NYC to Maine - Late July early August

[shocks]

Youngest daughter is work in Maine this summer,

Mrs and I will pop over and thought of road trip from NYC > Mystic > Newport >Salem > Portland > Bar harbour
(she is working in Denmark, Maine - near Portland)

Any recommendations for :

- Fast car hire; can do the usual enterprise / six / Avis but thought I'd see if there were more muscle or specialist recommendations

- Places to stay

- Foodie / Cool things to go do

TIA

[nvubu]

For car hire I've tried twice now to get a Dodge Challenger, but each time I've ended up with something different. 1st time was a Ford Mustang, 2nd the biggest truck they had (just for a change). Both times with Alamo. I'll try again this year, but do not expect to get one.

Do not rent from Budget at JFK - we had a 3 hour wait to get a vehicle there.

Wherever we stay I always make sure it has a pool, preferably outdoor in the summer.

[GCH]

Suggest you get an EZ pass in NY, as that is a lot of tolls on your route, and if you allow them to be billed to your rental company, you will be hit with lots of 'convenience' charges by them for paying it on your behalf and then billing you.

They are free to get in NY from lots of places & stores (what you pay is entirely loaded as prepaid credit) and then you activate an online account, and can link a credit card for any additional charges. It'll work in every state of your trip.

As for rental, with somewhere like hertz you can specify some of the fast models and have it guaranteed rather than 'or similar'.

[DeejRC]

Dont. Just…don’t.
You will be monumentally disappointed. You will curse the roads and the Yanks drivers. You will get to Portland and wonder wtf you have driven to the piss wet through miserable Grimsby of New England.

Been there, done this. In addition you will also realise that Jessica Fletcher lied, Maine is not little picture perfect twee American coastal heaven, it’s mostly rural sthole hick dump.

[ExBoringVolvoDriver]

Personally, I would skip starting at NYC and start in Boston and do the White Mountains and into Vermont

[Essarell]

If you can stretch the trip a little farther Nova Scotia and a drive round Cape Breton NP is well worth it.

[Uncle boshy]

Did a circular trip last year in New England starting in Boston, via Maine and Vermont.

Lots to see, good driving roads, and we were made to feel very welcome.

Highlights for me were
cape cod,
seeing the mayflower replica in Plymouth
Boston itself, some great restaurants as well as historically interesting
Boothbay harbor ( north of Portland), stay in one of the hotels on the bay front like the bay inn
Bar harbor - if your into hiking Acadia has some fantastic views plus lobster rolls
Vermont and the white mountains, again amazing views, in particular Franconia notch was great plus visiting a maple syrup farm

We also headed over to Burlington which might be a stretch for you but got an amazing air bnb on the edge of lake champlain

[Essarell]

Just to add to the above post, there’s a short ferry ride across Lake Champlain from NY state to Vermont that’s pretty scenic

[ExBoringVolvoDriver]

Uncle boshy said:

Did a circular trip last year in New England starting in Boston, via Maine and Vermont.

Lots to see, good driving roads, and we were made to feel very welcome.

Highlights for me were
cape cod,
seeing the mayflower replica in Plymouth
Boston itself, some great restaurants as well as historically interesting
Boothbay harbor ( north of Portland), stay in one of the hotels on the bay front like the bay inn
Bar harbor - if your into hiking Acadia has some fantastic views plus lobster rolls
Vermont and the white mountains, again amazing views, in particular Franconia notch was great plus visiting a maple syrup farm

We also headed over to Burlington which might be a stretch for you but got an amazing air bnb on the edge of lake champlain

I would concur with this view. Been in that area twice and would happily go back in the Fall! Might have to wait a while though as my wife isn’t as keen.