| |
|
|
New England and Niagara Falls
15 Days/14 Nights - Gateway: Boston
Standard Tour: from £489pp
Deluxe Tour: from £729pp
Car Hire: from £19 per car per day
|
|
|
Day 1: Arrive Boston
Boston is the very seat of American history. Only Virginia is older than the Massachusetts Colony. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated at Plymouth Rock. The first shots of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord. The two and one half miles of the Freedom Trail in downtown Boston are likely the most historic blocks in the United States. You can see the Old North Church, Paul Revere’s home and Faneuil Hall, the revolutionaries meeting place that is filled with restaurants and shops.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Terrace Inn
Deluxe Hotel: Omni Parker House Hotel |
Day 2: Explore Boston
The list of other most visited places in Boston includes the Boston Common, a public meeting place since 1630, the Boston Museum of Science, Cheers, of television fame, and the Boston Museum of Arts with its world-renowned collection of 450,000 items. The New England Aquarium offers special whale watching trips until October. Also consider visiting the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library or take the City View Trolley Tour to get an overview of all the historic parts of the city. |
Day 3: Boston to New Hampshire White Mountains
(145 miles)
The meticulously restored buildings of Lowell National Park with a trolley, canal boat tours and a whole collection of museums are on your way to the White Mountains. Farther north, impressive displays at the Amoskeag Fishways Visitor Center and the Millyard Museum feature 11,000 years of life in Manchester, where you can also tour the Zimmerman House, the only Frank Lloyd Wright structure open to the public in New England.
Standard Hotel: Best Western White Mountain Resort
Deluxe Hotel: The Wentworth |
Day 4: Explore the White Mountains Area
It’s what you’d expect in quintessential New England. Cold clear rushing streams reflect the blazing colors of the fall that set the hillsides on fire in their best suit of clothes. Towering granite cliffs and soaring mountains often hug both sides of the road. Discover the history of the White Mountain Trail and beauty of the Kancamagus Highway National Scenic Byway and drive to the summit of Mt. Washington. Many charming villages along the way still look as they did when writer Nathaniel Hawthorne and painter Thomas Cole lived here in the 18th century. The pace of life in many places hasn’t changed much either. |
Day 5: New Hampshire White Mountains to Vermont Green Mountains
(130 miles)
It would be hard not to be on a scenic road as you travel from the White Mountains to the Green Mountains today. Even the Interstate highway between Franconia and St. Johnsbury is a scenic drive. Is you like roads less traveled, delightful routes with names like Smuggler’s Notch and Middlebury Gap are sprinkled all over Vermont. Montpelier, Vermont’s capital, the smallest in the nation, had only 113 residents when it was designated due to its central location.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Windjammer Inn and Conference Center
Deluxe Hotel: Sheraton Burlington |
Day 6: Green Mountains to Lake Placid, New York to Saranac Lake
(145 miles)
Mountains with faces full of character, lush woods and rivers, fresh water shorelines, the scent of balsam on a forest trail and serene quiet all welcome you in New York’s Adirondack Mountains. Wild and civilized by turns, tourism began when doctors from the large cities sent their patients to recover in the fresh air at Saranac Lake. World awareness of the Adirondacks increased dramatically when the 1980 Winter Olympics were held at Lake Placid. In the great outdoors, you can hike, paddle or drive from location to location and still be back in time for dinner.
Standard Hotel: BW Mountain Lake Inn
Deluxe Hotel: Hotel Saranac |
Day 7: Saranac Lake to 1000 Islands
(122 miles)
Traveling toward the 1000 Islands region of New York state from Saranac Lake will put you on several National Scenic Byways through Adirondack Park, which is larger than Yellowstone, the Everglades, Glacier and Grand Canyon National Parks combined. The Adirondack Museum, located in Blue Mountain Lake is a must see. The original 1876 Blue Mountain House is surrounded by more than 30 authentic buildings. The 1000 Islands region is a delightful river landscape of sparkling water and lush forested islands.
Standard Hotel: Best Western White House Inn
Deluxe Hotel: The Royal Albert |
Day 8: 1000 Islands to Niagara Falls
(254 miles)
The remainder of the drive through Upstate New York takes you through Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo before reaching Niagara Falls. All are cities representing the best in New York state traditions.
