Getting There

By Plane

Airlines serving northern New England include American (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com), Comair (tel. 800/354-9822; www.comair.com), Continental (tel. 800/525-0280; www.continental.com), Delta (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com), Jet Blue (tel. 800/538-2583; www.jetblue.com), Northwest (tel. 800/225-2525; www.nwa.com), Pan Am (tel. 800/359-7262; www.flypanam.com), Southwest (tel. 800/435-9792; www.southwest.com), United (tel. 800/241-6522; www.united.com), and US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322; www.usair.com).

Major commercial carriers serve Burlington, Vermont; Manchester, New Hampshire; and Portland and Bangor, Maine. Airlines most commonly fly to these airports from New York or Boston, although direct connections from other cities, such as Chicago, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia, are available. Many of the scheduled flights to northern New England from Boston are aboard smaller prop planes; ask the airline or your travel agent if this is an issue of concern for you.

Several smaller airports in the region are served by feeder airlines and charter companies, including Rutland, Vermont; Rockport, Maine; and Trenton, Maine (near Bar Harbor).

Visitors to northern New England often find cheaper fares and a wider choice of flight times by flying into Boston's Logan Airport and then renting a car or connecting by bus to their final destination. (Boston is about 2 hr. by car from Portland, less than 3 hr. from the White Mountains.)

But travelers should note that Boston can be very congested, and delayed flights are endemic. Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (two of the four doomed flights departed from Boston), increased security has led to periodic but massive delays during check-in and screening. With far fewer flights, the smaller airports (such as Bangor and Burlington) have not been subject to such huge disruptions, and travelers may find that the increased expense and less flexible flight times using these airports are more than offset by the much less stressful experience of checking in and boarding.

Note: Discount airfares often aren't as easy to obtain to smaller airports of northern New England as to the larger cities, but notable exceptions apply.

In the last few years, the airport in Manchester, New Hampshire, has grown in prominence thanks to the arrival of Southwest Airlines, which has brought competitive, low-cost airfares and improved service. Manchester has gone from a sleepy backwater airport to a bustling destination, recently eclipsing Portland in numbers of passengers served. Travelers looking for good deals to the region are advised to first check with Southwest (tel. 800/435-9792; www.southwest.com) before pricing other gateways.

Another relatively new discount carrier is Pan Am, once a dominant (then bankrupt) air carrier. Now back to life under the auspices of entrepreneurs who purchased the name, Pan Am serves Manchester and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Bangor, Maine. Pan Am connects to a limited but growing roster of airports, including Baltimore, Maryland; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Sanford, Florida. Call tel. 800/359-7262 or book flights at www.flypanam.com.

Upstart discounter Jet Blue offers direct service between Burlington, Vermont, and New York City's LaGuardia Airport, with onward connections. For more information, call tel. 800/538-2583 or check online at www.jetblue.com.

By Car

Coming from the New York area, two main interstate highway corridors serve northern New England. I-91 heads more or less due north from Hartford, Connecticut, through Massachusetts and along the Vermont-New Hampshire border. I-95 parallels the Atlantic coast through Boston, after which it strikes northeast across New Hampshire and along the southern Maine coast before heading north toward the Canadian border.

From Boston, you can head north on I-95 for Maine, or take I-93 for New Hampshire and the White Mountains. In Concord, New Hampshire, I-89 departs from I-93 northwest toward Burlington, Vermont.

If scenery is your priority, the most picturesque way to enter northern New England is from the west. Drive through New York's scenic Adirondack Mountains to Port Kent, New York, on Lake Champlain, and then catch the memorable car ferry across the lake to Burlington.

By Train

After more than a decade of delays, Amtrak finally relaunched rail service to Maine in December 2001, restoring a line that had been discontinued in the 1960s. The Down Easter now operates between North Station in Boston and Portland, with intermediate stops at Haverhill, Massachusetts; Exeter, Durham, and Dover, New Hampshire; and Wells, Saco, and Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Travel time is about 2 hours and 45 minutes between Boston and Portland, with that duration expected to decrease as track upgrades are completed. Bikes may be loaded and off-loaded at Boston, Wells, and Portland. Four trips daily are offered.

For more information on train service, contact Amtrak (tel. 800/872-7245; www.amtrak.com).

By Bus

Express bus service is well run if a bit spotty in northern New England. You'll be able to reach the major cities and tourist destinations by bus, but few of the smaller towns or villages. Tickets range from about $20 one-way for Boston to Portland, to $45 for Boston to Burlington. Taking the bus requires no advance planning or reservations.

Two major bus lines serve northern New England. Vermont Transit Lines (tel. 800/451-3292 or 800/642-3133; www.vermonttransit.com) is affiliated with Greyhound and serves all three states with frequent departures from Boston. Concord Trailways (tel. 800/639-3317; www.concordtrailways.com) serves New Hampshire and Maine, including some smaller towns in the Lake Winnipesaukee and White Mountains area. Concord Trailways buses are a bit more luxurious (and a few dollars more expensive) than Vermont Transit, and often entertain travelers with movies and music (piped through headphones) en route.