Suggestions for a 2 week vacation Summer 2006 - English...

HI

I am in the early stages of planning a summer vacation to the Boston/New England area next year.

I have a wife who enjoys history, sightseeing and nature, 2 girls (aged 12 and 14) who like shopping and beaches and me. I like similar things to my wife but I really like to chill out on holiday and sit around reading a book. We tend to compromise and either have a morning activity with an afternnon off, or day chilling followed by a day exploring.

My dates will be end of July early August (peak season I guess), we will probably fly into Boston. I would like to have a couple of days in Boston (I would love to go to Fenway and see the Red Sox), then we want to visit friends in Portsmouth for a couple of days and would need someplace to stay around here.

After that I%26#39;m open to suggestions, a week near a beach and maybe 4-5 days in some mountains would be a good plan but I don%26#39;t want to spend the whole holiday driving around.

I really don%26#39;t know this area at all and would welcome advice.

Someone else suggested the Portland area: Hills Beach and Peaks Island where mentioned as being beautiful but quiet, however this seems to be a fair way from Boston?

I don%26#39;t mind spending a reasonable amount of money on holiday, but I do not want to go somewhere just because the %26#39;in-crowd%26#39; go there. For example I would buy well designed smart clothes but I would never buy %26#39;designer%26#39; clothes just because they have a logo or name on them. We would probably stay in hotels whilst travelling but maybe rent a house for at least one of the weeks in one location.

Any help, or suggestons of websites for rentals, would be most welcome...

Suggestions for a 2 week vacation Summer 2006 - English...

Cheers Chris Hoskins,

I know what you mean about going away and not wanting to spend a fortune! You%26#39;re absolutely right, it%26#39;s ridiculous. I was trying to think where my brother in laws would want to stay and I%26#39;ll tell you, if they were going to Boston and were going to a Red Sox game or two? They%26#39;d want to stay right at that Howard Johnson Fenway Hotel @ 1271 Boylston St, right in Boston%26#39;s Back Bay, if you can get a room there, it%26#39;s popular. It%26#39;s only 5 miles from the airport, see if you can get rooms there as a suggestion. Your wife and daughters could check out Boston%26#39;s Fanueill Hall, The Pru Shops on Boylston St., CambridgeSide Galleria, the Museum of Science etc...while you%26#39;re at the game!

If you%26#39;re planning on coming to Boston at the end of July it%26#39;s usually very hot then in the middle of the summer if I were you and you wanted your family to have a really good time? I%26#39;d park myself right at Rye Beach, NH for so many days during your time here. It%26#39;s way too hot to think of hotels and motels any where else BUT a beach, your kids will want this I%26#39;m sure! Book early and think about this Dunes Motel right on Jenness Beach. It%26#39;s a motel that%26#39;s reasonable, within a few miles from Portsmouth, NH. Your daughters would really like either Water Country in Portsmouth where it%26#39;ll be hot or the Water Slide (it%26#39;s actully cheaper) in Hampton Beach. As tacky as Hampton Beach is, your girls at that age will really have a great time checking out the arcades, shops and they%26#39;ll really love the Casino if they have any one good there to see for them.

SO that%26#39;s what I think you should think about at this stage of your future visit Cris Hoskins. Think about it and you can always check out the Howard Johnson Fenway Hotel and Dunes Motel at Jenness Beach in Rye, NH @ 2281 Ocean Ave., (www.dunesmotelryenh.com) as you get closer, just call them at 603 964-5520 or write to them from the UK.

If you want tickets to the Red Sox games? As you know in the UK there%26#39;s Ticketmaster but there%26#39;s also www.seacoastticket.com try 1 800 382-5242 for Red Sox tickets as a suggestion. Friends of mine from New Hampshire as well as in Boston go this route to get them because they always get good seats and they always get right through to some one if they call and want to talk to someone. Sometimes you call some of these other agencies and all you get are busy signals, that%26#39;s a big complaint with half of these agencies. This ticket agency so far has been very reliable and trusty for good seats!

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

Suggestions for a 2 week vacation Summer 2006 - English...

As far as renting a house or a cottage as a suggestion, check this site out to get an idea....I%26#39;m sure theres other sites and people will see this and offer there tips. Rentals are usually Saturday to a Saturday. They require a deposit and it%26#39;s up to you where you want to stay. The beauty of the internet is the photos of where you%26#39;re staying. There%26#39;s quite a lot of sites, this is probably one of the ones that jumped out at me because they have a lot of New Hampshire cities and towns on it so you can view each home, it%26#39;s pretty good too. You could probably plug in Massachusetts or Maine or Vermont, it depends on how far you want to drive and which state you want to be in.

vacationrentals.com/vacation-rentals/New-Ham…

Thanks for the reply - is Hampton beach very touristy? We prefer quiet places, not really into attractions, except when we visit Florida, which is a different kind of vacation for us...

