Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island
New England in October is the drive everyone imagines: sugar maples flaring red over white church steeples, harbor towns stacked with lobster traps, and mountain roads where every bend opens onto color. This tour follows autumn through all six states. Your group walks Boston's Freedom Trail, boards a lobster boat cruise in Kennebunkport where the traps come up right onto the deck, rides the Mount Washington Cog Railway above the treeline, and hears the von Trapp family's story at their lodge in Stowe. The week ends in the Gilded Age, touring The Breakers in Newport. Our Storyteller Guides handle every day in between.
Arrive in Boston and walk Beacon Hill and the first stretch of the Freedom Trail, passing the Old State House and Faneuil Hall along the brick path. The group gathers for a welcome dinner and a first evening in the city.
Walk the Freedom Trail with our Storyteller Guides, from the Paul Revere House to Old North Church, where two lanterns sent Revere riding into history. Then step aboard the USS Constitution, the world's oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat, and stand on the deck that earned her the name Old Ironsides.
Follow the coast into Maine and the harbor town of Kennebunkport, where the waterfront still works for a living. Board a lobster boat cruise and watch the crew pull traps up right onto the deck, then end the day with a traditional lobster dinner.
Ride the historic Mount Washington Cog Railway to the summit for sweeping views across the White Mountains. Then visit the Mount Washington Hotel and discover how grand resort architecture and mountain tourism became part of New England’s story.
Tour the Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury and finish with a scoop, then taste Vermont cheddar at the Cabot store nearby. In Stowe, see the Community Church against the hills, and visit the von Trapp Family Lodge & Resort to hear how the family behind The Sound of Music built a new life in Vermont.
Spend the morning in Montpelier, the nation's smallest state capital by population, beneath the gold dome of the Vermont State House. At a working sugarhouse, follow maple sap from tree to syrup, then wind through Vermont's white-steepled villages as the hills show their best color.
Begin with a stop at Quechee Gorge, Vermont's Little Grand Canyon, where the river runs 165 feet below the bridge. Then head south through western Massachusetts into Connecticut, stopping at the West Cornwall Covered Bridge for the photograph everyone came for. In Groton, hear how this stretch of coast became home to America's submarine service before continuing toward Rhode Island.
See Providence's historic streets, then continue to Newport and tour The Breakers, the 70-room summer home Cornelius Vanderbilt II built facing the Atlantic. Marble halls and ocean views show how America's wealthiest families spent their summers.
Enjoy one last New England morning before the coach heads to Providence or Boston for the trip home, with six states of autumn color behind you.
Old State House on the Freedom Trail: Swativ28 (CC BY-SA 4.0); Stowe Community Church in Autumn: Patrick Breen (CC BY 2.0); West Cornwall Covered Bridge: Marc Dantzker (CC BY-SA 4.0); Marble House in Newport: MVASCO (CC BY-SA 3.0); The Breakers: Xiquinho Silva (CC BY 2.0); Rhode Island State House: Bestbudbrian (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Transportation options
Group airfare or motor coach transportation to Boston, and home from Providence or Boston, can be included on request.
Share who's traveling, your preferred dates, and the experiences that interest you.
We build the itinerary, accommodations, transportation, and dining around your group.
Adjust the days, stops, and pace together, then we plan and coordinate the details.
Tell us your group and your dates. We’ll take it from there.
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