Your Questions

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday February 9, 2008

Lonely Planet

More than a fringe of leaves

Q My husband and I intend to visit the US for six weeks. We plan to spend a week in New York and then hire a car to travel to Niagara Falls, Canada and south to New England for the autumn colours. Could you recommend an itinerary?Tricia Webster

A With several weeks to play with you can afford to plan a loose itinerary. You could even use the Foliage Network (www.foliagenetwork.com) reports to make on-the-road decisions about your route.

Autumn is a popular time for east-coast driving, so book car rental well in advance. Try Alamo (alamo.com), Budget (budget.com), Hertz (hertz.com) or Thrifty (thrifty.com), and book online before you leave home. Five weeks' rental of a good mid-sized vehicle should be about $2700.

Niagara Falls (pictured) is about eight hours from NYC along the I-90 tollway. The best views are from the Canadian side, so try crossing into Canada via Buffalo's Peace Bridge. When you are done at the falls push on to Toronto, about 130 kilometres away. Allow at least a week to explore Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

New England's famous autumn colours are at their best from September to mid-October, and Vermont is popularly held to be the best US state for foliage. The picturesque state is an easy drive south from Montreal (two hours to Burlington, a vibrant university town in the state's north). Route 100, running down the centre of Vermont to the Massachusetts border, is one of the prettiest for classic covered bridges. Picture-postcard towns and villages include Stowe, Woodstock, Newfane, Brattleboro and Grafton.

From Vermont, you could drive east through New Hampshire to Portsmouth on the coast, taking in Franconia, Concord and Salem to Boston. Or you could drive through the Berkshires along the Mohawk Trail east to Boston, dropping into Springfield, Williamstown, Lenox, Tyringham and Stockbridge. Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park aren't to be missed in Maine, and the coastal drives are lovely. Heading back to NYC, drop into Cape Cod, Newport and New Haven.

See explorenewengland.com.

To hire or to buy

Q My family of six is travelling to the UK for six weeks. We want to get a car and were wondering whether buying would be cheaper than hiring? Sharyn Ryan

A Travelling by private car allows you to be independent and flexible. As there's six of you, you'll find that car travel may be cheaper than buying six bus or train tickets (or two taxis) every time you want to go somewhere.

We think six weeks is not long enough to justify buying. You have to run around looking for cars, try them out and negotiate a price. If the car doesn't already have one, you'll need to arrange a Ministry of Transport (MOT) safety certificate and a tax disc (about $200). You'll also need third-party insurance (at least $700) and you must have a registration form signed by buyer and seller. At the end of your trip you'll have to sell the car. Also, if anything goes wrong, you'll have to arrange and pay for repairs.

With car hire, these things are taken care of. The larger rental companies offer roadside assistance and will provide a new car if yours breaks down. Expect to pay $3000 to $3500 for six weeks for a larger car, including insurance. Try Sixt (e-sixt.co.uk), National (nationalcar.co.uk), easyCar (easycar.com) or Europcar (europcar.co.uk). It's also worth asking your travel agent if they can arrange a good deal.

If buying, go to Autotrader magazine (autotrader.co.uk).

A train journey of a lifetime

Q Three of my friends and I are planning to take the Moscow-Beijing train this year. We want to be in St Petersburg on August 2, but can't decide which way to go (St Petersburg, then Moscow to Beijing during August, or Beijing to Moscow in July, then St Petersburg). What is your recommendation?Alison Schofield

A The Trans-Siberian Railway, as it is generically known, includes the Trans-Mongolian and Trans-Manchurian railways.

We recommend you break your rail trip at Irkutsk to visit Lake Baikal for a day or two. The stunning blue of the crystal clear waters here, with the backdrop of tree-covered foreshore and mountains, is a sight to behold. Here you will change to the Trans-Mongolian for Ulaan Baatar. A stop here is also recommended before changing to the Trans-Manchurian to Beijing. If you do make these stopovers, you'll need three separate tickets: Moscow-Irkutsk, Irkutsk-Ulaan Baatar, and Ulaan Baatar-Beijing.

A travel agent can help with tickets, which you'll need to book well in advance. There are also tour companies providing an escorted rail experience offering guided tours and accommodation at your stops along the way. When you go and in which direction is really up to you. July and August are both regarded as high season, so ticket prices will be much the same.

Send your questions marked "Your Questions" to Lonely Planet at Locked Bag 1, Footscray, Victoria 3011 or email travchex@lonelyplanet.com.au.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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