New Englad Small Towns
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Anonymous
| My spouse and I have been reflecting on how we often enjoy or stays in smaller towns than larger cities when traveling in Europe. I have heard a lot about the cute towns in New England. We have two toddlers and are very interested in a summer vacation within New England. We have never been in general to the area! If we were to fly in, Boston, Bangor, Portland, any other options we should consider from DC? What would be some towns to target for our stay where we could walk to fun, low-key seafood spots, check out the water, etc. I have read a lot on New England trips, but I cannot seem to figure out the best path forward for our family. Thank you in advance! |
Anonymous
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Fly to Portland and drive north, because it sounds like you want the water. Avoid Boston and its airport unless you want Boston history.
How old are the kids and what are you all interested in? Hiking? How long a trip would you make? |
Anonymous
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If you want coastal/beach/seafood shacks, skip Boston and fly into either Portland or Providence RI. You could also fly into Hartford and drive to RI from there - it’s not far and a fairly easy drive.
We did several Maine trips with little kids. Both Southern Maine (Wells/Ogunquit/York) and mid coast Maine (Boothbay, Camden) were great. Tons of seafood, beach time (but cold water!) and kid friendly attractions within 30-60 minutes driving distance. From the RI beaches, you can take a few kid friendly day trips to places like Block Island, Newport, and Mystic Seaport. My kids loved Mystic when they were little. |
Anonymous
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Consider Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Very quaint, on the water, smaller even than Portland. In fact, you could do both of those cities in one trip, as they are only 50 ish miles apart.
Portsmouth is just a few minutes from the Maine border making it easy to spend time in both Portsmouth and Southern Maine towns and beaches during the same trip. |
Anonymous
| None of the above are ideal for two toddlers in the summer aside from York Beach, Maine. You will not have water access in Portsmouth or Boston for swimming unless you drive to Hampton beach which is a crazy tourist spot with a boardwalk. Boston, Portsmouth, Portland built up cities not cute little towns. Try Cape Cod, York Beach Maine (great food, nice beach, taffy making), lighthouse scenic point or Newport Rhode Island. |
Anonymous
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North Conway. Diana’s baths, cog railway, the town, Storyland, Santa’s Village, easy hiking, drive to Fryebyrg MR.
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Anonymous
| I found the Maine beaches too rocky and the water too cold. I think cape cod is better for young families. |
Anonymous
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Nantucket if you can afford it.
Westerly or watch hill Rhode Island All the cape towns have quaint areas but will depend on what you get. You can find charming cottages in cute walkable areas but also find tacky tourist traps. Rockport and Gloucester are pretty. Ogunquit Maine is beautiful. A lot depends on your budget and what you can afford to rent ….. |
Anonymous
| Take the Amtrak to CT shoreline. Lots of shore town have what you describe and you can day-trip to Mystic aquarium/seaport and Block Island. |
Anonymous
| For water, Boothbay Harbor ME or Cape Cod. For mountains, North Conway NJ, Stowe, VT or Lake Placid NY (I know not New England but I think OP would love it). |
Anonymous
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I love Newport, RI and surrounding areas and Cape Cod and surrounding areas are lovely.
Assuming you are in the dc metro area, have you visited Annapolis, St. Michael’s, or Berlin in MD? What about Lewes, DE? Lewes is a great option with little ones. |
Anonymous
+1 for Boothbay. We stayed at Spruce Point with kids and loved it. |
Anonymous
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https://www.weneedavacation.com/Beach/Maushop-Village-Beach-New-Seabury/
Rented here once. Cute area with charming townhouses. Private beach. Walk to shops. Restaurants. Mini golf. Ice cream etc. close to woods hole and Falmouth in 20 minutes which has small aquarium to visit and boat tours. Osterville and cotuit are charming towns 20 minutes away with many good shops and restaurants. Sandwich has heritage gardens nearby with an old fashioned carousel and other exhibits including antique cars. and the Beatrix potter museum. Cotuit has a great baseball field where the summer college leagues play. Our kids used to go to a baseball camp there every summer. Mashpee commons had everything you need for groceries and other shopping plus a movie theater and summer concerts. Check it out. |
Anonymous
Block Island blows with kids the OP’s age. Hilly, very beach and bike centric, too much of a schlep for the payoff. |
Anonymous
Maushop is like The Villages of Cape Cod. It's very cookie-cutter. It's pretty. But has a NOVA sameness vibe. Kennebunkport is charming and quintessential New England, and there's even Mother's Beach. So kid-friendly. |