Itinerary

Arrive in the beautiful city of Boston and take your private transfer to your hotel.

Spend the day exploring the fascinating history of the capital of Massachusetts. Known as America’s Walking City, Boston is very compact and a joy to explore on foot. The famous Freedom Trail begins at Boston Common, taking in over a dozen sites including Massachusetts State House, the site of the Boston Massacre and Paul Revere’s house. The trail ends at the USS Constitution, the world’s oldest commissioned warship. The Trail can be done independently but we recommend booking a guided tour to gain deeper insight into the history of the sites.

Explore some of Boston’s fascinating museums – the Kennedy Library and Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of African American History, and Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum.

Spend another day exploring historic sites of Boston, including any museums you didn’t have time for on your first day.

Be sure to check out the city’s excellent, wide-ranging cuisine such as lobster rolls and clam chowder. The city’s North End is one of the best districts to eat seafood as well as Italian specialities. We recommend a walking food tour or a specialised seafood tour, taking in some of the city’s top eateries while learning about Boston’s culinary heritage.

Outside the centre, you could cross the Charles River to Cambridge and visit revered seats of learning at Harvard University and the Great Dome of MIT, before enjoying street performances in Harvard Square.

Alternatively, take a day trip on the ferry to Salem, site of the 1692 witch trials. The Salem Witch Museum is the best of the town’s museums to learn about this troubling history with grisly re-enactments. Other highlights of Salem include the Satanic Temple and the Witch House. The town is particularly interesting to visit in October for the month-long celebration of Halloween, one of the biggest in the world.

Pick up your hire car this morning in Boston and drive south to Cape Cod.

It’s worth stopping on the way in Plymouth. Known as “America’s hometown”, this is the site where the Mayflower pilgrims landed in 1620, commemorated in Pilgrim Memorial State Park on the waterfront.

Visit the full-size replica ship Mayflower II, the monument at Plymouth Rock and enchanting Plimouth Patuxet Museums, including recreations of a 17th century English village, a Wampanoag settlement and reconstructed Plimoth Grist Mill.

Arrive in the town of Falmouth on the south-west tip of Cape Cod and enjoy some seafood specialities in the town’s restaurants in the evening.

Wake up to a beautiful morning in Cape Cod where over 500 miles of shoreline have been welcoming visitors for generations. The peninsula is peppered with beautiful historic towns that combine fishing and tourism, supplying North America with clams, oysters and mussels.

Falmouth has an attractive harbour, historic architecture and Village Green. Explore the town, its beaches and surrounding coastline, including Nobska Lighthouse and the Oceanographic Institution at Woods Hole.

A great option is to take a scenic drive along the length of Cape Cod, 1.5 hours to the north-east tip of the peninsula to Provincetown, which has a thriving artistic community and lively nightlife. A highlight of the town is the 75-metre granite Pilgrim Monument, as well as several lighthouses on the edge of town.

Take the ferry this morning across to the island of Martha’s Vineyard (included in your tour).

Martha’s Vineyard, seven miles south of Cape Cod, is where the movie Jaws was filmed. While real life here is far more tranquil than fiction, you can visit many of the film’s locations around Edgartown, including South Beach and the famous Jaws Bridge.

Afterwards, explore the town’s downtown boutiques, check into your hotel and browse the town’s restaurants.

Explore more of Martha’s Vineyard today. The island’s northern beaches are more sheltered for bathing while the southern beaches are better for surfing.

The opposite end of the island has some of the most dramatic scenery, so drive to Aquinnah on the south-west tip, visiting the red clay cliffs and Gay Head Lighthouse. Return to Edgartown for dinner.

Leave your car in Edgartown and take a day trip to the island of Nantucket today (included in your tour).

With a slower pace than the rest of Cape Cod, Nantucket is steeped in history with more than 800 pre-Civil War buildings. Arrive in Nantucket Town, a designated Historic District with well-preserved 18th and 19th century architecture, several art galleries and museums.

The best place to explore the island’s whaling history is Nantucket Whaling Museum, which includes a 47-foot sperm whale skeleton, while the Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum charts the maritime history of an island which has seen over 750 wrecks off its coast.

Nantucket is home to three lighthouses: Brant Point Lighthouse, Sankaty Head Light, and Great Point Lighthouse, the most dramatically located on the Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge. There are also several good beaches in and near the town, including Jetties, Steps, Dionis and Brant Point.

Take the ferry back to Martha’s Vineyard to your hotel.

This morning, take the ferry back to Hyannis in Cape Cod (included in your tour).

You’ll be staying in nearby Chatham, known for its whitewashed old town, historic dockyard, lighthouse and beautiful beaches.

The best place to soak up the maritime history is at Old Atwood House Museum, while Chatham Light Beach is the best beach in the area. Nearby Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge is a haven for birdwatchers, easily reachable on a boat trip.

Enjoy the town’s restaurants in the evening.

Today it’s time for one of the highlights of your trip. Cape Cod is the top destination on the USA’s east coast to take a whale-watching tour to see humpbacks and other species breaching out of the waters.

Your destination is Stellwagen Bank Marine Sanctuary, a rich feeding ground for dolphins, sea birds and many species of large whales, including humpbacks, finbacks and minkes, and the critically endangered right whales.

The vessels offer outside viewing decks and interior climate-controlled cabins. Along the way, pass the Sandy Neck cottage colony and the Provincetown monument.

Return to Chatham for the last night of your tour.

Drive back to Boston this morning, drop off your hire car at the airport and take your flight home.