Eastern USA and Canada Tour 8200

I chose this tour as I did a Cosmos Canada tour 2 years ago and was very happy with it. I had also visited some of the cities before and was happy to have free time to do my own thing. This was already designated a guaranteed departure when I booked this tour in October last year.
Bus was full, 51 people on this tour. Fellow travellers were mainly from the UK and Australia. Coach had a toilet on board which we encouraged to use. Despite the large number, the legroom was adequate but loading and unloading the coach took time as there was only one door at the front. The driver sold cold bottled water for 50c.

Hotels
All hotels had queen beds or king beds with hairdryer, iron and ironing board, AC/heater and except for the New Yorker all had coffee makers which of course are also a source of hot water.

Meals
There were no meals included in this tour. All hotels had their own dining room so breakfast could be bought but stops were made at grocery stores so you could just buy something to have in your room which is what I did as I only have toast and coffee for breakfast at home. Lots of restaurants around most hotels.

Departure
Most days we left the hotel at 8 am with bags out at 7am.

Tour Director
She went above her call of duty. At the beginning of the tour she gave us a folder with an info sheet and her mobile number. Each day she provided maps of the areas we would be visiting and maps of the areas around our hotels with restaurants marked. There were usually a couple of pages of suggestions listed of things to do in each city during your free time. I have not come across such service on tours before so I don’t think this the norm. Each morning there was a sweet on our seat and when visiting certain areas gave us a small sample of say local biscuits. She used her own seat rotation system ensuring everyone got to sit at the front, middle, back. Singles were rotated with the other singles sitting with a different person each day. I thought this was a good idea as you could get to know more people and you didn’t get stuck next to someone you were incompatible with or perhaps sharing a room with. A name tag was stuck above your seat each day so you knew where to sit. It all seemed to work OK.

Optional Excursions
The following optional excursions were offered. I thoroughly enjoyed the ones I attended and the others got very good reviews from my fellow travellers.
Quebec Evening: A tour of the Chateau Frontenac with a drink followed by dinner at a restaurant down the street – US57
Toronto by Night: Dinner and views from the CNN Tower –US68
Niagara Helicopters: about a 10 minute flight over Niagara Falls – US98
Oh Canada Eh?: Dinner and Canadian music show – US59
Amish Experience: Family style dinner with traditional Amish foods and a movie about growing up in an Amish family – US32
Washington DC by night: Dinner at a waterfront restaurant followed by views from the top of the Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts then stops at the World War 2, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials – US45


New York
The Ramada New Yorker Hotel is in a great location right on top of the subway with the Empire State Building a few blocks away. Heaps of shops and restaurants around the hotel. Quite a few stores were 24/7. Rooms adequate but a bit small and dated compared to the other hotels on tour but reasonable for the price.
The included City Tour with a local guide included stops at the Lincoln Centre, St Patricks Cathedral, Rockefeller Centre and the World Financial Centre where Ground Zero and the Statue of Liberty could be viewed. We were then dropped in the area for lunch where I visited Trinity Church and Wall Street.
After lunch we drove to Boston.

Boston
The Sheraton Braintree was a nice hotel about 12 miles from the Boston city centre. Paper delivered to your room in the morning. The Driver & TD took those that wanted to go into Boston for dinner and brought them back to the hotel later. The hotel had a shuttle bus that ran across the highway to the South Shore Plaza shopping mall. You could also just walk. The shuttle bus also ran you to or picked you up from the local subway station Quincy Adams.
The included City tour included stops at Old North Church, Charleston Navy Yard where you could go aboard the USS Constitution, Copley Square and Prudential Centre where the tour finished. The TD & Driver ran shuttles back to the hotel in the afternoon and again around 9 pm.
I had been to Boston before and so I wandered around the delightful Beacon Hill area and then walked the Freedom Trail taking the subway and hotel shuttle bus back to the Sheraton Braintree, then enjoyed the pool and spa.

