Plymouth Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

Overview

Introduction

Overview

Introduction

Just 35 mi/55 km southeast of Boston, Plymouth, Massachusetts, is where the Pilgrims made their final landing in 1620—supposedly on Plymouth Rock, one of the town's most famous sites. The rock can still be viewed, but be prepared—the legend is larger than what's left of the white-painted stone.

Mayflower II, a replica of the original ship, has costumed guides, and the Mayflower Society Museum explores the legacy of the Pilgrims with a genealogical library and period furnishings. Pilgrim Hall Museum (established in 1824) has furnishings, artifacts and an art collection. For a peek inside a house that was inhabited by some Mayflower passengers, visit the Jabez Howland House, which was built in 1666.

In August, a procession from Plymouth Rock to Burial Hill takes place every Friday at 6 pm. Participants wear traditional costumes to commemorate the Pilgrims who died during the colony's first winter. For your own walk through history, take one of the April-November evening Colonial Lantern Tours, so named because each participant carries a punched-tin lantern to the various sites.

It's not all Pilgrims in Plymouth. Sightseeing and whale-watching cruises are also offered from Plymouth.

Nearby Edaville Family Theme Park puts on a cranberry festival every October, with a 5-mi/8-km rail tour of cranberry bogs.

Overview

Introduction

Located 8 mi/13 km northwest of Scarborough, Plymouth is famous for the Mystery Tombstone of Betty Stiven. She died, probably during childbirth, in 1783. The headstone's enigmatic inscription has puzzled passers-by ever since: "She was a mother without knowing it, and a wife, without letting her husband know it, except by her kind indulgences to him." You may spend most of your vacation mulling over those words.

Also in the area is Fort James, a small coastal fortification built by the British in 1768. It affords panoramic views of Great Courland Bay. The fort is free and open round-the-clock. This fort is also home to the Plymouth Jazz Festival, now part of the Tobago Jazz Experience, which takes place in April and features much more than jazz, with such headliners in the past as Sting, Stevie Wonder and Elton John.

Overview

Introduction

Located 100 mi/160 km southwest of Bath, Plymouth, England, is where famed explorers Cook, Raleigh and Drake began their expeditions. The Mayflower passenger, known in U.S. history as Pilgrims, began their trans-Atlantic crossing from Plymouth after an abortive start from Southampton.

The port city isn't worth going out of your way to see, but if you pass through, sights include the Royal Citadel, Saltram House and the National Marine Aquarium. Walk around the Barbican (the most atmospheric part of town) and see the fishing boats. Time is better spent nearby in stark Dartmoor National Park or at Buckland Abbey.