DH and I just got the idea to travel to Boston this summer with our 2 year old. We were thinking of spending 3 days in Boston, traveling up north to Maine and stay nights along and then head back down and fly out of Boston back home. Any suggestions for an itinerary? We are thinking of a total of 7 days. Places we must take our son? DH really wants to go to a Red Sox game. I've been to Boston but it was nearly a decade ago and my friend took me everywhere. Which summer month would you suggest? Thanks in advance!!
-
@crazydoglady: so your son will be two when you go? That is a great time to go to the Boston children’s museum. There are some new hotels right in the seaport that could be having slow months (so, offering good rates) and then you would be walking distance from the museum. If you want to go to a Red Sox game there are lots of hotels in Copley/ back bay that would be walking distance to Fenway (with a stroller for a 2 year old). I’ve never been to a game with a kid so can’t speak to that. Both areas would have a number of kid friendly restaurants. And I find the T to be very stroller friendly as long as you don’t go during rush hour.
The aquarium in Boston is really nice but really expensive- not sure t would really be worth it (I always went with a friend who had a membership).
I think Boston is overall really kid friendly and would be a nice short trip before heading up to Maine! You can get pretty much anywhere in town on the T then rent a car to get up to Maine.
-
@Foodnerd81: Thank you! DS will be nearly 3.
-
In Boston: I would recommend the children's museum and museum of science over places like the aquarium. You can also visit the Boston tea party ships which is right next to the children's museum. I also frequently take DS to the Franklin Park Zoo. I would not recommend taking a 3 year old to a red Sox game. Games during the week are often night games and weekend ones are crowded and sometimes not child friendly. If you want to do a baseball game, and you are travelling to Maine, I would highly suggest going to a Portland Seadogs game. They are the Double A minor league division of the Red Sox. The stadium is super nice, in a good location, and ticket prices are much much cheaper.
Maine: I would think Maine is more of a doing outdoor things than typical museums, etc. I like the York area. They have the beach, downtown area is great with an arcade and they have a zoo right there. Portland is also popular, but last time I went was when I didn't have kids. There are a lot of walking areas along the ocean and walking trails if your kiddo is up for it.
Overall there are a ton of weekend activities and festivals that happen all summer long that if you had a month you wanted to do you could check out what is going on that month.
-
I think it depends what your LO is most into - we have friends with kids who absolutely adore the Science Museum, Children's Museum, and Aquarium, just depending on their kids' interests and whether it's more sharks or dinosaurs, etc. Boston Common is really nice to walk around and your LO might enjoy seeing the ducks, swan boats, etc. I can also imagine some kids finding the duck boat tours really cool - basically it's a tour in an amphibious vehicle that goes from land to water. In summer I really like nearby beaches, Crane Beach especially, but you might also get nice beaches in Maine.
Public transit to Fenway can be really, really crowded around game times, so I would not try to attempt it then with a stroller. But in general, public transit works really well.
-
@Eko: Any suggestions of places to stop on the way to Maine? I'm a California girl so I am pretty clueless.
-
@crazydoglady: You should stop in Newburyport. It's on the way and it's such an adorable town. It's right on the water and you can walk along it by the pier, and there's a great downtown area with lots of shops.
-
@crazydoglady: I am not sure how far north you are planning to head in Maine. Usually most people stop at Portland, unless you are planning to go to Bar Harbor. Some towns that are worth taking a look at to stop are Portsmouth, NH, York, Saco, Ogunquit (ME). Most of the towns in Maine are classified as cute downtowns with a beach. Saco has water parks and old orchard beach. Portsmouth is a great stopping point and is classified as one of the quintessential new england towns. Newburyport is a smaller version of Portsmouth. Portsmouth is on the water, with kid friendly shops and restaurants. It has a park on the water with a theatre they do shows during the summer. It also has Strawberry Banke, which was one of the first settlement towns in the state. Some of the streets you walk down are original and it's very cute and 'old'.
I am hoping some more ME bees chime in for you. I lived in Portsmouth and currently live in Boston. My husband is from Maine, but we don't really 'vacation' there, so I don't have much more information. Almost all the towns along route 1 in Maine are worth stopping points (up until Portland). Anything past Portland all I know is there is Freeport (LL Bean store), Bar Harbor / Acadia National Park, then Canada.
-
If you have some flexibility in the month that you travel, September is great to visit New England! It's still nice and warm, but most kiddos are back to school so the tourist destinations won't be as packed.
