Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I want to try something different this winter. I'm in Albuquerque, NM and rather than travel to a sunny place, which it is here all the time, travel to a "wintery" place.
I'm considering both Boston and Washington DC. I can only afford about five days, so I was wondering what you thought would have more things to do in winter. Boston has always appealed to me because of the historical sites, though many of them are outside like the Freedom Trail. I also would love to see the Smithsonian in DC.
Any suggestions? I also thought about taking the high speed rail and splitting the trip, but because of the short amount of time I have and the added expense I don't know if that's a great idea.
I think the most important factor is what you're looking for. Both cities get cold, but DC is quite a bit more temperate in the winter. If you're looking for a "cold" city that's comfortable enough to get around in the winter, DC probably is the better bet. DC's winters aren't THAT cold so you have a better chance of the weather cooperating to allow you to walk around outside in more comfort. Of course, the museums are all climate controlled so weather won't matter.
Boston will almost certainly be colder which might make walking outside difficult. If it's 30 and sunny, it can be perfectly pleasant to walk around. It can also be 17, cloudy and windy which will be miserable for being outside. There's no way to know exactly what the weather will be like. That being said, I think Boston is a more "Wintery" place. It's kind of cozy and has a nice wintery charm about it. A fresh snow (not uncommon) can make Boston look absolutely beautiful in the winter (though if you come about 4 days after a big snow, the dirty snowbanks and slush can look/feel terrible). You can jump on a commuter rail train and check out places like Rockport, Newburyport, Gloucester, Salem, Plymouth, etc. which are all very charming villages and look like something out of a storybook around Christmas time or with a nice blanket of snow.
If you're considering splitting the trip, take a look at JetBlue (or any other airline that has direct DCA to BOS flights). It'll be a little quicker and BOS-DCA can often be had for around $120 r/t (less if you do one way) during any of their regular sales. The beauty of DCA and BOS is that both airports are very close to the city center and easily accessible by public transit. Acela express (the fast train) is about 5.5 hours each way. A flight from DCA to BOS is around an hour and if you packed light enough to carry on (no reason 5 days should require checked bags), you barely need to be at the airport 45 minutes before departure time. It'll free up a lot more time to explore both cities.
If you can work that, splitting isn't a bad idea. You can get a pretty decent look at both cities in 2-3 days. Otherwise, which is better to visit depends on what you're looking for out of your vacation.
Thanks for the info. I like museums, but I can only spend so much time in them. So the fact that Boston is so cold is something to consider. I hadn't even thought about going north to Salem and seeing some of those areas. It's a real tossup--there are things I'd really like to do in both. I think what I'm most interested in doing is just exploring the area and seeing the different architecture (I'm into photography), exploring neighborhoods, shops, etc.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
