Boston to Raleigh NC road trip: Best stops, drive time & distance

The best road trip stops on the Boston to Raleigh NC drive are New York City, Philadelphia and Washington DC. The distance from Boston to Raleigh NC by car is 718 miles, with an 11h40m driving time.

Planning a Boston to Raleigh NC road trip itinerary

The Boston to Raleigh NC drive connects the capital of Massachusetts to the capital of North Carolina.

Boston is drenched in history, with the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum a good first stop on the revolutionary trail. Other Boston attractions include the New England Aquarium, the View Boston observation deck and the Fenway Park baseball stadium.

There are also hundreds of Boston tour options, some more distinctive than others. Good choices include walking the Freedom Trail with a historian guide and story-packed tours of the Harvard campus. For a more Italian flavour, try a North End pizza and history tour. On a sunny day, try a sightseeing day sail around Boston Harbor.

If looking for the best Boston accommodation options, pick the Langham for luxury or the Lenox for a slice of cool in the Back Bay neighborhood. The Liberty, meanwhile, is a jaw-dropping conversion of a former prison.

Raleigh NC offers a series of high quality museums. The North Carolina Museum of History, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina Museum of Art are the three big-hitters. Meanwhile, the Mordecai Historic Park is where you’ll find Raleigh’s oldest house and the William B Umstead State Park is the top spot for outdoorsy pursuits.

Top Raleigh activities include trolley pub tours and ghost tours.

For Raleigh accommodation, the Marriott is the prime address downtown and the Store is a gorgeous guesthouse.

Boston to Raleigh NC distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Boston to Raleigh NC is 718 miles. You can expect a driving time of around 11 hours and 40 minutes. The quickest route is via the I-90, I-84, I-91, I-95 and I-85.

The best stops to add to a Boston to Raleigh NC road trip itinerary are New York City, Philadelphia and Washington DC.

For more suggestions, check out the guides to the individual legs of the journey.

Best stops between Boston and Raleigh NC: New York City

Highlights of New York City include the Empire State Building, the 9/11 Memorial Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and the American Museum of Natural History.

For great New York tours, try the boat trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, a night time city lights helicopter flight and a Greenwich village food tour.

More unusual options include catacombs tours, a round-Manhattan architecture cruise and a guided exploration of Grand Central Station’s secrets.

You seriously need to shop around to find affordable New York City accommodation. Start looking for deals here.

Boston to Raleigh NC road trip attractions: Philadelphia

Historic Philadelphia has a series of absolutely stellar attractions. Independence Hall, the Eastern State Penitentiary and the National Constitution Center are all utterly engrossing.

Other key attractions in Philadelphia include the Museum of the American Revolution, the Independence Seaport Museum and the Penn Museum. For great Philadelphia tour options, try the Old City historic walking tour, a night tour exploring the city’s dark side or an It’s Always Sunny-themed tour of South Philadelphia.

If looking for Philadelphia accommodation, the Club Quarters Rittenhouse Square is often great value, while the Kimpton Hotel Monaco has style and personality.

Boston to Raleigh NC road trip attractions: Washington DC

Washington DC has an enormous range of tours, experiences and attractions available. You could happily spend weeks in the Smithsonian Museums alone. Top choices, however, include the nighttime monuments and memorials tour, small group guided visits to the Capitol and National Library of Congress and Lincoln assassination tours that visit Fords Theatre.

Memorable Washington DC accommodation options include the Willard, where Martin Luther King Jr wrote his I Have A Dream speech. There’s also the Watergate Hotel, a luxurious conversion of the offices from the Watergate scandal.

Downtown Raleigh NC at night.
Downtown Raleigh NC at night. Photo by Higgins Spooner/ Unsplash.

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