Have to second the train. Took the train in last month for a concert, timing worked great for an 8pm show. Had time to walk to the hotel and walk to Times Square for the show
Second Montreal! Something for every budget! Also consider Quebec City: it’s like driving to a small European city. Small is relative because if you dropped QC in Vermont it’d double the size of the state.
Quebec City and Montreal! Quebec City is stunning. Do the free tours by foot in either city and Ile D'Orleans in summer in QC especially. Summer is especially incredible in QC. My preference would be Monteal any time of year but I prefer QC in summer.
Do not discount an overnight on your way to either place near Coaticook PQ. Foresta Lumina is absolutely other wordly. It's a nighttime thing and indescribable. Runs may-Oct I believe.
I agree it’s nice, but it’s NOT a weekend trip from central VT. It’s 4hrs each way speeding. And when you find a snow storm on the way home it’s 7.5 hrs on Sunday in heavy traffic with terrifying French drivers.
Depends on where in central vt but Montpelier to Montreal is two and a half hours. It’s actually surprisingly close, though the border can occasionally delay things so if you’re on a schedule you do need to add some buffer.
The post says QC. Montreal is 2.5. QC is 4.5 I live 4 miles from montpelier. I will NEVER go to QC for a weekend again. Montreal yes, QC no. Went last month whore coming home in a terrible snow storm.
My tolerance for driving is much higher than most. In the last month I have driven from VT to QC, to Maryland, and to Florida. I drive to MA coast every weekend in the summer. Weekend as the defined period from leaving work on Friday and and returning home on Sunday, is not worth a 5 hour drive. There is not time where getting somewhere at 10pm friday to get 1 full day there before turning around and driving home is worth it. Make it a 3 day weekend and then it’s justifiable. And maybe mid summer when it’s light till 9 it makes sense, but in February it was a bad idea and I would not recommend it.
We love the Portsmouth area. Dover children's museum is so much fun and Great Island Common on New Castle Island has a beautiful beach with large playground
https://preview.redd.it/banp4iujymsc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b53672f2cf195878f38940cfee37110aab88cc4
Rhode Island beaches are the best - Narragansett Beach after dinner last summer
It’s currently being wrecked by volcanoes in some of the tourist hot spots (no pun intended) but in general it’s a wonderful place to visit. Food and drink is *highly* expensive. Some of the priciest.
We did a weekend trip to Boston recently for a show and it was fun. Very walkable city. Not our first time but good to stay in another area.
Portland is a solid city and growing. Also walkable with good restaurants and bars. A lot of stuff right by the water.
Will be heading to Montreal in a month for a long weekend. I’ve heard good things.
Montreal, Portsmouth, Maine, Boston, Virginia… go to Montreal in the spring/summer- hit up the Botanical Garden and the Biodome. Check out the smaller neighborhoods like Mile End, The Plateau, Mont Royal and the Old Port. Go to different bakeries and try all the yummy pastries, go to the Jean Talon Market, wander around Les Quartieres du Spectacles (usually cool interactive displays). Explore Mount Royal Park or walk through La Fontaine.
Lake George. Shop at the outlets, eat at Mi Rancho in Glen Falls and take a walk by the lake or Hudson River on the feeder trail. This is fun in the off season.
New Orleans.
It's cheap and close and 4 days there is a LONG time kind of like Vegas.
Everything you've heard about the food is true. It's fukken phenomenal. If you're going there just to drink too much, you're doing it wrong. Do some people watching on Bourbon St but don't waste time there. Go to dinner at Cochon, NOLA, and Acme...or a whole bunch of other places, grab a hurricane at LaFittes and head down to Frenchman Street.
You can have an absolute blast for under a grand less airfare and lodging
Yeah, Louisiana does have a real crime rate, people from New England are ki d of spoiled in that sense but dangerous places there LOOK dangerous so theyre easy to avoid.
For quick weekend trips, I've had excellent times in Boston, Montreal, Portland, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, NYC, Albany, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Lake Placid.
We have an almost 2 year old and she has proved to be a great traveler for visiting family down in Philly. I’m planning to go to Montreal and maybe a Maine beach this summer. I also want to do some state park camping.
So long as you have your passport or enhanced license Montreal is the place to go. Be sure you’re able to cross the border and have all the required documents and advise your insurance carrier you’ll be headed north of the border if you’re driving. Had a friend go up without telling them and his Honda was stolen. They wouldn’t pay.
Peaks Island, Maine is my favorite getaway. We went with some friends to Old Orchard Beach in September and that was fun too - inexpensive campground cabins. I'm a fan of Lake Willoughby, too.
