Travel agents can get a head start on New England's traditionally sold-out leaf-peeping season by booking clients on Virgin Vacations' 9-Day Classic New England Fall Foliage Tour for under $175 a night, Virgin Vacations reports.
The nine-day, eight-night escorted tour begins and ends in Boston, and includes accommodations, eight breakfasts and one lunch, travel by motor coach, sightseeing, and the services of a tour guide throughout.
Total cost per person is $1,399 land only, and $1,519 with airport transfers and round trip airfare from New York and Washington, D.C. (add $60 for airfare from Chicago, $90 from Miami, $183 from Los Angeles, and $180 from San Francisco).
Virgin Vacations has added additional departure dates for 2012. Dates are: September 15, 22, 29 and October 6.
From Maine to Connecticut, Cape Cod to Woodstock:
The itinerary covers the heart of New England's scenic and historic sites, from the eastern Rhode Island seacoast to Maine's Western Lakes region, New Hampshire's White Mountains and Vermont's Green Mountains, as well as the Berkshires of Massachusetts.
Highlights include an aerial tram ride up Cannon Mountain in Franconia Notch State Park to view the White Mountains and beyond, a cheese sampling in Vermont, a traditional clambake in Portsmouth, a tour of Boston's Freedom Trail, a visit to the Hancock Shaker Museum, and a Newport Mansion tour.
Rounding out the itinerary is a full leisure day in Cape Cod, plus visits to Salem and Plymouth, Massachusetts; Burlington on Lake Champlain; the Vermont villages of Stowe and Woodstock; and Kennebunkport, Maine.
All prices are per person, double occupancy. Low-cost airfares are available from other cities nationwide. Air prices include all taxes and fuel charges.
Virgin Vacations' Fall Foliage escorted tour departures are net, allowing travel agents to add their own markup. The company offers a wide selection of escorted tours and independent packages worldwide with or without air fare on Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia and Virgin America, as well as other international airline partners.
Visit www.virgin-vacations.com