Showing posts with label New England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New England. Show all posts

New England On A Budget - Things To Do In New Hampshire

On our 11 day trip to New England we saw many sites both historical and 21st century.  We visited one of the most populated areas in the United States and some of the least populated areas. We visited New Hampshire for only 2 days during our trip. Listed below are some of the sites we saw on our trip.
White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire : Click the link for White Mountain National Forest to find the variety of activities you can see while visiting this region of New Hampshire.  Make sure you stop by the National Forest Service Station at 33 Kancamagus Hwy, Conway, NH 03818  (603) 447-5448 and get your kids sworn in as Junior Rangers. This is a fun and FREE activity your kids can do. Our time was limited and our budget was important so there were several attractions we did not see. 
Glen Ellis Falls White
Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire
Hiking: Hiking is a wonderful activity to do for the budget conscious family.  It is a great way to see the world, be fit, and at the same time disconnect from the digital world. Oh, and did I mention it costs little to nothing?  In the White Mountain National Forest you have to pay to park.  It is a little confusing but once you read the parking card you get when you pay, it makes sense.  Basically you pay a few dollars (I seem to remember $5) to park your car at the different hiking trails and you can use that same pass all day long at other hiking trails. We did enjoy hiking to see several waterfalls in the national forest.  However, what the websites I researched prior to going on my trip failed to mention were the massive number of black flies (buffalo gnats) prevalent in New Hampshire during June. One nice gentleman at the tourist visitor center in Conway, NH told me the black flies are worse from Mother's Day through June.  We visited the 2nd week in June. The black flies were so bad the Off brand bug repellent we sprayed on was merely an appetizer for the main course - US!! Thankfully we had on long sleeves and pants.  We even covered our faces with handkerchiefs and were still being bitten! We finally just gave up on hiking.  I think it would be fantastic to hike during the season when there are no black flies. 

Kancamagus Highway White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire: This 32 mile stretch of highway between Conway, NH and Lincoln, NH is beautiful.  You have covered bridges, hiking trails, and water falls to enjoy with short walks from the highway.  The Albany Covered Bridge is definitely worth stopping to see. Lower Falls & Sabaday Falls are beautiful as well. I can't believe how clear the water in the Swift River is! This drive has been voted the best scenic drive in all of New England.  Our only complaint, other than the black flies, was that we were there during motorcycle week and you could not enjoy the serenity due to loud motorcycles at every turn.  In Lincoln we visited the famous Clark's Trading Post.  I am not sure why it is famous as it just had high priced tourist trap junk in my opinion. 

The Weather Discovery Center North Conway, NH: The Weather Discovery Center was FREE! ( they accept donations) We found it to be very interesting. They had a film you could watch and then you explored the musuem.  One of our favorite things in the museum was the wind room. This is a great way to spend an hour or two.  i highly recommend visiting this attraction if you enjoy museums or learning about different weather types. 




North Conway Outlet Mall: North Conway, NH is home to hundreds of outlet stores in the Settler's Green Outlet Village.  We spent an afternoon shopping the stores of the outlet since we gave up hiking due to the black flies. Among other purchases we were able to find some real deals at the Brookstone Outlet. Example: leather iPad cover that was regularly $59 I got for $5.  Talk about a bargain! Also, did I mention New Hampshire has NO SALES TAX?  This is a bargain hunter's dream!

More Information About Visiting North Conway, NH Village There are many more things to see and do in this area.  I am certain a family could easily spend 4-5 days and not get bored in this area.  However, our time was limited and our budget was tight so we had to forego some of the pricey "touristy" things such as paying $28+ to drive up Mount Washington - in your own car.  Yeah you read that right $28 for a car with 2 adults, everyone extra you pay more for.  Or how about the $68 per person charge to ride the cog railroad up Mount Washington? Neither of these options were something we were willing to pay those rates to do. There are other attractions similar in this area - choose wisely where you spend your money.  You do want to have the money to vacation next year too right? 



New England on a Budget - Getting Around Boston

As of 2013, Boston, Massachusetts has a population of 636,000 people in 90 square miles. The Greater Boston Area is estimated to have a population of 4.5 million people, making it one of the most densely populated areas in the United States.  Due to how densely populated the area is, driving and parking in Boston is insanely difficult...


If you are traveling to Boston and do not plan to visit any region outside of the Boston area you do not need to rent a car. Not renting a car will save you money and keep you on a budget. Boston is a great city to use the MBTA or T train (subway).  Children under the age of 12 ride the subway FREE of charge. You can get a weekly card for $19 that gives you unlimited usage of the T train (subway) and the inner harbor ferry service. There is a harbor ferry service that runs from Logan Airport to Downtown Aquarium to the Charlestown Shipyard. We took the Harbor Ferry and enjoyed getting to see Boston from the water.  My son really enjoyed riding up top of the ferry, even though it was raining! The T train runs from Downtown Boston to outlying areas such as Cambridge.

Boston is very compact so you can walk the city easily. We walked the Freedom Trail the afternoon we landed in Boston.  It is very simple, just follow the colored pathway.  The Freedom Trail is 2.5 miles long and has 16 historic sites along the trail. There are maps all around town or you can download an app for the Boston Freedom trail. We just used a map. We prefer the north end of the Freedom Trail. The north Boston neighborhoods are very quaint and historic. 


If you have a rental car, as we did the day we flew in to Boston you will have to deal with parking in Boston.  Parking is VERY expensive!  Parking near downtown Boston in June 2014 was $35. Remember I am a budget conscious traveler?  No way I am going to pay $35 to park.  I found the Nautica Parking Garage near the USS Constitution museum (five minute walk) for $12 for 4 hours. If you take your parking ticket to the museum they will validate it and save you some money. 

