Second us road trip _ east coast this time

Having thoroughly enjoyed our West Coast adventure we are tackling the East Coast with a family of 7 (Ma, Pa, 25, 22, 20, 16, 16 years old) for 11 nights at the end of July. The outline for the road trip is to fly into JFK, stay NYC for 3 nights, Washington DC for 2 nights and then...help needed but would like to then visit Niagara, Boston and Cape Cod (ish).

I want to see the Niagara Falls but I'm not sure which route or where to split the journey (one night). Thoughts were either go via Pittsburgh and stay in Erie (long first day but looks like Erie is worth it) or to go via Williamsport.

After Niagara I would like to head to Cape Cod/Newport stopping off for a night near the Finger Lake (but this would be a short first day and long drive second).

Most of the relevant posts appear to be from several years ago so any top tips on places to stop, routes to take, would be very very much appreciated.

Are you going to wait till you are leaving DC to rent a vehicle? That would make the most sense but will probably entail a one way drop fee for the vehicle. NYC and DC are very public transportation friendly and not very car friendly. You can take the train from NYC to DC.

I would go from DC to Niagara neither by Pittsburgh or Williamsport. Take I-270 to I-70 to the PA Turnpike, take that west to I-99. Go north, take PA-350 to Philipsburg, US-322 to Woodland, PA-970 to I-80, go west to PA-153, north to US-219 to Buffalo. This drive can be done in 1 day if you don't stop anywhere, so if you have 2 days you can enjoy the scenery. There will be adequate overnight facilities along the whole route.

Not surprisingly, this general trip has come up before, so let me direct you to some previous discussions. This one describes a dogleg trip from Washington DC to Niagara Falls and then on to Boston, while this one links to a number of different discussions of the Niagara to Boston leg. All together, they should give you a number of ideas to mull over.

AZBuck

Many thanks glc; with 7 of us I have decided to hire a car after NYC. Is there anywhere on the DC-Niagara route you describe that you would recommend for a night stop?

Thanks AZBuck - I take it that the advice from 2007 still stands. I had read the first link but not the second - much appreciated.

What type of vehicle are you planning on renting, with 7 people plus luggage? You will probably get a substantially cheaper rate if you rent outside of NYC, probably in NJ at an off-airport location. Note that the drive from NYC to DC involves tolls and a lot of traffic if you take the I-95 corridor, which is not scenic.

I don't have any specific overnight recommendations, it all depends on how you want to split the drive up.

The only time sensitive information in that 2007 post is the reference to a particular news event regarding the Amish community. All other references to their sense of privacy still hold. Also note that it is no longer quite as easy to cross to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Besides needing the appropriate paper work from any car rental company (basically just proof of Canadian insurance) you are now pretty much required to have your passport in hand as well.

AZBuck

The link to the article regarding the Amish news event is no longer working.



Donna

Thanks everyone: if interested I decided on the following route - NYC 3 nts; DC 2 nts; Erie 1 nt; Niagara (can) 1 nt; Albany 1 nt; Newport 3 nts.

Sounda like a great trip. For some respite from both the NY Thruway, and its tolls, look at US-20 between Niagara and Albany. Especially the eastern half - very sceni9c and full of history and European architecture.

Lifey