An East Coast USA Road Trip: Acadia National Park

Briefly passing through the state of New Hampshire en route to Maine

I was nearing the end of my 5 week USA road trip and after spending time in Miami, Orlando, Savannah, Charleston, Atlanta, Nashville and Gatlinburg, we’d driven through the Blue Ridge Mountains and across to Washington DC, visited Baltimore and New York City. The last leg of our trip was a loop of the New England states and after ticking off Connecticut and Rhode Island and driving through Massachusetts, today we’d be leaving our motel on the outskirts of Boston to drive north towards Acadia National Park in Maine.

Driving north from Massachusetts to Maine meant briefly crossing in to the state of New Hampshire. We’d be spending more time in this state on the way back towards Boston after our visit to Acadia but for now, always on the lookout for interesting or fun roadside attractions, we made a quick stop in New Castle at Great Island Common, a small coastal park that’s home to a giant picture frame you can pose inside.

Stopping off at the picturesque Great Island Common

It was fun and pretty early morning stop although probably not worth the cost of parking is you’re not staying for long!

From New Castle, NH, we crossed the state border into Maine where we had a few more fun stops planned to break up our journey to Bar Harbor, where we’d be staying for the next few nights.

Lenny, the chocolate moose at Len Libbies Candies

First up, was a giant arm chair just randomly sat on a grassy area by a furniture store in the town of Kittery. After clambering on to try it out, we continued Scarborough where we visited the roadside store Len Libbies Candies to see it’s giant chocolate moose sculpture and buy some sweet treats for our journey.

Next up, was a stop at a business park in Yarmouth to peer in at ‘Eartha’, the World’s Largest Rotating Globe, rotating so slowly, we weren’t actually sure it was moving at all at first!

Our lunch time stop was in the town of Freeport where, after grabbing a Subway sandwich, we took photos with a giant L.L. Bean Boot car. We were also very excited to find a British shop in the town selling the UK made Cadbury’s chocolate we’d recently found ourselves craving!

The welcome sign at Acadia National Park

It was a long drive from Freeport to our motel on the outskirts of Bar Harbor. With time getting on, we made one last stop at a Denny’s along the highway for dinner, finally arriving at our accommodation early evening. Finding an ice cream and desserts shop near to our motel while out walking that evening, we grabbed a delicious crepe stuffed with Nutella and strawberries to eat before settling down for the night, ready for an early start the next day.

The following morning, we enjoyed a pancake breakfast at a local restaurant before driving towards Acadia National Park. We began our day at the Hulls Cove Visitor Centre to pick up park brochures and, of course, a Junior Ranger booklet to fill in along the way!

Above, and below, views from Cadillac Mountain

We had planned to drive along the park’s loop road, stopping off at some of the park’s highlights along the way. We’d been warned that the park often got busy and parking could be difficult to find at some of the main sites after mid-morning so had made sure to get up and out as early as we could.

Our first stop was at Cadillac Mountain where, luckily, there were still plenty of parking spaces available. Walking up the the viewpoint from the car park, we then spent almost an hour hiking over the rocks and enjoying the beautiful views.

Back in the car, we entered the one-way section of the loop road. We diverted off briefly to drive down to the Schooner Head Outlook, parking up and hiking down along the Schooner Head Trail for a bit to get a better look.

Above, and below, our lunch spot overlooking Thunder Hole

Next, we had hoped to stop at Sand Beach but found the area to be overrun with visitors, the car park full and no spaces anywhere along the road either. A bit further along the loop road, we did eventually manage to find a space to pull in and park at to walk down to the coast path and see Thunder Hole, so called because it is said to sound like a clap of thunder when the water hits the rocks at certain times of the day.

Scrambling further along the rocky coast path, we found somewhere to sit to have lunch with a view before returning to the car and continuing along the loop road a bit further to Otter Point.

After enjoying more beautiful views, we followed the loop road inland towards Jordan Pond. As well as the picturesque lake, this part of the park is also home to restaurants, gift stores and conveniences and is therefore a popular spot on the loop road. With it being mid-afternoon, everyone seemed to have arrived at the same time and despite multiple loops on the car park, we could not find a space.

