<p>I get to choose a 5 day getaway and of course I can’t decide! Which would you choose and why? Any advice to break the tie in my mind would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>If you can be in Providence when they’re having Waterfire, that would be fun. Newport is nice, and you could do a day at the beach.</p>
<p>OTOH, Salem gives you an interesting history/new agey break from ocean vacation. </p>
<p>I’m not sure either is worth a full five days for sightseeing. For me, I’d spend a couple of days in MA and a couple in RI…</p>
<p>If you can get a beach place, I’d go with Newburyport area… I suspect it would be less crowded (but the water might be a tad cooler. I’ve been to both for day visits, and my personality is just the type that would prefer Newburyport - a bit more low key.</p>
<p>I agree with Teriwitt…I am a native New Englander and if I had to choose, it would be Newburyport and Salem…also close to Portsmouth New Hampshire. Great towns, all of them. Charming , fun and great little eateries. Water is cold , but that’s a small tradeoff. I don’t dislike Providence and Newport , but just love the North Shore</p>
<p>Thank you very much. I don’t mind about the ocean as I am fortunate to live near warm waters.</p>
<p>When would you be going? I ask because Newport has a huge jazz festival each summer and I would avoid that town for at least a week or two before and after. I agree that Newburyport is charming. Also closeby is Rockport, another quintessential small port town. If you live near warm waters, then decide based on each locations activities. Look up the event calendar for those towns for the week of your trip. I would highly recommend reserving a hotel or whatever now. Good New England ‘Chowda’ on those parts!</p>
<p>I mean “in those parts”! :)</p>
<p>They are different. Newburyport and Salem are both small towns. I love Newburyport…and just poking around there. </p>
<p>Providence is a city…not nearly as quaint as the other two. Newport is terrific, but crowded and very exoensive in the summer.</p>
<p>I personally would choose Salem/Newburyport.</p>
<p>We would be going the first week of August.</p>
<p>From the North Shore, you could do Rockport, which is really nice, Newburyport, Plum Island, Portsmouth – driving up along the coast from Hampton Beach to Rye Harbor is breathtaking! It’s less than an hour into Boston.</p>
<p>And, you have easy access to New Hampshire or the Maine coast. Depending on what you enjoy, there are some fantastic trips, driving an hour or two. Lake Winnepesaukee. The Kancamagus Highway, etc.</p>
<p>Just beware that the traffic in August on the highways going to any vacation spot in this area will be congested…so adjust your driving times accordingly.</p>
<p>August is is a great time for Newburyport! The ocean temp hits it’s peak around then at 70F or so. Lol! I would just stay in Newburyport area and do day trips from there. Interesteddad nailed it. Ive lived within a 30 minute drive of the New Hampshire coast my whole life and never get tired of the drive from Hampton Beach to Rye Harbor.</p>
<p>Stop at the Beach Plum roadside stand for an amazingly good lobster roll. Walk across the street and eat on the wall or beach!</p>
<p>I would go with Newburyport/Salem only because I can tell you that you will NOT get lodging in Newport in August. I actually tried to get a hotel room there for any weekend this summer and could not find anything below 900 dollars a night. Another fun city to go to is Portland, ME.</p>
<p>I wanted to take my mom to Newport for a weekend and go to some of the nearby vineyards in Little Compton. I ended up deciding on Providence for two nights and we will do a day trip to a vineyard from there. Providence is great fun. I have ben to Water Fire twice and love it. Food on Federal hill is fabulous.</p>
<p>The consensus seems to be toward Newburyport. What’s in Salem? Plum Island, Rockport, Glouster, small towns on the coast of New Hampshire…</p>
<p>Newport is beautiful too, but I would try to go another season other than summer. I bet it would be spectacular in Sept./Oct. when the crowds die down…</p>
<p>Have fun!</p>
<p>You can see salem in a day or two but it is a good base, tho Newburyport might be slightly better unless you are thinking of spending a day or two in Boston. Salem has some great restaurants and b&bs and nice boutiques. The Peabody Essex museum is gorgeous and fun for all ages. Check out salem willows for a few hours of schlocky old fashioned arcade fun on the water. Of course there are witch related sites and museums all year round to experience and you can take the train to Boston (1/2 hour) or to Newburyport and Rockport as well, also I think about 1/2 hour directly from downtown. There is also a water ferry to Boston and nearby Marblehead has a quaint old town with high end shops. Newburyport is charming, as people said, and also has good shopping and restaurants. Neighboring plum island has great beach but might have biting flies by then, but the nearby beaches in Gloucester and Ipswich are wonderful- especially cranes, good harbor and a few others I’m blanking on for the moment.
Rockport is very close by and shouldn’t be missed and Gloucester has its charms as well.
Just a little further away is Portsmouth and strawberry banke, plus outlet shopping at kittery, me. Whale watching and biking very good too.
Love Portland but I’d save Maine for another trip- so much to do there!</p>
<p>Thank you everyone; you helped greatly. I think we will do 2 nights in Salem and 2 nights in Newburyport and drive around to the areas you mention. The 5th night I will decide on once our flights out of Boston are finalised and I know what time we are leaving. We visited Boston last year for 5 days so not necessary to see again so soon. My H will be thrilled to know about the traffic so I will not tell him :-)</p>