The local yocals go to Hampton Beach. That%26#39;s why I suggested Jenness Beach to you, it%26#39;s further up the coast and MUCH quieter. This way you can head north and you%26#39;ll be in Portsmouth. You can stay right along the coast and you%26#39;ll have the most beautiful scenic drive in to Portsmouth you%26#39;ve ever seen. You follow 1-B all the way from the Dunes Motel along the water, heading north. When you pass ';Odiorne Point State Park'; you%26#39;ll come to a 4 way intersection, take a right here and not even a mile on this road you%26#39;ll see the sign for the ';Wentworth By The Sea'; Resort:

Here%26#39;s the site to check it out...

www.wentworth.com

You%26#39;ll see the sign for it and the gas station on that corner. Here you%26#39;ll pass the most gorgeous Resort in this area, the Marriott bought it and renovated the whole building. It%26#39;s absolutely stunning now. You can go in and walk around the grounds to check it out by all means. We had tea on there stunning porch overlooking the harbor! From this resort you just keep heading north along Newcastle, NH it%26#39;s the scenic way in to Portsmouth but you%26#39;ll really love it! Follow this road in to the Strawberry Banke area and downtown Portsmouth.

As far as Hampton Beach is concerned? Yes it%26#39;s touristy, always had a reputation for being wicked tacky and extremely crowded with teenagers, but for something to do? Take a walk through there and check it out, great people watching around! When we were teenagers? There was no place on earth like Hampton Beach, so for kids that age they LOVE it! It%26#39;s a very pretty beach OFF SEASON, you should see it right now, it%26#39;s great. When every one goes home for the season it%26#39;s wonderful! The ones that live here have it back to themselves and you can drive over there now, the coast is just beautiful this time of year after Labor Day!

If your wife enjoys history, you should definitely plan to walk teh Freedom Trail in Boston. This will hit the highlights of the historic locations. Check in with the Park Rangers about guided walks, or I believe you can pick up some literature for self guided as well. It%26#39;s a great way to see the city %26amp; soak up some history as well. It takes you through the Quincy Market area which your kids will love, very trendy.

I do hope you get a chance to see our beloved Red Sox play. Fenway Park is an absolute jewel.

For a trip up the coast, I would suggest getting a little farther away. Hampton Beach is fun and funky, but definitely touristy and crowded. Further up the Maine coast you will find more quiet and solitude.

I would look at the Bruswick/Bath area. It%26#39;s not too far up the coast and has some wonderful places to stay. For a public beach, I would suggest Reid State Park. It has one of the few sandy stretches of beach in the area, and I have never found it crowded. You might want to check out cottage rentals on the Georgetown peninsula. This would be a great base for reaching the shore, or exploring the coastal towns.

This would put you not too far from Freeport (outlet shopping!), Bruswick for history (check out the Joshua Chamberlain Museum. Joshua Chamberlain was president of Bowdoin College, Governor of Maine, and a bonafide Civil War Hero. He led the bayonett charge on Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburgh). Wiscasset, ';Prettiest village in Maine';, and lobster, lobster, lobster.

Thanks for the suggestions on our trip:

I have now made some progress on this but would welcome a little more help.

We have arranged our flights and accomodation in Boston for 3 nights staying at the Encore B%26amp;B - www.encorebandb.com - Number 2 on the trip advisor list!

We have then booked a house for a week in Cape Neddick - Maine, which is close enough to visit our friends in Portsmouth and is a nice quiet area

Finally I am trying to arrange a visit to the White Mountains, I have found an excellent B%26amp;B in Carter Notch but they have a wedding party on the Saturday night. I also found a hotel (www.sunsethillhouse.com) but that appears to be full on the Saturday night. I was sligtly put off by some of the negative reviews, however I think this might be someone with a grudge as it is ballanced by a great number of very positive reviews. Does anyone have any recommendations for somewhere nice to visit/stay for 1 night on the way to the White Mountains?

I would also welcome any additional recommendations on the areas we have chosen for eating out and sightseeing.

For one night in the White Mountains, I would suggest looking at the many options in Jackson, NH. There are many helpful reviews on this sight. Jackson is a beautiful little town and close to Mt. Washington for sight seeing.

