Day 1 – Depart Chicago
Meet your tour manager and fellow travelers in Chicago’s Union Station this evening, where you will board Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited at 8:00 pm and prepare for a scheduled departure of 9:30 pm. Relax in your comfortable onboard accommodations or explore the train. Go to the lounge car for snacks, sandwiches, and beverages and get to know your fellow travelers. (Eastern tour members will depart tomorrow for Boston.) Overnight train.
Day 2 – En Route
The Lake Shore Limited will pass through Toledo, Cleveland, and Erie early this morning. Take advantage of views from the dining car over a hot meal as we continue through New York and Massachusetts to Boston.
Upper New York residents can board at Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, and Albany during the day. Lunch and a boxed dinner are included en route to Boston.*
Eastern and Mid-Atlantic travelers will arrive in Boston throughout the day and transfer to our hotel. The Lake Shore Limited is scheduled to arrive in Boston at 9:10 pm. Overnight Boston. (B*, L*, D*)
Day 3 – En Route to Saint John, NB
Following breakfast this morning, we’ll board our deluxe motorcoach and travel 385 miles northeast to Saint John, New Brunswick. Enjoy the scenery as we travel through the state of Maine. “On-your-own” stops will be made for lunch and dinner en route. Overnight Saint John. (B)
Day 4 – Halifax
Board a ferry for the noon three-hour cruise across the Bay of Fundy, Canada’s Natural Wonder, to Digby, Nova Scotia. Keep a lookout for whales that have been spotted playing in the world’s highest tides. Upon arrival in Digby, we’ll board a motorcoach for the 142-mile trip to charming Halifax, the Maritimes largest city and one of Canada’s most important commercial centers. Check into the hotel, conveniently located near major Halifax attractions, with the evening at your leisure. Overnight Halifax.
Day 5 – Halifax
Spend the day on a sightseeing tour of the greater Halifax area, stopping at a number of historical sites. We’ll also enjoy several views of the magnificent Halifax Harbor, one of the most beautiful in the world. We’ll follow the rugged coast of St. Margaret’s bay to famed and picturesque Peggy’s Cove, where a seafood luncheon is an option. You’ll find the Maritimes Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax to be fascinating. A number of relics from the Titanic are housed here. A gala evening is planned this evening at the Grafton Dinner Theatre, where each course is followed by one of the acts of a musical or light comedy. Overnight Halifax. (B, D)
Day 6 – Hopewell Rocks/Charlottetown
This morning we travel by coach to the Hopewell Rocks Ocean Tide Exploration Site. Ocean tides have carved the Flower Pot Rocks, pillars of sandstone and conglomerate rock with balsam fir and dwarf spruce growing on top. Visitors may walk the beach below the rocks from three hours before low tide until three hours after low tide. At high tide, the rocks resemble islands. An interpretive center provides viewing decks and multimedia exhibits about the Bay of Fundy. An opportunity for an “on-your-own” lunch is available at the High Tide Restaurant.
This afternoon we visit an unusual attraction in Moncton: Magnetic Hill, where cars appear to be driving downhill when actually going uphill. We’ll depart Moncton by mid-afternoon for the 136-mile journey across land and sea to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. On the way we’ll cross the nine-mile long Confederation Bridge that connects New Brunswick mainland with Prince Edward Island, Canada’s smallest province. Overnight Charlottetown. (B)
Day 7 – Prince Edward Island
Today we explore the island. We’ll tour northward passing horse farms, potato fields, sandy beaches, dunes, and salt marshes that abound with shore birds. A visit to the home of “Anne of the Green Gables” is scheduled. Additional stops include Charlottetown’s waterfront development and farmers market as well as one of the Island’s most famous eateries, the New Glasgow Lobster Suppers, where we’ll enjoy a family-style supper of lobster, cold ham or beef served at communal tables. Overnight Charlottetown. (D)
Day 8 – Baddeck
This morning we travel west by coach to Wood Island, where we’ll board a ferry for the 1 ½-hour crossing of the Northumberland Strait to Caribou. We’ll stop in nearby Pictou for lunch on your own. There will be time to visit the historic Hector Heritage Quay. This afternoon we’ll continue to Baddeck, a charming village on Cape Breton Island. Overnight Baddeck. (D)
Day 9 – Cabot Trail
After breakfast embark on a circle trip along the Cabot Trail through Cape Breton Highlands National Park. The views are absolutely breathtaking as the motorcoach surmounts some of the steepest grades in the world. Watch for picturesque Neil’s Harbour, a quiet fishing village; Cape North, where Cabot landed in 1497; the Sunrise Valley; the Lone Sheiling stone hut; Pleasant Bay; Cheticamp, noted for its rug hookers; and, St. Peter’s Church. Overnight Baddeck. (B, L, D)
Day 10 – Moncton
Following breakfast we’ll visit the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, where you’ll find working models and related written materials, artifacts and photographs of Bell’s experiments during the 37 years he lived in Baddeck. This afternoon we’ll return to Moncton, the transportation hub of the Maritimes, being the point where roads from Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia connect. Between Amherst and Sackville, we’ll encounter the Tantramar Marshes, where dikes built by early Acadian settlers in 1686 hold back the sea, forming lush farmland. Overnight Moncton. (B, D)
Day 11 – Portland, Maine
This morning we travel south to Portland. Just north of Fredericton, NB, we’ll pass Grand Lake, just to the north of the highway. It drains over 2,360 square miles and is a recreational playground with a very rugged shoreline. Around the lake are sites of early European settlement and very old First Nations archeological sites.
Maine is one of the most beautiful of all the 50 states! From its rock-bound shores to majestic mountains and islands, the 23rd state is the only one to have a name that is one syllable long, and the only state to border only one other state (New Hampshire). We’ll spend the evening in Maine’s largest city. Overnight Portland.
Day 12 – Boston/En Route Home
This morning we continue on to Boston’s South Station for the 11:55 am departure of the Lake Shore Limited bound for Chicago. (Eastern and Mid-Atlantic travelers will board trains for home destinations throughout the day.) You’ll enjoy the same onboard accommodations and amenities. Overnight train. (CB*, L*, D*)
Day 13 – Arrive Chicago
The Lake Shore Limited is scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 9:45 am, where the tour comes to an end. (B*)
Hotels include the Doubletree Club Boston Bayside Hotel, Delta Brunswick Hotel, Delta Barrington, Rodd Charlottetown, Auberge Gisele’s Country Inn, Delta Beausejour, Hampton Inn South Portland. Amtrak accommodations are in Coach class and include a reclining seat with leg rest. Upgrades to Roomette and Bedroom sleeping accommodations are available for an additional fee.
Hotel accommodations are based on availability; substitutes will be similar in quality and amenities.
Prices are land-only, per person. Prices are correct at the time of this web page going live; however are subject to confirmation at time of booking.
*Midwest and upper New York tour members only.
