New York City and New England in autumn

MY SISTER AND I ARE SPENDING TWO WEEKS IN NEW YORK CITY IN SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 AND WOULD LIKE TO EXPERIENCE THE AUTUMN COLOURS IN NEW ENGLAND. SHOULD WE DO NEW ENGLAND BEFORE NYC? WHAT IS THE BEST WAY FOR TWO MATURE FEMALES TO TRAVEL? WE AREN'T FANS OF BIG GROUP COACH TRAVEL. WOULD IT BE EASIER TO FLY HOME FROM CANADA RATHER THAN RETURNING TO NYC?

J. COULTON, NEWCASTLE

Leave the foliage viewing for post-NYC. The autumn blush begins along the Canadian border in late September. Over the next few weeks the carpet of colours unfurls in a southerly direction, spreading across New England and reaching New York in mid-October. You can find a fall foliage map with a handy graphic at the Yankee Foliage website yankeefoliage.com.

My favourite states for the leaf-peeping season are western Massachusetts and Vermont, where rolling hills and extensive forests offer richly textured viewing. Prime time in this region is around the second week in October.

A lot of the fall foliage tours of the region are one-week trips, with Insight Vacations insightvacations.com and Tauck tauck.com.au just two of the leading operators. This might be too much of a chunk out of a two-week trip. However if you Google "Viator fall foliage New York" you'll find several one and two-day tours. Another option is a one-day Fall Foliage Boat Tour along the Hudson River, operated by the Classic Harbour Line sail-nyc.com, with sensational views of the city from the waterline thrown in.

Another possibility is a trip aboard the Great Dome Car , an Amtrak train that makes the day trip from Penn Station in New York City to Montreal. This car has a glass roof, allowing passengers to take in the lovely lake and forest scenery along the route.

Flying home from Canada would work, and Montreal is the most likely candidate. You'll probably pay slightly more for your air ticket than if you were to buy a return ticket to New York City.