2012 Tours
Tour itineraries
Day Trips

  

MARDI GRAS TOUR 2012  New Orleans & South Padre Island, Texas   Vacation to South Padre Island, TX 9 day tour February 16th - 24th 2012 with Mardi Gras in New Orleans (afternoon) & Lafayette (evening) $1189 ea. dbl. occupancy $1539 single

Send in your payment now by January 16th & it’s only $1164 ea. dbl.  $1524 sgl.    This is a special $25 internet discount and cannot be used with any other discount. 

Tour Highlights: Mardi Gras Parade in Lafayette, LA, French Quarter in New Orleans, Houston Space Center, Three night stay in South Padre Island at Comfort Suites. (All Suites Hotel) with a short walk down a pathway to the ocean. 13 included meals.

 

Day 1 Thursday 2/16     Lunch

Say good-bye to the cold weather in Wisconsin and Northern Illinois as we head to one of the southern most points of the United States! South Padre Island is a popular destination for Spring Break crowds, but we will have a jump on them and enjoy a wonderful Winter Break with beautiful temperatures. Weather in February can be in the 80s! Tonight we’ll stay in Southern Missouri.

Day 2 Friday 2/17          cont. breakfast / Dinner

Today we continue south and travel through the Memphis area, down through Mississippi and into Louisiana. Tonight we’ll stay in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Day 3 Saturday 2/18      full hot breakfast

Our morning drive will take us into New Orleans to enjoy the mid-day Mardi Gras activities. We will go right into the famous French Quarters and you’ll have a chance to walk down Bourbon Street. Later this afternoon we’ll depart New Orleans for a tour of Avery Island, and visit the Tabasco Factory. This evening we will stay in Lafayette, LA where we’ll go out to the Lafayette Mardi Gras Parade. This parade is family oriented and less ruckus than New Orleans.

Day 4 Sunday 2/19         cont. breakfast / Lunch

This will be a full day today as we travel down the state of Texas, all the way to South Padre Island. Along the way we will stop in Houston to visit the Space Center. Our stay in South Padre Island will be at The Comfort Suites for three nights. All the rooms are suites, there will be a heated outdoor pool & hot-tub and the pathway to the ocean is right out the back door.

Day 5 Monday 2/20         full hot breakfast

Today we will drive up to the point of So. Padre Island, stopping for some shopping time and visit the nature center. Your afternoon will be free to enjoy the beach, sit by the pool, or walk to many shops right around our hotel.

Day 6 Tuesday 2/21        full hot breakfast / Lunch

We’ll take a short drive to Brownsville, TX today. You’ll have an included lunch and some time to shop in downtown Brownsville. This will be an opportunity to bring home some Mexican souvenirs.

Day 7 Wednesday 2/22    full hot breakfast / Dinner

Today we depart South Padre Island and travel back up the state of Texas. Our overnight will be near Shreveport, LA

Day 8 Thursday 2/23         cont. breakfast

Our trek towards home continues today as we travel through Arkansas and back into Missouri. Our overnight will be in Southern Missouri.

Day 9 Friday 2/24               cont. breakfast

We’ll have some wonderful memories of our tour to the southern tip of Texas. Hopefully winter will be ending!



Washington, D.C. 5 Day Cherry Blossoms Tour   April 9th - 13th, 2012

 $624 ea. (based on double occupancy)    $795 single



Day 1  Monday          4/9                                                                                                                                 lunch

Spring is in the air!  We are headed to our National Capital at the most beautiful time of year!  Washington D.C. has one of the largest collections of cherry trees and they will be in full bloom during our visit.  The colors are spectacular to say the least.  Today’s drive will take us to Macedonia, OH, which is just south of Cleveland.  Lunch is included along the way.

 

Day 2  Tuesday          4/10                                                                                                      deluxe cont. breakfast

            This morning we’ll cross into Pennsylvania and travel to Gettysburg National Park.  Our visit begins at the Park’s Civil War Museum, and then we’ll have a licensed National Park guide give us a tour throughout Gettysburg National Park.  We’ll see how this battle was a turning point in the Civil War.

