Erie Canal Cruise Tour

Day 1

This morning we depart for our 5-day tour along the historic Erie Canal. We will stop for rest and lunch enroute to Cooperstown, NY, where we will visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Here we will enjoy a self-guided visit of the baseball-related artifacts and exhibits honoring those who have excelled in playing, managing and serving the sport. The Hall's motto is "Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations". We will then check-in to our Utica, NY lodging. Dinner will be included at a nearby restaurant.

Day 2

After breakfast we will enjoy a 90-minute, narrated journey through history on the calm waters of the Erie Canal while enjoying the spectacular scenery of New York's beautiful Mohawk Valley. Join your United States Coast Guard licensed captain aboard Lil Diamond II and enjoy a few entertaining tales of the canal. The thrill of our voyage is being raised and lowered over 20 feet in an Erie Canal Lock! Lunch will be included in Utica followed by a guided tour of The Stanley Theatre. Originally built to be a movie palace, this theatre opened on September 10, 1928 with 2,963 seats. Designed by famous architect Thomas Lamb, this baroque theater is a stunning cornerstone of this region. This evening dinner is included at New York Kitchen. The chef will demonstrate making some of the food we will enjoy for dinner. Televisions give everyone a perfect view of the process. Our lodging for the next three evenings will be located in Batavia, NY.

Day 3

This morning, after breakfast at the hotel, we will have a self-guided visit at the George Eastman Museum, the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives. World-renowned for its collections in the fields of photography and cinema, the museum is also a leader in film preservation and photograph conservation, educating archivists and conservators from around the world. Next, we will stroll through Artisan Works, a fantastic world of art, with nearly 500,000 pieces of artwork, antiques, automobiles, and memorabilia. It's not like anything you've ever seen! After lunch on our own in Rochester, we will enjoy a narrated 3-hour cruise along the Erie Canal aboard Colonial Belle. This cruise departs from Fairport, travels up and down through Lock E32 in Pittsford, then returns to Fairport. Dinner will be included at a local restaurant this evening.

Day 4

Today after breakfast, we will enjoy a full-day guided tour of Buffalo and the surrounding region. First, we will visit Vidler's Five & Dime, the largest in the world! Here you can enjoy time strolling through the past. Next, we will have a guided tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House, the architect's quintessential Prairie house and one of the great achievements of his career. Lunch will be included at Anchor Bar, where Buffalo Chicken Wings were invented. This afternoon we will enjoy a 2-hour Lockport Locks & Erie Canal cruise. Three million gallons of water will fill Locks 34 & 35, the only double set on the Erie Canal, and will raise the boat 50 feet. You'll pass under Lockport's "Upside Down Bridge", Lockport's "Big Bridge", through the "deep rock cut" and under lift bridges. The lively narration by the Coast-Guard-licensed Captain is also accompanied by crowd-pleasing canal music, popular during the 1800's. Dinner tonight is at Hard Rock Café in downtown Niagara Falls, NY. Each evening Niagara Falls is illuminated in a fantastic display of color. After dinner, a nearby stroll will allow us to enjoy this unique event. We will then return to our lodging.

Day 5

After breakfast at the hotel, we will check-out and depart for home. We will stop in Watkins Glen, NY where we will enjoy a 50-minute cruise along the stunning shores of Seneca Lake aboard The Seneca Spirit. After lunch on our own at Seneca Harbor Station, we will continue home. Arrival home is scheduled for early evening.

Please note

Our intention is to run each tour as originally planned and published. However, if deemed necessary to do so, Perkiomen Tours reserves the right to make changes to tour components, schedules or itineraries without prior notification.

Tips for Perkiomen motorcoach drivers and tour escorts are not included in the price of this tour. We feel that these gratuities should be extended on an individual basis and dictated by the level of service provided.

Motorcoach seating is assigned at the time of reservation but cannot be guaranteed. Although we do our best to keep each traveler in the seat assigned at the time of reservation, there are times that it is necessary to move seat locations. Please be sure to verify your final seat number(s) with your driver at the time of boarding. Historically, daily seat rotation was practiced on most multi-day tours. We have suspended this practice for a period of time. Seat rotation will be explained by your driver or tour escort if reinstated.

Perkiomen Tours recommends that you consider purchasing Travel Insurance for your tour. Travel Insurance is purchased directly by you from a third-party of your choice. One option is Travel Safe Insurance. You can purchase insurance directly from Travel Safe through our website. www.perkiomentours.com

To fully participate in this tour may require extended amounts of walking. There may be steps, inclines, uneven surfaces or extended periods of standing. Participants with physical limitation should take this into consideration.

B=Full Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner