1-Day Philadelphia, Washington DC Tour from New York or New Jersey

Given the opportunity, I would rate this Trip at less than 1 Star. This is with the exception of the trip up Mount Washington on the cog railway which was excellent. In reality, this was the trip to hell and back!! The coaches arrived in Harrison Avenue on time but were more recognisable as UPS parcels delivery vans. There was more than one van as there were other trips leaving at the same time, and there was no instruction from the drivers as to which van was going in which direction. We boarded our vehicle based on word of mouth from some of the other travellers, to learn that the only seats left available were at the rear of the van over what appeared to be the rear axle. This rear seat was set out for 4 people and as such was extremely cramped and uncomfortable. We began our journey and the driver made some sort of announcement, and it became clear that he didn't appear to have a complete grasp of the English language, although he then spoke at great length in what appeared to be either Chinese or Japanese. It became apparent very soon into the journey that it was impossible to take any photo's from within the coach, because the windows were filthy. The next time the driver spoke, was when we stopped at the comfort stop 80 minutes later, where he asked me who we were and where we were going. Thankfully, he confirmed we were on the correct vehicle. We continued our journey but on arrival at the cog-railway the driver announced that he had our tickets for the railway. This was despite the written instructions saying that tickets weren't included, and some people, on reading this had booked their tickets in advance. We were then presented with a fait accompli from the driver who said that we couldn't buy our tickets independently and HAD TO buy his, and that he would be imposing a service charge of 9 per ticket to everyone, and that he had to be PAID IN CASH. This immediately posed us a problem, inasmuch as there was NO prior indication of this enforced package, therefore we didn't carry enough cash and the driver couldn't accept a Credit Card. He told us to go to the ATM but we advised him that this wasn't an option that was available to us, as our card was a Credit Card and not a Debit Card, and as such would incur extortionate rates of interest by withdrawing cash. The driver then suggested that we give him our credit card details and he would take payment later!!!, but after further discussions with both the driver and his office, it was agreed that we go to the office on returning to Boston and pay there, which is what we did, EXCLUDING his 9 service charge. At one stage during the conversation, he did say that if we bought our tickets independently then he wouldn't wait for us and we would have to make our own way back to Boston. When we came back from the trip up the Mountain on the railway, the driver was advising everyone that they had to go to the cafe and buy sandwiches etc. and take them back to the bus and eat them as we set off back. The remainder of the Tour was completed in as much discomfort as the outbound journey, but with the inclusion of a photo opportunity at a truck stop on the motorway to take shots of the foliage etc. The trip up the Mountain on the cog-railway was exceptional and well worth the visit, you must take warm clothing though. However, the coach tour, getting to, and returning from, Mount Washington, supposedly with an English speaking guide was appalling!

The itinerary was poorly planned. We first went to a test stop between Manchester, and Concord NH. And then proceeded North. Upon getting to the Concord NH exit -- 13 I believe, we turned around and went South to the outlet mall almost on the Massachusetts border! We left the mall at noon and arrived to the cog railroad as the train was boarding. Since I have lived in New Hampshire, I am familiar with the area and asked our guide several times what they were thinking by returning almost to Mass to an outlet mall! Also our guide's English, while far superior to my Chinese, was barely adequate. I would NOT recommend the tour operator to anyone!

The cog railway,tickets not included, was very good with the explanations provided by the on site experts. The railway, the trip up and down and the summit experience are really worth it. Tip: try to buy railway tickets in advance. On this trip our driver Mr Chou sp? was not very communicative and had an odd approach to providing cog rail tickets. The second stop at the apple picking farm was also very seasonally pleasant. Although expensive, it was a memorable day.

Only bad thing was everything is cash only and that was not communicated on the voucher.