As this part of the park lay just off the one-way section of the loop road, we decided to drive on and return later when we hoped it would be a bit quieter. Instead, we continued our loop of the park, stopping briefly at a viewpoint for Eagle Lake and then exiting the park back by the Hulls Cove Visitor Centre to drive into Bar Harbor instead.

With our motel lying on the outskirts of Bar Harbor, this was our first visit to the main town. After wandering around looking in some of the stores, we walked down to the pretty harbour and along the sea front.

After spending a bit of time in the town, we decided to return to Acadia and make another attempt at finding a car parking space at Jordan Pond. The couple of hours that had passed since our last visit had made a huge difference and this time we had a choice of spaces!

Above, and below, back in Acadia National Park at Jordan Pond

We visited Jordan Pond House first looking around the gift store and enjoying the views overlooking the lake in the distance then walked down to the lake front following the path along the shore for a while. The views across Jordan Pond with the two hills of South and North Bubble behind it were really pretty and we were glad we made the effort to return and spend some time here.

That evening, we returned to our motel grabbing dinner at a neighbouring restaurant then returning to the dessert store for ice cream before spending some time completing our Junior Ranger booklets.

The next morning, after checking out, we returned to the Hulls Cove Visitor Centre to hand our booklets in and earn our souvenir Junior Ranger badges before setting off for New Hampshire and the White Mountains.

We had one more stop to make in Maine, at a roadside attraction in the town of Bryant Pond – the World’s Largest telephone!

Another Junior Ranger badge to add to the growing collection

Then it was time to wave goodbye to this pretty state and continue with the last few days of our adventure.

A South Carolina Road Trip

Visiting Charleston, its surrounds and Congaree National Park

We’d been in the USA just over a week so far, already having visited Miami and spent a few days in Walt Disney World and now, after 2 nights in the beautiful city of Savannah, we were back on the road to drive further north to the historic city of Charleston in the state of South Carolina.

With it being just a short (for us!) 2-hour drive between the 2 cities, we had, as always, planned a few stops along the way at some fun road side attractions!

Our first stop wasn’t far across the state line in the town of Bluffton, home of the World’s Largest Boiled Peanut! The peanut sculpture, built for a boiled peanut festival was outside a market store in the middle of nowhere and we almost drove past it and missed out on getting photos with it!

Above, and below, touring the Kazoo factory and museum

We were even more excited for our next stop – The Kazoobie Kazoo Factory and Museum in Beaufort, SC! Here, after watching a film on the history of Kazoos, we toured the factory to see them being made before getting to build our own kazoo to keep as a souvenir! The tour ended with a chance to tour the small museum containing all sorts of kazoo products and memorabilia. It was a really fun stop.

Despite our busy morning, we were in the city of Charleston just after lunch so, after checking into our hotel, made the most of our afternoon exploring.

Above, down by the waterfront in Charleston, and below, Rainbow Row

After visiting the Charleston City Market and browsing the many stalls, we took a stroll down to the Waterfront Park with its Pineapple Fountain and pretty views. Walking back through the city, we passed Rainbow Row – a row of brightly painted houses – and some of Charleston’s many churches before walking along King Street in the historic district with its high end boutique stores.

We returned to our hotel in time for it’s late afternoon complimentary cheese and wine happy hour. This gave us a chance to mix with some of the other residents and swap itinerary ideas.

That evening ,we went for some South Carolina BBQ for dinner before joining a Ghost Walk of the city. This was a really fun way to see the city and hear some stories from its past.

Above, and below, touring the McLeod Plantation

We only had one night in the city itself but planned to spend most of the next day in the area so the next morning, we were up early to check out of our hotel and drive to McLeod Plantation. There are a variety of plantations to tour around Charleston and we were unsure which one to choose but McLeod Planation was recommended to us by our tour guide at Owen House in Savannah a few days earlier.

Arriving early, we bought tickets and had just a short wait until our tour was called. A guide took us around the grounds explaining the property’s chequered past and we were then left to continue exploring the house and grounds ourselves. It was a really interesting morning and definitely worth a visit.

