This trip includes roundtrip airfare from Austin!
From the iconic lighthouses perched along sparkling bays to Portland’s cobblestone streets boasting award-winning restaurants, Maine offers unique landscapes and experiences for everyone.
Begin your journey with an overnight in Boston followed by a comprehensive city tour highlighted by an included tour of historic Fenway Park before checking in to your award-winning hotel for a five-night stay. Experience a Casco Bay Cruise to see lighthouses, forts, lobster boats and seals. Visit the Portland Head Lighthouse & Museum, one of America’s oldest and most photographed lighthouses. See the Wedding Cake House, an over-exuberant version of gingerbread Victorian architecture and board a working Lobster Boat where a local lobsterman takes you out into the harbor for an authentic, hands-on experience in the lobstering trade. Your day is topped off enjoying an authentic Lobster Clambake. Later motorcoach along the Kancamagus Highway, one of America’s most scenic drives with sweeping mountain views of the White Mountains National Forest.
Itinerary
DAY 1: ARRIVE BOSTON
Upon arrival meet your Tour Director and transfer to your hotel. Dinner is on your own.
Overnight: Boston Area
DAY 2: HISTORIC BOSTON – FENWAY PARK – KENNEBUNKPORT/OGUNQUIT
This morning enjoy a Boston City Tour featuring Boston Commons, the Old State House, the Old North Church from where Paul Revere got the signal to start his legendary ride, the Old South Meeting House,
Beacon Hill and Old Ironsides. Next enjoy a guided tour of historic Fenway Park, the soul of our “national pastime” for many. Fenway is America’s oldest ballpark and home of the Boston Red Sox since 1912. Past glories come alive on a walking tour of the stadium that may include some of its most famous landmarks, such as the Triangle, Pesky’s Pole, and the legendary Green Monster of left field. Visit the Faneuil HallMarketplace, located in downtown Boston near the waterfront and originally gifted to the city in 1742 with free time to shop and enjoy lunch on your own. This afternoon take in the natural beauty of the New England coastline as you travel north towards Maine with a photo stop in the picturesque coastal town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Later travel to Coastal Maine with its sandy beaches, beautiful landscapes, quaint villages, and lighthouses. Check-in for a five-night resort stay. This evening enjoy a Beer & Wine Reception followed by a Welcome Dinner with your fellow Alumni travelers.
(B,D) Overnight: Kennebunkport Area
DAY 3: PORTLAND MAINE
This morning travel north to Portland, Maine’s largest city that sits on a peninsula jutting out into beautiful island-filled Casco Bay. En route stop at Len Libby’s Candies in Scarborough, to sample treats and meet Lenny, the world’s only life-size chocolate moose! Enjoy a scenic Casco Bay Cruise to see lighthouses, forts, lobster boats, and seals. Visit the Victoria Mansion, also known as the Morse Libby House, the nation’s premier showpiece of Victorian architecture. Enjoy some leisure time in Old Port Historic District before heading to Cape Elizabeth for a visit of the Portland Head Lighthouse & Museum, one of America’s oldest and most photographed lighthouses.
(B) Overnight: Kennebunkport Area
DAY 4: KENNEBUNKPORT – YORK
Today explore the Southern Maine Coast dotted with charming seaside towns, picturesque beaches, and magnificent old captains’ mansions. In Kennebunkport, see the Wedding Cake House, an over-exuberant version of gingerbread Victorian architecture and the most photographed house in Maine. Visit the Seashore Trolley Museum, the oldest and largest electric railway museum in the world. No visit to Kennebunkport would be complete without taking in the view from Walker’s Point, the longtime summer retreat of George H.W. Bush and family. In the seaside village of Ogunquit, take a leisurely stroll along Marginal Way, a one-and-a-quarter-mile walking path that winds along the town’s rocky shore and offers dramatic iconic views of the craggy Maine coastline leading to quaint Perkins Cove. Later board a Lobster Boat where a local lobsterman takes you out into the harbor aboard his working boat for an authentic, hands-on experience in the lobstering trade with a lobster haul. In nearby York take in breathtaking views of the Cape Neddick Lighthouse, commonly known as Nubble Light. Top off the day with a traditional down east Lobster Clambake and a chance to try some delicious Maine lobster!
(B,D) Overnight: Kennebunkport Area
DAY 5: FULL DAY AS YOU WISH
Enjoy the day at leisure to relax and explore the area at your own pace. An optional full-day tour will be available. Dinner is on your own.
(B) Overnight: Kennebunkport Area
DAY 6: BOOTHBAY HARBOR – COASTAL MAINE BOTANICAL GARDENS
This morning travel north to scenic Boothbay Harbor. Arrive and visit the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, the largest in New England, comprised of 295 acres, 17 of which are gardens featuring native plants of Maine and Northern New England. With exquisite gardens and dramatic natural landscapes, this area is endlessly captivating and thoroughly unique. Then visit the historic and picturesque village of Boothbay Harbor featuring charming streets lined with flower boxes, quaint shops, restaurants, coffee houses, breweries, art stores, and ice cream stands. Tonight meet your fellow Alumni travelers for a Beer & Wine Reception followed by a Farewell Dinner.
(B,D) Overnight: Kennebunkport Area
DAY 7: BOSTON – DEPART FOR HOME
Today we head south to Boston for your flight home filled with memories of your Landscapes & Lighthouses of Coastal Maine tour and adventure