Places to Stop on the Way to Boston

[Anonymous]

We are driving to Boston this summer with two kids -- 4 and 2. They are not good travelers, so we plan to break the trip into 3 days. Any advice on good places to stop on the way up? We know Philly and NYC, so we are looking for other ideas. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Go via Rhode Island and stop somewhere at one of the beaches.

[Anonymous]

Mystic Seaport and Aquarium: http://www.mystic.org/

[Anonymous]

If you want to go around NYC, the town of sleepy hollow is close to the tappan zee bridge. I thought it was interesting to stop there... a few little shops, gorgeous view of the hudson river. There's always the Jersey shore beaches too.

[Anonymous]

There's the the Norwalk Maritime Center right off 95 in CT. In Rhode Island the Roger Williams Zoo in Providence is nice. Mystic is definitely nice too if you plan to spend a night.

[Anonymous]

We do that drive 2-3 times a summer. Personally I wouldn't drag it out 3 days. If your kids aren't great travelers that may not be much fun. It's 9-10 hours so if you can do 5 hours of driving a day you can cut it to two days. You could leave early and go to Longwood Gardens or somewhere near there (or Sesame Place?) and let the kids run around, and then continue to southern CT or some of the other places people have suggested if you can make it that far. The next day get to Mystic early, then continue on to Boston at the end of the day.

[Anonymous]

PS, another great place to stop is Princeton. It's a beautiful town and not too far out of the way.

[Anonymous]

We do this trip and have found the best thing to do is leave after dinner, so you might consider how far you can get at night, and then find a place to stay and finish the next day.

Mystic is nice, but in general I think you are better off avoiding 95 through CT because it can get very jammed and there is a lot of roadwork (for example, you could take the Tappan Zee and then 684 to 84 to the Pike). I think Rip Van Winkle takes place near the Tappan Zee, so maybe you could do a book tie-in

Also, I assume you have reasons for driving even if it takes three days, but you could consider the train too...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We do this trip and have found the best thing to do is leave after dinner, so you might consider how far you can get at night, and then find a place to stay and finish the next day.

Mystic is nice, but in general I think you are better off avoiding 95 through CT because it can get very jammed and there is a lot of roadwork (for example, you could take the Tappan Zee and then 684 to 84 to the Pike). I think Rip Van Winkle takes place near the Tappan Zee, so maybe you could do a book tie-in

Also, I assume you have reasons for driving even if it takes three days, but you could consider the train too...

I agree with this. We went at Thanksgiving and left after dinner, then stayed overnight just over the TZ Bridge. It made the next day's drive (~3.5-4 hours) a breeze.