Route 1 through Maine is beautiful. You can hit some great little beach towns (York, Ogunquit, Old Orchard) and find some nice lobster shacks to stop for lunch. If you're interested in shopping, Kittery has some nice outlets, and the LL Bean flagship store is located in Freeport (just north of Portland). LO might like to see the fish pond and animal displays at LL Bean. Portland also has a great children's museum.
Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park is probably the biggest tourist draw in Maine, and it's absolutely gorgeous but crazy busy during the summer. If you want to go, I'd recommend visiting on a weekday.
I've lived in Maine my entire life, so feel free to let me know if you have any other questions about visiting
-
Another Maine bee, chiming in!
If you're looking for shopping, stopping in Portsmouth or North Conway in NH are the way to go (no sales tax, lots of outlet stores!). Freeport is walkable and fun, and again has some good outlet stores for shopping.
Otherwise, @csross217 pretty much nailed it. LLBean is super fun for littles, and Acadia National Park is lovely but insane in the summer. We always send our out of town guests (including my Southern California family members) to the Lobster Shack at Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth (food is great and it's is GORGEOUS outdoor dining)
-
Another Maine bee chiming in and agreeing with several of the recommendations of other posters, especially the children’s museum in Portland, activities at LL Bean and lobster shack at Two Lights.
Heading north of Boston to Maine, we LOVE Portsmouth and Newburyport. With only 4 days in Maine including one where you’ll have to drive back to Boston I probably wouldn’t try to go all the way up to Bar Harbor. Maps say it’s about a 5 hour drive from Boston to Bar Harbor, but it sure is NOT that quick in the summer or early fall. It takes us more than 5 hours to drive there from north of Portland in the summer and it’s a mob scene all summer. It is insanely beautiful though!
There is actually a lot to do in summer in Freeport (mostly all free and most hosted by LL Bean). Summer movies, food trucks on the weekends, outdoor festivals, outdoor concerts, children’s game/fun days, dog fun days, etc. There is also a *really* lovely little hidden gem of a beach in Freeport. It’s a semi-protected little cove so perfect for small children. There is also a huge picnic area with firepit BBQs and picnic tables right above the beach, overlooking the ocean. We live there in summer (it’s about 10 minutes from our house). LL Bean is good about having all their activities online so it’s easy to plan around.
We also love Portland and lived there for many years. Foodie paradise and totally not pretentious (even the best white linen restaurants in town) and I’ve never dined anywhere that didn’t make the experience good for little kids as well, letting them order off menu or catering a dish to a ….less refined palate
There are also a ton of islands right off the coast of Portland. There are ferries and then there is also the “mail boat run” you can do on the ferry which will take you around to several different islands to get a flavor of each. One of the largest, Peaks, is only about a 20 minute ferry ride from Portland and you can easily for a half day there of walking on the beach looking for sea glass, waking around the island, getting fresh ice cream, having a beer on the outdoor desk of the island hotel watching the waves, whatever you like.
Route 1 all up the coast is a lovely drive, though often slow in summer so if that’s your planned route give yourself extra time. Ogunquit is adorable and then a little over an hour north of Portland on Route 1 you’ll hit Rockland, Rockport and Camden which we also really like. I especially like Rockland, it’s very eclectic and fun. There’s also Boothbay Harbor which is also about an hour north of Portland and which has a great downtown right on the water, GREAT ice cream place (try the wild blueberry, it is AMAZING), and tons of harbor cruise, whale-watch and things like that.
The Maine Maritime Museum in Bath offers different lighthouse tours, which is a fun way to see a bit of the coast and some different lighthouses on various islands and get a bit of history. There are also several really nice breakwater lighthouses you can walk out to in Portland, So. Portland and Cape Elizabeth areas. There are nice beaches in Scarborough and a real small one that’s fun on an island in Falmouth that you can walk out to.
I would personally skip Old Orchard Beach. It’s super touristy and kinda sketch compared to other beaches. It’s a huge white sand beach which itself is nice, but I dunno how to describe it except to say it wouldn’t be my first pick. The attractions in that area are nothing out of the ordinary for many touristy beach towns; they are not “Maine” in any real unique way, if that makes sense.
-
@yoursilverlining: @nutmeg36: @csross217: @Eko: @ShootingStar: Thank you all for the suggestions! Looking forward to sitting down and going through them tonight.
-
@crazydoglady: I think your LO would love a Sox game!
I wouldn't invest in pricey seats but maybe the back row of a section that's under the cover.
There's a Kids Clubhouse at Fenway, a great place to let kids play (giant legos, coloring & a Wii baseball game), get facepaint or ice cream. It's indoors and airconditioned.http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/fan_forum/kidnation_clubhouse.jsp
Reply
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
12 comments