Mt. Washington is New Hampshire%26#39;s number 1 attraction, and the highest point in New England. You can hike to the summit (about a 4 hour hike, and difficult) or take a van up the Auto Road. Or the classic ride up the Mt. Washington Cog Railway. The view from the top on a clear day is all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Check in with the Appalachian Mountain Club at Pinkham Notch (just up Rte 16 from Jackson). The AMC is a great source of info on day hikes in the area, plus a really interesting spot to visit.

Thanks, however as we will be staying in Jackson for 4 nights I was looking for a suggestion of somewhere on the way there.

If you are heading from the Maine coast to the White Mountains, it is only a trip of 2-3 hours depending on your departure point. Most likely, you would not even need to make an overnight stop.

Hi Chris,

What a wonderful trip you%26#39;re going to have. You%26#39;re going to be able to see SO much this way. You know when you leave the area of Portsmouth/Cape Neddick with your friends don%26#39;t forget ';Brown%26#39;s Ice Cream';. I KNOW your friends will know exactly where it is! You can%26#39;t miss that wonderful place! It%26#39;s not too far from the Lighthouse. It%26#39;s a great family tradition every year for SO many of us!

There%26#39;s a restaurant called ';Clay Hill Farm'; www.clayhillfarm.com located at 220 Clay Hill Rd. at Cape Neddick that is one of the best kept secrets on the Seacoast! It%26#39;s truly amazing there. Try to get reservations some night if you can. They have an early bird menu on Sun-Fri at 5:30 that%26#39;s extremely popular. Another place that we really love is the York Harbor Inn located at 480 York St. at York Harbor, ME. they have a fabulous dining room that%26#39;s ';ocean view'; wherever you sit, it%26#39;s unbelievable there. We really like there Vermont Country Salad, it%26#39;s SO good! No matter what you get there you%26#39;ll really like it, either the Filet Mignon dinner or their Lobster Ravioli%26#39;s, you can%26#39;t go wrong!

That%26#39;s too bad about the Carter Notch Inn having a wedding when you%26#39;re going to be there, it%26#39;s got amazing reviews and I know people that absolutely love staying at this Inn, well keep it on the ';back burner'; for another time!

When you leave the Cape Neddick/Portsmouth area of the two states? You%26#39;d really like the Lakes region of New Hampshire. You could look for the following scenic route to view the Lake Winnipesaukee part of the State. It%26#39;s really pretty! A lot of times we%26#39;ll do this instead of going up to the White Mountains, only because we live so close to it! There%26#39;s a lot of neat shops and restaurants in Wolfeboro which is the oldest summer resort town in the United States. I think you%26#39;d really like seeing this part of the State.

You could also visit this area as a day trip on your way up to the White Mountains because it%26#39;s very easy from York, ME and not a bad drive at all. We%26#39;ve done it in a day several times ourselves. Leave early in the A.M. and enjoy the day at your leisure. You might even have time to take the Mount Washington boat ride around the lake, We usually go at least once every summer out of Alton Bay for cruise around the lake! Here%26#39;s the site for viewing the schedule...

www.cruiseNH.com

Also, here%26#39;s good directions for the drive around the Lake....

Lakes Region Scenic Tour:

Rt. 11 N from Alton to Rt. 3 N to Meredith; Rt. 25 E to Moultonborough; Rt. 109 S to Wolfeboro to Rt. 28 to Alton. View of lakes, mountains and villages.

Enjoy your upcoming vacation! You%26#39;re going at a really nice time of year for this type of trip!

There%26#39;s all kinds of Inns/Motels and Hotels all around the Lake and any of the sites for Lake Winnipesaukee will list them. If you go to www.NHLiving.com and click on Inns for Lakes region it%26#39;ll list quite a lot of them.

To end, I wanted to tell you about one last place since you%26#39;re still investigating places to stay and/or places for lunch or dinner. Leaving the Portsmouth area heading north is Rochester, NH. It%26#39;s got a place that you could have lunch or dinner at. Other than that, Rochester has the beautiful Opera House with cultural events and shows in the town! But THIS Inn you should try to see if you can have lunch or dinner here if you get the chance. It%26#39;s a 1920 Georgian colonial home renovated to an Inn, you have to see what they did to it, it%26#39;s stunning. It%26#39;s VERY lovely and the cuisine is WONDERFUL there! It%26#39;s located at 78 Wakefield St., in Rochester, NH

603 332-0107

Here%26#39;s their site:

www.governorsinn.com

If you have any other questions, don%26#39;t hesitate to ask us, we%26#39;ll all be happy to help you with them!

Enjoy your trip!