Road Scholar : Home
Fall Foliage Voyage on the Hudson River and New England Islands

Program Number: 20423RJ
Start and End Dates:
10/11/2013 - 10/19/2013;
Duration: 8 nights
Location: Rhode Island/Massachusetts/New York/Maine
Price starting at: $4,590.00 - Price may vary based on date, departure city
Program Type: Adventure Afloat Study Cruise; Small Ship Cruising Activity Level: t (see description)
Meals: 23; 8 Breakfasts, 7 Lunches, 8 Dinners    
Meal Options: Gluten Free; Low Salt; Low Fat; Vegetarian    

Voyage among quintessentially New England seaports and up the Hudson River to experience the beautiful foliage of Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island and New York. During this autumn adventure, witness the region’s most picturesque countryside and learn about the history and culture that are the foundation of the American experience.




Activity Particulars

Standing for up to two hours at a time, up to four hours a day. Mobility is essential, as small boats and tenders are sometimes used for disembarkation and re-embarkation.



Itinerary At-a-Glance

Boston, Mass., 1 night; aboard Yorktown, 7 nights.



Days 1-2: Arrival Boston, Mass. / transfer to Gloucester / embark Yorktown:

Explore the history of Boston before enjoying a traditional clambake in Gloucester. Embark the Yorktown. Lodging: Comfortable hotel with great views of the Boston skyline.



Day 3: Bar Harbor, Maine / Acadia National Park:

Discover the lush surroundings of Bar Harbor, one of the loveliest towns on Maine’s coast. Take your time wandering through the Wild Gardens of Acadia at the Acadia National Park.



Day 4: Bath, Maine:

Explore the lobstering and shipbuilding history of the quaint town of Bath during a field trip to the Marine Maritime Museum.



Day 5: Nantucket, Mass.:

With seaside cottages and old-fashioned lamps still lighting the streets, Nantucket’s maritime history is palpable. Visit the island’s impressive whaling museum and the Hadwen House, a grand 19th-century Greek Revival home.



Day 6: Newport, R.I.:

Enjoy an expert-led exploration of Newport’s Gilded-Age mansions and historic landmarks.



Day 7: Yonkers / Pocantico Hills, N.Y.:

Journey up the Hudson River and dock in Yonkers. Enjoy a field trip to Kykuit, home to four generations of Rockefellers whose mansion and surrounding grounds is a National Trust for Historic Preservation site.



Days 8-9: Poughkeepsie / Hyde Park / New York City / Disembark / Departure:

Join an expert at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum to learn about the life of the 32nd president. Then explore Eleanor Roosevelt's Val-Kill, a National Historic site. The next day, dock in New York City for departure.



Yorktown

Built and registered in America and staffed by American officers and crew, the Yorktown is the perfect vessel for exploring America’s great coastal waterways. With a draft of only nine feet, it can sail where larger vessels cannot go, and its American registry allows it to operate domestic itineraries unavailable to foreign-flag ships. Passengers enjoy an informal onboard atmosphere and tend to spend much of their time underway enjoying lectures and concerts in the lounge or reading and relaxing on the sun deck.
Meals and Lodgings
   Hyatt Boston Harbor
  Boston, Massachusetts 1 night
   Yorktown
  Yorktown - At Sea 7 nights
 Hyatt Boston Harbor
Type: Four-Star Hotel
  Description: The Hyatt Boston Harbor is an award-winning Boston airport hotel. Among these awards are MeetingNews Planners’ Choice Award and Successful Meetings Pinnacle Award. With a true commitment to the environment, it is also the winner of Boston’s Green Business Award. Guests here delight in celebrated architectural details such as an inlaid marble floor map, ornate dome ceiling and exterior lighthouse and beacon accents. The hotel offers airplane soundproof guestrooms, captivating, dramatic harbor and city views and outstanding dining options.
  Contact info: 101 Harborside Drive
Boston, MA 02128 USA
phone: 617-568-1234
web: www.harborside.hyatt.com
  Room amenities: Each room has satellite television, telephone, air conditioning, newspaper, video on demand, coffee maker, WIFI Internet access (for a fee) and a hair dryer.
  Facility amenities: The hotel offers restaurants, lounge, fully equipped 24-hour self-service business center, gym, sauna, whirlpool, swimming pool and WIFI Internet access (for a fee).
  Smoking allowed: No
  Elevators available: Yes
  Additional nights prior: n/a To book additional nights, please call the Road Scholar Amherst office (413) 253-9736.
  Check in time: 3:00 PM

