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I am aware that New England contains 6 states. I chose to write in MA for a reason, as it is the most responsive in this forum, and I assume that MA people do go north during summer to escape from the humid weather and have some fun.
Anyhow, my boyfriend and I live in Dubai. He is taking NY Bar in July. We'll arrive on July 22nd in NYC and leave early morning on August 31th from NYC.
The bar is going to be on July 25 & 26. It is either in NYC/ Albany/ or Buffalo depends on the seats (we'll know in April which city it is).
We've got from July 27th till August 30th. We also want to visit Canada.
If you were in our situation, what would you do? Which cities are worth visiting in New England, and for how long? What about Canada?
We'll have a US rental car. Is it possible to cross the border from US to Canada with a rental car?
PS:
We wanted to visit California after NYC. But since we are going to be there in December for Christmas meeting some family, we postponed it. We absolutely have nothing to do in NYC, we are there for the bar and will leave after July 26th and be back on August 30th for a night before the flight. So, only New England and Canada.
I am aware that New England contains 6 states. I chose to write in MA for a reason, as it is the most responsive in this forum, and I assume that MA people do go north during summer to escape from the humid weather and have some fun.
Anyhow, my boyfriend and I live in Dubai. He is taking NY Bar in July. We'll arrive on July 22nd in NYC and leave early morning on August 31th from NYC.
The bar is going to be on July 25 & 26. It is either in NYC/ Albany/ or Buffalo depends on the seats (we'll know in April which city it is).
We've got from July 27th till August 30th. We also want to visit Canada.
If you were in our situation, what would you do? Which cities are worth visiting in New England, and for how long? What about Canada?
We'll have a US rental car. Is it possible to cross the border from US to Canada with a rental car?
PS:
We wanted to visit California after NYC. But since we are going to be there in December for Christmas meeting some family, we postponed it. We absolutely have nothing to do in NYC, we are there for the bar and will leave after July 26th and be back on August 30th for a night before the flight. So, only New England and Canada.
I appreciate your thoughts.
So far as I know, the rental car should be fine to drive into Canada - it's the people who will need their passports, which you will have. If you're not US citizens, then coming from Dubai - I'd check into whether you need tourist visas to visit the US and Canada?
Here are a couple of New England travel magazine sites that may be helpful for you to just spend time browsing and getting some ideas, get a feel for different places, as you can see not just a list of town names, but also descriptions and photos. I do go north from greater Boston fairly regularly, and I will be back with a suggested itinerary later...
I’ve driven rental cars into Quebec many times. I used to do business with a telecom company in Sherbrooke so I was there a lot. Coming back into the US, the license plate didn’t match my answer so I’d say “rental car”.
I live on the Massachusetts coast. It’s not hot here in the summer. 90F is unusual. Much of Boston goes to the Cape & Islands in the summer. North can be just as hot unless it’s the Maine coastline or the mountains.
You shouldn't have an issue taking the rental car to/from Canada if you rent the car in the U.S. and are returning it to a U.S. location. If your GPS takes you via one of the smaller border stations (lots of them in rural Maine and Vermont, and one in NH), you may have to explain and show your rental agreement. At some of the larger border crossings (like those along interstates I-95, 91, and 89), you might not even have to do that.
As far as what to do, there's really almost too much to list. I would absolutely visit Canada. If he's taking the NY Bar in Buffalo, I'd consider renting a car there and kicking if off on the morning of the 27th with a drive to Toronto to with a stop at Niagara Falls (check it out from both sides of the border, but Canada's is better). Toronto is worth a couple of nights. It's a clean, safe, fun major city with an incredibly diverse food scene and lots to see and do. From there you can either head along the north of Lake Ontario into the Thousand Islands region (along the St. Lawrence River) and eventually onto Montreal (maybe even with a detour to Ottawa). If the Bar is in Albany or NYC, you could head straight up to Montreal (a stop in Lake Placid or Saratoga Springs might not be a bad detour either) which is another really great multicultural city with lots to see and do. Toronto would be tough to include from NYC or Albany. From Montreal there I'd continue on to Quebec City which has an old city section that looks like it's straight out of a fairy tale village (similar to many old European city centers).
After Quebec City, I'd head south into Maine via Jackman and do a whitewater rafting trip on either the Kennebec or Dead Rivers. After that, I'd head to the coast - starting as far Northeast as Bar Harbor (if not that far up, at least as far as Belfast), and working my way Southwest along the coast until I got to Portland where I'd spend a couple of nights and check out the city and surrounding areas. From there, I'd head Northwest along route 302 into the White Mountains of New Hampshire (North Conway, Franconia Notch, Littleton, etc.) before continuing onto Vermont with stops in Montpelier, the Route 100 corridor between Warren and Stowe, and Burlington. After Burlington, I'd head down I-89 to Boston and spend a few nights there. From Boston, I'd head to Cape Cod for a few days on the beach and exploring the towns there (maybe a day trip to Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard). After the Cape, I'd head toward Newport, Rhode Island for a night before continuing back to NYC (potentially with pit stops in Stonington and/or Mystic and maybe New Haven for some pizza).
That's doable in a month. If you wanted to save some time overall or spend more time in a particular area, you could skip portions. For example, from Portland, you could continue South into Boston and skip the New Hampshire/Vermont portion of the trip. Or you could spend more time in Vermont and head back to NYC directly from there rather than doing Boston/Cape Cod/Newport. Really, it depends on what you're interested. If you want to really focus on seafood, stick to the coast. If you want cheese and the mountains, stick to VT/NH. If you're beer people, ME, MA, and VT have some of the most well known breweries in the world. If you want cities and culture, go with Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, Portland, Burlington, and Boston. If you want to skip larger cities, stick to the smaller coastal villages and mountain towns. You can easily occupy a month. I'd love to have the time to do a similar circuit.
