New England Road Trip for Families Itinerary & Tips

New England Road Trip for Families Itinerary & Tips. New England is a great area to visit any time of year. This Itinerary will take you through the New England States including Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. It also offers a shorter 1 week version that hits the highlights.

Families will love the fun outdoor activities. In the winter there is a variety of sports. Spring and fall head to the beaches even if it’s too cold to swim. Summer is ideal if you are looking to swim or want to hike.

Connecticut

Connecticut boarders New York and Massachusetts. It’s proximity to NYC make it easy for a day trip or a quick stop heading to or from other New England States. Connecticut is on the Long Island Sound and the beaches tend to be rocky unless you visit a beach where they’ve imported the sand. Silver Sand State Park is a rocky beach but great for nature lovers. There’s a board walk that takes you along the marsh where you can bird watch. The beach offers shallow waves and hundreds of tiny hermit crabs, snails and crabs.

Mystic is a popular town to visit and offers a nice aquarium as well as the seaport. If you only have half or a full day in Connecticut Mystic Aquarium and/or Mystic Seaport would be my top pick.

If in Mystic you can stop by the Famous Mystic Pizza but if your looking for the best Connecticut Pizza you will head to head to Zuppardi’s Pizza for their fresh whole clam pizza. We like to get half with out cheese (traditional) half with cheese. Their homemade sausage pizza is also wonderful.

Boston on a New England Road Trip for Families Itinerary

Massachusetts

Massachusetts is home to the largest city in New England, Boston. A visit to New England is not complete with out a visit to Boston. There’s so much history and attractions for families. Boston is a manageable city for families. If you stay in a central location it’s fairly easy to walk to many of the main attractions. Boston Aquarium and Whale Watch are 2 popular attractions. Boston hosts 2 ASTC museums, the Boston Science museum and the Boston Children’s Museum which are both wonderful museums. There’s plenty for the History Buff and of course Foodies. Faneuil Hall is a great place to stop and sample some fresh New England Seafood especially some Boston Chowder.

Massachusetts offers many beaches including the Cape Cod National Seashore. There is plenty to do on a budget trip to Cape Cod. Cape Ann isn’t too far from Boston and is also a nice stop.

Rhode Island

Providence or Block Island are 2 great options to stop in when traveling through Rhode Island. Block Island is only accessible by ferry and is great for a day or short trip. Providence is a nice base to explore Rhode Island and offers plenty of options for accommodations as well as near by restaurants. The Roger William’s Park Zoo is a small zoo that’s great for families of all ages.

New England Road Trip for Families Itinerary & Tips

New Hampshire

The White Mountains of New Hampshire are definitely the top destination in New Hampshire. You can easily spend several days to a week exploring the area with wonderful hikes, water falls and more. Portland is a nice costal stop as you head north to Maine. Head out on a lobster excursion or stop and enjoy some delicious Duck Fat Fries.

Vermont

Depending on the route you are taking there are several great options to stop by in Vermont. Some of the top destinations in Vermont include the town of Burlington including a wonderful bike path and hiking trails around the area. Lake Champlain is the largest lake which boarders the state and Moss Glen Falls is one of the most popular waterfalls in the state. Stowe is a great recreation area all year round and offers spectacular fall foliage views. For a brief visit make sure to check out some of the covered bridges.

Maine

Acadia National Park is the only official National Park in the Northeast. Although there are some other great National Park Sites in the Northeast, Acadia is definitely the top site and most visited attraction in Maine. Bar Harbor is the closest town to the National Park and is a quaint village perfect for strolling through shops are enjoying a leisure meal. If traveling this far north you will want to spend at least a few days enjoying everything this area has to offer.

Things you may want to bring on a New England Road Trip

Beach Items

If you are heading to the beach on this road trip don’t forget your boogie boards, beach chairs umbrellas etc.

Watercrafts

We love bringing our inflatable kayaks and paddleboards on any road trip where we think we can use them. New England is a great place and offers plenty of opportunities to kayak and paddle board. There are also opportunities to rent them or book a tour.

7 Day New England Road Trip Itinerary

7 days is a pretty tight trip to travel all of New England but it is possible you will get 1 full day in Boston Bar Harbor and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. This is definitely a highlights tour. A longer itinerary is more ideal or even cutting out some destinations so you can stay longer at others. If that is your plan check out the next itinerary which provides more time in each destination.

2 Nights Boston 2 Nights Bar Harbor 2 Nights White Mountains

Day 1 leave NYC head through green mountains of Vermont stopping for a hike or 2 on the way to the White Mountains of NH (7.25 hr drive total)
Day 2 White Mountains of New Hampshire
Day 3 Depart the White Mountains and stop at the Mount Washington Auto Road (if you choose to hike you may want to do so on day 2) before heading to Bar Harbor 4 hours away.
Day 4 Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor
Day 5 Bar Harbor to Boston (5hrs) Stopping at Reds Eats for lobster rolls, Portland for an afternoon excursion and if you want take an evening stroll at Hampton Beach NH before arriving in Boston
Day 6 Boston
Day 7 Boston to NYC (4hrs) Head out early to Mystic Connecticut. Choose between the seaport or Aquarium afterward stop in New Haven Ct for some Clam Pizza before returning to NYC.

12 days+ New England Road Trip Itinerary

3 Nts White Mountains 3 Nts Bar Harbor 1 Nt Portland 3 Nts Boston 1 Nt Rhode Island

Day 1 leave NYC head through green mountains of Vermont stopping for a hike or 2 on the way to the White Mountains of NH (7.25 hr drive total)
Day 2 & 3 White Mountains of New Hampshire
Day 4 Depart the White Mountains and stop at the Mount Washington Auto Road (if you choose to hike you may want to do so on day 2) before heading to Bar Harbor 4 hours away.
Day 5 & 6 Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor
Day 7 There’s time this morning to finish up Acadia National Park or a visit to Bar Harbor before you head south. Stopping at Reds Eats for lobster rolls before heading to Portland. This evening you can enjoy the downtown Portland.
Day 8 Portland You can choose from excursions such as a lobstering boat trip or head to Hampton Beach NH before you make your way to Boston
Day 9 & 10 Boston
Day 11 Providence, Rhode Island head to the beaches or maybe the zoo.
Day 12 Rhode Island to NYC (4hrs) Head out early to Mystic Connecticut. Choose between the seaport or Aquarium afterward stop in New Haven Ct for some Clam Pizza before returning to NYC.