Day 1 - Gather at London Heathrow airport to board our Virgin Atlantic flight direct to Boston, where we will arrive in the late afternoon. We will transfer straight to the beautiful beach location of Cape Cod and our hotel, the Resort and Conference Center at Hyannis, a completely renovated lodging with great amenities, which is set in 52 acres of landscaped grounds. The hotel is within easy walking distance of shops and many fabulous attractions, including the beach, golf course, and ferries to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. The pretty harbour town of Hyannis was the much-loved summer retreat of the famous Kennedy family, and it honours the life of President John F. Kennedy in a museum and tranquil memorial which has stunning sea views.

Day 2 - Cape Cod
After breakfast, we will begin a fabulous tour of Cape Cod: a long peninsular which is a premier beach location, with miles of unspoiled sandy beaches and protected sand dunes. Renowned for its natural beauty and abundant wildlife, picturesque fishing villages, quaint lighthouses, and historic towns, it is also a great area for whale watching! We will travel to the quintessential Cape Cod village of Chatham, with its classic, white lighthouse and famous ‘Fish Pier’, which allows beautiful panoramas of the beach and the magnificent Atlantic Ocean beyond. Chatham is also known as the ‘walking town’, where most attractions are within easy strolling distance! You may like to browse its quaint shops or perhaps have a bite to eat here. Later, we will travel to the pretty fishing village of Provincetown, situated at the tip of Cape Cod, where you will have free time to explore as you wish. Provincetown was settled by the English in the seventeenth century, and there is still a charming historic district here. It is also famous for its bohemian atmosphere and its focus on the arts and literature. With beautiful beaches and many attractions, there is much to see and do!

Day 3 - The Island of Martha’s Vineyard
After breakfast, we will travel to Falmouth on the South Western tip of Cape Cod, which encompasses the seafaring village of Woods Hole with its shops, galleries, museums, great restaurants, gardens and beautiful sea views. Here, we will board the ferry for the quaintly-named Martha’s Vineyard: an island off Cape Cod with beautiful beaches and the pleasant weather which makes it a perfect place for holiday relaxation. On arrival in Vineyard Haven we will be met by our local guide and we will begin a fabulous tour of the island. We will see Oaks Bluff, where there is an 1884 ‘Flying Horses’ Carousel (the oldest still in operation), bustling shops and the cherished ‘Gingerbread Cottages’ of the Methodist Campgrounds, with ornate moulding and the bright colours which give them a quaint, almost storyboard look! We will continue to historic Edgartown, once an important whaling centre. The pretty harbour town is graced by many magnificent homes built by seafaring captains of a bygone age, as well as lovely antique shops, boutiques and galleries. Later, we will return to Woods Hole for our return ferry, then travel back to the Resort and Conference Center at Hyannis for our overnight stay.

Day 4 - The Pilgrim Town of Plymouth and Plimoth Plantation
This morning we will leave Cape Cod and travel to the Pilgrim town of Plymouth. Known as America’s ‘hometown’, settlers arrived here from England in 1620 after crossing the Atlantic aboard the sailing ship Mayflower, and landed at the point which is now known as Plymouth Rock. Although Plymouth has become legendary in the history of the United States, it nevertheless retains all its small-town charm. Our tour will include the Plymouth Rock and the Plimoth Plantation (which uses the original seventeenth century spelling). This is a working museum, where we will see a recreation of the small farming town built by the first English settlers in 1627, with timber-framed homes and scented gardens, livestock and the ‘settlers’ themselves, who will interact with visitors and speak in the fascinating dialect of the time. Other attractions include a recreated Wampanoag settlement, run by actual descendents of the Cape Cod Indian population. With many exhibits, rare breed animals, dining areas, a cinema and a visitor centre, we hope you will have a great time here. Later, we will continue to our hotel, the excellent  Best Western Royal Plaza hotel, Marlborough for the first of a  four night stay.