 Yorktown
Type: Cruise Ship
  Description: The Yorktown is the perfect vessel for relaxed and convivial exploration of America’s great coastal waterways. Built in Florida in 1988 specifically for coastal cruising and certified by the U. S. Coast Guard, the Yorktown flies the American flag and is staffed by friendly and experienced American officers and crew. With a draft of only 9 feet, the Yorktown is able to maneuver in secluded waterways and visit small ports that are inaccessible to larger vessels. And Yorktown’s American registry makes it possible to operate domestic itineraries unavailable to foreign-flag ships. The ship’s cuisine, served in a dining room large enough to accommodate all guests at once, emphasizes American regional culinary traditions. Accommodating only 130 guests in 65 exterior cabins, the Yorktown enjoys an atmosphere of warm and relaxed informality that endears it to repeat and new guests alike.
  Ship Information: Length: 257 feet Beam: 43 feet Draft: 8 feet Cabins: 69 Flag: American
  Contact info: Travel Dynamics International
132 East 70th Street
New York, NY 10021 USA
phone: 800-257-5767
web: www.traveldynamicsinternational.com
  Room amenities: Most cabins have large picture windows, and each is furnished with comfortable beds, a writing desk, ample storage, a clock/radio/CD player, and has a private bathroom. Your cabin is the perfect place for peace and quiet and for private rest and reflection.
  Facility amenities: The ship offers a dining room, spacious observation lounge, large sun deck, library, and swimming platform. Both the lounge and dining room are surrounded by large picture windows that afford unobstructed views of the passing scenery. The water aboard ship is safe to drink, and bottled water will be provided on group excursions. Cash (USD) and credit cards are the preferred forms of payment aboard ship. For telephone communication onboard, you may use the ship's Maritime service satellite system which will be charged to a credit card. Email access on board: Internet-ready laptop computers will be available for use on board from which personal emails can be received and sent by accessing your own web-based email account. A fee will be charged for each 30 minutes of use. There is also wireless Internet access available for a fee.
  Smoking allowed: No


Travel Details
  Start of Program:
Boston, Massachusetts. Welcome Orientation at 5:00 PM in the hotel. You will be staying at Hyatt Boston Harbor that night.
  End of Program:
New York City, New York. After breakfast on the last day. You will be staying at Yorktown the night before.
  Required documents:
The Road Scholar Health & Safety Form is required. TDI Traveler Information Form is required. All participants are required to have a driver's license or a passport in order to embark the Yorktown.
  Parking availability:
n/a
Transportation
To Start of Program
  Location:  Boston, Massachusetts
  From End of Program
  Location:  New York City, New York
Travel Details
 

From Chelsea Piers (NYC dock).

 

To Airport

 
 

Service:

 

Taxi

   

Taking a taxi from Chelsea Piers to JFK airport will cost approximately $54 to travel 18 miles in approximately 30 minutes. Taking a taxi from Chelsea Piers to La Guardia airport will cost approximately $37 to travel 10 miles in approximately 25 minutes.
 

From Chelsea Piers (NYC dock)

 

To Train Station

 
 

Service:

 

Taxi

   

Taking a taxi from Chelsea Piers to Grand Central Station will cost approximately $14 to travel 3 miles in approximately 10 minutes. Taking a taxi from Chelsea Piers to Pennsylvania Station will costs approximately $12 to travel 2 miles in 8 minutes.

 

From Boston Logan Airport to the Hyatt Boston Harbor

 

From Airport

 
 

Service:

 

Hotel Shuttle

   

The Hyatt Boston Harbor is at the Boston Logan Airport. In order to take a shuttle from the airport to the hotel, you must call the hotel when you arrive. Courtesy Phones with direct line to hotel are located in Baggage Claim area. After calling hotel, proceed to outside curb area for shuttle pick-up. Please remember to specify which airline you flew in on when speaking to hotel.
 
