My local banker once told me, “If I read one more article about Plymouth Rock, I think I’m going to throw up!”

Not that there’s anything wrong with historic Plymouth Rock — the spot where the Pilgrims first landed in America — but you get the picture.  Some New England travel destinations get so much press that they eventually lose their pull as many travelers want to find about more about little-known destinations that they can call their own.

Hi, my name is Eric — The New England Budget Travel Guy — and yes, I admit writing about popular New England travel destinations. That’s part of my job, to write about everything we have experienced in our New England travels.  However, I clearly like writing more about traveling the road less taken — that is one of the main business goals at our mom and pop travel site. I truly love discovering hidden travel gems and sharing them with you!

Some people might know about the following hidden cheap travel gems, but I bet most won’t as years of informal conversations I’ve had with fellow New Englanders reveal them not knowing about the following destinations:

We found a spot in Wrentham, Mass., where nuns make and sell handmade chocolates at a monastery.

There’s a restaurant in Assonet Village, Mass., housed in a grand Queen Victorian home. The wraparound front porch, tower, bay windows, decorative trim, balcony and the interior grand staircase look ready-made for a high society Newport socialite gathering. If you think this is the setting for a romantic meal, guess again. You’ll find hot dogs and beans, fried chicken and spaghetti on the menu, a jukebox in the corner, Keno for entertainment, and  waiters in camper shorts saying, “How are you, buddy?”

In East Haddam, Conn., you’ll be able to tour an authentic-looking castle that took five men 20 years to build!

Littleton, N.H. features a mom and pop store that has the longest candy counter in the world at 112 ft. long!

For you history buffs, enjoy following the Maine Civil War Trail!

The largest kids books store  in New England is located in Medfield, Mass., with around 200,000 books for sale — and hundreds of thousands more stored offsite.

You don’t have to be Warren Buffet to enjoy a Nantucket vacation! Yes, the reputation is that Nantucket is a very expensive place to vacation, but a local reveals quite the opposite.

There’s a restaurant in Burrillville, R.I., that looks like something out of the wild west and was once a late 1700s stagecoach stop that once accomodated Abraham Lincoln before he became president.

I’ll follow up shortly with some more cheap New England travel destinations you might not know about — please use the comment box below to share some of your discoveries!