Standard Hotel: BW Summit Inn
Deluxe Hotel: The Oaks Fallsville Hotel |
Day 9: Explore Niagara Falls
The thunder and roar of six million cubic feet of water falling over Niagara Falls every minute has thrilled visitors since 1820. Sam Patch, The Yankee Leaper began the long tradition of daredevils trying to go over the Falls in 1829. Visitors have enjoyed the view in the whirlpools beneath the Falls on the Maid of the Mist since 1846. Join the millions of travelers who every year are awed by the sights and sounds of magnificent Niagara Falls. Don’t miss the illumination at night! |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Day 10: Niagara Falls to Finger Lakes to Corning
( 171 miles)
You’ll be able to see more of Upstate New York on the drive from Niagara Falls south through the Finger Lakes Region and the Foothills of the Adirondacks on your way to Corning. The historic preservation district and the Corning Museum are not to be missed.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Painted Post
Deluxe Hotel: Radisson Hotel Corning |
Day 11: Corning to The Berkshires
( 260 miles )
Today more Norman Rockwell picture perfect scenery in The Berkshires awaits. The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown has an outstanding collection of French Impressionist paintings. The beautifully restored Hancock Shaker Village is the premier collection of Shaker buildings, artifacts, furniture, craft and household items exhibited in 20 historic buildings. The Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge looks just like Rockwell’s most famous painting.
Standard Hotel: Williams Inn
Deluxe Hotel: Seven Hills Inn |
Day 12: The Berkshires to Newport
(90 miles)
You have several options on your way to Newport today. You can experience the life of the New England pioneers up close and personal at Old Sturbridge Village. Mystic, Connecticut has an authentic 19th century seafaring village of more than 30 England trade shops and businesses moved from around New England. An alternate route through the Blackstone River Valley in Rhode Island takes you through the heritage of America’s first industry, water-powered spinning mills using technology spirited from England in 1797. Samuel Slater’s original mill has been impressively restored to pristine working condition.
Standard Hotel: BW Mainstay Inn
Deluxe Hotel: Historic Inns of Newport Cleveland House |
Day 13: Explore Newport
Opulence reigned in Newport during the Gilded Age. Bellevue Avenue was home to the “summer cottages” of the rich and famous from New York and Philadelphia, the same Vanderbilts, Astors and other prominent families who spent part of their summer on Mt. Desert Island. You can pack your day in Newport as full as you would like. The Breakers and Rosecliff are spectacular mansions. Take the Cliffwalk which follows the coastline and the cliffs. A 10 mile scenic driving tour begins at The Elms. And, there’s great shopping and browsing and a Newport Winery. |
Day 14: Newport to Cape Cod
(80 miles)
Distances are short in New England. The whole drive to Cape Cod today is only 80 miles. That should leave time to swing through Providence, Rhode Island where Benefit Street is considered by many to be the best preserved historic mile in America. Fall River, Massachusetts has more early textile industries and New Bedford was once, the whaling capital of New England.
Standard Hotel: BW Blue Rock Resort
Deluxe Hotel: Inn at Cape Cod |
Day 15: Explore Cape Cod
The scenic drive on fabulous Cape Cod stretches all the way from the beginning of peninsula to Provincetown at the very end. Beautiful white beaches line the Cape Cod National Seashore. Touring Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard requires a side trip by boat to either of the islands. Whale watching cruises are also available. |
Day 16: Cape Cod to Boston
(75 miles)
On the way to Boston today, you can experience frontier New England at Plimoth Plantation, where a living history museum features life in 1627, only seven years after the colonists landed at Plymouth Rock. |
|
Includes: Best Western or equivalent accommodations. Alternative accommodation can be booked as an upgrade. All accommodation, hotel taxes, breakfast each morning (applies to Best Western properties only), paid hotel parking, complete Personal Travel Portfolio with story, detailed driving directions, customized maps and detailed information about all activities and attractions, 24/7 assistance. All prices are based on twin share (excluding flights).
All of our self-drive tours can be made shorter, or in many cases, longer. Please feel free to call through if there are any alterations to the itinerary that you would like to make.
|
|
|
|
|
|