Quebec
It’s a long drive from Boston to Quebec. A stop is made at the duty free shop before crossing the border into Canada. We are required to get off the bus and go into a building and have our passports stamped.
Hotel Auberge L’Abitation is about 5 miles from the Old Town. There are many restaurants near the hotel. The first of three huge shopping malls is a 5 minute walk away. This hotel had facilities for doing laundry. $4 per load.
The included City tour with a local guide involved a walking tour through the old town and a stop at the National Battlefields Park. We were then dropped off near the Chateau Frontenac to do our own thing. A couple of shuttles were offered back to the hotel and there is also a public bus which stops in front of the hotel. It was a bitterly cold day so after further exploration of the old town and a walk around the Citadel walls for views of the city. That was enough cold weather for me.
Quebec by night optional was offered on the second night in Quebec City. Those not doing the optional were offered transport to and from the city with those doing the optional.

Montreal
Sightseeing with a local guide includes stops at the Montreal Tower, St Josephs Church, Mount Royal and a visit to the spectacular Notre Dame Church. After the tour we were dropped at Place Jacques Cartier and given free time to wander around. The TD & driver took those who wanted to come back here for dinner.
The Hotel Maritime was tastefully furnished, a very nice hotel. There were heaps of restaurants and shops around the hotel and a subway stop about a block away.


Ottawa
Sightseeing with a local guide includes a walk around Parliament Hill. Stops are also made at the Museum of Civilisation and the Byward market.
The Capital Hill hotel is very central just a few blocks from Parliament Hill and the shopping mall. There are also heaps of shops and restaurants around the hotel.
In my free time I visited the Parliament Building and Tower and saw the cats and other animals that live on the Hill. I would have loved to go in the Museum of Civilisation but it was still on its off-season timetable of being shut on Monday.

Toronto
On the way to Toronto a stop is made to do an hour cruise through the 1000 Islands area of the St Lawrence River. The cruise starts near the 1000 Islands Bridge and continues to Boldt Castle and returns. It’s very scenic and relaxing. Commentary is given but as is usual it’s difficult to hear when outside. You can buy coffee etc.
A lunch stop is made at Kingston, then it’s onto Toronto.
The optional CN Tower dinner is held the first night. The Best Western Primrose is located on the edge of the city centre a few blocks from the subway. Again, lots of shops and restaurants around the hotel. The hotel did have 2 free public access Internet terminals available during business hours.
There was a City sightseeing tour with a local guide but I did not go on it as I’ve spent bit of time in Toronto previously. It was a lovely clear day so I spent my time at the CN Tower and then took the ferry across to the Toronto Islands.

Niagara Falls
The first stop is at the Floral Clock. Then those doing the helicopter flight are dropped off while the rest of us are taken to the Whirlpool Rapids. There is time to go on the Spanish Aero Car which is an open air cable car that crosses the gorge high above the river and the rapids can better viewed.
Cost $11.
Its then onto the Falls. The Maid of the Mist boat trip is not running yet as there are still chunks of ice in the Falls. Instead we take a walk through the tunnels and onto a viewing platform behind the Falls where the water is tumbling over the edge of the Horseshoe Falls. They give you a light plastic poncho. There’s a bit of spray but it’s not too bad. I’d been on the Maid of the Mist before so the tunnels were something different although the boat trip is more enjoyable.
We are given free time then to do our own thing. It was a lovely sunny day so I went up the Skylon Tower and to the 3D/4D movie.
This evening the optional is to the Oh Canada Eh? dinner and show. Those not attending the show are picked up from the hotel around 9.15 pm and taken with the group to see the Falls lit up at night. We spend about half an hour watching the lights change colour over the Falls.
The Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel is about 2 km from the Falls. Lots of restaurants and a shopping strip adjacent to the hotel.
The Battle of Lundy’s Lane 1814 was a bloody battle of the 1812 War fought at Niagara. Part of the battlefield and memorials adjoin the Drummond Hill Cemetery which is about a 5 minute walk from the Hotel.

Amish Country
A stop had been made at the Duty Free shop near the Rainbow Bridge yesterday afternoon for shopping so this morning its just a matter of picking it up. At the border a Customs Officer came on board the bus, looked at everyone’s passport, checked the toilet to see there was no-one in it, and then we were on our way.
Today we had a long drive to the Netherlands Inn and Spa in Strasburg in the heart of Amish country. This morning to pass the time we are shown the old Marilyn Monroe movie “Niagaraâ€