Seeing as we’d made such an early start to the day, we still had plenty of time to spare so decided to take a ride out to the coast,and more specifically, Folly Beach. As we neared the beach town though, we hit traffic jams and warnings that the cars parks were all already full. Having not researched alternative places to park or if there were any park and ride schemes, and not planning on spending a huge amount of time there anyway, we decided it wasn’t worth the wait or the cost of parking and turned around deciding to make alternative plans.

While talking to other residents at our hotel the previous afternoon, some of them had mentioned visiting a huge and very old Oak Tree, the Angel Oak. We had looked up the tree and where to find it in case we had time to see it and as the sat nav was telling us it wasn’t too far away, we decided to make a lunch stop there. Said to be the largest Oak Tree east of the Mississippi, the tree, estimated to be over 300 years old, was definitely an impressive site.

Running out of things to do around Charleston, we decided to hit the road and try to make it to Congaree National Park today instead of visiting the next day like we’d originally planned. We estimated we could be there between 2pm and 3pm giving us a couple of hours to explore before driving to our nearby roadside motel for the night.

Sure enough, we made it to the park in just a couple of hours. Once there, we stopped at the Harry Hampton Visitor Centre, picking up Junior Ranger booklets to fill in before taking a circular walk through the park along the board walks leading from the centre.

Above, and below, walking through the park

The park had a weirdly tropical rainforest feel to it made more intense by the extreme humidity that afternoon and the increasingly loud rumbles of thunder echoing in the distance. We made it back to the visitor centre just as the first few large drops of rain began dripping through the canopy of trees above us and onto the boardwalk.

After completing our Junior Ranger booklets back in the shelter of the visitor centre and earning our Junior Ranger badges, we hit the road again just as the storm began to pass over.

From the park, it was just a 30-minute drive to our roadside motel in Orangeburg, close to which we found our first Cracker Barrel of the trip to visit for dinner that evening.

Fitting in Congaree National Park that day meant we could now wave South Carolina state goodbye and make an early start towards Atlanta, Georgia the following day. It had been a brief first visit to the state of Carolina and we knew that the state had a lot more to offer but we’d fit plenty in and had really enjoyed our time there.

A day in Savannah, Georgia

Roadtripping through Florida and Georgia to the beautiful city of Savannah

After 2 nights in Miami and an exhaustingly full on few days at Walt Disney World, our road trip through some of the Eastern States of the USA was now about to begin in earnest as we picked up our car from the Alamo terminal at the Disney Swan Hotel. Maybe because it was a smaller terminal with fewer cars on site, but we go upgraded from the small size car we’d booked to a larger SUV.

With neither of us having any experience at driving something which seemed pretty huge to us (but seems a pretty standard car size in the US!), we were a bit wary at first but were soon cruising along the freeway towards our final destination of the day, Savannah, Georgia.

A quick stop in St Augustine at the Fountain of Youth

As with our previous US road trip, we had tried to plan regular stops along the way on each drive day at road side attractions and sites of interest. Today’s first stop was in the Floridian town of Christmas which, as well as having a Christmas tree on display all year round, is also home to Swampy, the World’s Largest Alligator (sculpture!). The huge sculpture sits outside the Jungle Adventures Animal Park and while we didn’t visit the park itself, it was fun to pose alongside – and in the mouth of – the sculpture!

Already running late on our rough schedule after delays picking up our hire car and our first stop, we soon hot roadworks causing us to divert. Finding ourselves in St Augustine, we stopped to grab lunch and supplies at a Walmart then followed signposts to Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth, deciding it might be a good place to sit and eat lunch at.

If we’d had more time, it would have been fun to pay the entrance fee and actually see the fountain but after eating and stretching our legs, it was time to get back on the road again and cross the border into the state of Georgia.

We had booked a dolphin-watching sunset boat trip out of Tybee Island, on the outskirts of Savannah for that evening thinking we’d have plenty of time to make it but as we were till running late and hit more diversions around roadworks, it was looking less and less likely we would. Not having any access to the internet or being able to ring the company with the cost of calls from our UK phones, we had to make a decision whether to see if could make it or just give up and head straight to our Savannah accommodation. It could have gone either way so we decided to continue to Tybee Island and hope for the best.

Above, a disappointing visit to Tybee Island, and below, exploring Savannah including a visit to Chipewa Square

Arriving at the departure point right around the time of departure, we quickly found a parking space and ran to the dock only to see the boat pull away and sail down the river without us.

