Plainning road trip, from New York

michele-p

Hi all, we have just booked flights to New York for next June. So far the only plan we have is that we will spend 4 nights in New York, then head off for 10 nights on a road trip.

I'm at the very start of the planning so not even worked out if we want to go North from New York, Cape Cod, Boston and up to Maine, or South the Washington and the Blue Ridge mountains.

So much to choose from!

I'm going to start trawling through the New York thread, but with nearly 400 pages it may take me a while. In the mean time, if anyone has a fantastic recommendation for a New York Hotel, that won't break the bank (up to £120 a night, which I know is very scarce in NY!) then let me know.

Or if anyone has done a similar trip, what would you recommend route wise.

It's a bit early to be booking the hotels, as most sites won't go over 12 months in advance, but I d like to be prepared!

Thanks

donglemouse

i did a trip south:

first part via train - new york -> philadeliphia -> washington dc

then picked up the car in washington dc & drove the skyline drive/blue ridge parkway down to smoky mountains national park via shenandoah national park & monticello

then returned to new york via Baltimore in the opposite direction

it was back in 2008 but happy to share info via pm etc. if any help

from memory the trip was 3 weeks

michele-p

Hi Dinglemouse, that would be fantastic if you do have details to hand. I thought I'd look at a North route, and a South Route,then choose one!

Thanks

John259

If you want another option: Niagara Falls, in the same state as NYC but 400 miles away.

I'm not saying anything against the other options, but FWIW my personal preference would be to head for Shenandoah National Park and the northern part of the Blue Ridge Parkway (which continues on from the southern end of Skyline Drive). You won't have time for the entire parkway, it's 470 miles to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but you can do some of it. There's an entrance fee for Shenandoah NP but there's no charge for the BRP. Along both roads there are numerous places to park for the overlooks with the wonderful views, and along the BRP especially there are pioneer cabins and other exhibits, nearly all free. Both roads are designed to amble along slowly with frequent stops, they're not designed for people who like continuous fast driving but they are very well engineered and easy to drive on with smooth curves and generally slight gradients.
There's more information on the official US National Park Service web site:
http://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm
http://www.nps.gov/blri/index.htm
US340 which parallels Skyline Drive to the west, but runs through the Shenandoah Valley, is also a very scenic and pleasant drive.

neilbond007

I did NY -> Boston -> Montreal -> Toronto -> Niagara Falls -> NY

Driving was very easy. Longest was Niagara Falls to NY which was about 400 miles.

Hotels in Boston were very expensive. Ended up staying in suburb called Woburn.