 

Day 3   Wednesday               4/11                                                                              deluxe cont. breakfast / dinner

            Today we will spend a full day in Washington D.C. visiting all of the amazing sites at the most scenic time while the Cherry Trees are in full blossom.  The Cherry Trees were a gift from Japan in 1912.  Our tour will include Arlington Cemetery with The Changing of the Guard Ceremony, All the War Memorials including the WWII Memorial, the Presidential Monuments, The new Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial, The National Capital, The Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, The Bureau of Printing & Engraving, and more …

 

Day 4   Thursday      4/12                                                                                          deluxe cont. breakfast / dinner

            On Tuesday morning, September 11th, 2001 the U.S. came under attack when four commercial airliners were hijacked and used to strike targets on the ground.  Nearly 3,000 people tragically lost their lives.  Because of the actions of the 40 passengers and crew aboard one of the planes, Flight 93, the attack on the nation’s capital was thwarted.  As we travel towards home today, we will stop in Pennsylvania to visit the new Flight 93 National Memorial that is currently under construction.

 

Day 5   Friday            4/13                                                                                                      deluxe cont. breakfast

            As we finish our last stretch of highway towards home, we can think of all the historic and memorable sights we’ve seen.

 Please fill out the following and send it with payment to:  Ashton Travel  P.O. Box 472  Beloit, WI 53512

A deposit of $100 each holds your reservation.  The full amount is due by February 23rd, 2012.

 

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New England Fall Foliage  8 Day Tour      October 2012     Just $1089 ea. dbl. occupancy with $100 deposit now.                                                                         

Price includes:  Motorcoach transportation, lodging, 10 meals, admissions to attractions including Niagara Falls, Alexandria Bay, NY with Thousand Islands Cruise, Lake Placid, Montpelier, Vermont, Maple Farm, New Hampshire White Mountains, Cannon Mountain Tram-ride, Portland, Maine Lighthouse, & Maritime Museum, Boston Freedom Trail guided tour and drive to Concord, MA

Day 1                                                                                                               lunch        As we depart this morning prepare for some of the most beautiful Fall colors you’ve ever seen.  On our travels to the East Coast we will view Fall Foliage throughout the U.S.   Our hotel will be outside Cleveland.

Day 2                                                                               deluxe continental breakfast       Today your lunch is on your own in Niagara Falls on the American side.  Tonight we’ll stay at a resort with a beautiful view of The St. Lawrence Seaway in Alexandria Bay, New York.

Day 3                                                                                      full hot breakfast buffet
  Look out your balcony this morning and see the wonderful view.  After a delicious included breakfast, we will take a 2 hour narrated cruise throughout the Thousand Islands.  This afternoon we’ll see the beautiful sugar maple trees and other scenery of the Adirondack Mountains.  Tonight we stay in Lake Placid and we’ll visit the Olympic Arena.

Day 4                                                                                                    cont. breakfast
   Get ready for the most beautiful Autumn Scenery you could imagine!  Today we will cross Lake Champlain, visit a Vermont maple farm and ride a tram up Cannon Mt. in New Hampshire.  Tonight we stay in Lincoln, NH.

Day 5                                                                                     full hot breakfast / lunch
   The fantastic Fall foliage continues as we travel along the Kancamagus Parkway right over the White Mountains and into Maine.  Our included lunch will be in Portland, ME where we will visit the Portland lighthouse & museum.

Day 6                                                                                       deluxe cont. breakfast 
   Today we travel to Boston, Massachusetts.  Our tour will start with Beacon Hill with a visit to the famous sight of "Cheers."  Shopping and lunch stop at Quincy Market, then we’ll have a tour of the Freedom Trail in Boston and you’ll see where Paul Revere rode to the Old North Church to announce that the British were coming.  We will also drive to Concord and learn about the minutemen’s role in fighting off the British at the start of the Revolutionary War.  Tonight we’ll stay west of Boston in Connecticut.

Day 7                                                                             deluxe cont. breakfast / lunch
  Today we’ll head west and bid farewell to the East Coast.  It’ll feel like we just finished a course in American history with all that we learned about the start of our United States.         
Day 8                                                                                       deluxe cont. breakfast       Enjoy the Autumn colors as we continue across Ohio and Indiana.  What a tour this has been!

 
 

 

     

  Watch for more itineraries coming soon!