Driving in Boston is insane as well.  We found the streets to be in disrepair. Drivers drive wherever they desire. Frequently drivers would be driving along the shoulder of the road. Our GPS redirected us through the warehouse district and we found potholes as big as the hood of our car! If you rent your car from Logan Airport you will have to pay a toll to go through the Ted Williams Tunnel ($3.50 in June 2014) or you will have to go the long way to get to Boston which in traffic could take you 45 minutes - 1 hour.

New England On A Budget - Getting Around Maine, Massachusetts, & New Hampshire

We spent 11 days in June 2014 in beautiful New England.  During our vacation we traveled by planes, trains, automobiles, and boats. I did a lot of research on methods of transportation in New England. Listed below is what I found:

  • Cruises - Several cruise companies offer cruises that depart from Boston and go to Canada making stops along the coast of New England.  After doing research, I decided this would not be a good option for my family to stay within a budget.




  • Amtrak - Amtrak leaves the Boston North station  and will take you to several stations between Boston and Brunswick, Maine. I opted not to take the train because I wanted to be able to see more of the area than the train would have allowed.  You can visit the Amtrak website to see fares but they were comparable to renting a car for a week. If you opt to take the train instead of renting a car, from Logan Airport you will take the Blue Line to the Orange Line and then to the North Station.  




  • Ferries - There are over 3,000 islands off the coast of Maine. With so many islands, a ferry service is offered by the State of Maine. The Explore Maine by Ferry website gives information about service to some of the islands of Maine. We chose to travel to a lobster village on the island of Vinalhaven. During the winter months this island has less than 100 residents who stay through the brutal winter. The cost to ride the ferry was reasonable at $17.50 for adults and $9.50 for children. The ferry also transports cars but it is my understanding you have to book that months in advance. The ferry ride took 1 hour and 15 minutes each way.  We traveled past 2 lighthouses on our journey and tried to spot whales. In June the temperature was a bit cold for this Texas girl but I stayed on the outside dock of the ferry for the entire trip.  My husband and son went inside for a while during our trip due to the cold wind. Once we arrived in Vinalhaven we walked around town.  We then walked a short distance out of town to a reserve.  However, it was about to rain so we had to walk back but there were trails to explore.  We ate at the Harbor Gawker (see my blog on the food of New England) and then caught the ferry back to Rockland.  It was a great day full of adventure!




    My Rental Car
  • Renting a car - A good rule to remember when you rent a car is that it costs more money to rent from an airport rental agency than an agency outside of the airport. This rule works for any airport, not just Boston.  With that in mind I set out to find a car to rent for our 11 days in New England but NOT at the airport. I researched the car rental agencies and tried to find the best reviewed agency.  Car rental agencies are known to be a bit... crooked. I decided I would go with Enterprise after reading the reviews. Now the next task was to find one outside the airport yet still close enough that I don't spend too much money on subway, cab, or Uber fare. There are several Enterprise agencies in the Boston area.  I looked at the cost and logistics of renting a car for each one. I settled on the Enterprise near the Wonderland Station in Revere, Massachusetts. 
Note: When driving up the Maine Turnpike (I-95) you will encounter toll roads. Pay with cash instead of electronic payment so that you are not charged a fee by the rental car company on top of the toll amount. The tolls were about $6 each way. 

The plan was to get our luggage from the airport and ride the Blue Line subway up to the Wonderland Station.  Enterprise would pick us up and we would rent the car from that location that is approximately 1.5 miles from Wonderland Station. We would then drive back to Wonderland Station and leave our car and luggage and head into Boston for the day.  (Note: Driving and parking in Boston is crazy! We were going to try to avoid that if at all possible.) I booked on Enterprise website for the days I needed about 6 months prior to my arrival in Boston saving about $300 over renting at the airport.  (Note: If you rent a car for a week or more you get a MUCH better rate than just renting it for a couple of days.)  When you decide to rent a car check to see what insurance you have on your policy, it probably covers rental too.  My credit card I used even had insurance for rental cars. You do not have to purchase the insurance the rental car agency tries to sell you. Just remember to have the agent who is helping you make note of every dent and scratch BEFORE you leave the lot. I used my camera and took pictures and video of every dent and scratch. Remember how I said rental companies are known to be crooks? 



The good thing about renting a car from Enterprise is that you can cancel relatively easily without paying a penalty.  This worked to my advantage. After researching rental cars I discovered that prices change frequently based on the number of cars rented out.  Car rental companies do not like to have cars not rented - they lose money. With that knowledge I frequently checked to see if prices would drop at a different rental company in the Boston area or maybe I could get a luxury car for the price of an economy. This just required me to check the website every couple of weeks. Did you know that within 30 days of your scheduled rental, the company looks at upcoming reservations and determines what they have a surplus of and adjusts prices accordingly?  It's true! 29 days before I was scheduled to pick up my rental car, the price dropped at the airport location for Enterprise. I was able to get a higher grade car for the same price I was going to pay for an economy car in Revere, MA. I no longer had to worry about carrying all of my luggage on the subway and then waiting for some random Enterprise guy to come pick me up.  I could just take the airport shuttle to the rental agency and get my car! I was glad I kept checking prices because it turned out this was a great time saver. However, now I had a new problem...


Remember how I said parking and driving in Boston was crazy? See my blog on getting around Boston for the details.


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