Disappointed but not surprised, we drove into Savannah and checked into the hotel we’d be staying at for the next couple of nights, briefly venturing into the city to grab a snack before returning to our room.

The next morning,we were up early to get out and explore the city. Being early August, it was a hot and humid day as we wandered along the streets and through the pretty squares. We stopped at Chippewa Square, famous for being where the Forrest Gump bench scene was set. The bench he sat on in the film isn’t actually in the Square, it was a prop but the Square itself is very recognisable.

Above, the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, and below, in Forsyth Park

After passing some other Savannah landmarks including the historic Savannah Theatre and the huge Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, we found ourselves in Forsyth Park with its canopy of oak trees leading to its pretty fountain.

Above, a replica of the Forrest Gump bench at the Savannah History Museum, and below, visiting the Savannah History Museum and the Jepson Centre

Next, deciding we needed to get out the heat and into some aircon, we walked to the Savannah History Museum to learn a bit more about the southern city.

We bought a combo ticket which also gave us access to the Jepson Centre, a contemporary art museum, which we made our next stop, and Owen House, one of the city’s historic homes.

Above, the gardens at Owen House, and below, touring the house

Our tour of the large house was really interesting and our guide even gave us some recommendations for our upcoming stay in Charleston, SC.

Following our tour of the historic home, we walked down to the waterfront, strolling along the banks of the Savannah River and visiting some of the shops there.

Above, strolling along River Walk, and below, the waterfront and Savannah’s City Market area

We then walked through the busy City Market area with its many shops and restaurants before returning to our hotel to once again cool off in some air-con!

That evening, we returned to the waterfront, visiting one of the River Street restaurant bars for dinner.

While the heat had taken some getting used to, Savannah had been a really beautiful city to spend a day exploring! We’d be briefly leaving he state of Georgia the next day to visit Charleston in South Carolina but we were looking forward to returning later in our trip to spend some time in and around the city of Atlanta.

A first time visit to Walt Disney World!

I am a huge Disney fan, always have been after growing up on a diet of pretty much nothing but classic Disney animations but as a child, Walt Disney World was always somewhere unaffordable and out of reach. We had won a family weekend to Disneyland Paris in the late ’90s and I’d loved every second of it but the huge Florida attraction with its multiple parks was always the dream and now, finally, in my late 30s, I was finally getting to visit!

Above, and below, our Little Mermaid themed block at the Art of Animation Hotel

Along with a couple of friends, I had an epic road trip along America’s East Coast planned. Starting in Miami, over almost 5 weeks we would be working our way up to the state of Maine before looping our way round to our final destination of Boston, MA and as we’d be passing Orlando on the way, it seemed the perfect excuse to finally visit Walt Disney World. While many UK visitors often spend 2-3 weeks at Disney World taking their time to get the most out of the experience, we planned to spend just 6 nights there working out that it would give us enough time to visit all of the parks providing we planned carefully and made good use of all our time.

The Rock n Roll Coaster at Hollywood Studios

One of my travel buddies had been on numerous visits to the park before and therefore knew the sites well and all the tricks to make the most out of our visit so we were more than happy to let her arrange an itinerary for us. We booked 6 nights on site at one of Disney’s ‘budget’ hotels, Art of Animation Resort, and got memory makers and fast passes included. A few weeks before arriving, we were able to use the park’s website to pre-book fast passes for some of the rides so it was important to plan out which park we’d be in on which day in advance rather than just decide once we were there.

Unfortunately, with it being the height of the summer season at the parks, there were no offers on Disney dining to take advantage on and we knew that food was going to be one of the main expenses of our stay.

After spending the first couple of nights of our trip in Miami, we had hired a car for the day to drive to Orlando airport. Once there, we dropped the car off and caught our pre-booked Disney ‘Magic Express’ bus to our resort. Just as we arrived, an afternoon thunder storm hit as is often the case in the summer there. It seemed to be easing off so we decided to start making our way from the check-in counter to our room in the Little Mermaid themed block. It turned out it was quite a walk and half way there, the rain suddenly got harder – much harder. Out in the open in the torrential rain with nowhere to shelter, we just had to keep going as quick as we could, our luggage getting heavier and heavier as it soaked up the water!

