20-Day Great American Crossing Tour from New York: Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Niagara Falls, Chicago, Yellowstone, Bryce, Lake Powell and Los Angeles

Arrive in New York, the city that never sleeps, and transfer independently to your hotel, where you will meet your Tour Director in the evening.

We depart New York for Philadelphia, where we spend the morning exploring the historic district of the "City of Brotherly Love" and the birthplace of a nation. See the Liberty Bell, and stroll through Independence National Historic Park and Mall. Then continue to the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.

Enjoy a city tour with such highlights as the U.S. Capitol Building, Supreme Court, Library of Congress, the F.B.I. Building, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, the White House and Arlington National Cemetery, site of the JFK Memorial.

Spend the remainder of the day exploring some of the many museums comprising the Smithsonian Institute or stroll the banks of the Potomac River.

Today, visit Gettysburg National Military Park, site of one of the most decisive battles during the American Civil War, and the place where Abraham Lincoln gave his famous address in 1863. We then travel through upstate New York to Buffalo and finally cross the international border into Canada, where the thundering noise and mist of Niagara Falls permeates the air.

Spend the morning sightseeing at Niagara Falls. Stroll along Table Rock and view the thundering waters of Horseshoe Falls. In the late afternoon, return to the United States, crossing the border and continuing to your hotel in a suburb of Detroit, known as "Motor City USA".

This morning starts with first a visit to the Rouge Factory followed by the Henry Ford Museum. After exploring the many exhibits of the museum we will visit the nearby Ford plant and watch a modern production vehicle roll off the ever busy factory floor. We then leave the Motor City behind and travel inland to the south of Lake Michigan to reach Chicago for our overnight stay.

Today we will enjoy a short tour of the city's highlights including Lake Shore Drive, the Magnificent Mile and Navy Pier. The rest of the day is at leisure.

Travel through Midwest farm country abundant in corn fields, wheat fields and dairy farms. Then we cross the mighty Mississippi River and travel into the state of Iowa to arrive just as Lewis & Clark did 200 years ago on the banks of the Missouri River. Overnight in Sioux Falls.

Travel westward through the grasslands of South Dakota and onwards to Badlands National Park, once home to the buffalo and antelope, and filled with colorful rock formations. Then we continue on to the Black Hills, sacred to the Plains Indians and home to Mount Rushmore.

Enter the state of Wyoming, which has twelve mountain ranges intermixed with deserts and rolling grasslands, and continue to Cody for the night.

Drive past the mountains in Wyoming to Yellowstone, America's first National Park, and enjoy a sightseeing tour of this immense geothermal wonderland including: geysers, waterfalls, wildlife and canyons. Highlights will include Yellowstone Lake, Old Faithful, Yellowstone Canyon's majestic falls, and the beautiful Hayden Valley.

Travel through Grand Teton National Park (weather permitting) and see awesome mountain peaks towering over 13,000 ft. Visit the Snake River Outlook and try your eye at capturing the stunning landscape made famous by Ansel Adam's iconic shot. Later, arrive in Utah, known for the Mormon Community, and take a short tour of its capital, Salt Lake City. The followers of Brigham Young built one of the best-planned cities in the country. See the State Capital building and visit famed Temple Square and the Tabernacle before arriving at the hotel for the evening.

Continue today to spectacular Bryce Canyon, where a tour through a multi-colored world of sandstone spires and pinnacles, "hoodoos", will dazzle the eye. This evening, weather permitting, be sure to gaze upon the spectacular night sky filled with sparkling stars & brilliant constellations.

Depart Bryce Canyon this morning and journey to stunning Lake Powell, where crystal blue water laps against towering red-rock canyon walls. Lake Powell is the second-largest man made lake in America, and one in a series of lakes formed by the damming of the Colorado River. Then visit colossal Grand Canyon National Park, one of the seven great natural wonders of the world. Stop at the Canyon rim to fully experience this mile-deep canyon's plunging gorges, rising spires, extinct volcanoes and, below the rim, the winding Colorado River. Overnight in Flagstaff, a famed stop on Historic Route 66.

This morning depart Flagstaff and travel on to Las Vegas, the dazzling "Entertainment Capital of the World". Along the way, pass through Seligman, a town built along the famed Route 66 that looks as if it were frozen in time sixty years ago. The remainder of the day is at leisure for you to explore the dazzling Las Vegas Strip.

Travel to Los Angeles through the Mojave Desert, where clusters of unique Joshua trees dot the mountainous landscape. Upon arrival in Los Angeles you will enjoy a tour through the "City of Angels" including Hollywood, Sunset Strip and parts of Beverly Hills, before reaching your hotel.

Today we suggest an optional full-day tour visiting the world's largest movie studio and theme park: Universal Studios. Get an inside look at the sets and uncover behind the scenes secrets of legendary films or perhaps, for the more adventurous, take one of the Studios' feature rides.

Leave Los Angeles in the morning and travel north through one of California's favorite vacation spots, Santa Barbara, where palm-lined walkways border white sandy beaches. The city is famous for its mission and Spanish heritage. Along the way, stop at an iconic California lifeguard tower made famous in "Baywatch".

Today we make our way north to Carmel, home of actor/director Clint Eastwood. Enjoy browsing the shops and galleries of this famous artists' colony. Traveling further north, visit Monterey's Old Fisherman's Wharf. Stroll the Pier to Cannery Row, brought to fame by John Steinbeck's novel. In the afternoon pass the fertile valleys of Castroville and Santa Clara en route to San Francisco, the "City by the Bay."

Transfer independently to the airport for your return flight.