Mystic CT in April

please share thoughts, recs etc
Hubby and i are going for a long weekend for our Anniversary

Mystic CT in April

My honest opinion.........I don't get the hype at all. I've been a few times, and STILL don't get what people rave about.

What type of experience are you looking for?

Re: Mystic CT in April

Just a low cost, easry drive extended weekend
Neither of us have been there and thought it was would be nice

Mystic CT in April

We just went. It was unseasonably warm so comparable to a chilly April day. The seaport was booorrrriiing. The main attraction is a ship being restored. Lots of whale death/blubber talk, if you're into that sort of thing which I'm definitely not. We kept busy chasing our kids but can't imagine walking around just dh and I. We wanted to do the planetarium but my 3yo started to crank out. Mystic Pizza is horrendous. I won't even compare the pizza to chuck e cheese bc I happen to like Chuck e cheese. Overall we had a good time just being together and in the hotel pool etc. So a fun time but not really thanks to the wonders of mystic

Message edited 1/7/2013 5:36:04 PM.

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We have been to Mystic many times and we love it. We have been with and without kids and it's great for both a family outing and a lively and easy romantic trip.

There are a lot of great restaurants, lovely historic downtown with a real working drawbridge. You can get a boat tour down the Mystic River, see the museums. It's really wonderful! And of course, less than a 2 hour drive from Queens! Let me know if you have any specific questions.

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If it's an adult only trip, we usually stay in Mystic, but then spend time at Mohegan Sun/Foxwoods. You can also just drive along the coast, we have driven into Rhode Island to see some of the lighthouses.

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I don't think Mystic is all that great, but there are lots of great areas surrounding it. Mystic is good for a day, at most. But you've got the casinos close by. Newport is about an hour away and one of my favorite places. Clinton Crossings is a great outlet center. The Sayville Inn and Spa is a great place to stay and in a small, cute town as well. I just love that whole CT/RI shore area. If you're into books, the Book Barn in Niantic is one of the coolest used book stores ever.

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I did like the infamous pizza but seem to be the only one. it was heavy but good

I also do not get the hype other than it is an easy getaway for the weekend. just take the car ferry over to new london. hotels are usally booked ahead of time. really all you need is a day or two

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We LOVE Mystic! We've done weekends there with and without the kids. In fact we plan to spend a weekend there without the kids ( ) this spring!

The aquarium is expensive for what it is. Good for kids, but without them you could definitely skip it. We happened to love the seaport, but we are both boring nerdy people who take a long time in museums because we're reading all the little descriptions next to everything


The town itself is so nice for strolling and browsing shops. Olde Mistick Village is touristy but still fun.

Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun are both nearby, something fun to do at night.

My favorite restaurant is S&P Oyster Company. Always delicious. We also love Azu for breakfast/lunch but have never tried them for dinner. There is a tiny Mexican restaurant in the nearby town of Stonington that we love, and we have eaten at a couple of the Foxwoods restaurants too.

I think people who are disappointed in it were expecting something "unique" about it. There's nothing about the town that will blow your mind... it's just a nice romantic getaway.

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Mystic CT in April

Oh my goodness..the drawbridge! That's why I don't have any fond memories of Mystic, I bet! Went there during lots of construction.......felt like the whole ******* town shut down whenever that bridge went up. took forever....I'm getting flashbacks now!

Curses!

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It's so close to Newport, we always do it as a combo. It can be cold, but there is enough to see.

Mystic Pizza isn't bad and a good idea if you liked the movie.

Newport has nice restaurants.

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Newport, Rhode Island, has a lot more to do. :)

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Make a stop in Essex, CT. They have a beautiful sunset cruise there along with other boat and train rides. I believe the colder months are bald eagle season. The Groton Inn in Essex was an increidbe meal and there is a pretty park there with cute shops. Forget Mystic Pizza. Stop on the way there or back in New haven for Pepe's.

In Mystic, our favorite place to eat is S&P Oyster Co.

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I agree that Newport has more to do, but it'sa longer drive and significantly more expensive

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We did Mystic last February... it was very nice because we went for R&R. First, we stayed at The Whaler's Inn which I cannot recommend enough! It was fabulous! We had a nice corner, king room with a fireplace - we ran that fireplace and laid in that beautiful feather bed, it was just lovely. They had champagne chilled when we arrived, we bough wine at a local wine store and drank that in the room. They have a huge two person soaking tub in the room that we chose and we loved it. I saw it, funny enough, on Kourt & Kim Take NY - they went there and I requested the room Kourt stayed in because I liked how it looked on the show. Anyway, it was just beautiful.

We went to the aquarium which DH loved - he is a science teacher so that is up his alley. We went to see where/how they make maple syrup which was really cool. We checked out possibly seeing a show at Mohegan or Foxwoods - one of them? I can't recall but one of them, or both, are only about a 15 minute drive. So, you can see like Jay Mohr (comedy) or Jerry Seinfeld who plays there, or maybe a concert - like in the summer we stayed again there and saw Eric Church (country). We did a vineyard tour - if you search online Mystic, Vineyards it'll come up with a few - check which ones are open in April, they have DELICIOUS wine! We did a wine/cheese tasting and a tour of the vineyard.

We went into town and checked out their saltwater taffy and their homemade fudge which, apparently, Mystic is known for. We did eat a slice of Mystic pizza because it is "famous" - my husband almost gagged lol so yeah we would say skip that.

The best place we ate was the restaurant that people recommended on here, actually! It is S&P Oyster Company and it is RIGHT across the street, you could throw a baseball and hit it, from the Whaler's Inn. We LOVED that restaurant - so much so that after dinner, the following day, we had lunch there. Honestly, I could have had dinner two nights in a row. The other place we ate was Bravo/Bravo *IN* the Whaler's Inn which was good, I have to say. The included breakfast buffet each morning was very nice at the Inn. The staff was lovely. We really liked it there. I would go back in a heartbeat - and we did for the Eric Church concert over the summer.

We took the ferry from Orient - very easy in the off months to get to. April should be like February when we went. We stopped at a few nice places out east - a vineyard and Love Lane out in Mattituck which has some nice shopping. Then, we boarded the ferry with our car - it was excellent because when we landed, the Whaler's Inn (in the heart of Mystic) was only about a 10-15 minute drive. It was great.

They are also known for their hand-blown glass so I bought some beautiful hand-blown glass Christmas ornaments, I loved looking at the art galleries in town. But, more than anything - dinner out with DH and a night in watching movies in front of the fireplace in that bed or taking a bath together, I have to say - that was the best part, that was the MAIN reason we went. It was exactly what we needed, it was just lovely.

Hope that helps!

ETA - we also stopped at the shops NEXT to the aquarium, they were cute, and had some adorable things - I bought some stuff at the irish store, there was a bunch of cute stores.

Message edited 2/5/2013 1:41:38 PM.

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Message edited 2/7/2013 2:09:11 PM.