Driving Directions
  From the North to the Hyatt Boston Harbor I-93 South into Boston to Exit 24 (Callahan Tunnel/Logan Airport). Follow signs to Logan Airport via the Callahan Tunnel. Upon exiting the tunnel, stay to the right, continuing to follow airport signs. Bear right onto Harborside Drive exit. At the first set of lights take a left onto Harborside drive. Go through two (2) sets of lights and the hotel will be about ¼ mile up on your right.
  From the South to the Hyatt Boston Harbor I-93 North into Boston to Exit 20 (Mass Pike/Route 90 East). Follow signs to Logan Airport via the Ted Williams Tunnel. When you start to see terminal signs, stay in the right hand lane. Get off at the exit that reads Hotel Drive/Harborside Drive/Car Rental Agencies. Take a right at lights onto Hotel Drive. Go through blinking light. At traffic light take a left onto Harborside Drive. The hotel will be about a ¼ mile up on your right.
  From the West to the Hyatt Boston Harbor Mass Pike (Route 90 East) to the Airport/Ted Williams Tunnel. Follow signs to Logan Airport via the Ted Williams Tunnel. When you start to see terminal signs, stay in the right hand lane. Get off at the exit that reads Hotel Drive/Harborside Drive/Car Rental Agencies. Take a right at lights onto Hotel Drive. Go through blinking light. At traffic light take a left onto Harborside Drive. The hotel will be about a ¼ mile up on your right.
The prices listed for commercial services and facilities that are not included in the program cost, such as airport shuttles or extra nights lodging, are subject to change without notice. Since Road Scholar cannot guarantee the accuracy of these prices, we strongly suggest contacting the companies directly for the most up-to-date information.


Daily Schedule

Day 1: Welcome Orientation
(Friday, October 11)
   
 Afternoon: Independent arrivals in Boston, Massachusetts. Welcome Orientation at 5:00 PM in the Hyatt Hotel Harborside.
 Dinner: Welcome Dinner.
   
Accommodations: Hyatt Boston Harbor
Meals Included: Dinner

Day 2: Boston, Massachusetts / Embark Yorktown
(Saturday, October 12)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast in the hotel dining room.
 Morning: Attend a lecture and learn about the history of Boston, followed by a guided bus excursion of Boston. Transfer to Gloucester.
 Lunch: Enjoy a traditional New England clambake in Gloucester.
 Afternoon: Explore the Rocky Neck art colony with a local guide. Rocky Neck artist colony, where many of America's foremost late 19th and 20th century artists spent their summers, is currently undergoing a revival. Explore twelve sites that are associated with famous artists, from Winslow Homer to Edward Hopper and Marsden Hartley. Transfer to Gloucester harbor and embark the Yorktown at 4:00 PM. Late afternoon embarkation briefing, introduction of ship staff, and safety drill.
 Dinner: Dinner onboard.
   
Accommodations: Yorktown
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3: Bar Harbor, Maine / Acadia National Park
(Sunday, October 13)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast onboard.
 Morning: Today explore Bar Harbor, one of the loveliest towns on Maine’s coast. Surrounded by Acadia National Park, this quaint fishing village on Mount Desert Island was a fashionable resort town in the late 1800s and the summer home of influential families, including the Astors and Rockefellers. In the afternoon, explore Acadia National Park to discover the Wild Gardens of Acadia, showcasing over 300 native plant species. Also explore the Abbe Museum’s collections chronicling Maine’s 10,000 years of Native American culture and history.
 Lunch: Lunch onboard.
 Afternoon: Free time to explore Bar Harbor.
 Dinner: Dinner onboard.
 Evening: Attend a shipboard guest lecture.
   
Accommodations: Yorktown
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4: Bath, Maine
(Monday, October 14)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast on board.
 Morning: Call at the Maine Maritime Museum, in the town of Bath, on the banks of the Kennebec River. See the displays on shipbuilding and lobstering, and boats that once cruised the Grand Banks off of Newfoundland in search of cod.
 Lunch: Lunch onboard.
 Afternoon: Take a stroll along the harbor this afternoon, or discover the town's fine boutiques, and restaurants.
 Dinner: Dinner onboard.
 Evening: Attend a shipboard guest lecture.
   
Accommodations: Yorktown
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: Nantucket, Massachusetts
(Tuesday, October 15)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast onboard.
 Morning: Nantucket is one of the premier destinations along the eastern seaboard, where seaside cottages and old-fashioned lamps still illuminate the streets. Named a National Historic District, the island has retained much of its 17th-century architecture and today nearly 40 percent of the island is protected conservation land. During our full day in Nantucket you may wish to explore the impressive whaling museum, with its skeleton of a 43-foot finback whale; and Hadwen House, a grand 19th-century Greek Revival home.
 Lunch: Lunch onboard.
 Afternoon: Free time to explore Nantucket.
 Dinner: Dinner onboard.
 Evening: Attend a shipboard guest lecture.
   