We finally made it to our block looking like 3 drowned rats and had to spend the next hour wringing out our clothes and finding places to try and hang up the clothes on top of our cases which were soaked through!

Our room was basically the same as what you’d expect at a budget chain such as Econo Lodge, Days Inn or a Super 8 but at a hiked up price because of the Disney decor. It was fine for what we needed – we’d be spending minimal time in there – and I especially like the ‘magic mirror’ on the wall which made me look considerable lighter than I was!!

Within an hour, the rain finally stopped and with it still being late afternoon, we decided to stick to our proposed itinerary and head into one of the parks. The hotel offered free transfers into all the parks on regular bus services leaving from just outside the reception area so, after first popping to the hotel gift store to buy Disney ponchos, we caught the bus to the Hollywood Studios Park.

The Slinky Dog Coaster in Toy Story Land

Arriving in time to use our fast passes we had booked for a few of the rides, we spent the rest of the evening in the park, grabbing a burger meal from one of the many food outlets for dinner. I really loved the park’s thrill rides, Rock n Roll Coaster and the Hollywood Towers and, even though I was rubbish at it, the shoot out ride Toy Story Mania!

All of the parks have a show running at the end of the night but, tired from a busy day, we decided to save Hollywood Studio’s Fantasmic show for another day we had planned at this park and returned to our hotel early instead.

Above, and below, walking through the EPCOT Park

For our first full day at the resort, we had planned to visit EPCOT. We were up early and walked to the hotel’s dining area to get some breakfast before heading into the park. We found that the children’s breakfast deals were available to anyone of any age and were more than enough for what we wanted including pancakes, fruit and a drink so ordering these kept the cost of breakfast down a bit. Then we queued for the EPCOT bound bus, arriving just before the gates to the park opened. The queues into the park were well organised and it didn’t take long to clear security and the entrance gates.

After taking the obligatory photos with the famous huge golf-ball-esque structure at the park’s entrance, we spent the first half of the day in the area just beyond that using our fast passes to ride the excellent Soarin’ ride and queueing for some of the other attractions and shows on offer. We split up and used the solo rider to queue to save time and ride Test Track then went for lunch at the Garden Grill Cafe, again eating off the children’s menu to save a bit of money.

Above, in ‘South America’, and below, the IllumiNations show and EPCOT after dark

In the afternoon, we started to walk around the park’s lake to visit all the various areas themed on different countries, fitting in a meet and greet with Frozen’s Elsa and Anna in ‘Norway’ after riding Frozen Ever After.

At the end of the day, we found a spot to watch the IllumiNations fireworks show over the lake before catching the bus back to our resort.

After an exhausting first full day at Disney, we were up early again the next day, once again grabbing a children’s breakfast from the hotel diner before queuing for a transfer bus. This morning’s destination was one of the 2 waterparks on site, Typhoon Lagoon. We planned to spend the morning here, returning to the hotel briefly to freshen up and change before spending the afternoon and evening in the Magic Kingdom.

The waterpark was pretty busy meaning we didn’t get on a lot of water slides in the short time we were there but we still had lots of fun in the wave pool and riding the lazy river. We sat poolside at one of the bars eating a delicious Disney pizza for lunch before catching the bus back to the hotel.

Wandering through the Magic Kingdom park

That afternoon, the rain started to pour just as we arrived at the Magic Kingdom. We huddled under the bus shelters until the worst of it passed over then, ponchos on, made our way past security and through the gates onto Main Street.

Despite the dreary weather, I was still so excited to get my first glimpse of the Disney Castle!!

Above, and below, the spectacular light and firework show over the castle

Our first fast pass for the afternoon was for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train but we arrived to find it had closed due to the weather. This at least meant our fast passes were now open to join the queue at any time that day once the ride reopened. Over the course of the afternoon we managed to get through a few of the park’s shows and rides, including it’s 3 mountains – Splash, Space and Big Thunder – and that evening stayed to watch the incredible light and firework show over the castle.

The next day we were off to Animal Kingdom again making use of the fast pass system to ride some of the more popular attractions and then using the interactive map on the Disney app to see what queue times were for everything else.

