ITINERARY ONE


1 . Mystic 2. Newport 3. Nantucket 4. Cape Cod 5. Kennebunkport 6. Acadia National Park


ITINERARY ONE COASTAL NEW ENGLAND Start point: Mystic, Connecticut • End point: Acadia National Park, Maine • Distance travelled: 520 miles • Average length: 10 days


Four hundred years is a long time to have gone fishing — and it shows. For centuries, New England’s triumph has been the connection between its land and sea, with its maritime trades and communities prospering since Plymouth was settled by the English in 1620. Today, the region makes for an extraordinary coastal road trip. There are port towns snagged with boats, nets and anchors; hook- shaped peninsulas frequented by whales; and show-stopping lighthouses popping up around every other corner. This trip begins with a dose of culture in


the town of Mystic. Continue to Newport, the summer resort favoured by America’s Gilded Age elite, before moving on to big-hitting Massachusetts. This itinerary spotlights the Cape Cod peninsula and its island of Nantucket, which best encapsulate the state’s coastal way of life, but do consider spending time in the local capital of Boston if you haven’t visited already.


130 NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL Half a day’s car ride north from


Massachusetts, the laid-back town of Kennebunkport in Maine still provides lobster the way it’s supposed to be enjoyed — right from the trap. The wild Acadia National Park, encircled by gurgling ocean, is journey’s end on this itinerary.


MYSTIC, CONNECTICUT


The pretty town of Mystic is home to the Mystic Seaport Museum, the nation’s leading maritime centre. For a different perspective on the US’s seafaring history, don’t miss Entwined: Freedom, Sovereignty and the Sea, an exhibition on maritime artefacts from Indigenous and African communities, on view until spring 2026. Or detour for the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center: a 20-minute drive north of town, the tribally owned, 308,000sq ft complex explores the cultures of Native Americans in the region. mysticseaport.org pequotmuseum.org


NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND


An hour’s drive to the east is America’s ‘City by the Sea’. Newport has been a popular summer resort since the Gilded Age, when the country’s elite came to vacation in their waterfront ‘cottages’, now more appropriately known as the Mansions. Of the 11 that are open for visits, the grandest is The Breakers. It was built by socialite Cornelius Vanderbilt II, but with its 70 rooms, Italian Renaissance style and breathtaking chandeliers, it could very well be fit for royalty. newportmansions.org


NANTUCKET, MASSACHUSETTS


From Newport, it’s a 45-minute drive to New Bedford, where you can board the two-hour ferry to the Cape Cod islands. Tourism has been flourishing here for decades, especially on Martha’s Vineyard. Nantucket is much quieter, though. From here, you can sail on with a charter to the smaller islands of Muskeget or Tuckernuck. Or head to


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