Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Deal,” p. 142). Several big
online travel
agencies
—Expedia.com, Travelocity, Orb-
itz, and Lastminute.com—also do a brisk
business in packages.
Trolley tour companies (see “Orga-
nized Tours” in chapter 7) play a promi-
nent role in Boston tourism. The
sightseeing portion of a package is often a
free or discounted 1-day trolley tour.
Brush Hill Tours
(
&
800/343-1328
or 781/986-6100; fax 781/986-0167;
www.brushhilltours.com) is Gray Line's
New England incarnation. Its 3-night
“Boston City Package” includes lodging,
airport or train station transfers, and a
tour on Beantown Trolley (which it
owns). Prices start at about $375 per per-
son, based on double occupancy. Brush
Hill also offers a variety of half- and full-
day escorted tours to destinations such as
Plymouth, Salem, Cape Cod, and New-
port, Rhode Island.
One often-overlooked option, if you
live close enough to take advantage of it,
is
Amtrak Vacations
(
&
800/AMTRAK-
2
or 978/867-1208; www.amtrakvacations.
com). Prices are competitive and can
undercut air-land packages from many
destinations. The train definitely isn't for
everyone, though. Sleepers are available
on long routes, but if you're paying extra
for a berth, an air package might be
cheaper and certainly will take less time.
For more information on package
tours and for tips on booking your trip,
see www.frommers.com.
11 Escorted General-Interest Tours
Hundreds of companies offer escorted
tours that stop in Boston, especially dur-
ing foliage season, when 5- to 10-day
tours of New England are wildly popular
with travelers from around the world.
Few spend more than 2 days in Boston,
however, meaning that you'll be rushing
around trying to cram maximum action
into minimum time, or skipping sights
and activities you were looking forward
to. If you plan to focus on Boston, most
escorted tours won't meet your needs;
you'll almost always be better off with a
package tour (see the previous section).
If a quick stop is all you can
manage, most major tour operators can
accommodate you. They include
Liberty
Travel
(
&
888/271-1584; www.liberty
travel.com),
Collette Vacations
(
&
800/
340-5158; www.collettevacations.com),
Globus and Cosmos
(
&
866/821-2752;
www.globusandcosmos.com),
Insight
Vacations
(
&
888/680-1241; www.
insightvacations.com),
Maupintour
(
&
800/255-4266; www.maupintour.
com),
Tauck World Discovery
(
&
800/
788-7885; www.tauck.com), and
Trafal-
gar Tours
(
&
866/544-4434; www.
trafalgar.com).
For more information on escorted gen-
eral-interest tours, including questions to
ask before booking your trip, see www.
frommers.com.
12 Special-Interest Trips
ACADEMIC TRIPS
Enormous college town that it is, Boston
abounds with educational opportunities.
Two nonprofit organizations offer itiner-
aries that are notable for giving partici-
pants a good sense of their destination
rather than trying to cram in as many
attractions as possible.
Travel-study programs with
Road
Scholar
(
&
800/466-7762;
www.road
scholar.org) incorporate scheduled activi-
ties led by local experts and free time for
you to explore on your own. The trips are
for groups no larger than 24, and they're
open to anyone 21 or over.
