Boston to Richmond VA road trip: Best stops, drive time & distance

The best road trip stops on the Boston to Richmond VA drive are New York City, Philadelphia and Washington DC. The distance from Boston to Richmond VA by car is 549 miles, with a nine hour driving time.

Planning a Boston to Richmond VA road trip itinerary

The Boston to Richmond VA drive connects the capital of Massachusetts to the capital of Virginia.

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.

Once the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond VA is not entirely weighed down by its history. The surprisingly wild James River runs through it, and the west end feels energetic and more of the North than the South.

The top attraction, though, is the huge American Civil War Museum at the historic Tredegar Ironworks. After that, walk the suspension bridge to Belle Isle in the middle of the James River, see the dubious Confederate monuments on Monument Avenue, or see the grandiose tombs of the Hollywood Cemetery.

Other good Richmond experiences include food tours of the Arts District or Church Hill, Segway tours of the city landmarks, nighttime ghost walks and guided hikes along the James River.

For Richmond accommodation, the Moxy Richmond Downtown brims with fun, youthful energy. The Residence Inn by Marriott, meanwhile, is a short walk from the lively Shockoe Bottom neighbourhood.

Boston to Richmond VA distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Boston to Richmond VA is 549 miles. You can expect a driving time of around nine hours. The quickest route is via the I-90, I-84, I-91 and I-95.

The best stops to add to a Boston to Richmond VA 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.

• Boston to Worcester MA drive.
• Worcester MA to Hartford CT drive.
• Hartford to New Haven drive.
• New Haven to New York City drive.
• New York City to Philadelphia drive.
• Philadelphia to Baltimore drive.
• Baltimore to Washington DC drive.
• Washington DC to Richmond VA drive.

Best stops between Boston and Richmond VA: 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 Richmond VA 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 Richmond VA 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.

More Boston road trips

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More Richmond VA road trips

Richmond VA to Asheville NC | Richmond VA to Atlanta | Baltimore to Richmond VA | Richmond VA to Charlotte | Chicago to Richmond VA | Richmond VA to Durham NC | Richmond VA to Fayetteville NC | Richmond VA to Greensboro NC | Richmond to Lynchburg VA | New York City to Richmond VA | Philadelphia to Richmond VA | Richmond VA to Raleigh NC | Richmond VA to Roanoke | Washington DC to Richmond VA | Richmond VA to Wilmington NC.