FIVE OF THE BEST WAYS TO VISIT

ISLAND HOPPER

America As You Like It (020 8742 8299; americaasyoulikeit.com) offers ninenight packages that take visitors from Boston to Plymouth to Cape Cod and the nearby islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. While the whole trip is focused on Massachusetts, this is a glorious tour of early Colonial history in the US, along with an overview of some of the most beautiful high streets in New England, home to charming galleries and old sea captains’ homes. From £1,295 per person, including flights, accommodation and car hire.

HIGH SOCIETY HAUNTS

Audley (01993 460850; audleytravel. com) offers a 19-night Luxury New York City & New England tour, which includes a private after-hours guided visit to the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, a trip through the White Mountains on the Cog Railway, a view of Newport’s harbour from a genuine America’s Cup yacht, plus plenty of time to relax on the beaches of Cape Cod. With at least two nights at each stop, you will have plenty time to soak up the atmosphere. From £9,330 per person, including all accommodation, vehicle hire and international flights with British Airways (travelling World Traveller Plus class outbound to New York and Club World class – with a flatbed seat – on the return from Boston).

YANKEE ROAD TRIP

Trailfinders (020 7084 6500; trailfinders. com) offers a 14-night Best of New England tour, a self-drive trip that starts with history in Boston, shoots up to Kennebunkport in Maine, meanders through New Hampshire’s White Mountains and Vermont’s clapboard villages, then visits the maritime towns of Newport and Mystic before ending in Cape Cod. From £1,794 per person, based on two people sharing, including 14 nights in two-four star accommodation, car hire and four breakfasts; not including international flights and other meals.

CUSTOMISABLE CULTURE Abercrombie & Kent (03301 734807; abercrombiekent.co.uk) delivers all of the showstoppers in its Classic New England tour, with myriad options to customise. The 16-night self-drive juxtaposes the bustle of Boston with the tranquil expanses of countryside found from Maine to New Hampshire, with rolling landscapes dotted with red barns and 18th- and 19th-century seaside villages clustered around main streets filled with charming boutiques. Trips typically kick off in historic Boston’s Italian North End and the Freedom Trail, before you head north, perhaps exploring the idyllic grassy dunes of Ogunquit’s expansive beach en route to Maine’s picturesque lakes region, Mount Washington, and on to Cape

Cod. From £4,095 per person, including accommodation and car hire, but not including international flights.

SLOW TRAVEL

You may feel tempted to explore beyond the beaten track, particularly if you have visited New England previously. For culture and history, swap Boston for the charming Rhode Island capital of Providence, where you will find RISD, America’s premier arts college, along with a wealth of colonial clapboard houses, exceptional dining (Al Forno is a classic Italian) and the magical WaterFire art installation. Swap Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard for Block Island; skip the boutiquelined villages of Cape Cod for the charming streets of Watch Hill and Wickford. Exceptional hotels in Rhode Island include Ocean House (oceanhouseri.com) and Weekapaug Inn (weekapauginn.com) in the south, the glitzy Chanler (thechanler.com) in Newport, and the Beatrice (the beatrice.com) in Providence.

Cream of the crop: Massachusetts island Martha’s Vineyard has holidays licked