• Monday 18 September 2017

This is the second part of Susan's blog on her fly/ drive holiday to New England and Boston with Norwegian Airlines. If you haven't yet, you can read the first part here.

From Cape Cod we drove to Wells, Maine. We spent a few hours here, but I would have enjoyed staying a night in Wells to take the time to really explore this beautiful area.

Our next holiday location was Salem, Massachusetts. On the way, we stopped in at Cape Ann and Gloucester- both great towns to visit. We stayed in Salem for three nights and on the first day went to the Witch Museum. This tells the very interesting story of the Salem Witch Trials and is well worth a visit.

Salem’s Pioneer Village is one America’s oldest living museums. It contains examples of colonial architecture and gives visitors an insight into the lives of the Puritans who travelled to the New World from England. Built in 1688, the House of the Seven Gables still has many of the original architectural features intact and admission to this Salem sight includes a museum tour.

The quaint fishing town of Rockport is about 40 minutes from Salem and is well worth a visit. Be warned though- parking is a premium during the summer season due to the town being so popular with tourists and locals alike.

The next stop on our tour of New England was Cambridge, a suburb-city of Boston.  The town centre of Cambridge is within walking distance of Harvard University. We spent four days here and it was a great place for commuting to Boston City Centre.

We rode the bus to Harvard Station and then hopped on the T (underground) to the stop right outside Boston Common. This journey didn’t take much longer than ten minutes. The food in Boston went down a treat, particularly the local New England mussels.

My nephew was a big fan of the New England mussels

We got a Two-Day Go Boston pass, which was the best purchase we made. This pass allows you access to a myriad of sites in and around Boston, as well as transport on the hop-on/off trolleys which move around Boston.

The City Tour features guides on the trolleys who are very knowledgeable. The harbour cruise is also worth taking, it lasts about 90 minutes and stops at the USS Constitution Museum. You can get off here and take the next boat back to continue your cruise an hour later.

We also went to the Aquarium, which is great for kids. My nephew loved this, as there are interactive pools where kids can touch the rays, star fish and other marine life. There are about four levels to the Aquarium and all were very different.

The next day we did the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum tour. We discovered this attraction was not included in the Two-Day pass, so be aware of this.

This is very interactive experience, where the guides get the kids and adults involved in the story of the Boston Tea Party. This was not our teenager’s bag, however my 10 year old nephew enjoyed throwing the tea chests overboard. There is a children’s museum next the Boston Tea Party Museum as well.

Harvard University is worth a visit- the architecture is something to behold, as are the university grounds. We also went to the Harvard Art Museum. The artworks held in this museum are on loan from private collections, and includes famous artists like Picasso and Monet.

For the next part of our tour, we drove down to Newport and stayed in Portsmouth for two days. All I can say is WOW! I loved Newport- there is so much to see.

The historical family homes are a must-visit and a sight to behold. We went to visit one known as The Breakers, which was owned by the Vanderbilt family, and is pure opulence!

We also enjoyed visiting Fort Adam in Newport, Rhode Island. There is a water taxi which will bring you from the town to the Fort, where one can take a guided tour. There are great views from the Fort and a lovely walk along the coast line. It’s a beautiful, scenic area. There are also some great shops in Newport.

On our last day we took a slow drive back to Providence Airport. On the way, we spent a couple of hours in the Providence Place Shopping Mall. It’s about a twenty minute drive from Providence Airport. This mall is like a city, so put your walking shoes on- you’ll need them!

We had a fantastic time in Boston and New England and would definitely recommend it as a great family holiday destination. There was loads to do and by making it a fly-drive holiday we were able to take it at our own pace. I’m already looking forward to visiting again!

Click here to see our Boston holidays.

Click here to visit our USA East Coast landing page.

Click here to see all our USA holidays.

Want to plan your own USA fly-drive? Give us a call on 021 4277094 or 01 6965135, email info@shandontravel.ie, request a call back using the red button or call into our shops in Clonakilty, Bandon and the Grand Parade