It's rare that ArthurFrommer's Budget Travel magazine puts its imprimatur on a tour operator'sbrochures, but that's what has happened with the 2002 Cosmos publications,including the one covering that firm's New England Fall Foliage packages,starting at $899, with departures from September 16 through October 12 thisyear.
The magazine's officialrecommendation covers all of Cosmos' operations, which cover six continentswith visits to more than 60 countries. For New England, the firm is offeringseven fall foliage packages, ranging from the 8-day tour mentioned above, to13-day deals.
The 8-day package visits theNorman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge (MA), cruises Lake Winnipesaukee aboardthe historic MS Mount Washington (NH), and takes in fall colors in NewHampshire's White Mountains and Vermont's deciduous forests. Maine is alsocovered on this itinerary.
Other offers of interestinclude:
Seven-day Niagara Falls& Washington DC package (Sept. 14-Oct. 13, from $869)Nine-day Ontario & French Canada tour (Sept. 7-Oct. 12, from $749)
Nine-day Great Lakes & Mackinac Island package (Sept. 6-Sept. 20, from $899)
Ten-day program called New England Traditions (Sept. 7-Oct. 12, from $1,049)
12-day Atlantic Canada Adventure (Sept. 7-Oct. 5, from $999)
13-day Eastern US & Canada Grand Tour (Sept. 9-Oct. 11, from $999)
Cosmos packages include hotels, daily breakfasts, some dinners, sightseeing, professional tourdirectors, transportation, hotel taxes, service charges and baggage handling.You can book through a local travel agent or directly through Cosmos, which canbe reached at www.cosmosvacations.com or by calling 800/272-8482. (Get theirbrochures by going to the Web site or by phoning them.)
Somewhat pricier are tripsoffered by Cosmos' big sister, Globus, owned by the same company, GroupVoyagers, Inc., in business for more than 70 years and providing tours for over500,000 people a year.
Prices start at $1,499 for aGlobus nine-day Classic New England package, with departures from Sept. 16 toOctober 12. You'll visit Boston, Bar Harbor, Killington and Lake Placid, aswell as tour Acadia National Park (views of the White Mountains). For the sameprice, you can take their eight-day Autumn Glory tour, visiting Maine, Vermont,New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York, visiting Deerfield (MA), Lake Placid(NY) and a maple syrup farm in Vermont, as well as stopping in Kennebunkport(ME) and historic landmarks in Salem (MA). Departures from Sept. 18 throughOctober 12.
In addition, there arepackages from eight to 14 days, including the Eastern US & Canada, Parks& Canyons (Western US), Branson & America's Musical Legacy, MackinacIsland & the Great Lakes, the Historic East, French Canada with Niagara Falls,Canadian Maritimes Explorer, and Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island. Alloperate sometime in the period between Sept. 7 and Oct. 19.
Globus vacations include thesame provisions as those for Cosmos, except that hotels are in bumped up a grade with deluxe, superior first class or first class lodgings. You can gettheir brochure by phoning toll free 866/313-2855, visitingwww.globusjourneys.com or contacting your local travel agent. A portion ofGlobus sales is contributed to the Discovery Channel Global Education Fund tohelp teach children in remote and disadvantaged regions "through the power oftechnology."