Vegas to Boston or Vegas to NYC

Hey Everyone,

Am happy to stumble and found this site. I like to thank everyone in advance for whatever inputs they can provide. 4 adult travelers would like to visit the east coast for the first time. We shall be spending a few days in Vegas then fly either to NYC or Boston by Oct 6.

Assuming ticket cost is the same from Vegas, Which city should we consider to fly into Boston or NY ? From the first stop, We will rent a car to travel to DC during this trip if there’s any photo ops (scenic route)along the way we would definitely like to stop and shoot. Is it foliage season by this time (OCt 6 -16)it would be a dream to see some actual foliage. We have 10 days to spend for the east coast leg.

This leg ends in Dallas to meet a friend driving from Sh’port LA.

Cities we have in mind to visit (not in exact order):
NY – 2 days
Boston - ?
DC – 1 whole day
Dallas (last stop before we head to LA)

or is this doable or can anyone also suggest other cities we can visit along the way ? Cheers !

wow, that's a lot of driving!

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinkbig

Am happy to stumble and found this site. We shall be spending a few days in Vegas then fly either to NYC or Boston by Oct 6.

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum. I'm a little confused, how much time are you allotting for the drive from the east coast to Las Vegas? A leg from Dallas to Las Vegas can not be done safely in one day! It's over 1200 miles and driving 10 hours per day, it will still require two full days!

Foilage reports can be found here.

Once we know how many days you have for the road trip, we can offer some suggestions.

Mark

Hi,
I live in the Boston area and have made a few runs to Washington DC, and recently a cross country trip that included much of Texas. If you want to see foilage, you will be able to kill two birds with one stone, as Boston is unlike most cities and has thousands of trees in and around the city. Boston is where the United States essentially started, so it is a must see. faneuil Hall, Old Ironsides, Museums, Theatre, Sports, Dorchester Heights, Castle Island, Boston Common, the Public gardens, Bunker Hill, the North End (Boston's Little Italy), and home of the Old North Church and possibly the best food in the country, all are within 20 minutes driving, and most of which can be part of one or more tours.

I am bias because I am from Boston, but New England has it all, and you should start here, and spend 2 days here. It is a picturesque 4 hour drive from Boston to New York City (could be 3.5 depending on traffic). The foliage is not as nice as if you drove from Boston to Vermont, but almost as nice, and it is on the way. If you have never seen New England in the Autumn, then you are in for a treat, as it may be the most beautiful thing in the world.

You could stop at the Birhsires for folliage on the way, maybe consider Newport Rhode Island for lunch or dinner and visit the mansions, the Naval War College, hop on a dinner cruise, or just shop and dine. Mystic Connecticut has a beautiful port and is a great short stop. If you are a big city person, than New York city should have your attention, however if you are just going because it is "New York" then I suggest a short trip including a tour (even though I am not a tour person, it is a big city). I would visit "Ground Zero", it is not enjoyable or fun, however it is sacred ground, and I would take in a show if you can.

Washington DC is only about 240 miles away from New York City, and although not a great drive, you do go though most of the 13 original colonies when driving from Massachusetts to DC. Just befor you get to DC, you will find Baltimore Maryland.

Baltimore has a beautiful inner harbor area (do not stary to far as Baltimore has many housing projects), and is home to many historic and great stops. My wife, and two children took a cruise out of Baltimore and stayed at a quickie inexpensive Best Western before we boarded. The hotel has a theatre inside and they do a dinner show. It is in an okay are at best, and we thought we made a mistake, until we saw one of the best shows of our lives. Reasonably priced, right in the hotel, and amazing talent. After some research it turns out this theatre company has been around forever, and impressed my 13 year old daughter and 14 year old son as well as myself, and I am not easy to impress. Do not misunderstand this, it is not a Vegas Show, it is a no frills dinner show with hard core raw talent lighting up the stage. We are going again on New years eve, just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. We saw "Hair Spray", and it looks like if you choose to go, you will see the "Color Purple".

If you are willing to spend the money, I highly recomend the Gaylord National at National Harbor MD. It is an opulant over the top hotel, with everything you need to unwind from a long drive. It is also right on the Potomac River, and has Water Taxi access to the MT Vernon Estates (George Washington's home), Old Town, and a few other notable stops. Washington Dc is like Disney World, you have to go one hundred times to see it all. If you don't care about museums, hang out at National Harbor and their many shops and restaurants. Visit Old Town for the same.

Go to MT Vernon, which is a little better than average take (not great), but it is the estate of arguably the greatest American who ever lived. Email me back and tell me if you are a take it all in over a drink and steak group, or a hard core museum type, and i will make recomendations. Everything takes a long time in DC, so I recomend a boatt ride on the Potomac, a quick tour of the National Mall area which has the WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, memorials, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Monument etc. If you want to do a surprise stop, go to the House of the Temple, which is the single most stunning private building I have ever seen. It is home to the Southern Jurastiction Scottish Rite of Free masonry, and open to the public.

The White House, and the Capitol are long visits, and are worth it if you have time, but you have to be a tour person. If you love music, after you leave DC, head to Nashville Tennasee and visit Opryland, and downtown Nashville. This would be a great day or so stop, and is on the way to LA. This is a very doable trip, and you will see some of the best the country has to offer. I hope I didn't reply to late..

John

The post refers to a dinner theatre inside a hotel, and linked to a page belonging to Toby's Dinner Theatre. The current page for Toby's, however, locates it in Columbia, Maryland.