Fly Drive USA

Depart the UK on your Virgin Atlantic / Delta Air Lines flight to Buffalo. Upon arrival, collect your rental car and drive to your hotel, where you spend the first two nights of your adventure.

Today is yours to visit the awe-inspiring Niagara Falls. Take time to digest the magnificent sight of the thunderous falls. Take a boat ride into the falls for a closer look, but be sure to pack a waterproof jacket as you may get wet! Whilst in Buffalo, enjoy a downtown architectural walking tour, visit Canalside on Lake Erie, enjoy culture, great sunsets on the lake, dining, breweries, and a vibrant city centre.

Today, leave Buffalo and drive along the scenic Great Lakes Seaway Trail to Rochester. The scenery is stunning as you meander along the lakeside. Rochester is a bustling small town with a variety of quaint shops, restaurants and museums such as George Eastman House, the home and museum of Kodak’s founder. Heading south, your journey takes you past Lethworth State Park. Well worth a visit, it is known as the Grand Canyon of the east.

Today’s journey is short, but wonderfully scenic, into the Finger Lakes region. Rolling hills, waterfalls and deep gorges accompany your drive to Seneca Lake. Home to 31 wineries, it has a myriad of wine trails to explore. Your next two nights are at the small town of Geneva, where you’ll find quaint shops, restaurants, art galleries and museums. Why not take a hike through Watkins Glen Gorge and State Park or visit the Montezuma National Wildlife Museum?

An early start this morning as you travel across the north east of the state bound for Rhinebeck in the Hudson Valley. This is the longest journey of your itinerary, but once again you’re going to be driving through some breath-taking scenery. The Rhinecliff Hotel, your base for the next two nights, was built in 1854 as a railway hotel and it still as charming today. Located just a few miles from the Catskill Mountains and a five minute drive from the market town of Rhinebeck, which is also wonderfully historic and boasts 437 sites on the National Historic Register.

Follow the Hudson River south today to Tarrytown, which offers the perfect complement of history, dining, shopping and nature. En route, perhaps make stops at the towns of Poughkeepsie and West Point. Sitting on the majestic Hudson River, West Point offers superb views across the Tappan Zee Bridge to historic districts made up of 19th and 20th century architecture. Whilst in Tarrytown visit the Rockefeller estate of Kykuit, Sleepy Hollow and Lyndhurst, America’s greatest Gothic revival castle.

Hauppauge is your base for the next three nights as you discover the jewel that is Long Island. One of the many places of interest worth visiting is Stony Brook. If you call ahead you can be shown around this picture postcard village in a horse-drawn carriage! Known for its grand estates and as a summer playground for the rich and famous The Hamptons are a must see. Comprising Northampton and Southampton, they showcase sophistication and elegance at its best. Sample exquisite fine wines at Martha Clara Vineyard and Borghese Vineyard, or drive to Green Port, a charming and bustling fishing port with a myriad of private yachts and boats.

Return your car rental as you arrive at the famous Big Apple, the most exciting, cosmopolitan city in the world. New York City is home to the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Empire State Building, Times Square and much, much more. Your hotel sits in a great position just a short stroll from Central Park and Fifth Avenue, where great shopping and tempting dining options await.

Sightseeing in New York City

There’s time for some last minute shopping this morning before you make your way back to the airport to check-in for your Virgin Atlantic / Delta Air Lines flight back to the UK.