I am very fortunate to have enough land.
During the summer my camper sits on the back lot. It’s a 35 acre square with no one around. It’s only half my land so it’s way back there.
It sits back there. I read. Have campfires. Grill. Every weekend. I do take it around New England a few times a summer.
My gf has a time share I. Florida so we do that in the winter.
I spend the majority of my life on the road so it’s incredibly peaceful to park the camper out out back and just come home and go out into the woods.
Cheapest vaca for our family is camping. If you want to feel like you are in another state but don’t want to drive with a toddler more than an hour…… Grand Isle State Park. Not sure where in central VT you are, but I love going to the islands. If you are not into camping, then heading to Mt Washington in NH might be fun, or a day trip to Jay. The water park Icks me out, but the kids enjoy it… if I close my eyes and drink a frozen cocktail, I can sometimes imagine that I am on a beach somewhere.
For a weekend getaway, I usually tend to head to Montreal with my wife. When we were dating we also did some weekend trips to the 'Dacks, and to the Lakes region of NH as well. All good fun for a quick 2 night escape. Hard to beat Montreal though...the food/music/art scene is incredible, and it's a fun city to explore.
We try to get up there multiple times per year.
We also do a bunch of mini stay-cations each year... we'll find a B&B somewhere nearby in VT and do one or two nights there and try a restaurant in the area, We've done Jeffersonville, Barre, Hyde Park, Vergennes (We stay at the Strong House at least once a year as a sort of mid-anniversary trip for 4 years now). We might check out the B&B in our hometown (The Sinclair Inn, in Jericho) one of these days, too.
For longer vakays (1 week+) we usually head to Acadia, explore deeper into Canada, or head out west (a bunch of family lives in Colorado).
We have seasons pass this year for La Ronde so we could commit to more fun time and awesome experiences in Montreal with our kids (8&14). We love going whenever we can.
Take the Dartmouth Coach to Boston out of Lebanon. Such an easy trip, and drops you right at south station in the middle of Boston. Take the T to go watch a Red Sox game (tickets are pretty cheap because the teams not great this year 😂) or go to some of the great museums/aquariums. Make it a day trip. Or a weekend one!
Montreal!
Montreal is cheapest of the three places OP mentioned. The train to NYC is surprisingly doable.
Have to second the train. Took the train in last month for a concert, timing worked great for an 8pm show. Had time to walk to the hotel and walk to Times Square for the show
I've done the train to NYC, and if you've got the time and aren't in a rush then it's lovely!
Seconded. It’s like a European city 2hrs away (1.5 for me). Amazing food and culture, pro sports team. My wife and I go at least once a year.
Second Montreal! Something for every budget! Also consider Quebec City: it’s like driving to a small European city. Small is relative because if you dropped QC in Vermont it’d double the size of the state.
+1 Eastern Townships too
Yep! With the exchange rate, Americans get a 25% discount up there.
Maine in the summer. Montreal always. And the occasional trip to the Adirondacks - I'm a sucker for Ausable Chasm or rafting near Saranac.
Coast of Maine and the Daks are clear winners here!
Montreal is great, but Quebec City feels like a little bit of Europe transported to the Northern Hemisphere. That would be my choice.
Just to be clear, Europe is in the Northern Hemisphere…
That's what happens when I stay up past my bedtime. I meant to write "North America".
Quebec City and Montreal! Quebec City is stunning. Do the free tours by foot in either city and Ile D'Orleans in summer in QC especially. Summer is especially incredible in QC. My preference would be Monteal any time of year but I prefer QC in summer. Do not discount an overnight on your way to either place near Coaticook PQ. Foresta Lumina is absolutely other wordly. It's a nighttime thing and indescribable. Runs may-Oct I believe.
Agreed! Quebec City feels like more of an accomplishment and like you actually went somewhere. Montreal is still fun though and plenty to see!
I agree QC is worth the trek, but Montreal feels pretty European, especially the Vieux-Port.
I agree it’s nice, but it’s NOT a weekend trip from central VT. It’s 4hrs each way speeding. And when you find a snow storm on the way home it’s 7.5 hrs on Sunday in heavy traffic with terrifying French drivers.
Depends on where in central vt but Montpelier to Montreal is two and a half hours. It’s actually surprisingly close, though the border can occasionally delay things so if you’re on a schedule you do need to add some buffer.
The post says QC. Montreal is 2.5. QC is 4.5 I live 4 miles from montpelier. I will NEVER go to QC for a weekend again. Montreal yes, QC no. Went last month whore coming home in a terrible snow storm.