Accommodations: Yorktown
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6: Newport, Rhode Island
(Wednesday, October 16)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast onboard.
 Morning: Sail into the yacht-filled harbor of Newport, the one-time summer playground of New York’s wealthiest families. Many of the grand “cottages” they built are now cared for by The Preservation Society of Newport County and are open to the public. See The Breakers, the 70-room Italian Renaissance mansion of Cornelius Vanderbilt II. Also explore the historic center of Newport with its fine architecture and enjoy time at leisure.
 Lunch: Lunch onboard.
 Afternoon: Free time to explore Newport.
 Dinner: Dinner onboard.
 Evening: Attend a shipboard guest lecture.
   
Accommodations: Yorktown
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7: Yonkers / Pocantico Hills, New York
(Thursday, October 17)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast onboard.
 Morning: Yorktown enters the Hudson River to arrive in Westchester County. From Yonkers, travel to Pocantico Hills for an excursion to Kykuit, home to four generations of Rockefellers whose mansion and surrounding grounds is a National Trust for Historic Preservation site. Explore the impressive sculpture garden, with works by David Smith and Henry Moore, and the six-story stone mansion which houses many works of art, including beautiful tapestries by Picasso.
 Lunch: Lunch onboard.
 Afternoon: In the afternoon, discover the Union Church, unassuming and charming upon first glance, but a closer look reveals a gem for art enthusiasts. As requested by the Rockefeller siblings following their mother’s death, Henri Matisse, who was a close friend of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, agreed to create the beautiful stained glass Rose Window as a memorial to the matriarch. The siblings later commissioned Marc Chagall to create a memorial window for their father upon his death. Chagall went on to create eight additional windows for the church, all of which are beautifully displayed today.
 Dinner: Dinner onboard.
 Evening: Attend a shipboard guest lecture.
   
Accommodations: Yorktown
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 8: Poughkeepsie / Hyde Park, New York
(Friday, October 18)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast onboard.
 Morning: Explore the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, conceived by FDR to house the many historical papers, books, and memorabilia throughout his life. After privately raising funds to build the site, he donated it to the National Archives to ensure that the public would have access to such important historical documents. Also explore Eleanor Roosevelt’s Val-Kill, a National Historic Site. Wander the bucolic grounds and inspect the cottage where Eleanor lived until her death.
 Lunch: Lunch onboard.
 Afternoon: Continue to the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site. Purchased by Frederick Vanderbilt in 1895, the mansion was home the socially distinguished for nearly two centuries, and is an exceptional monument of the Gilded Age. Explore the mansion and its lovely grounds, which offer stunning views of the Hudson River. Also explore the Dia Art Foundation in Beacon, whose works include art from the 1960s to the present.
 Dinner: Farewell Dinner onboard.
   
Accommodations: Yorktown
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 9: New York City / Disembark / Departure
(Saturday, October 19)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast onboard.
 Morning: Disembark Yorktown in New York City. Independent departures.
   
Meals Included: Breakfast
Important information about your itinerary: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information featured on this website. Itineraries are based on our best information at this time. Circumstances beyond our control may require us to adjust itineraries or other details. We regret any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding. Information will be sent to you from your Program Provider approximately three weeks prior to the program start date. The prices listed for commercial services and facilities that are not included in the program cost, such as airport shuttles or extra nights lodging, are subject to change without notice. Since Road Scholar cannot guarantee the accuracy of these prices, we strongly suggest contacting the companies directly for the most up-to-date information.

Suggested Reading List


Cape Cod Seashore Life, An Introduction to Familiar Plants and Animals


Author: James Kavanagh


Description: A handy foldup plastic card with color illustrations for easy identification.



Colors of Fall, A Celebration of New England's Foliage Season


Author: Jerry Monkman


Description: Capturing the spectacular fall display from the Berkshires of Massachusetts, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and the wilds of northern Maine in 75 color photos.



Eyewitness Guide New York City


Author: Eleanor Berman (Contributor)


Description: There are hundreds of guides, of course, but we like this one the best -- and we see more visitors in our neighborhood carrying it around.