Taking a rental to Canada, you need to make sure that the vehicle is both insured and permitted to take to Canada by the rental agency. It's rarely a big deal, but Canada might want to see proof of both. If you're a US citizen, no visa is required for Canada. And make sure you don't have any recent DUIs or anything like that.
Since you're not interested in spending time in NYC, I assume that you don't want staying in major cities to be the main focus of the trip. I am assuming that the exam will be in NYC and you'll drive up the Atlantic coast from there.
From NYC, I'd drive up to Woods Hole, MA and spend 2 nights there, rent bicycles for a couple of days (area shops will deliver to your lodging), and spend one day looking around Woods Hole and then take a daytrip by ferry over to Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard and spend a day looking around there - bikes will give you enough mobility to have some range, but you won't have to worry about parking in what can be crowded conditions.
Then I'd drive up to Portsmouth, NH and spend 1 night there. Portsmouth has a quaint harbor area and lots of nice shops and restaurants, there's Strawberry Bank museum (preserved colonial homes), you could take a trip out to the Isles of Shoals if you like or just go across the Piscataquah river and look around the Kittery waterfront area - Kittery Foreside, Fort Mclary, Fort Foster, get yourself some lobster (I can suggest a great spot via PM).
Then I'd drive up to Portland, ME and spend 1 night there. The Old Port, Western Promenade and Eastern Promenade are all very nice, and Portland has some great restaurants. Just south of the city is Portland Head Light - an absolutely beautiful lighthouse on a rocky prominatory - one of the most photographed in the USA.
Then I'd drive up to sister towns Camden and Rockport, ME and get a place in one of them for 2-3 nights. Maine has a lot of great places, but to me this is the best of the best. You can have some easy walks or more challenging day hikes with beautiful surroundings - rivers, lakes, low mountains, rocky coast and islands. Both Camden and Rockport are quaint historical towns centered around their lovely harbors, and there are interesting shops, restaurants, local wineries, brewpubs, and even a couple of interesting museums. You can rent bicycles or kayaks at Maine Sport Outfitters in Rockport - either to enjoy on your own, or join one of their group excursions - I'd recommend at least one of these to get closer to your surroundings.
Then I'd drive up to either Southwest Harbor or Bass Harbor on Mt Desert Island and spend 1-2 nights there. It's absolutely beautiful and there are all kinds of things you can see and do there, the only hitch is that in summer, it can be exceedingly crowded, which is why I don't have you staying in Bar Harbor.
Then I'd drive up to Lubec, ME and spend 1 night there. It's an old fishing village and there are some exceptionally pretty waterfront parks in the area, which is just interesting to see.
Then I'd drive up along the coast into Canada, through Saint John and on up to Prince Edward Island and spend 2 nights there - beautiful beaches and great seafood.
Then I'd go to Nova Scotia, and spend at least 1 night in the historical coastal city of Halifax and 1 night in Cape Breton Highlands - a beautiful and rugged park on the sea. The Bay of Fundy is also not too far from Halifax and has the world's largest tides.
Then I'd drive up to Quebec City and spend 1-2 nights there in the old city - the area around the Chateau Frontenac. Beautiful preserved old walled city situated on high bluffs overlooking the St Lawrence River.
Then I'd drive to Montreal and spend 1 night there. One of the largest cities in Canada, with some lovely city parks, museums and fine dining.
Then I'd drive back into the USA and down through Vermont's Northeast Kingdom and spend 1-2 nights in Stowe, VT. That's in the Green Mountains and there are lots of pretty small towns and lovely parks for walks in the area... towns like Waterbury, Morristown, and Montpelier - alternative places to stay. Montpelier is the state capital but it only has 8,000 people and is a nice small city/large town.
Then I'd drive down to Middlebury, VT - a real pretty classic New England small town and spend 1-2 nights there. It's not the shortest route, but 'd go through Shelburne and Vergennes in the Champlain Valley, close to pretty Lake Champlain. All of Vermont has lovely farms, and foodie spots with artisan e.g. cheeses, baked goods, farm-to-table restaurants, brewpubs, etc.
Then I'd drive down to the neighboring towns of Williamstown or North Adams, MA and spend 1-2 nights there, and then down to Lenox, MA and spend another night there. You're now close enough to drive back to NYC in one day no problem.
Not sure how many nights we're up to now, you could either stay longer in any number of places already mentioned, or include legs to additional destinations like Moosehead Lake or Baxter State Park in Maine's interior, Stonington or Winter Harbor villages on Maine's coast... stay overnight in St John, New Brunswick...
Last edited by OutdoorLover; 03-15-2023 at 04:54 PM..
will leave after July 26th and be back on August 30th for a night before the flight. So, only New England and Canada.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but they only have about three days. That means they can hardly go anywhere, maybe look around NY state Niagara Falls, etc.
That's what it looks like to me, just a few days. There were great examples of places to visit if they had a few WEEKS but it's more like a few days, I think.
will leave after July 26th and be back on August 30th for a night before the flight. So, only New England and Canada.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but they only have about three days. That means they can hardly go anywhere, maybe look around NY state Niagara Falls, etc.
That's what it looks like to me, just a few days. There were great examples of places to visit if they had a few WEEKS but it's more like a few days, I think.
It looks like they have a month and change. July 26th is when the NY Bar is done, so they can depart on their Adventure on July 27th. They need to be back in NYC by August 30th which is the day before their flight departs.
I just checked the hotels in some of the towns mentioned here... OMG the prices are insane... I have a feeling that we might not make it...
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