New England - Where to stop for a night Amtrak between NYC - BOS

My wife and I are going to the US in July. We will be spending a week in NYC then catching the Amtrak to Boston to attend a conference.

Having seen some generic pictures of beautiful coastal villages in the New England area (without details of where they are!) we thought we might stop overnight some where between NYC and Boston then catch the train the rest of the way the following day. Of course we will not have a car.

So where are these idyllic little villages? The stations that seem to be on the route are:

New Rochelle, NY
Stamford, CT
Bridgeport, CT
NEW HAVEN, CT -
Old Saybrook, CT
New London, CT
Mystic, CT
Westerly, RI
Kingston, RI
Providence, RI
Route 128, MA
Boston, MA-Back Bay MA

Thanks in advance

About half of these are places I would not recommend visiting, at least not the bits near the train station! Ah, lovely Route 128 -- that's a very nice coastal village. Come to Boston, stay for beautiful Norwood...

In seriousness, one great sight to see on a day trip would be Mystic Seaport and the surrounding area (all in Mystic, CT).

There are also some nice bits in New London, although I don't recommend visiting the site of the property disputed in Kelo v. New London -- it's a sad abandoned field and the whole neighborhood is pretty sad (the eminent domain action happened, but the promised economic development fell through).

Great, thanks mate. I'll do some research on Mystic CT!

Kingston is about five minutes from me, but not sure I am a tourist stop... :)

I would recommend Mystic as well.... a great little town to visit.

Mystic.

Anything before that is a dump, not worth visiting at all. They are busy cities, the water is dirty and filthy in the summer because it's on Long Island Sound, and they are not really safe for wandering around at night.

Once you get past Mystic, New London, and Kingstown, you start heading inland a bit and move away from the water. If you wanted to take in the casinos New London or Mystic would be good choices too.

Mystic Seaport is about a mile away ( http://www.mysticseaport.org/ ), it's a quaint restored village, there are a few hotels in town, and they also have a decent aquarium in town. But be aware that things tend to close early, the Seaport Village for example closes at 5, the Aquarium also at 5, so for an overnight only trip it may not work out.

Mystic is a beautiful town with lots to see - Also Providence is a great place for an overnight as well, with great restaurants, culture, etc. Especially if you can hit it on a night they are doing Waterfire...

http://www.waterfire.org/

Mystic is a good choice.

Boston Back Bay is in the heart of Boston. It's just a 5 minute train ride from South Station. New Rochelle, Stamford, Bridgeport, New Haven, and Providence are cities. Old Saybrook coast is quiet and pretty but you'll need a car.

New London is also a city but the train station is right next to ferry terminals. Maybe you'll want to take a ferry to Block Island or Fishers Island and spend the night.

Westerly, Kingston, and Route 128 are not near any destinations.

Thanks all for the wonderful information!

another option is to go directly to Boston and take a day trip to some neighboring areas that are easily accessible by the train (commuter rail, not Amtrak).

try a google image search of

Rockport MA

or for beaches,

Gloucester MA
Manchester by the Sea

About half of these are places I would not recommend visiting, at least not the bits near the train station! Ah, lovely Route 128 -- that's a very nice coastal village. Come to Boston, stay for beautiful Norwood....

ROFL.

I agree with the previous poster. A day trip from Boston to the North Shore would be very nice. If you go, mind the train schedule carefully, because they are scarce outside of rush hour, and even scarcer on the weekend.

I love Gloucester, and cruise ships stop there every once in a while, but without a car, I think people miss a lot of its beauty. (And believe me, it IS beautiful if you know where to go.)

Rockport is a small, very quaint waterfront town, and probably where most tourists would head if they didn't have a car.

Manchester is less touristy, but also easy to walk around without a car. People from Boson take the train to the beach there in the summer. The beach is a mile from where the train lets you off, plus there are some side roads you can turn off to get more ocean views on foot. There are places to eat in the downtown, plus Captain Dusty's for ice cream.

One caveat, the beach in Manchester-by-the Sea charges a walk on fee. Gloucester does not. With Rockport, the beaches near the downtown are tiny and rocky, and as far as I know, they don't charge except for parking.

Mystic is a good choice.

Boston Back Bay is in the heart of Boston. It's just a 5 minute train ride from South Station. New Rochelle, Stamford, Bridgeport, New Haven, and Providence are cities. Old Saybrook coast is quiet and pretty but you'll need a car.

New London is also a city but the train station is right next to ferry terminals. Maybe you'll want to take a ferry to Block Island or Fishers Island and spend the night.

Westerly, Kingston, and Route 128 are not near any destinations.

I agree that Mystic is the logical choice, but Westerly/Pawcatuck isn't a bad option, especially if you want to see some beaches.

I agree that Mystic is the logical choice, but Westerly/Pawcatuck isn't a bad option, especially if you want to see some beaches.

Beaches? Mate I'm from Australia - all we have is beaches ;)

OK, maybe a slight exaggeration.

We have booked at night at Mystic and may also do a day trip from Boston.

Thanks again for the help

Beaches? Mate I'm from Australia - all we have is beaches ;)

But ours don't try to kill you :D (at least not every time)

But ours don't try to kill you :D (at least not every time)

Survival of the fittest? Natural selection?