New England with 8yr old AND baby...

[PickUpHopStep]

Would that be mad? This October, 2 weeks. Circumstances have meant this is fairly last minute.

We're not 100% tied to a destination but am wondering if that kind of holiday (bit of everything, 2-3 locations, car hire) would be just as doable as supervising a very active 12mth old in a pool/beach scenario in the canaries (which was my initial plan). It would also tick the boxes of somewhere I've always wanted to go, and most importantly will hopefully be interesting for 8year old. I don't want to create a massive stress or disappointment though. For further context if it matters we are in the 'can comfortably afford holidays but not multiple or big holidays every year' bracket.

Anyway, let me know how naive I'm being! Any further tips will be very gratefully received!

We’ve just done 2 weeks in NE. I’d say it is doable but pick maybe 3 destinations and stay in each a minimum of 3 nights or a week in one and then 2 nights in each travelling in a loop. It takes masses of research and is expensive. I’d say make sure you pick accommodation with a kitchenette. Trying to rely on motel microwaves is a nightmare although some are better than others and if you’re planning on eating out a lot maybe not an issue. We adored Maine the best, NH is nice and we are currently in Vermont which we really like but Maine is just gorgeous with a lovely atmosphere. Obviously has beaches but maybe not as much leaf peeping. I wouldn’t waste much time in Boston. Look at BA for good deals on flights and car hire if you book a night in one of their hotels. I can message you the accommodation we liked best with family rooms. We’re staying in a really good one in Vermont, cheap but superb facilities, fab location and we’ve got a kind of apartment in the motel. Lonely Planet New England is your friend but we weren’t impressed with the NH section.

Forgot to say we also rented a house in Cape Cod for a week which we adored before our two week road trip and spent a couple of days in RI but I’m guessing your main aim is leaf peeping not summer activities. There is loads to do everywhere which will help to tire out an active 2 year old.

Don’t underestimate the exchange rate. Everything (including supermarkets )is really expensive. Parking and NP very expensive although your dc will count as children.

Petrol is cheap.

Yes but when you’re forking out big prices, crap exchange and tips on everything else it sadly doesn’t have much of an impact. After flights and car hire we budgeted £200 a night for a family room, in the popular places it’s very hard to do that and we had to go over. You will need to factor in housekeeping tips too.Then there are meals x3 a day for a family, supermarkets aren’t cheap and you can’t drive miles to look for a cheaper one, eating out very expensive, then there are tips on top.It takes a lot of research if you’re doing it yourself. But it is doable and more than worth it,just expect to shell out ££££.

Wow, thank you so much, that a lot a useful info 😊 If you have found a couple of accommodation gems you're able to share that would be fantastic. I had thought about the exchange rate but hadn't thought about it iyswim....

The problem with a holiday like this is there are just so many options, you keep finding more places to visit, and with two children (one in particular ) slowing down the pace you really need more than a fortnight! Luckily dh only has a certain amount of AL leave left this year as it sounds like much longer would bankrupt us in any case 😁

I'd imagined spending a couple of nights in Boston initially, maybe 3 depending on flight times to acclimatise and explore. Too long?

I am heartened not to have received a deafening MN cry of "Don't Do It!" 😆

Took my dd to Boston when she was 2. We loved it. Boston Common is lovely - find the statues of the ducks! We also did a day on the beach at Cape Cod and one in Salem which was fascinating. There is also an amazing aquarium - sorry can't remember where it was. but I think somewhere in Rhode Island.

I would love to go back one day.

It's very expensive (remember to add tax and tip to meals, tax to everything else) so take this into account choosing hotels etc. The weather is also changeable by October, some years it can be quite cold, others very mild - but assume it's not beach weather. Do you prefer cities or countryside? I would love to go up to Maine it just looks so beautiful

I wouldn’t spend long in Boston and def don’t try and do the whole Freedom Trail like we did.We were very underwhelmed by both. MIT and Tea Party Ship we’re the highlights and you wouldn’t want to do either with a 1 year old.Got a fab guesthouse recommendation if you need one though.Cape Cod, Maine and Vermont are all gorgeous. You will need a big hire car which costs more.

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In Boston the Aquarium, with Myrtle the turtle, seals and penguins, is good for an 8 year old, as well as pushchair friendly. The Science museum is also good, lots of buttons to press. The Children’s Museum has a fantastic play area outside (I’ve never been in the actual museum). The ducks on the common are a must. I also think an eight year old would enjoy the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship in the world still afloat, and it’s free. The Peabody Museum at Harvard is great, for the glass flowers alone, but has lots of other interesting stuff too, especially in the Native American part. I don’t really get why people want to see Harvard and MIT, other than for the museums, but I am obviously missing something because everybody does. I’ve been here a year and haven’t walked the whole freedom trail, call me a philistine, but I think it appeals more to Americans, after all they won the war (though actually the French won it for them).

Hotels in downtown Boston tend to be stupidly expensive, Airbnb might be a better bet. Everything is expensive here and seems even worse now that the £ is struggling.