Here is New York


Author: E.B. White


Description: Written in a hotel room over two hot days in the summer of 1948, White's timeless love letter (it's easily read in an hour) captures the spirit of New York. It's a swift, lyrical portrait of the city that moves from Broadway to Central Park and the Hudson River to favorite haunts on 3rd Avenue.



Hudson Valley & Catskill Mountains, An Explorer's Guide, Includes Saratoga Springs & Albany


Author: Joanne Michaels


Description: The quadricentennial edition of this popular, practical guide to the region, covering everything from historical points of interest and outdoor activities to restaurants and accommodations.



Hudson Valley Map


Author: JIMAPCO


Description: A road map of the Hudson River Valley from Albany to New York City, at a scale of 1:270,000. With a detailed view of the Catskills, much of Dutchess County, Hudson and other areas of interest.



Insight Guide New England


Author: Insight Guides


Description: For a good overview of the region, you can't go wrong with this guide, noted for its wonderful photography, superb production and outstanding color maps.



Moby Dick


Author: Herman Melville


Description: This sturdy Modern Library edition includes Rockwell Kent's original woodcuts.



Moon Handbook Hudson River Valley


Author: Nikki Goth Itoi


Description: A practical guide in the popular series, featuring background on history, culture, nature and attractions.



National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Mid-Atlantic States


Author: Peter Alden, Brian Cassie


Description: A compact photographic guide to the wildflowers, trees, mosses, butterflies, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals of the Mid-Atlantic States.



New England Autumn


Author: Ferenc Mate (Photographer), Candace Mate (Photographer)


Description: Magnificent photographs of farmsteads, pastures, forests, wharves and villages from Maine to Connecticut are paired with the poetry and literature of Dickinson, Thoreau and Waldo Emerson in this pictorial celebration of season. With a 14-page section of maps and practical travel information.



October, or Autumnal Tints


Author: Henry David Thoreau


Description: Henry David Thoreau considers the red maple, elm, sugar maple and scarlet oak in turn in this classic ode to autumn -- not as the season of senescence but of ripeness, fullness, and maturity. Originally published in 1862, this handsome new edition is illustrated with Lincoln Perry's full-page watercolors and an includes an introduction by Thoreau biographer Robert Richardson (Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind).



The Enduring Shore: A History of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket


Author: Paul Schneider


Description: The natural and human history of Cape Cod and its surrounding islands, as written by a resident of Martha's Vineyard.



The Hudson River Valley Reader


Author: Edward Goodman


Description: With works by John Burroughs, Washington Irving, James Fennimore Cooper and others, this lively literate anthology is also a guide to the nature, history and legends of the Hudson River Valley.



The Hudson River in Literature, An Anthology


Author: Arthur G. Adams (Editor)


Description: A collection of poems and excerpts from novels and essays about life, work and travel on and near the Hudson before the 20th century. With 65 period illustrations of sites and homes.



The Hudson, A History


Author: Tom Lewis


Description: This scholarly, illustrated history of the Hudson River traces its course through four centuries, recounting the stories of explorers, artists, industrialists and ecologists--those who have been shaped by the river as well as those who have helped shape it.



The Hudson, America's River


Author: Frances Dunwell


Description: A richly illustrated, devotedly researched history of the great river from Dutch settlements to modern-day issues.



The Island at the Center of the World


Author: Russell Shorto


Description: Shorto's popular history of New Amsterdam tells in colorful detail how the short-lived Dutch colony established principles of tolerance, multiculturalism and modern capitalism in New York City and colonial America.



The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket


Author: Edgar Allen Poe, Jeffrey Meyers (Introduction)


Description: The richly imagined tale of an adventurous (and unfortunate) stowaway on a whaling ship. Inspired by a true life shipwreck, this story of an adventurous (and unfortunate) stowaway on a whaling ship famously includes poor Pym's ordeal in the Antarctic.



The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America


Author: David Sibley


Description: A compact, geographically-specific version of the Sibley Guide with all-new range maps, the same glorious illustrations and expanded, extremely valuable descriptions of each bird with status, habitat, range, voice and identifying marks.





You can't find a better value than Road Scholar.


As a not-for-profit organization, we are dedicated to providing all-inclusive educational programs at great value. From lectures to gratuities to field trips to accommodations - the tuition you pay up front is all that you pay.



Specifically, this program includes:

Plus these special experiences...

View the Daily Schedule to see more

And included with all Road Scholar programs:


© Road Scholar 2013 | Call toll-free: 1-800-454-5768