New York City Travel Forum

please help me plan a trip to new york ,washington dc,niagra falls.I have 2 days in NYC,2 days Washington DC(wherein i want to do hersheys chocolate factory)and 2 days Niagra falls.As we are travelling with small children and staying with friends in New Jersey i need all the help in organising this trip.please note as we are flying to new jersey we either have to rent a car or use a public transport to go to all three destinations.As i said i need all the help because my own personal contacts are not very forthcoming in suggestions and we are new to united states.please reply as soon as possible.

If you are staying in New Jersey, you can probably visit sites in NYC by train as a day trip, although it is going to be extremely difficult with small children. They will slow you down - you can't plan but about half what you woul do without them. You don't want to drive in NYC in any case.

You can also take the train to Washington D.C. as there is fairly regular service along that corridor. You will need to do a lot of planning to be able to see the sights of D.C. with little kids and I do not think it can be done as a daytrip.

Hershey however is NOT near D.C. or even on the way from New Jersey. It is in south central Pennsylvania and there's a whole other state (Maryland) between D.C. and NJ.

I do not even know how to address Niagra Falls. My daughter stayed in a hotel near there that was in the shape of railway cars, and they did the Maid of the Mist and several other tours with their young children. But they were driving a car.

Actually you could do Hershey on the way to Washington DC from New Jersey. Depending on where in NJ you'll be it wouldn't be much out of the way. If you left early, stopped and toured Hershey, and then continued on to DC, it would be a long day, but doable.
If you allot 2 days for Niagara Falls all you will do is drive up and back-- it's about 8-9 hours in a car one way, so that's not too practical. I would spend in and around DC- there's a LOT to do, and most of it is free, including the Zoo where you can see pandas- just a suggestion. And now that I'm thinking about 2 days in NYC will be frustrating as well because even sprinting adults could only scratch the surface, let alone a family with small children in tow.

Yes, they could do Hershey, on the way to DC but not by public transport.

Hi
As one who has done many 'mad dashes' around the USA, I think what you want to do is quite ambitious especially with children. If you do want to do all that within the time you have set, you will to fly to the destinations. If you do rent a car, then you need to be aware of the distances involved. Firstly the direct route from NJ to Washington DC is about 230 MILES and this will take about 5 hours of driving on freeways and NJ turnpike (I suggest you leave Hersheys out or do it on the way to Niagara). So you are in Washington for at the most one and half days - what to see? The kids would enjoy the Smithsonian Inst. and Museums (don't know how old they are) you could spend almost all day there. A drive to see the White House, Capitol Hill, Washington and Lincoln memorials and perhaps Arlington and the quietness of Alexandria, although your kids might get a bit bored with all that. The National Zoo is good for them.

So now you need to get to Niagara. If driving, its about 445 miles from Washington 8-9 hour drive if you don't stop at Hershey (get off near Harrisburg Penn.) Now you need to get back to NJ which is about 460 miles! All in 6 days! That's why I suggest to fly or cut out the Niagara leg.

Are you committed to flying into NJ? If you could initially fly into DC then visit NJ on the way to Niagara and fly out from there it would make more sense.

Hope this gives you an idea of what's involved.
John

I really don't mean to sound harsh, but there is simply no way to do this in 6 days and get anything whatsoever out of your trip. One of your three major cities has to be disposed of, and if you choose to keep NYC you should not even think of trying to visit Hershey. Unless you fly, Niagara is out of the question and should be deleted.

As far as I know, the Hershey Chocolate factory is in Hershey, Pennsylvania- I think trying to crowd it in to 2 days in D.C. is a little unrealistic- either do D.C. or do Hershey.

Rent a car. Public transportation will cost you more than a car and it can be difficult with small children.

In Niagara stay on Canadian side as it is much nicer.