This park quickly became one of my favourites. I loved the theming, enjoyed the shows including Finding Nemo and the Lion King and rides like Dinosaur, Expedition Everest and the Kali River Rapids and the Kilimanjaro Safari attraction was amazing!

Above, on Safari at Animal Kingdom, and below, the River of Light show

We spent the entire day in the park from when it opened til closing, attending the spectacular River of Light show at the end of the evening, a show specially designed not to include any fireworks so as not to upset the park’s many animals.

The following day, we returned to the Hollywood Studios park, this time planning to spend the entire day there. As well as getting to ride some of our favourites like the Tower of Terror over and over again, it also gave us the opportunity to ride some of the rides we’d not had time to go on the other evening including the Slinky Dog Coaster in Toy Story Land, a ride so popular it was one of the few we couldn’t fast pass and the only ride across all the parks we had to queue over an hour for.

We also enjoyed attending some of the park’s Disney movie-based shows like the Little Mermaid show, the Frozen singalong and Beauty and the Beast.

We hadn’t met many of the Disney characters at this point but Hollywood Studios provides plenty of opportunities for this so we got photos with Pluto, Minnie and, of course, Mickey Mouse.

Above, meeting Minnie and Mickey and a enjoying a Disney-themed ice cream, and below, watching the Fantasmic show

At the end of the day, we watched Fantasmic, Hollywood Studio’s large scale end of the day show starring a whole host of Disney favourites.

Our final day at Disney World just had to be spent back in the Magic Kingdom! As the sun was shining, we took some time to retake our photos in front of the Disney Castle then spent the rest of the day riding anything we hadn’t already been on, returning to a few of our favourites and watching some of the shows.

Re-taking the castle photos in the sunshine!

Above, the Tangled-themed area, and below, the character parade

Highlight of the day was the afternoon character parade. Despite it being so hot and humid I thought I might pass out at one point, it was great fun to wave at the Disney characters as they rode floats or marched along the street. We also got to meet some of our favourite Disney Princesses in the Princess Pavilion and The Little Mermaid’s Grotto.

With lots of packing to do back at our hotel and an early start ahead of us, we left the Magic Kingdom behind before the firework show began, the It’s a Small World song stuck in our heads as we made our way back to our room.

The next morning we’d be picking up our hire car and driving north to the state of Georgia. I had really enjoyed my stay at Disney and it had definitely been worth the wait. Trying to fit it all into less than a week’s stay was exhausting and we hadn’t wasted a minute. While it was definitely doable, especially with the use of fast passes to maximise our time, I would definitely like to plan for longer and take my time a bit more if I ever return. And I really hope I do get to return one day!!

Boston

Boston is one of my favourite cities to visit in the USA and one I take every opportunity to return to. Here’s my guide to this charming New England city!

Where to stay

Massachusetts state, home to the city of Boston

My first trip to the city, we had very little idea about the best area to stay in and left it to fate winning a 4* hotel on Priceline’s Name You Own Price feature near the Old Statehouse. The location turned out to be perfect, close to the Freedom Trail and nearby shops, in walking distance of the waterfront and Boston Common. When returning to the city a few years later, I booked a more budget hotel in a similar area only to be contacted by the travel company a few weeks before our departure to say they’d double booked and cancelling our reservation. We were offered a similar priced hotel but it was on the outskirts of the city with very little in the way of transport connections nearby and therefore not at all convenient to our needs. With it being Easter weekend, Patriots Day and the Boston Marathon while we were there, we struggled to find any available rooms in our price range, eventually grabbing a last minute cancellation just slightly above our budget in Boston’s South End. While not quite as conveniently located as our original choice of hotel, the area still made for a good base to explore the city and in walking distance of many of the city’s attractions. On my last visit to the city, I stayed close to Boston Common, again putting us in walking distance of many of the city’s attractions and the ‘T’, Boston’s metro system.

Getting around

Having twice found ourselves trying to navigate our way through or around the city of Boston in a car, I really do not recommend it! The city is extremely walkable and the ‘T’ subway system is easy to navigate if you’re heading to anywhere slightly outside of the city centre.

