if you are interested in Island living for the week. Peaks island tends to have fairly affordable fall rentals. You can get a whole house close to the beach. It is only a 5 mile walk around the island. There are also bike rentals there as well. My parents have a home there and we lived there every summer when I was a kid. It is nice and quiet and only a 20 min boat ride to the mainland. Portland Me is great place to spend the day. You can take your DD to the children's museum, which is great fun. My kids love it. I live on the coast of maine just 20 min from Portland and we head in there to go to the children's museum a lot. The shops in Portland are a lot of fun too. Places to get cupcakes, eat dinner, and get ice cream abound. Also, treehouse toys is a fun place to go just to look at some toys and play. You can head over to Portland Head light in Cape Elizabeth. There is even a little playground there. It is the most photographed lighthouse in Maine. If your little one likes trains there is a narrow gage museum in Portland. There is also a lot of hiking around here, if you like that. Foliage is really pretty by October. It is a short drive to Conway for the day. Or up to Camden, which is also gorgeous. There is a pretty bird sanctuary in Falmouth ME and you are a short drive to the shopping, eating and sight seeing up in LL Bean land, Freeport. There is even a really affordable train, the downeaster, that goes to Boston. So taking a trip there for the day is easy too. Only 2 hours. Of course, you can spend the entire week just relaxing on the island too! Just some more ideas. Good luck!

 

[LydiaAch]

I highly recommend the North Conway Grand Hotel and an EARLY booking since the leaf-peepers will be out in full force!

 

[jms531]

Wow! Thank you all SO much for all of these suggestions! Maine is sounding like it might be a really good fit for what we want. We are kind of all over the board with activities that we enjoy-we love hiking and nature but also love to go shopping, get dressed up and go out to eat. The Portland area sounds great! Anybody know anything about Kennebunkport? DH stumbled upon some cabins in that area that look absolutely adorable. How much is there to do in Salem? I've always wanted to go and in October I think would be so cool. Again, thank you all so much and if you have any more suggestions keep them coming

 

[lucyem]

I think you are getting some great ideas. From your original description I first thought of Maine. I am also in NH and the Conway area is great but like pointed out more limited in the fall. Anywhere you do go try and spend a day driving through some more rural areas to get a real look at the foliage and mountains. There are parts of 89 North in NH that is just beautiful.

I do have a thought, depending on the year the foliage can be past peak by mid October in northern New England. You might want to keep that in the back of your mind as you decide when and where to go.

 

[pequele]

North Conway area in New Hampshire will fit most of what you're looking for.
-Foliage is spectacular in the White Mountains.
-Many outlet stores for shopping (tax free even)
-Lots for kids to do
-Storyland
-Santa's Village
-Polar Caves
-Flume gorge
-Attitash Alpine Slide
-Minigolf
-Easy hikes, some with waterfalls and places to swim/splash in the water

Don't know about cabin rentals, but there are tons of lodging options and they fill up fast during foliage season.

You would be missing seafood, but if you wanted to take a day trip it's only 1.5hours to Portland, Maine which is filled with great restaurants.

This one forgot the North Conway Scenic Railway. They have train rides (foliage) as well as dining rides plus a bit of a museum right by a small park which can help kids get some wiggles out. There are a lot of great resorts up there but I'm also not sure of cabins. Storyland and Santas Village (though I am not sure how close that is to all this) are also lots of fun for the kids.

 

[pequele]

Throughout ME and NH coast you will have lots of lighthouses to choose from as well. Honestly though, hiking doesn't get much better than in the White Mountains! Go too far north and you will have missed fall foliage unfortunately. We found many things in Kennebunk seasonal as well. So much so one time driving through we couldn't even stop for dinner where we wanted.

 

[rachael95]

Mystic CT for the boats & they have an aquarium I've never been to but the Kardashians have. lol!!!

Mystic is a really beautiful place. I've been a few times over the years and find something new every time I go.

 

[CTcruiser]

Mystic CT for the boats & they have an aquarium I've never been to but the Kardashians have. lol!!!

I have to agree with this, as I live here

Any questions, feel free to PM me! I love my town and it's a fabulous destination for a trip!

 

[Nancyg56]

Mystic is a really beautiful place. I've been a few times over the years and find something new every time I go.

New England and CT

I think that Plymouth is a great place to spend a few days as well. There is the lovely harbor, cranberry bogs and wineries, Plymouth Rock, The Mayflower, Duck tours, Plymouth Plantation, Whale Watching, Seafood seafood seafood! It really is lovely and filled with history.


The coastline is beautiful!

A few days there, a day or two in Mystic to see the Aquarium, the Dinosaur Place, and maybe the Seaport. Then there is the Essex Steam train and Riverboat.

 

[wallawallakids]

Wow! Thank you all SO much for all of these suggestions! Maine is sounding like it might be a really good fit for what we want. We are kind of all over the board with activities that we enjoy-we love hiking and nature but also love to go shopping, get dressed up and go out to eat. The Portland area sounds great! Anybody know anything about Kennebunkport? DH stumbled upon some cabins in that area that look absolutely adorable. How much is there to do in Salem? I've always wanted to go and in October I think would be so cool. Again, thank you all so much and if you have any more suggestions keep them coming

Do you mean Salem MA or NH? MA is fun in October but they really go crazy down there with Halloween. Not sure if your little one would be scared. I grew up by there so we used to go every year in October. Halloween day is insane. The Nathaniel Hawthorne house is neat and there is the cemetery and the Witch Trial museum, but again...all are a little creepy/scary for little kids. The beach there is nice. Cute shops and they have a fun little old fashioned candy shop. As far as activities for young ones there maybe someone else could help you with that. I haven't taken my children there yet. There is a lot to do in that area, however. It isn't very far from Boston which has oodles to do with kids. Children's museum there is really fun, swan boats, free firefighter museum, great places to eat, wonderful science museum and aquarium. Plus lots of entertainment and history. More would be open in Boston because it isn't a seasonal city like Kennebunkport. But Kennebunkport is wonderful, even in the off season. One of the best restaurants that I have ever been to in my life is there. My husband and I went there on our first date back in 1998! Things will still be open in Kennebunkport but not everything. However, it will be less busy, and that might be what you are looking for being that it is such a short drive from the busier places. You can drive to the outlets, Portland ME, Boston, or Portsmouth NH. Portsmouth is another really fun place to visit. Strawberry Banke is there. My kids love that place. It is a living history museum. Also they have fun little shops, and restaurants. And you still could drive to Conway NH from there if you wanted. I used to live in Conway and I got married there. It is great but in October there is less open than in the summer or winter. Also, I was there last weekend and it is SOOO much more buggy than what we have on the coast right now. Not sure if it was because of the White Mountains or what? I will say the hiking there is great. (Bring LOTS of OFF though!) Hubby and I used to live right by Echo lake and go hike from our front door back in the day. Kids do like the mini golf there. However, it has really changed a lot since we lived there. I was surprised. It is worth a visit at some point if you have never been because, like others said, it has a lot to offer. I still think you can not go wrong with any of the locations you have mentioned. They are all really fun places to visit. Good luck and let us know if you have any more questions!!