Quick Tips New England Vacation Planner

This time of year I’m overloaded with questions and requests for help in planning New England vacations for people. Here’s four basic questions to ask yourself that will help you plan…


How many days do you have for your vacation?

If you’re flying in to Boston or another regional airport allow the first day to pick up your car and drive to your destination. Take time to settle into your accommodation, get orientated and scout out for a relaxing dinner location.

Similarly on the last day, you should allocate for driving back to the airport, dropping off your car and getting through security to catch your flight. So if you’re planning on seven days in the area – now you’re down to five for touring and sightseeing.

Do you prefer to tour or stay in one place?

This is an important question for you to answer as touring requires more planning, and accommodation booking, but also offers the chance to see more of the region’s diversity.

If you prefer to be based at one location then it makes the lodging choice easier. But there is no one place that’s centrally located in New England for destinations and attractions, so you need to ensure where you stay is close for all the things you want to see and do.

What do you like to see and do?

Don’t try and see everything. You can’t do it. Everything will be just a blur, and you wouldn’t really have experienced the region at all.

New England has mountains, lakes, rivers, forests, parks, wilderness, white sand beaches, Islands, rocky coastlines, cities, villages, history, museums… well you get my point.

Once you’ve chosen a few themes that will help you zero in on a realistic area to cover during your stay depending on whether you’ll be housed in one spot or touring around.

What do you want in accommodation?

Are you looking to lodge at a Four-Star resort and spa or a campground near Lake Winnipesaukee?

The New England region is famous for its Country Inns and Bed and Breakfasts - a type of accommodation that suits couples and singles, but not necessarily families with young children. The range of rentals, resorts, spas, hotels and inexpensive lodging abounds in all areas, although even the modest places can fetch high rates during the summer season.

The one thing I always urge visitors is to book your accommodation early… very early. Especially if you’re visiting for the New England fall season – some accommodations book up a year in advance for the fall!

I hope this helps you plan your vacation in New England. And if you need further help you can check out my New England Vacations Guide website by clicking here for suggestions and ideas on destinations and lodging.

Until next week, enjoy the warm spring days.

Cliff Calderwood
Executive Director
New England Vacations and Destination Guide