American History and Culture Trail

Touch down in the US capital, transfer to your hotel and enjoy a welcome dinner in the historic neighbourhood of Georgetown.

Meals: dinner

After breakfast, embark on a guided coach tour of Washington DC’s historic and cultural landmarks, including the White House, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and the National Mall, as well as the city’s war memorials. Then explore the National Museum of American History at your own pac e, which traces the social, cultural, scientific, technological and political history of the United States through its collection of significant artefacts.

Meals: breakfast

Travel to nearby Baltimore for a two-hour guided coach tour, taking you from the historic Inner Harbor, through the waterfront neighbourhood of Fell’s Point to the cultural district of Mount Vernon, with views of Camden Yards and Johns Hopkins University. Afterwards, take a self-guided tour of Fort McHenry, a pentagonal bastion that defended the city’s harbour during the War of 1812.

Meals: breakfast

Arrive in Philadelphia for a guided coach tour of the "City of Brotherly Love", passing by leafy Fairmount Park, the historic buildings of Boathouse Row, and Benjamin Franklin Parkway – a boulevard modelled on the Champs-Élysées and lined with cultural institutions. Your tour includes time to relax and explore on foot.

Meals: breakfast

Begin the day at the Liberty Bell , an enduring symbol of American independence; then visit Independence Hall, where both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were signed. Finally, take some time to admire the hugely impressive collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which ranges from ancient Egyptian artefacts through to important modernist pieces.

Meals: breakfast, dinner

Visit Gettysburg, site of one of the most pivotal battles in the American Civil War and where Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address. At the museum and visitor centre, you can view an illuminating documentary and the 19th-century cyclorama depicting Pickett’s Charge. Then join a tour of the battlefield in the company of a local specialist.

Meals: breakfast

En route to Charlottesville, visit Luray Caverns, a subterranean world of monumental stalagmites and stalactites millennia in the making. You also have access to the Caverns’ Car and Carriage Caravan Museum, a collection of historic vehicles ; Heritage Village, a recreation of a 19th-century farming village; and Toy Town Junction, a charming vintage toy display.

Meals: breakfast

Visit Monticello, home of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, where you'll have a 45-minute guided experience, which includes access to the building’s West Lawn and South Wing. Later, enjoy lunch at historic Michie Tavern, which dates from the 18th century, before spending some time exploring Charlottesville’s historic Downtown Mall.

Meals: breakfast, lunch

Transfer to Williamsburg, one of Virginia’s most important colonial centres, stopping first for a self-guided tour of the American Revolution Museum before going on to Yorktown Battlefield, site of the decisive 1781 Siege of Yorktown, the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War .

Meals: breakfast

Enjoy a day to explore the Colonial Williamsburg living -history museum, where interpreters and heritage buildings bring the colonial capital of the 18th century to life. Later, enjoy a farewell dinner with your fellow travellers in Colonial Williamsburg.

Meals: breakfast, dinner

Return to Washington DC via Mount Vernon, the historic home and estate of George Washington . From there, transfer to the airport and board your overnight flight home .

Meals: breakfast

Arrive home.