Highlights

U S Tours Flexible Pricing:

• Customizable Comps
• Commissionable or Net Rates
• Luxury or First Class Hotels & Meals
• Motorcoach Transportation & Professional Tours Managers are available

Whatever you want, U S Tours will be happy to structure tour prices to match your needs.  Just let us know!

Itinerary

Day 1 – Baltimore – Free Evening at Inner Harbor

Today, arrive in Baltimore, MD for a three-night stay at a local hotel.  Enjoy a free evening at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor – a historic seaport, tourist attraction and landmark of the city. There are many attractions, including the Maryland Science Center, National Aquarium in Baltimore, Ripley’s Believe it or Not and the American Visionary Art Museum.  Enjoy the waterfront shopping, dining and entertainment destination, with over 45 restaurants and eateries and over 100 shops. Dinner is on own.

Day 2 – Guided City Tour – B&O Railroad Museum & Train Ride – National Aquarium – Dinner Cruise

This morning after breakfast, meet your local guide for a Baltimore City Tour. Hear some of the city’s best-known stories and see some local movie and television sites.  Enjoy a memorable tour highlighting the city during its growth and see the statuary and historic homes in Mount Vernon Place, the Basilica of the Assumption and Edgar Allan Poe’s Grave.

After a break for lunch on own, visit the B&O Railroad Museum. The B&O Railroad forever changed the course of the city, the nation, and even the world. At the B&O Railroad Museum, visitors can step directly into history as they discover the story of American railroading.  Included with your visit is a brief train ride along the nation’s first mile of commercial railroad!

This afternoon, tour the National Aquarium.  View a life-size model of a Humpback Whale, see the concepts of surviving through adaptation come to life, visit a coral reef, and learn what jellies are telling us about the health of our oceans.

Housing more than 16,000 creatures, the National Aquarium exhibits a variety of species in their naturalistic habitats. You’ll find animals such as stingrays, sharks, sea turtles, bullfrogs, phytoplankton, monkeys, sloths, iguanas, puffins and thousands more.

End the day with a Dinner Cruise on the Patapsco River with City Cruises. Dine and dance the night away and soak in Baltimore skyline views.  (B,D)

Day 3 – Annapolis, MD – Guided Tour – US Naval Academy – Harbor Cruise – Philips Seafood Crabology Class & Crab Feast

Today, you head to Annapolis, MD on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay.  On arrival, meet you costumed guide who will take you back to the 18^th Century.  Your tour includes the Old Senate Chamber, in the Maryland State Capital Building, where in 1783 George Washington resigned as Commander-in-Chief. Continuing through the historic area, on your way to the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), you pass many 18th-century mansions and learn about the significance of their architecture.  In the shadows of these buildings, your guide will share with you some history of the famous statesmen that built these magnificent structures.

Tour the U.S. Naval Academy.  The Visitor Center is the first stop and you see the 13 minute film, “The Call to Serve”. This a followed by a guided walking tour that highlights life at the Academy past and present.   Your visit will include the Naval Chapel, the Crypt of John Paul Jones and Bancroft Hall. During the academic year, you many view the Noon Meal Formation of the midshipmen.

Following some free time for lunch on your own, enjoy an afternoon Harbor Cruise. Step aboard the Harbor Queen for a narrated cruise of the Annapolis Harbor and the banks of the U.S. Naval Academy. Hear about the history of the Naval Academy, Annapolis’ role as an historic seaport, the region’s waterways and even catch a glimpse of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Returning to Baltimore, you will learn to become an expert on all things crab at Phillips Seafood. This interactive cooking and eating experience, “Cook, Crab & Eat” with Expert Crabologist Donald Manning, will teach you the tricks to picking blue crabs. Learn how to extract the meat cleanly and efficiently, from jumbo lumps to cocktail claws. Two members from your group will compete to see who can pick the most crab with no shell. Then your group enjoys a traditional Crab Feast. (B,D)

Day 4 – Fort McHenry National Monument – Depart for Home

After breakfast, visit the Fort McHenry National Monument. The first fort commissioned by the U.S. government, Fort McHenry was tested during the War of 1812 when the British attempted to take over Baltimore. Despite days of bombardment by British forces, the young fort prevented the enemy advance. Amateur poet Francis Scott Key wrote “The Defense of Fort McHenry” in tribute to the victory. The poem was later set to music and became our national anthem.  Immerse yourself in the history with re-enactments, flag talks, ranger programs and the opportunity to raise a replica of the original Star-Spangled Banner.

Following your visit, depart for home. (B)