Fall Foliage of New England & Maine

Surrounded by the charms of New England and the rich hues of the season, your vacation begins today as you arrive in Boston. This Revolutionary city is filled with history, and you can get your first look at it upon checking into our elegant Back Bay hotel, the 100-year-old Fairmont Copley Plaza.

The Back Bay neighborhood centers around Copley Square and is awash in cobbled streets and lush green spaces ablaze with fall foliage. You might like to stroll along Newbury Street, home to some of Boston's most upscale boutiques and excellent restaurants, many of which offer outdoor seating to soak in the city's historic ambiance.

This evening, return to the hotel to meet the Tour Manager and your group of fellow travelers, and then together, we head to a local restaurant to kick off our autumn adventure with dinner. Overnight Boston.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before getting to know Boston on a guided tour. Follow in the footsteps of our forefathers, seeing the attractions lining the Freedom Trail and points of interest like the Boston Public Library, established in 1848 as the first public library to lend books. We may also see where Paul Revere set out on his famous ride and Quincy Market, a historic building filled with an incredible selection of food stalls.

You might like to peruse the dining options at Quincy Market before continuing the day at leisure. Boston Harbor is a beautiful - and iconic - place to spend the afternoon, and there are numerous other "trails" you could discover, including the Black Heritage Trail and the Women's Heritage Trail. Boston has an array of museums, such as the Museum of Fine Arts, and endless culture to discover in its murals, art galleries and charming neighborhoods.

This evening, you can find dinner locally, perhaps ending your meal with a slice of authentic Boston cream pie. Overnight Boston.

• Breakfast, Dinner

Our first taste of adventure comes this morning as a coach transfer takes us to Boston's railway station. Here, we board Amtrak's Downeaster on its northerly journey toward Portland, Maine. Soak in quintessential New England scenery, made all the more impressive by the changing trees, while traveling through Massachusetts and along the coast of Maine.

We arrive in Portland around mid-day and have some free time to admire our new surroundings and find lunch on our own. Located on Casco Bay, this vibrant city has plenty of seaside charm.

The day continues as we travel by coach to Kennebunkport, where we stay for two nights. Hundreds of years of history greet us as we arrive in this resort city, which dates to the 1600s. We check into our century-old hotel on the shore of the Kennebunk River and then have a free evening. With no planned dinner, you might like to find a fresh seafood restaurant in town or warm up with a hearty bowl of clam chowder. Overnight Kennebunkport.

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• Breakfast

 Seafood is the lifeblood of New England, especially in Maine. Today, we get a more in-depth understanding as we transfer by coach to Phippsburg to spend the day at the Maine Oyster Company. Alongside an expert oyster farmer, we learn about these mollusks and their role on Maine's menus.

During our trip, we enjoy a short boat ride to an oyster farm, where the waters are home to many species. In addition to seeing how they are grown, you will learn about the methods the farmers are using to drive the industry forward while remaining sustainable. Our visit also includes a private shucking lesson, during which you are given 12 unshucked oysters and instructed on the best way to open them. You will also enjoy tasting them with a complimentary drink, but other food options are available (payable locally).

Returning to Kennebunkport this evening, you are free to find dinner independently. Overnight Kennebunkport.

• Breakfast

Leaving Kennebunkport after breakfast, our journey continues to Bar Harbor. This coastal city has a reputation for its wild beauty on Frenchman Bay and is the gateway to Acadia National Park. En route, our coach winds through Maine's stunning natural scenery and pauses at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, where you can admire the changing foliage as you explore with free time through lunch.

We arrive in Bar Harbor later this afternoon and check into our waterfront hotel, which dates to 1887. The Bar Harbor Inn is the most iconic hotel on Mount Desert Island, and during our stay, we can soak up its amenities and fantastic views from our private balconies or patios.

The remainder of the day is yours, and with both the ocean and downtown Bar Harbor within a few minutes' walk of the hotel, your options are limitless. We return to the hotel this evening and make our way to the elegant Porcupine Room. This window-lined dining room overlooks the Porcupine Islands in Frenchman Bay and provides an astounding sunset view, making it the perfect place to enjoy our lobster bake dinner. Overnight Bar Harbor.</p

• Breakfast, Dinner

A highlight of your vacation - and one of the best places in New England to experience the gold, amber, rust and crimson hues of autumn - lies ahead this morning as we visit Acadia National Park. Setting out by coach after breakfast, we enter this remarkable parkland, which is not only home to some of Maine's best-preserved coastlines but also the tallest mountains on the East Coast.

As we enter Acadia, a guide steps aboard our coach to provide expert commentary, stories and knowledge to accompany our tour. We spend the day driving between points of interest that showcase the park in all its immense beauty, enjoying time to take short walks or photograph our surroundings and the foliage, all alight with fall splendor. A highlight of any tour is viewing Cadillac Mountain, the highest point in the East.

Returning to Bar Harbor this evening, you are free to find dinner locally, perhaps at one of the many restaurants serving seafood caught just off the coast. Overnight Bar Harbor.

• Breakfast

We get a different perspective of New England today as our journey turns inland toward the White Mountains of New Hampshire, another leaf-peeping haven. Our coach departs Bar Harbor after breakfast, and we can soak up beautiful scenes of deep forests painted with fall colors.

Our route takes us through Maine's capital, Augusta, where we stop for free time through lunch. Downtown Augusta showcases Maine's history and its growth, with a mixture of old-world and modern buildings. You could peruse the shops and restaurants or walk along the Kennebec River before rejoining the coach to continue toward our destination: Bretton Woods, surrounded by the White Mountains National Forest.

Later, we check in to the Omni Mount Washington Resort & Spa, a National Historic Landmark that has been welcoming guests for more than 120 years. The rest of your day is free to wander the grounds or book a treatment in the 25,000-square-foot spa. Dinner is on your own this evening, and there are several dining options including 1902, which serves New England cuisine in sophisticated surroundings, and Stickney's, an informal pub and steakhouse. You might also like to soak up the views from the rooftop Observatory Bar. Overnight Bretton Woods.

• Breakfast

Today, we admire the White Mountains from their highest point and the ground level, as we embark on two memorable rail journeys. The first takes us aboard the world's first mountain-climbing train, the Mount Washington Cog Railway. With a boxed lunch provided by the onsite restaurant, join a line that has been taking travelers to the summit of Mount Washington since 1869. It takes approximately an hour to reach the top, where views include five states, Quebec and the Atlantic Ocean.

After admiring the vistas, we head inside the weather station for a behind-the-scenes tour. See the instrumentation and working quarters, and learn how they observe and forecast the extreme weather patterns in this region. We descend the mountain onboard the cog railway and return to the hotel with free time.

Later in the day, we set out for North Woodstock, where we board the Cafe Lafayette Dinner Train. A memorable conclusion to our time in the East, this train meanders through the Pemi River Valley in the White Mountains, showcasing the stunning autumnal scenery as we enjoy a delicious five-course dinner in vintage 1950s rail cars. Overnight Bretton Woods.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Boston's history, Maine's quaint seaside destinations and the beautiful White Mountains set the tone for a vacation to remember in New England. This journey has been filled with historical sites and beautiful displays of nature, including those of Acadia National Park. From learning about oysters at the Maine Oyster Company to touring the weather station at the summit of Mount Washington, each day has brought a new way to experience the East.

An encore of wonderful scenery guides the way back to Boston this morning. We depart from our hotel after breakfast and follow our route back to the coast. As we arrive in Boston, you are free to continue your onward travels home.

• Breakfast