Day 5 - Boston City Tour
After breakfast, we will begin an unforgettable half-day guided tour of Boston. Vibrant and historic, Boston is one of America’s most photogenic cities with a European ambiance and wonderfully rich past. With pretty cobblestone streets (lit by Victorian gas lamps at nightfall), the historic city is home to many beautifully preserved Victorian and Georgian buildings, and churches and monuments which commemorate the nation’s history, including the American Revolution and the Anti-Slavery Movement. If you wish, you can take advantage of an optional whale watching cruise from Boston Harbour, in search of the magnificent hump-backed whale! Later there will be free time for you to explore the city’s many other attractions, shops and restaurants, with time to enjoy an optional dinner before departing for your hotel at around 7.30pm.

Day 6 - The Battlefields of Lexington and The Salem Witches
Today, we will take a fabulous whole-day tour of some intriguing sites which forged the history of the American nation. We will visit the battlefield of Lexington and Concord, where on 19 April 1775 hostilities began between British North America and the Kingdom of Great Britain, starting the American Revolutionary War which led to American independence. Ralph Waldo Emerson described the first shot as the ‘shot heard ‘round the world’, symbolizing the importance of the war in world history. Later, we will continue to Salem, the ‘Witch Capital of the World’, made infamous by its seventeenth century witchcraft trials when nineteen men and women were convicted of this ‘offence’ and put to death on Gallows Hill, near the village. There will be ample time for you to enjoy an optional dinner in this delightful town.

Day 7 - Newport, Ocean Drive Tour and Outlet Shopping
After breakfast, we will travel to fabulous Newport, Rhode Island, (also known as ‘America’s First Resort’!), which is resplendent with luxurious, ocean front mansions, displaying the glamour and grandeur of a bygone, ‘gilded’ age! The palatial estates, period houses, restored churches, museums and unique culture make Rhode Island a memorable location. Have your cameras at the ready for our fabulous ‘Ocean Drive’ tour, which will give us spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean and the ‘Millionaire’s Row’ mansions. You may like to take advantage of our optional tour of The Breakers, a fabulous, 70 roomed Renaissance-style palazzo (built from 1893-95 by the Vanderbilt family), which was inspired by sixteenth century Italian palaces. In the early afternoon we will stop for two hours of great shopping at the Wrentham Village Premium Outlet, so shop to your heart’s content, and later we will return to the Best Western Royal Plaza hotel.

Day 8 - Fall Foliage of New Hampshire and Vermont
Today we will travel North West through New Hampshire into the lovely state of Vermont and the Green Mountains, an area considered to be the best for viewing the beautiful colours of the Fall, as the green maple-covered hills assume a breathtaking mantle of burnished hues as the season changes. We will visit Quechee Gorge, also known as Vermont’s ‘Little Grand Canyon’. It is the longest and most famous gorge in the state, with a greatest depth of 165 feet and length of one mile. The Ottauquechee River flows downstream through the Gorge, creating pretty cascades along the wild, scenic valley. Then we continue to Woodstock, a pretty town which was first settled in 1768 and named after Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England. We will continue to our next hotel: the Basin Harbour Club, in the heart of Vermont. This family-run lodging is surrounded by beautiful gardens and it is situated on the peaceful shores of lovely Lake Champlain.

Day 9 - The Fall Foliage & Stowe
After breakfast, we will head North to the little town of Stowe, Vermont, a neatly-kept location with a classic white-steepled church and quintessential New England feel. Almost all the shops and restaurants here are conveniently situated on the main road through the town. We will take a tour of Ben and Jerry’s super ice cream factory, which is situated on a green pasture near the town of Waterbury. Later we will continue to Montpelier, situated among the rolling foothills to the East of the Green Mountains. Montpelier is the smallest state capital in America (dating from 1787), and was named after the French city in honour of French support during the American Revolution. Here, we will take a fascinating tour of the Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks. The ancestors of the Morse family were shown how to tap maple trees by native Americans.

 At the rustic farm you can tour the works and taste samples of syrup if you wish; you may like to relax by viewing displays in the authentic woodshed theatre, where the walls are made of sugar wood and the seats are maple-stumps!

Day 10 - Sadly it is time to bid farewell to beautiful New England, as we return to Boston for our flight home to London Heathrow.

Day 11 - After our overnight flight we will arrive at London Heathrow airport around 7.20am. Passengers with an onward connection should please transfer to the appropriate terminal for your flight home.