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Complete New England Experience

Revealing the very best of four of New England’s six states, this is a magnificent holiday on which you not only discover the different faces of New England and their rich history and culture, but also gain an appreciation of the grandeur of the scenery and the region’s great sense of space. You stay in inns offering high levels of comfort, but there is plenty to tempt you away from each, not least many inviting footpaths.

Wild and romantic Cape Cod

You begin in New England’s vibrant capital, with the option of adding extra nights to explore further. On the morning you leave Boston, you head south-east on the short drive to Cape Cod, renowned for its wild beaches, villages of shingled houses, and the exclusive islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, which you can visit on a day trip by ferry (pay locally).

You stay three nights at the Cranberry Inn in Chatham, perhaps the most beguiling village on the south-east coast, with beaches, a fish pier and harbour, as well as tempting shops and excellent restaurants where you can sample the famous clam chowder (pay locally).

You then drive north into Vermont. Though scenic - particularly once you enter the mountains - this is a relatively long journey which we recommend you break by adding a night at the Centennial House. Your base for two nights is the Fox Creek Inn deep in the Green Mountains, where your welcoming hosts, Jim and Sandy Robertson, will ensure you have a great stay. They are more than happy to advise you on local walking options or arrange the hire of kayaks for a relaxing paddle on Chittenden Reservoir.

The Mighty White Mountains

Your next marvellous drive crosses the great Connecticut River into New Hampshire’s majestic White Mountains. Although our ‘standard’ route is beautiful, affording wonderful views of the Presidential Mountains as you near your destination, you may prefer to take the more impressive Kancamagus Highway. You stay two nights at the Inn at Thorn Hill, a high-quality inn with more of a hotel feel, where we include a wine-tasting session with owner Jim Cooper.

You can discover the mountains’ splendour either on foot or by train - an amazing cogwheel railway transports visitors to the top of Mount Washington, the state’s highest peak (pay locally). Leaving New Hampshire, you continue east to reach Bar Harbor, a bustling port on Mount Desert Isle. Your base is the Ullikana Bed and Breakfast, a much-loved inn, from where you can explore the Acadia National Park. This is great walking country, but is even better cycling terrain, and you can take advantage of the Ullikana’s two bicycles reserved for Inntravel guests. The inn also offers free entry to the fascinating Abbe Museum, or you could enjoy a whale-watching trip (pay locally). From here, you return south to Boston. To give you time to stop at the various places of interest along the way, we recommend breaking your journey at the Squire Tarbox Inn in Wiscasset.

Something different

To extend your holiday, why not walk across Mount Desert Isle from Bar Harbor and spend a night by the sea at Asticou Inn, where your luggage will be waiting for you? The rewarding 9-mile walk leads via the 1,270-foot summit of Dorr Mountain. Alternatively, for something a little different, opt for one of our Insights.

Holiday details

ROUTE: 11 nights, car hire from Boston
1ST NIGHT: Beacon Hill Hotel in Boston (B&B)
DAY 1: 90-mile/2-hour drive to Cranberry Inn in Cape Cod (B&B)
DAY 2: Day at Cranberry Inn (B&B)
DAY 3: Day at Cranberry Inn (B&B)
DAY 4: 300-mile/6-hour drive to Fox Creek Inn in Green Mountains (with dinner)
DAY 5: Day at Fox Creek Inn (with dinner)
DAY 6: 170-mile/4-hour drive to Inn at Thorn Hill in White Mountains (with dinner)
DAY 7: Day at Inn at Thorn Hill (with dinner)
DAY 8: 270-mile/5.5-hour drive to Ullikana in Down East Maine (B&B)
DAY 9: Day at Ullikana (B&B)
DAY 10: Day at Ullikana (B&B)
DAY 11: 290-mile/6.5-hour drive to Boston for flight

Prices

Start: any day
Includes: 4 dinners, 11 days' category B car hire
With flights also includes: British Airways flights Heathrow-Boston
Please call for the full range of flight options from the UK

To discuss this or any other of our holidays in North America, call us on 01653 617793 or email us. We will be happy to tailor-make an itinerary to suit your exact requirements. You can find practical information about North America in our ‘planning your trip’ guide.

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