Mackinac Island & Grand Hotel

Welcome to Chicago! If you purchased airline tickets from YMT Vacations, a friendly representative will greet you at the airport and transport you to your hotel. Enjoy the day at your leisure. Chicago has plenty of museums, and some of the best food, shopping and live music in the country! During tonight’s welcome dinner at Giordano’s (included), one of the Windy City’s most popular pizza parlors, you’ll connect with your new travel companions over big slices of Chicago’s famous deep-dish pizza. (D)

Spend the morning touring America’s third largest city. Your bus tour will include highlights such as Michigan Avenue, the exclusive “Magnificent Mile,” and the Wrigley Building. You’ll also see the Loop, the shoreline of Lake Michigan, and Millennium Park, home to iconic public art works such as the reflective stainless-steel Cloud Gate, nicknamed “The Bean” because of its shape. Enjoy an educational architecture tour on the Chicago River, where expert docents will explain the history of over 50 buildings, and how they played a part in Chicago’s evolution. (B)

Depart Chicago for Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids. Take an enjoyable tram ride tour of the garden. Meijer Gardens includes Michigan’s largest tropical conservatory, five indoor theme gardens, and outdoor gardens, as well as nature trails and a boardwalk. Lunch will be on your own in Grand Rapids, and then it’s off to Traverse City where the evening will be at your leisure. (B)

Start the day with a fun, or should we say fungal, tour of the Mushroom Houses in Charlevoix. They are the work of self-taught builder and local celebrity Earl Young, who fashioned over two dozen eccentric creations using indigenous materials. His most famous creation, Mushroom House, bears more than a passing resemblance to a just-popped-up shroom, and are some of the quirkiest houses in the Midwest. After a lunch break, you will continue to Mackinaw City to catch the ferry to Mackinac Island.

Step back in time to the early 1900s, starting with your horse-drawn carriage taxi ride (automobiles are banned on the island) to the Grand Hotel. Bygone traditions and a more elegant way of life are the norm at Grand Hotel, which opened in 1887. It’s still a one-of-a-kind destination with more than 380 uniquely decorated rooms. Evenings at the Grand Hotel require formal dress, especially at tonight’s formal dinner (included), with dancing and a live band. (B, D)

Enjoy the good life at Grand Hotel, the setting of 1980’s romance film Somewhere in Time starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. You can participate in hotel activities such as a garden tour, bocce ball or bean bag toss. There are also bike rentals, plus the chance to relax on the longest hotel porch in the world overlooking Lake Huron. If you want to venture outside of the lush grounds, island activities include horse-drawn carriage rides, tours of Arch Rock, Fort Mackinac or Fort Holms, and shopping in the town! You may choose to join us on an optional horse drawn carriage island tour with the Grand Hotel lunch buffet. This evening, press and polish your finest outfits for another formal dinner (included) and dancing. (B, D)

Take another horse-drawn carriage taxi ride back to the ferry, which will take you from Mackinac Island to Mackinaw City. Board your coach here and head to the town of Frankenmuth, with its German population and Bavarian-style architecture. You will have time to explore the place on your own. Spend the evening at leisure in the suburbs of Detroit in the City of Livonia. (B)

Today, enjoy a tour of Detroit, the largest city in Michigan. See the exteriors of the rehabilitated waterfront, Motown Records, and Michigan Central Station. Then take a tour of the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and enjoy time for lunch on your own. This afternoon will be at your leisure. (B)