Summer sees New England's beaches fill up, hikers in the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire, visitors to Rhode Island's sumptuous Newport mansions, windjammer sailing ships gliding along the coast of Maine, wineries in Connecticut open for tours and tastings, and music, dance and drama in the culture-rich Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.

Here's a list of highlights of New England—a good place to start your vacation planning, whether you plan your own itinerary, or take a guided tour.

Fall Foliage Planning

It's not too early to begin planning your trip to New England for fall foliage season. Make your hotel and tour reservations early, as travel services are often fully booked then. More...

If you're coming to Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine from a distance, whether you're traveling by car, bus, train, plane or ship for business or pleasure, culture, dining (lobsters!), or outdoor activities, here's where to go and what to do:

Massachusetts

Most populous state in New England (6.7 million), the Bay State also has many of the region's top places to visit: Boston, the cosmopolitan "capital" of New England; Lexington & Concord, cradle of the American Revolution and location of Thoreau's Walden Pond; Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower; the vacation destinations of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket; lobster dinners; art, music and dance in the Berkshire Hills. More...

Rhode Island

Small but beautiful, the Ocean State boasts beautiful, livable Providence with its universities, early American architecture and unique Waterfire pageant; the palatial Gilded Age mansions of Newport; charming Block Island; lots of lobsters and some of New England's best beaches. More...

Connecticut

Colonized in the 1620s, the Constitution State's beautiful Connecticut shoreline on Long Island Sound is crowded with fine old towns, historic Mystic Seaport, lobster shacks, vineyards and wineries. The capital city, Hartford, offers excellent museums. Connecticut's Litchfield County is quietly, beautifully rural, while the southeast rings to the Las Vegas-like sounds of the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun gambling casinos. More...

Vermont

The aptly-named Green Mountain State is famed for its purely New England towns and villages, scenic drives, hiking and camping, winter skiing and snowboarding, maple syrup and artisanal cheeses, but it also has some fine art museums and cultural surprises such as Circus Smirkus, the world's only traveling big-top youth circus. More...

New Hampshire

The White Mountains, crowned by Mount Washington, highest point east of the Mississippi, are the Granite State's main feature, but New Hampshire also has Mount Monadnock, the most frequently-climbed mountain in the world; a short but busy seacoast; the cities of Manchester, Concord and historic Portsmouth; Dartmouth College; and grand Lake Winnipesaukee. More...

Maine

Largest in area of the six New England states, the Pine Tree State is famed for the lobsters harvested from its rugged, rocky 1000-mile (1609-km) coastline dotted with beautiful, historic seaside resort towns such as Ogunquit, the Kennebunks, Old Orchard Beach, the Yorks, Boothbay, Camden and many more; for the Gilded Age resort of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park; shopping at L. L. Bean and Kittery; Roosevelt-Campobello International Park; for some of the finest skiing in New England; and for the vast inland forest wilderness capped by Mount Katahdin, starting-point of the Appalachian Trail. More...

New England Outdoors

New England Outdoors covers all the best things to do: beaches, biking, birdwatching, camping, canoeing, fishing, hiking, kayaking, skiing, snowshoeing, whalewatching and windjamming. More...

Islands of New England

Islands have that special feeling, and New England's famous islands—Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Block Island—are some of the most beautiful and interesting...and therefore very popular in summer: lodging, meals and transportation can be impossible to get. Unless...

Unless you take a tour, such as Enchanting Islands of New England, by New England Tours, Inc. This 8-day/ 7-night tour (Aug 26—Sep 2) takes you to those three best islands as well as to Boston and its Harbor Islands, Plymouth, Sandwich, Hyannis on Cape Cod, and the sumptuous mansions of Newport, Rhode Island.

My friend Ms Debbe Kalweit, who organizes the tour, tells me there are still places available (as of early July).

You'll see a lot! All the work has been done for you, all the reservations made. Just sign up for the tour and enjoy New England summer at its finest. More...

Famous New Englanders

New England is what it is because of its people, from Massasoit to Paul Revere, from Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau to John F Kennedy, from P T Barnum to Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickenson. You'll find reminders of them everywhere. More...

NETP on Facebook

Look for frequent updates and features on NewEnglandTravelPlanner.com's Facebook page.

—Tom Brosnahan

---

Best Guided Tours Where to Stay in NE New England Highlights New England Outdoors Where to Go in NE Best Times to Visit NE Autumn in New England N E Transportation Tourist Information