In Maine we love Portland, but mainly for food and beer, so somewhere like Camden, Booth bay or Bar Harbor might be better. Vermont is lovely, lots of little towns and villages. In Rhode Island Providence is a little dull but Newport is nice, but expensive.

I lean more towards countryside stuck but would like to have some variety.

Thank you so much all for all the lovely ideas and advice. I'm going to spend some time looking in to flights and possible itineraries and try and pull some of the many and varied ideas in my head in to something resembling a workable plan..!

All those museums will cost £££. I’d look up every poss attractions and parking for popular places you’d like to do for the whole trip. Add up and then prioritise.

Irving House in Cambridge Boston was very good, lovely staff and reasonable. Huge family rooms with bunk beds, the best hotel breakfast we had the whole trip and free snacks/ coffee/ tea all day.

I know you've said Boston but the "museums are pricey" pps have made me want to suggest Washington DC. The museums are all free, the circulator bus is free. Lots to see there and you are a couple of hours from Shenandoah National Park. Grand Caverns, Luray caverns etc and there are some family friendly hikes/trails there.

You don't need to eat in restaurants and pay tips for 3 meals a day. Nobody eats out 3 times a day in the US. It's not like the canaries! DC has plenty of street vendors and the usual chain/take out places that are just fine.

Have a look at the Smithsonian website, there are tons of museums and kid friendly places. Air and Space and the Postal museum for a start. As well as a free trip around on the circulator to see the monuments/White House etc.

We stayed near union station at the Washington Court hotel for less than £100 a night. You are walking distance from all of the car rental places in Union Station. You could do a road trip loop from there.

Museums are eye wateringly expensive in Boston (except the Constitution and the Bunker Hill museum, which are both free). I think we British find this odd because we’re used to free museums. There are ways to get free admission if you live here, and memberships work out quite economically (for example visiting the museum of fine arts in Boston more than twice makes membership worth while), so I think the costs weighs heaviest on visitors.

There is so much to do on a New England road trip that you might well find you’d rather not spend much time in Boston. Having a car in Boston will add to your costs and your stress, I would pick up your hire car as you leave the city if you can.

They really add up if you’re British though.We did mostly supermarket and a bit of fast food with the odd eating out( we’re talking decent diner breakfast, Mexican, pizza etc not fine dining). The way the pound is makes it eye watering. Everything in this area seems really expensive anyway. Ice creams and coffee are often $4.50, loads of parking in CC $20, then don’t forget you may not have a microwave, fridge or oven burners so will have to sort your 3meals somehow. Taco Bell et al get a tad boring ( and aren’t cheap on a daily basis)after a while. Trust me when I say supermarket microwave options aren’t cheap and get a tad tedious too after a while. The supermarkets are $$ for not a lot. And as for the attractions. Has all been worth it though and we saved before we went.

NP aren’t free like the UK and kids aren’t discounted that much. We just paid £16 per adult and £14 per child last week just to do a NH Trail. Acadia is good value $30 for a 7 day pass.

That tea party ship I told you about $30 per adult and $22 per child.

Hot food in supermarkets is often the most economical way to eat, even medium sized supermarkets will have a selection of takeaway food.

Believe me, British people living here moan about everything being expensive, especially if they are unfortunate enough to be payed in pounds.

We loved Boston and NE with kids. And I especially like Vermont. But I'd second crustycrab's suggestion to look at Washington and Shenandoah. The museums are amazing and all free along the mall. An hour and a half out of the city is Shenandoah NP, which is spectacular. The fall foliage is incredible I believe. We hiked there this Easter and my 7 and 9 year olds adored it ( we saw bears, eagles, bobcats). It's not by any means luxurious. Pretty rough and ready and it feels quite southern ( which I liked), but super friendly and just beautiful.

I'd also agree that holidaying in the US is expensive. With the four of us, we'd rarely eat an evening meal for under $100. The restaurant we stayed at in NYC this Easter (4 star, pretty normal) had nothing for less than $16 on the menu for breakfast! Getting back to France this summer was a huge relief from that point of view!

Chemenger we looked st that supermarket takeaway food and it was $$$$ for 5. Pasta if you have a burner is obviously cheap but you don’t often have an oven in motels. Deli chickens are $7,add in salads and coleslaw and it’s an easy meal but not Uber cheap. Don’t try microwave rice , we had an equally disastrous frozen lasagna. Kind of ended our microwave relationship.Rem to take microwaveable bowls and plates if you’re going down that route.

Breakfast in a diner cost us nearly $100 when you factor in a tip.

Just stayed in a lovely cheap hotel in Vermont with-a kitchen!!!! It had a pool and free bikes too.
We ate out though 🤔as dh has mutinied over motel cooking.😂The rice debacle was the final straw.

I would say that the majority of microwave meals here, in fact I’d go so fast as to say all the ones I’ve tried, are horrible compared to the uk equivalent. Watching the people in our apartment block and on the underground in Boston I think most people get get food from the supermarket on their way home from work. Whole foods does a huge range of hot food and salad but it is very expensive. The US is generally just very expensive.