Classic New England

Highlights:

• Boston's Italian North End, bustling financial district, Freedom Trail
• Manchester Village known for its mansions, art centres and other cultural activities
• Newport, Rhode Island
  
• Plymouth - "America's hometown" to see Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II

Day 1-3 - Boston
Following your flight you will be transferred into the city to The Fairmont Battery Wharf in historic Boston. The hotel is in a great location from which to explore this historic city. Boston's Italian North End, bustling financial district, Freedom Trail, Faneuil Hall Marketplace and TD Garden are all very close by..

Day 3-5 - Scarborough, Maine
Collect your rental car and drive north leaving Boston to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This small city has been a working port since colonial days. The Strawberry Bank area is one of America's oldest neighbourhoods. Continue up the coast to Maine. In Ogunquit take a leisurely walk along the Marginal Way, a magnificent mile-long footpath which follows the edge of the Atlantic atop rugged cliffs. Continue on to Scarborough where your first stop is the Black Point Inn.

Day 5-7 - Holderness, New Hampshire
Today travel through Maine's picturesque lakes region and into New Hampshire's Squam Lake, best known for the film "On Golden Pond" with Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn. The location is also the setting for your two night stay at The Manor on Golden Pond.

Day 7-9 - Woodstock, Vermont
Scenic routes and covered bridges will take you across into Vermont, the Green Mountain state. Today see Quechee Gorge, Vermont's "little Grand Canyon" before winding into Woodstock. A national US magazine named Woodstock "the prettiest small town in America". Your hotel for the next two nights is the wonderful Woodstock Inn.

Day 9-11 - Lenox, Massachusetts
This morning travel through the Green Mountains to Manchester, Vermont. Manchester Village is known for its mansions, art centres and other cultural activities. Visit Hildene, the former estate of Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's son. After lunch wind along the scenic Route 7, a famous drive for viewing autumn foliage, into Lenox for the next 2 nights. In Lenox visit Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony's summer home. In neighbouring Stockbridge visit the Norman Rockwell Museum, which houses his paintings of America's past. Stay at the grand 19th-Century country house of Wheatleigh.

Day 12 - Newport, Rhode Island
Today drive through central Massachusetts and to Rhode Island's coast. Newport is where you will find the opulent summer homes of the Vanderbilts and the Astors, the church where John F Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier and the Old Stone Mill, believed to be built by the Vikings around 1100AD. Spend two nights in this waterfront town with so much history.

Day13-14 - Chatham, Cape Cod
Today continue into Plymouth, "America's hometown" to see Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II, an exact replica of the ship that carried the pilgrims to the New World. Cross the Cape Cod Canal to a world of charm and beauty. For the next 2 days drive along the Cape Cod National Seashore to explore lighthouses, quaint coastal communities and natural scenic beauty. Visit the lively artist colony of Provincetown, take a whale watch, or just lay on one of the Cape's many sandy beaches. Your hotel for 2 nights is the wonderful Chatham Bars Inn. Chatham Bars Inn is an idyllic retreat on Cape Cod noted for its excellent service, fine cuisine and beautiful surroundings. The Inn is nestled near the heart of the village of Chatham and overlooks Pleasant Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.  

Day 15 - Sandwich, Boston and flight to UK
Before returning to Boston, visit Sandwich and its notable Heritage Museum and gardens or the Sandwich Glass Museum, displaying a collection of cranberry glass, once the town's primary industry. Return your car at Boston airport before your overnight flight back to the UK.