Quote:
Originally Posted by Chell goes east
Do you think we'll have enough time in a week to drive up the coast and return to RI?
|
This is very much dependent on what you plan to see and do. It takes about 8 hours to drive directly from Providence to the Canada border in Houlton (Eastern) Maine. So in 7 days you could easily go as far East as possible in Maine and return to Providence in time for your flight.
However, if you travel from Providence to Eastern Maine and back while stopping to see things along the way, you're looking at a trip that's mostly driving and rushing through attractions to get to the next overnight stop. I would suggest maybe not going past mid-coast Maine (with your last overnight in Portland or Freeport area.. possibly Camden or a nearby town) for this trip so you can drive less and take in more.
Maine's coast is jagged (picture saw's teeth). Unlike the West coast, Maine's coast is dotted with inlets and bays that don't allow for a direct coastal route and it would take WEEKS to drive from, say, Portland to Eastport staying along the coast (Maine has 3,000 mi of coastline!). The result of this is that while a town may appear to be 5 miles from the next on a map, the liklihood is that the roads that connect the two travel around a bay or inlet and go somewhere close to 30 miles or more. For example, Blue Hill, ME is about 10 miles from Bar Harbor (as the crow flies) but because they are on peninsulas, it's around an hour + drive from one to another. It's setups like this that make it difficult to see the Maine coast in a short period of time, let alone all of New England's. To be honest, if it were just me I'd break it into Two 7 day trips.... Southern New England (RI and MA... CT if you want) and another 7 day trip for Maine and NH. Assuming you want to see Maine and NH as well as MA and RI, I'll try to give my best advice.
A sample plan for you would look something like the following:
Day 1 AM: Arrive T.F. Green Airport in the AM if possible. Get your rental and explore Providence (see Downtown, Federal Hill, and possibly the East Side... do lunch at an Italian place on Federal Hill). From there head to Newport, check into your hotel, explore the shops, get dinner, maybe some drinks (Newport's nightlife is excellent in the summer).
Day 2: The next morning), drive around Ocean Drive (about 1/2 hour) tour a mansion (maybe walk Cliffwalk in front of the Mansions). Check out a local vinyard (if you like wine) and possibly head over the Mount Hope Bridge to Bristol for dinner and a drink in the evening (you can certainly keep entertained by just staying a second night in Newport too). Spend your last night in Newport.
Day 3: Head East towards your next Destination, Chatham MA. Along the way, you can tour more of New England's
Napa Valley (the link has a good tour of that area.. you can abbreviate it to make it so it's not 3 days). If you like history and literature, stop by the
New Bedford Whaling District National Historic Park just off of I-195 on the way to Chatham. The Whaling NHP is a lesser known, but very cool area. It's in New Bedford which was once the Whaling Capital of the world. Herman Melville lived here and base Moby Dick off of his adventures on a NB whaling ship (many of the landmarks and buildings in the novel exist in the city and are open to the public). and Fredrick Douglas made it his home when he escaped from slavery. Today it's the nation's highest grossing fishing port and a bastion of Portuguese culture. It's a cool stop. Check out the Whaling Museum if you go.
In Chatham, you can relax on the beach, walk around the town center and get dinner. It's a quiet, yet beautiful area. Crash for the evening.
Day 4: Get breakfast and take your time leaving. From here, head west and cross the canal and then head North towards Boston (along route 3). Spend a few hours in Plymouth just off of Route 3 and check out Plymouth Rock and Plimoth Plantation. Continue into to your hotel in Boston. go grab some dinner at an Italian place in the North End (Boston's little Italy) and walk around the downtown streets at night. It's a beautiful city. If you can fit it in, catch a Sox game... it's a heck of an experience. Head to bed.
Day 5: Plenty of options here. You can spend the morning walking the Freedom Trail and seeing some of the sights (you could make a week out of Boston alone). You could check out a museum or something too. Head on up to Salem for the afternoon and walk around and see the sights here. After you're done, head to your next destination (Take Route 1a along Rye Beach, NH... just beautiful)... the Portsmouth NH area. I'd suggest getting a hotel in York, ME and maybe getting dinner in Portmouth NH and walking around before heading to your hotel in York for the night.
Day 6: You can spend the morning on the beach or perusing the quaint Maine Coast in the Kittery/York/Wells/Ogunquit area. In the afternoon, head North to your final destination: Portland, ME. I'd recommend getting a hotel in downtown Portland's "Old Port" and enjoying that (it'll remind you of a slightly less "elite" Newport or something similar to Downtown Portsmouth NH). If you want a bit more quiet, Cape Elizabeth or Scarborough (I suggest the
Black Point Inn in Scarborough) or even further North in Freeport or Wiscasset. Relax, enjoy.
Day 7: Obviously an afternoon or late evening flight home from Providence would be best. If Possible, see if you can book your return out of Portland to spend more time on the Maine Coast. Anyway, depending on the time you have, relax on the beach, peruse the shops, and take in the scenery. Then head to the Airport. Wiscasset is probably 3.5 hours from Providence (4 to the airport in Warwick). It's about an hour from Portland. Portland is about 3 hours to the Providence airport so you can easily make the afternoon drive home.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As you can see, those 7 days just to get from Providence to Southern ME are CRAMMED. If you want relaxation and are willing to select ONE part of New England you can do a lot better. 2 days in Newport, 2 days on Cape Cod and 2 Days in Boston/Salem would be a much more pleasant experience and you can return later to see Northern New England and spend more time in each location there.
A 7 day tip encompassing locations in RI, MA, NH, and ME is possible but you're going to have to push yourself. Anyway, I hope this was a little help and you enjoy whatever you choose to do.
Welcome to City-Data.com forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with 700,000 other registered members. User profiles and some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your free account you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 15,000 posts/day about local topics and you will see fewer ads. 
Trip from Rhode Island to Maine Up the Coast
Linear Mode