I’ve mainly used taxi’s to get to and from the airport, only once attempting to use public transport, using the airport link bus to the main station in the city and the subway from there to the hotel. While doable, it wasn’t the easiest way to get our luggage across the city and with us arriving at rush hour, we spent a lot of time stuck in traffic.

On my first visit to the city, we made use of the city’s hop on/off trolley to do some sightseeing, mainly as it was included in the Go Boston sightseeing card we had purchased. This was a good way to get our bearings in an unfamiliar city and to learn about about the city as well as meaning we could mainly avoid using the subway system.

Boston Common and Public Gardens

Above, Washington sculpture in the Public Gardens, and below, visiting Boston Common and the Public Gardens

Boston Common is a great place to start any trip to Boston. As well as being at the start of the historic Freedom Trail, it provides easy access to other areas of the city including Beacon Hill and Newbury Street. The common is right next to the beautiful Boston Public Gardens where as well as wandering past the colourful flower beds, for a few dollars you can take a ride on one of the famous swan boats around the lake.

The Freedom Trail

The Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile marked trail around historic places around the city of Boston, was top of my to do list on my first visit to the city. Seeing a walking tour of the start of the trail included on our Go Boston tourist card, we booked a space, meeting our historically-dressed guide in Boston Common. The tour took us past the Park Street Church and into the adjacent burial ground and then down towards the Old South Meeting House and the Old Statehouse where, after hearing the story of the 1770 Boston Massacre, we were left to continue the trail ourselves.

Boston City Hall overlooking Boston Common

We opted to visit the Old South Meeting House and then the museum at the Old Statehouse before following the trail down to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. After using our Go Boston passes to take a narrated harbour boat-tour, we continued to follow the waymarkers to follow the Freedom Trail through Boston’s North End.

Here, we used our passes to visit the Paul Revere House and then made our way to Old North Church.

Looking towards Park Street Chruch from Boston Common

As it was already early evening, we turned around and made our way back to our hotel at that point and it wasn’t until my next visit to the city that I completed the Freedom Trail, taking a tour of City Hall whose golden dome looms over Boston Common before revisiting some of the sites along the trail and continuing on past the Old North Church to see the USS Constitution, an old warship, and then walking to the Bunker Hill Monument where we climbed the almost 300 steps to the top to see the views over the city.

Following the Freedom Trail is a really great way to see the city of Boston and learn about America’s history!

City views

View from the top of the Bunker Hill Monument

If you can make it to the end of the Freedom Trail and have enough energy left to climb the hill to the base and then the 294 steps to the top, then the Bunker Hill Monument offers pretty views of the city in the distance.

Above, and below, enjoying the views from the Skywalk Observatory in the Prudential Tower

For more close up views of the city, the Skywalk Observatory on the 50th floor of the Prudential Tower is situated close to Copley Place, right in the centre of the city and offers sweeping views in every direction. It was a beautiful, clear day when we visited and the views over the Charles River in one direction and across South Boston and Cape Cod Bay in the other direction were amazing.

Museums

With Boston being one of America’s most historically rich cities, there are plenty of museums offering opportunities to learn about its past.

Many of the museums are housed in buildings of historical importance such as the Old South Meeting House and Old State House, both on the Freedom Trail and contain a variety of artefacts and interactive exhibits to explore.

Throwing ‘tea’ overboard on the Boston Tea Party Museum’s ship

Down on the waterfront, as well as the Boston Aquarium and the Children’s Museum, is the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, an interactive exhibition where you get to board a full-size replica of an 18th century vessel and throw ‘tea’ into the harbour like its 1773. While I found the interactive elements of the museum aimed more at children, it was still interesting to learn about such a famous event and the tea-throwing was especially fun.

Above, the view across the bay from the grounds of the JFK Museum, and below, visiting the JFK Museum

Boston is also home to the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Slightly out of the city in the Dorchester neighbourhood, the museum is easily reachable via the ‘T’ subway system and a courtesy bus from the UMass station.

The museum has exhibits on the life of Kennedy, his presidency, assassination and legacy and we spent a good few hours exploring its collections. Situated right on the waterfront, the museum grounds also offers beautiful views over the bay.

As well as history museums, Boston is also the home of a range of art galleries including the Museum of Fine Arts

Beacon Hill

Beacon Hill is one of the most picturesque neighbourhoods of Boston to walk through with its cobbled streets and red brick buildings.