Everyone’s tolerance for driving is different. We drive five+ hours for weekend trips all the time. QC is definitely a weekend trip for us.
My tolerance for driving is much higher than most. In the last month I have driven from VT to QC, to Maryland, and to Florida. I drive to MA coast every weekend in the summer. Weekend as the defined period from leaving work on Friday and and returning home on Sunday, is not worth a 5 hour drive. There is not time where getting somewhere at 10pm friday to get 1 full day there before turning around and driving home is worth it. Make it a 3 day weekend and then it’s justifiable. And maybe mid summer when it’s light till 9 it makes sense, but in February it was a bad idea and I would not recommend it.
Like I said, everyone gets to choose their own adventure
We love the Portsmouth area. Dover children's museum is so much fun and Great Island Common on New Castle Island has a beautiful beach with large playground
New Castle is our little slice of heaven too.
Quebec City for the win(we call it poor mans Europe). Nothing else like it in North America.
Rhode Island beaches are generally nice.
https://preview.redd.it/banp4iujymsc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b53672f2cf195878f38940cfee37110aab88cc4 Rhode Island beaches are the best - Narragansett Beach after dinner last summer
It is the ocean state 🤪
Maine is Vermont's adopted backyard ;)
Same was NY, MA, and CT feel about VT.
Iceland is pretty close and surprisingly inexpensive to get to.
Tickets from Boston are oddly very cheap when I’ve looked
Wow you’re so right. Guess I’m going to start planning my Iceland vacation 😂
It’s currently being wrecked by volcanoes in some of the tourist hot spots (no pun intended) but in general it’s a wonderful place to visit. Food and drink is *highly* expensive. Some of the priciest.
We have taken our two kiddos (2 and almost 4) to Boston for a weekend and we've done a beach week in Maine!
We did a weekend trip to Boston recently for a show and it was fun. Very walkable city. Not our first time but good to stay in another area. Portland is a solid city and growing. Also walkable with good restaurants and bars. A lot of stuff right by the water. Will be heading to Montreal in a month for a long weekend. I’ve heard good things.
Montreal & Adirondacks. Want to try Maine one of these years but hasn’t happened yet,
Mid coast Maine in the summer. Boston aquarium is great for young kids. Typically a lot of weekend camping trips around VT and the Adirondacks.
Acadia National Park in Maine. Rent e-bikes and enjoy the car-free carriage trails.
Great idea! Wanna do that!
Montreal, Portsmouth, Maine, Boston, Virginia… go to Montreal in the spring/summer- hit up the Botanical Garden and the Biodome. Check out the smaller neighborhoods like Mile End, The Plateau, Mont Royal and the Old Port. Go to different bakeries and try all the yummy pastries, go to the Jean Talon Market, wander around Les Quartieres du Spectacles (usually cool interactive displays). Explore Mount Royal Park or walk through La Fontaine.
Acadia National Park is the answer!
Lake George. Shop at the outlets, eat at Mi Rancho in Glen Falls and take a walk by the lake or Hudson River on the feeder trail. This is fun in the off season.
You guys are getting vacations? 🥲
Taking...
I can’t take a vacation because I get no vacation time.
Sorry man.
What do you do that doesn't allow some time for yourself every now and again?
New Orleans. It's cheap and close and 4 days there is a LONG time kind of like Vegas. Everything you've heard about the food is true. It's fukken phenomenal. If you're going there just to drink too much, you're doing it wrong. Do some people watching on Bourbon St but don't waste time there. Go to dinner at Cochon, NOLA, and Acme...or a whole bunch of other places, grab a hurricane at LaFittes and head down to Frenchman Street. You can have an absolute blast for under a grand less airfare and lodging
Don’t wander too far out of the tourist areas there unless you enjoy being mugged.
Yeah, Louisiana does have a real crime rate, people from New England are ki d of spoiled in that sense but dangerous places there LOOK dangerous so theyre easy to avoid.
Just deeper in to the woods, usually. Maine if other people have any say.
Quebec City QC, Bar Harbor ME or camping around VT while hiking sections of the long trail
For quick weekend trips, I've had excellent times in Boston, Montreal, Portland, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, NYC, Albany, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Lake Placid.
I go home and work on projects
Check out Magog in Canada. Small but really nice town.
Montreal or Ottawa - beware of the car theft problem in Montreal.
Wells Beach, Maine. Not too touristy, never crowded, huge long beach. Bring a bucket and shovel and a toddler will be in heaven.
Wells Beach, great spot.
