Boston

 

Welcome to Boston! Your tour begins with a complimentary transfer from Boston Logan International Airport to the tour hotel. Please join your Tour Director at 6 p.m. for a Welcome Drink at the hotel. Hotel: Omni Parker House

 

Discover some of Boston’s most famous sights as your Tour Director takes you along the Freedom Trail. Then enjoy the colourful scenery as you travel west to Stockbridge for a visit to the Norman Rockwell Museum, the largest and most significant collection of original Rockwell art. Next, travel through the stunning rolling hills of the Berkshires to your hotel in the beautiful college town of Williamstown. Hotel: The Williams Inn (B,D)

 

Leaving Massachusetts, journey through the fabulous fall foliage of Vermont. After a photo stop at Quechee Gorge, visit the Rockefellers’ renowned Billings Farm & Museum, a working dairy farm and farm life museum. Next is the quintessential Vermont village of Woodstock with its picturesque covered bridge. There is time to stroll the quaint streets before heading to Stowe for a two-night stay. It was the breathtaking alpine setting that attracted the Von Trapp family, of The Sound of Music fame, when they arrived from Austria in the late 40’s and built their wonderful hideaway. For your Dine-Around dinner this evening, choose between a selection of excellent local restaurants, including the lodge’s own. Hotel: Trapp Family Lodge (B,DA)

 

Enjoy beautiful rural scenery ablaze with fall colours and views of Vermont’s tallest peak, Mount Mansfield. Visit Cold Hollow Apple Cider Mill and taste fresh cider in the making, then sample flavours of a different kind on a guided tour of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory. Return to the charming town of Stowe where the rest of the day is free to wander the quaint streets, hike in the woods, or enjoy the lodge’s amenities. (B)

 

Visit Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks and taste a Vermont tradition: “sugar on snow” - maple syrup served with a doughnut and pickle! Next, learn all about cheese-making at the Cabot Creamery and nibble on the “World’s Best Cheddar.” Then head for New Hampshire’s White Mountains and enter Franconia Notch. Get your cameras ready as the ride on the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway offers panoramic vistas over New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, New York, and Canada. Later journey through the dazzling crimson and orange hues of the famed Kancamagus Scenic Byway to North Conway. After dinner enjoy an interpretive presentation by a naturalist on the North Woods’ wildlife and ecology. Hotel: North Conway Grand Hotel (B,D)

 

Another morning of brilliant fall foliage colours as you journey through Crawford Notch. Stop for pictures at the beautiful Silver Cascade Waterfall and Bretton Woods, offering stunning views of Mount Washington, the tallest peak in the northeast at 6,288 ft. Back in North Conway, the afternoon is yours. Explore the township, or shop at the tax-free outlet stores near the hotel. (B)

 

Leaving New Hampshire’s glorious fall foliage, enter the deep green pine forests of western Maine. At charming Kennebunkport, enjoy a ride along Ocean Drive with stunning views of the Maine coastline and the homes of Kennebunkport’s rich and famous, including the summer retreat of former President George H.W. Bush. There is time to browse the many galleries and shops, or walk along the waterfront before continuing on to the charming and historic port city of Portsmouth. Tonight enjoy a traditional “lobsta” dinner served at a delightful harbourside restaurant. Hotel: Sheraton Harborside Portsmouth (B,HD)

 

Continue south to the charming seaside village of Rockport on Cape Ann. Stroll down flower-filled lanes lined with wooden fishing shacks, quaint stores and art galleries before heading back to Boston. Stops will be made at Boston Logan International Airport and the tour hotel in Boston for guests wishing to extend their stay. Please do not schedule flights before 4 p.m. (B)