Travel Arrangements
We planned this trip well in advance and booked the flights 11 months
before our travel date at the end of September. We didn't check to see
if the air fares changed much as the departure date approached but at
the time of booking we got fares comparable with other airlines.
We decided to fly with Aer Lingus from Manchester the nearest airport
to our home. Unfortunately direct flights to Boston had ceased in the
previous year but we had found out that by flying via Ireland we were
able to clear US Immigration at Shannon before boarding the
transatlantic leg. It is also possible now to do this at Dublin airport.
We had about a two hour stopover at Shannon and the US Immigration desk
and security opened about one hour before the flight departure and
there were only a dozen or so passengers waiting so clearance took
about ten minutes. Our luggage was booked through from Manchester to
Boston. Travelling from Shannon also reduced the transatlantic flight
time to less than seven hours so we arrived in the late afternoon and
were able to exit directly from the domestic arrivals terminal in a
very short time.
The return flight was overnight via Dublin with a one hour stopover.
Luckily the flights were on time so we arrived back at Manchester at
about 7am.
Accomodation
We stayed the night before the flight at the Radisson Blu airport hotel
which was a short undercover walk from the train station and we had
purchased cheap advance fares from Sheffield. On arrival at Boston we
found a cheapish hotel (by USA standards!) fairly near the airport but
had to phone for the free courtesy bus. This was the Hampton
at Revere which was fine inside but in an industrial
area of airport freight yards and an oil depot. However the room was
large and comfortable and a very reasonable self service breakfast was
included. We booked both the hotels through hotels.com at reasonable discount
rates also with a 10% cashback through Quidco. On reflection we maybe
should have booked for a final night in Boston before our journey home
and then had time to visit the city centre.
Our two cabins and the condo were booked through the VRBO online agency
we had used previously and we booked them about ten months in advance
as we were visiting at peak "leaf peeping" time.
We had good communications with the owners and got our security
deposits back without problems. The first cabin was situated about
three miles from Woodstock in Vermont about 120 miles easy drive mostly
on the Interstates 93 and 89. The access road was along a dirt road for
the last mile. This was a very well furnished traditional log
cabin set in a magnificent location in woodlands. A possible drawback
would be access to the upper floor and basement which was via steep
staircases so not really suitable for the disabled. We met the friendly
and helpful owner who lived in an adjacent property and we enjoyed our
four night stay.
The second property was about 80 miles north situated by the
picturesque Mirror Lake in the tiny hamlet of North Calais 15 miles
north east of the state capitol of Montpelier, the last five miles on
dirt roads. This was more basic although adequate and the bed
was comfortable although down stairs in the basement so again disabled
access could be difficult. The owner lived in Georgia and the
housekeeping and attention to the facilities especially in the kitchen
could have been better. There was a log burning stove in the living
room that I eventually got to stay alight on our final night having
purchased some firelighter kindling in a local supermarket. We stayed
there for five nights.
We drove about 100 miles south east to our final accomodation in
Campton near the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Again this
was situated about three miles from the town but on mostly metalled
roads. This was the end of a small terrace of condos set next to a
river and waterfall. It was modern and well furnished. We stayed there
for seven nights. Although in the White Mountains region it was about
twenty miles south of Lincoln although there was easy access via the
interstate highway and the Lakes region was quite near.
All three places had fast broadband and the first and last had cable
television which was mostly dire although the continuous music channels
of various genres was useful for the background. They all had adequate
heating and cooking facilities.
We were able to pay the deposits and balances using Paypal money
transfer for one and by credit card over the phone without problems.
Driving
We originally booked an intermediate sized rental car through an online
agency which turned out to be with Thrifty but we cancelled that as
their conditions stated no driving on unmetalled roads (Vermont has
thousands of miles of "dirt" roads which are mostly well compacted and
smooth gravel) so we rebooked through Hertz who we had used before at a
similar price. There are many horror stories about collecting and
returning rental cars on the review websites but we didn't have any
problems with our Toyota Corolla Matrix which was a small estate,
except there was no cover across the trunk area to hide our luggage or
belongings. It was fairly well used with33,000 miles on the clock and I
took photos of the minor scuffs on the bumpers before leaving. Once I
got used to the automatic it was fine and drove well although I decided
I didn't like the cruise control after trying it a couple of times on
empty interstates.
Leaving the Hertz rental plot at Boston Airport takes you straight onto
the toll ($3.50) interstate and into long tunnels under the estuary and
city with underground turn-offs so not a relaxing start but ok
once clear of the city when the I93 Interstate wasn't too busy
with a general speed limit of 65mph. There was an additional short
distance of toll road (only $1) at Hooksett between Manchester and
Concord. There are hardly any services on the interstates and returning
to Boston we had to loop back as theservice area was only on the
northbound carriageway. We found drivers generally to be well behaved
although as we approached Boston on our last day we found large artic
trucks passing us above the posted speed limit rather disconcerting.
One thing worth noting that if someone was stopped on the hard shoulder
you have to move to the outer lane until clear.
We discovered after returning home that the car was fitted with a Plate
Pass on the windshield behind the mirror for electronic toll collection
although I thought it had to have the cover removed to be operational,
so although we used the cash booths we had $16.50 taken from
our credit card which including a $11 usage fee. I e-mailed and
complained but no refund was given. Our car had a Florida registration
plate (only on the rear) so maybe that was used for identification at
the toll booths as different systems are used in the various states.
We
took our own Garmin 1340 satnav which worked ok. I bought the USA maps
from Pentagon GPS for about £45. The daily rental charge for inbuilt
satnavs is very expensive
Fuel costs were just under $4 per US
gallon which worked out at about 65 pence/litre! We paid for a full
tank of fuel at a not too exhorbitant rate and it saved having to
worry about topping up on return otherwise a large refuelling fee
is charged, and as the return route was on interstates we didn't see a
filling station near the rental depot.
Holiday Costs Train Sheffield to Manchester Airport and return: 4 x £8 | £32 |
Flights Aer Lingus Manchester - Shannon - Boston
Boston - Dublin - Manchester | £1014 including taxes |
Hotel Radisson Blu Manchester Airport 1 night | £61 |
Hotel Hampton Boston Revere 1 night | £112 |
Accommodation 14 nights 3 locations via VRBO | £1101 |
Car rental Hertz Boston 17 days | £313 |
Petrol including initial fill (1277 miles) | £103 |
Food shopping | £120 |
Miscellaneous treats meals out etc | £135 |
ESTA renewals 2 x $14 | £18 |
Total | £3009 |