Everyone thinks of New England in the ‘fall’ but its glittering coastline and well-earned reputation for sensational seafood makes it a perfect beach holiday destination at almost any time of year. This seaside and city break combines the historic sites of Boston with the wide sandy beaches of the Cape Cod peninsula, the salty Yankee charms of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, and the grandiose mansions of Newport, Rhode Island.
Boston blends colonial history with cultural flair, from the Freedom Trail to Harvard’s halls and lively waterfront cruises.
Cape Cod’s sweeping sands and dunes invite exploration, where wide beaches and crashing waves shape a classic New England coast.
Martha’s Vineyard charms with cycling trails, elegant villages and sunset cruises, alongside its celebrated farmers market.
Nantucket’s cobbled streets and sea captains’ mansions set the scene for boutique shopping, fine dining and wild Atlantic shores.
Newport’s Cliff Walk reveals America’s Gilded Age opulence, with The Breakers and other mansions steeped in historic grandeur.
Arrive in Boston and enjoy a private transfer to the Fairmont Copley Plaza for a three-night stay. Opened in 1912, this stately landmark is the grand dame of Boston hotels, combining Beaux Arts interiors with modern creature comforts. Spend the following days exploring the city’s varied sights and attractions. Follow the Freedom Trail linking its principal historic sites, shop among the boutiques of Newbury Street, join a whale-watching cruise from the harbour, or take a tour around Harvard, one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
Collect your hire car and head down the coast for a three-night stay at charming Chatham Bars Inn, set on a vast sandy beach with arresting views of the yawning Atlantic. Wealthy Chatham, with its boutiques, galleries and old country stores, sits at the bottom of Cape Cod’s National Seashore, which has enjoyed federal protection since 1961. Its curving coastline is one of America’s most beautiful, offering wide, open beaches, rippling sand dunes and crashing waves all the way north from Chatham to Provincetown.
Drive to Hyannis, leave your hire car and catch a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard for a two-night stay at the Nobnocket Boutique Inn, an elegant B&B set in a renovated turn-of-the-century home. Far less developed than Cape Cod yet more cosmopolitan than neighbouring Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard offers wonderful opportunities for cycling, riding and romantic sunset cruises. It’s also home to the West Tisbury Farmers Market, the oldest and largest open-air market in New England.
Take a short flight to Nantucket Island and check in to the iconic White Elephant. A two-night stay affords time to explore Nantucket Town, a National Historic District encompassing more than 800 historic structures within a single square mile. Beyond its boutiques and fabulous array of restaurants, the wider island offers picturesque beaches, wild open moors, sea captains’ mansions and clear waters for swimming.
Ferry back from Nantucket to Hyannis, collect your hire car and drive to Newport for a three-night stay at The Vanderbilt, a boutique hotel just minutes from the waterfront. Tourists travel from all over to walk Newport’s famous Cliff Walk, past the grandiose mansions of 19th-century America’s richest families. The most impressive of these is undoubtedly The Breakers, tours of which can be arranged through the hotel.
Enjoy a final breakfast before returning to Boston to drop your car at the airport in time for your flight home.