On the northside of Boston Common, the area is great place to visit if you’re looking for boutique shops, small art galleries and antiques stores. It is also home to the famous, and now only, ‘Cheers’ bar in Boston. Formally, there was a themed bar based on the layout of the bar in the popular 80s US sitcom in Quincy Market, but now this has closed leaving just the Beacon Hill bar. While the interior of this bar is not very reminiscent of the bar in the show, the outside, with the steps leading down to the entrance, is instantly recognisable. As well as serving food and drinks, the bar has a store selling Cheers themed merchandise.

North End

As well as being home to some of the stops along Boston’s Freedom Trail, the North End – Boston’s Italian district – is also worth a stroll through to visit one of its many Italian bakeries where you can grab a delicious cannoli. If you’re looking for somewhere to eat out in the evening, you’ll also find plenty of options here with some top class Italian and seafood restaurants.

Fenway Park

Fenway Park is the baseball stadium famously home to the Boston Red Sox team and the oldest baseball stadium in the US that’s currently still in use.

I decided to take a tour of the grounds when it was included on my Go Boston tourist card during my first visit to the city and, while not a baseball fan at all, or a fan of any sports for that matter, I still found it to be really interesting finding out about the ground’s – and team’s – history.

Watching a baseball game at Fenway Park, and below, spending time at Fenway Park

On my next visit to the city, I found out the Red Sox would be playing against New York’s equally famous Yankees team while I was in the city so I couldn’t resist going one step further and booking tickets to actually watch a game at Fenway Park one evening. It was certainly an experience and while it was fun for a while, mainly before the game started with the crowd atmosphere and mass singalongs, I had no idea what was going on once the game started and found it to be very stop start and left way before it drew to a close!

Boat Trips

There are plenty of ways to get out on the water in Boston from the Codzilla speed boat to the more sedate dinner cruises and even a tea party cruise on a tall ship.

I took a historic harbour cruise and over the 90-minutes on board, a commentary told us about some of the areas history while we looked out across beautiful views of the city’s skyline in the distance.

Another really fun way to get out on the water is to take a whale watching cruise.

Above, and below, out at sea on a whale watching day trip

This was a really amazing experience as we sailed out to sea, watching the city views fade into nothing before witnessing the amazing sight of huge whales basking on the surface of the water and swimming past us just under the surface.

We swapped the habour for the Charles River on a Boston Duck Tour.

Starting on land with a madcap commentary as we toured the city, we then set sail along the Charles River for some beautiful views of the city.

Harvard

Above and below, visiting the campus at Harvard University

Across the river, in the district of Cambridge, lies the World famous Harvard University. We took the ‘T’ subway out to have a look around, taking a student-lead tour of the campus. While it is possible to just wander around the grounds without a taking a tour, we found it interesting to learn a bit of the university’s history and the tour also gave us access to a couple of buildings we wouldn’t have otherwise gone inside!

Shopping

There are plenty of opportunities to shop in Boston, with something for everyone from the high street stores of Downtown Crossing – they even have a Primark! – to the more exclusive boutique stores of Beacon Hill and the eclectic stalls of Quincy market.

Newbury Street is probably the most well known of Boston’s shopping districts. Running along 8 blocks from the west side of the Public Gardens, it is home to a mixture of both internationally renowned designer boutiques, high street brands and local one of a kind boutique stores, all housed in huge Victorian red-brick buildings.

For more high street stores as well as large department stores and more high end fashion houses, the Prudential Centre and Copley Place are also great places to shop in the city.

Venturing out of the city

There are plenty of opportunities to get out of the city of Boston and visit the surrounding area.

Visiting the Witch Dungeon Museum in Salem

A witch trial recreated at the Witch Dungeon Museum

We took a train north to the town of Salem, infamous for the 17th century Salem Witch Trials. There were plenty of museums and attractions on offer here to find out about the history of the town and the witch trials but we found many of them to be on the tacky side, the ‘museum’ we chose to visit, consisting of being lead around a series of crude wax figures by a guide dressed up in as a 17th century Salemite retelling the story of what happened and another giving us the opportunity to sit through a reenactment of one of the trials.