Off to NYC/New England for vacation

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hello Dopers…my better half and myself are off to the US for two weeks in June :smiley:

Part of itinerary is to start in New York City however the other half is keen on experiencing ‘New England’ - either Hamptons or Boston or Rhode Island coast etc etc

What would you guys advise us to do? Is it worthwhile, if we alloted four days to spend outside of NYC, to venture towards RI/MA? If so, where? Or might we be better off sticking to Hamptons?

Just to give poeple an idea, my other half wants to spent a few days spending the ‘Lexington Company’ lifestyle (www.lexingtoncompany.com)

2

Personally, I’d head up to a B&B in VT for some hiking, biking, and seeing the rural side of New England. But if you’re set on the coast Newport isn’t a bad choice. You can take a day trip out to Block Island via the ferry and bike around there. You can also take the fast ferry to Martha’s Vineyard for a daytrip, again with bikes and/or using the shuttle as you won’t get a car across without reservations well in advance.

How about Cape Cod? Staying out near Provincetown and enjoying the beach, the general P-town atmosphere, a whale watch, great seafood, and biking would occupy 3-4 days. Lots of B&Bs out there as well.

3

Newport sounds good - will check that out. Especially Martha’s Vineyard since I think the other half will dig that.

I mentioned P-town but that was shot down quickly :slight_smile: Whilst we’re both out and happy to be gay, we don’t really take up with the rainbow-flag waving/carrying crowd/scene…

Would it be better to Amtrak it to Boston and rent a car there? Or just rent one NYC and drive to Cape Cod/Newport etc?

4

Minor nitpick: The Hamptons are in the State of New York, and therefore not in New England. Also, I don’t think they really represent New England in any meaningful way. I’d recommend Boston if you want to see New England.

5

True - I know that Hamptons are NY, not New England…the other half is more interested in spending time in the locations similar to the ad-campaigns for the lexington company than actual New England (if that makes sense).3

And I only mention Lexington as it is the only website I can think of to give you an impression of what style of lifestyle/architecture he wants to experience for a few days

6

The Hamptons are most definitely not in New England. You need to be careful; throwing around misconceptions like that is liable to start a war between bored hedge-fund managers with private armies and hordes of drunken Sawx fans.

7

Remember to double check what is open. There are still repairs in progress in some places. For instance, this is still closed…

8

Definitely go to Newport. I always recommend it. Too bad the America’s cup is in SF this year (I’ll be there!!).

I’t about 4 hours from NYC to Boston by car. If you are going to cover some ground, it’s best to have your own wheels.

9

And then hours more to get to the Cape from Boston. If you are going to the Hamptons check out the ferry that can take you to the Cape or the Vineyard, then head north from there.

I’d avoid Rhode Island altogether, lots of disreputable characters in that place.

10

There’s also a ferry that goes to New London Connecticut from Long Island.

11

Thanks for the heads-up to check for Hurricane Sandy impact…

I didn’t look info ferries yet but will start including them into the itinerary…

Am glad I started asking now and not two weeks prior to flying out :slight_smile:

Thanks for the suggestions thus far - keep them coming

12

If you want to check out a gay beach that isn’t as crazy as P-town, I would recommend Ogunquit Maine. It’s family friendly and gay friendly. It is about 1 hour from Boston by car.

But since you are coming from New York, I would recommend Newport RI over going all the way to Maine.

13

Just one note. If you were thinking of doing any swimming in the ocean in June, forget it, unless you like really cold water.

14

While P-town can be that scene, for the most part it isn’t. It’s a really great place to hang out, shop, relax, and eat good food. If you’re not going to be there on a Saturday night you won’t really seem much of the scene.

15

@Telemark - the other half checked out wikipedia on P-town and upon seeing the pics with the rainbow flags, it was a definite no :slight_smile:

@Cjepson - don’t think we have any intentions on swimming. It’s more about the scenery, decor, etc…

@Sachertorte - this what we’re trying to figure; drive from NYC and keep it to RI or fly/train to Boston and head into Mass/Maine

16

No worries, but keep in mind that those pictures were probably taken on a summer Saturday night or a holiday. The rest of the time it’s pretty normal, but if your SO doesn’t want to go I understand that. Other parts of the Cape are much more laid back but it sounds like you’ve got a few great options elsewhere.

In Newport the mansions are a big draw, but a stroll along the Cliff Walk is a must as well. It runs a long way but I like the section starting at East Beach.

17

Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard will meet your SO’s criteria. Nantucket is even more hoity toity (or so I’ve heard–never been there)

Also, another vote for Newport (is the Cliff Walk still open? I thought I heard it was being closed because it had become too dangerous) and Boston.

I’ve never been to the Hamptons but as a native New Englander, I think of it as Manhattan East–nothing appealing about that to me but YMMV. :wink:

18

To those who have helped thus far - I think we might be settling on the following
NYC drive to Montauk (taking our time), spend the night in Montauk, early ferry to Block Island, and then onwards to Newport, spend the night in Newport, daytime Newport/surrounding area, spend another night in Newport then it becomes interesting, do we:
Drive to Falmouth (2hrs along the coast) and ferry to Martha’s Vineyard (35mins)
or
Drive to Quonset (30mins) and catch fast ferry to Martha’s Vineyard (30mins)
or
Drive to Hyannis (2hrs along the coast) and ferry to Nantucket

Spend the night on either island, ferry back and drive to NYC

Are we bonkers?

19

Your travel times are highly optimistic.

20

Many places on MV won’t take single night reservations in peak season, you need to stay for two or even three nights, so factor that in and get your reservations early. You probably won’t be able to take a car to MV so check which port your ferry will come into and plan accordingly. A lot of places you can easily walk to from the ferry terminal so that makes it simple. You’ll also want to make sure your ferry back goes to the same place on the mainland so you can pick up your car.

I’d scratch Montauk from the itinerary and spend two nights on the Vineyard. Otherwise you’ll be traveling too much to really enjoy island time.