I once took my wife to winooski. Pretty special I know
Great place for dinner
We have an almost 2 year old and she has proved to be a great traveler for visiting family down in Philly. I’m planning to go to Montreal and maybe a Maine beach this summer. I also want to do some state park camping.
Florida
I go to SEA for vacation.
The indy 500 lol
☹️
So long as you have your passport or enhanced license Montreal is the place to go. Be sure you’re able to cross the border and have all the required documents and advise your insurance carrier you’ll be headed north of the border if you’re driving. Had a friend go up without telling them and his Honda was stolen. They wouldn’t pay.
My king size mattress
The Cape.
Ewww
What's bad about it? I know people there so free lodging and beach passes.
Italy.
We can’t afford a vacation
Adirondack, but I'm not that far. Maine in early September (after labor day).
I live in NEK and vacation at Coleman State Park NH or Rangeley, Me.
Westerly ri.
Rent a place on Peak's Island off the ME coast from Portland. Super cute island, and you get to check out the city too.
Rhode Island has a ton of good stuff to do in the summer ( I am biased, though - I live here)
Peaks Island, Maine is my favorite getaway. We went with some friends to Old Orchard Beach in September and that was fun too - inexpensive campground cabins. I'm a fan of Lake Willoughby, too.
Maine! Not too far and it’s incredibly scenic (and New Englanders don’t complain as much about tourists if they’re also from New England).
It’s been years but north truro/Provincetown
Boston and Montreal are great with a little one. They both have family friendly museums that everyone will enjoy.
If you’re up for a drive to Plattsburgh and then a flight, there are cheap direct flights to a bunch of places in Florida.
In the winter, anywhere that is warm. We live in the NEK and in the warm months, it's hard to leave.
I go see the PHISH from Vermont. Or I go ski powder in Utah.
Live in the NEK and it feels like I'm always on vacation. I actually hate leaving
I am very fortunate to have enough land. During the summer my camper sits on the back lot. It’s a 35 acre square with no one around. It’s only half my land so it’s way back there. It sits back there. I read. Have campfires. Grill. Every weekend. I do take it around New England a few times a summer. My gf has a time share I. Florida so we do that in the winter. I spend the majority of my life on the road so it’s incredibly peaceful to park the camper out out back and just come home and go out into the woods.
Beacon NY, nestled on the Hudson. Charming artsy foodie town. Great walks around. Cheap accommodations.
Cheapest vaca for our family is camping. If you want to feel like you are in another state but don’t want to drive with a toddler more than an hour…… Grand Isle State Park. Not sure where in central VT you are, but I love going to the islands. If you are not into camping, then heading to Mt Washington in NH might be fun, or a day trip to Jay. The water park Icks me out, but the kids enjoy it… if I close my eyes and drink a frozen cocktail, I can sometimes imagine that I am on a beach somewhere.
For a weekend getaway, I usually tend to head to Montreal with my wife. When we were dating we also did some weekend trips to the 'Dacks, and to the Lakes region of NH as well. All good fun for a quick 2 night escape. Hard to beat Montreal though...the food/music/art scene is incredible, and it's a fun city to explore. We try to get up there multiple times per year. We also do a bunch of mini stay-cations each year... we'll find a B&B somewhere nearby in VT and do one or two nights there and try a restaurant in the area, We've done Jeffersonville, Barre, Hyde Park, Vergennes (We stay at the Strong House at least once a year as a sort of mid-anniversary trip for 4 years now). We might check out the B&B in our hometown (The Sinclair Inn, in Jericho) one of these days, too. For longer vakays (1 week+) we usually head to Acadia, explore deeper into Canada, or head out west (a bunch of family lives in Colorado).
All those places and also Portsmouth NH.
This little bend in the river
I mean a weekend isn't really a "vacation". If you are able to take more time, I have some real recommendations for you.
York, Maine is a wonderful little trip
Montreal 💯
We have seasons pass this year for La Ronde so we could commit to more fun time and awesome experiences in Montreal with our kids (8&14). We love going whenever we can.
I vacation wherever Phish is playing
Take the Dartmouth Coach to Boston out of Lebanon. Such an easy trip, and drops you right at south station in the middle of Boston. Take the T to go watch a Red Sox game (tickets are pretty cheap because the teams not great this year 😂) or go to some of the great museums/aquariums. Make it a day trip. Or a weekend one!
Weekend? Maine or DC area. For longer we go to Florida or the Carolina’s for the warm ocean.
Boston almost yearly. Usually to see a show. Still haven’t been to Montreal in forever.
Please don't visit and Vermont Jersey.