Great deals
How about a superb family skiing holiday in New Hampshire, where just one lift pass covers up to 10 mountains! 7 nights at the Town & Country Inn including flights and rental car from just £479 per person! Visit www.white-mountains.co.uk or call 0870 050 9300.

Enjoy 3 nights at the 4-star Boston Park Plaza for £399 per person, including flights. Valid for departures to March 28; must book by Feb 20. Book via DialAFlight on 0161 953 5759.

Midas Hotel Network has great hotel deals in Boston at the moment. In Back Bay, close to Copley Place, is the 3-star Midtown Hotel (from only £29 per person per night); the 4-star Jury's Boston is from £42 pppn room only. Both based on two sharing.

Drive the Open Roads
If you are touring in New England, you'll need a car to explore the back roads and country lanes, the coastlines and the mountains. Hertz (0870 84 84 848) has great rental rates in New England.

In training
Amtrak, the USA's train service can now be booked online in the UK through www.simplyrail.com. The Northeast Rail Pass, for example, costs from £93 for 5 days.

Brochure watch
Brochure watch New for 2006 is Bon Voyage's 12-night Best of New England fly/drive tour, covering four states and finishing with 3 nights on Cape Cod's beaches. Highlights include Boston, Newport, the Maine coastline, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Berkshires of Massachusetts. From £975 per person including flights, car hire, accommodation ... North America Travel Service has two new routes, plus new hotels such as the Winnetu Inn & Resort on Martha's Vineyard, the Francis Malbone House in Newport and the historic Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire … or, let someone else do the driving with Collette Worldwide Holidays, who have two new coach tours. Take a leisurely look at New England's Islands & Mountains, or explore the art and history from Boston to the Berkshires… for that extra experience, Inntravel's New England Insights range from wine tasting to birds of coastal Maine … as for culture, Travel for the Arts offers concerts at Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony's summer home, plus visits to museums in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts.

The smart way to ski New England
Smart Destinations has joined forces with 14 New England ski destinations to offer its pre-paid, full-day Go Ski Card pass. A one-day adult Go Ski Card costs from £30; child cards from £22. Purchase more days and the price decreases. Valid until April 15, 2006.

Dates for your diary
March 12: The first St. Patrick's Day Parade in New Haven, Connecticut was back in 1842, so it is the oldest in New England and the sixth-longest-running in America. Everything gets under way at 1:30pm, but get there early, since thousands line the route for what is the state's largest spectator event.

March 26: On Maine Maple Sunday, sugarhouses around the state open their doors to the public for an up-close view of the making of maple syrup and other sweet treats. Here's your chance to see how 40 gallons of maple sap are turned into just one gallon of that golden delight you pour over hot pancakes or ice cream.

March 24-26: In Vermont, they celebrate maple syrup twice! First comes Maple Open House Weekend, when sugarhouses all over the state welcome visitors to watch 'sugaring', the boiling down of sap into syrup. If you miss this weekend, the 40th annual Vermont Maple Festival comes a bit later, April 28-30 in St Albans, in northern Vermont.

April 15-30: Opening Day of the 2006 season at the Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum is also the kick-off for Daffodil Days 2006. Some 50,000 daffs create spectacular drifts of colour in the 33 acres of gardens, woodlands and lawns that run down to Narragansett Bay. The estate is in Bristol, Rhode Island, halfway between Newport and Providence.

April 17: Boston is the first of the new World Marathon Majors Series announced in January. Dating back to 1897, the Boston Marathon is also the world's oldest annual marathon. The whole city cheers the 20,000 runners, who start in Hopkinton (west of the city) and finish downtown at Copley Square (from 2pm onwards). The race is part of the city's Patriots' Day celebrations that commemorate the start of the American Revolution with a flag raising ceremony, a parade and more.

May 22: New Hampshire is a birders' paradise, with over 200 species of resident and transient birds. For the Audubon Society of New Hampshire's annual Birdathon (May 22) the record to beat is 170 species in 24 hours! Other guided, family-oriented events include the Spring Discovery Walk on the Massabesic Trail and Birding New Hampshire walks investigating southern woodland songbirds.

One hundred and eightaaaaay...
THE biggest prize in darts history is on offer at the World Series of Darts, a major new PDC tournament staged in Connecticut in May. First prize in the 32-man knockout event is $1 million - if the winner is American. If the winner is NOT a US citizen, he will win $100,000. Hundreds of British fans are expected to fly over for this event at the Mohegan Sun Casino, one of the largest entertainment and gaming destinations in the United States. Set in scenic southeastern Connecticut, it is an easy drive from New York and Boston and offers a luxury hotel, shops and restaurants.

Shop and snowshoe
Combining shopping and exercise is easy in Maine. Shop in the morning in Freeport; go snowshoeing in the afternoon at Wolfe's Neck State Park. Freeport has dozens of outlet and one-of-a-kind shops, plus cafés and restaurants. The most famous store is L L Bean, known for its outdoor gear and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It also offers 'Walk-On Adventures'; for example, you can learn the basics of snowshoeing in a 1½-2½ hour session.

Foodie delight
In New Hampshire this spring, look out for restaurants who are members of the New Hampshire Farm to Restaurant Connection. They are promoting local producers and their produce, from fruit and veg to venison, fish and seafood. As well as benefiting diners, this new initiative supports the state's rural communities. For information, check the website, under Guidelines, Documents & Resource Guides.

East Side, West Side, all around the town...
The 2006 season of Gallery Night Providence kicks off on March 16. In Rhode Island's capital, the third Thursday of every month (till Nov) is open night for over two dozen galleries, museums and historic sites. Walk, or take the free Art Bus; venues range from the acclaimed RISD Museum of Art to smaller private galleries.

Spring skiing
The late days of Vermont's ski season are fabulous. From mid-March to early April, the snow is still bountiful, the days are warmer and longer, good deals abound and the atmosphere is more laid back. Wacky events include pond skimming at Jay Peak Resort (April 8); skiers swoosh down a slope and (hopefully) across a pond. Prizes are given for the best costume, best skim and best splash.

Hartford with an 'a'
Hartford, Connecticut boasts one of the oldest state houses in the USA. On this site in 1637, Colonists agreed to the first written constitution guaranteeing the right to representative government. In the Old State House, you can discover the fascinating story of Hartford on the new audio tour and, this summer, at the large multi-media, interactive exhibit. Buy 'anarchist mints' at the gift shop!

Cheers!
Yet another reason to stop in Freeport, Maine is for the new Cold River Vodka Distillery Tour. Go behind the scenes to see how fresh Maine potatoes, clear mountain water and just the right amount of care and attention make super-premium vodka. The free tour covers the process, from cooking to fermentation, from blending to bottling.

You've seen the movie...
On Cape Cod, visit the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution with its fascinating Titanic Lost and Found exhibit. As well as audio and video displays of the discovery and exploration of the wreck 20 years ago, it looks at the technology that resulted from the project. Also in Woods Hole, OceanQuest offers hands-on learning experiences both at-sea and on-land, geared to all ages.

Save money...
The Boston CityPass provides entry to the six most popular attractions for $39, halving the usual admission price: Museum of Science, New England Aquarium, Prudential Skywalk Observation Deck, Museum of Fine Arts, Harvard Museum of Natural History, John F Kennedy Library & Museum.

Spring fever
May brings the aquatic acrobatics of fish swimming upstream in New Hampshire's streams and rivers. Watch them in Manchester at the Amoskeag Fishways Learning and Visitors Center on the banks of the Merrimack River. Underwater windows provide a David Attenborough-style view of shad, herring and sea lamprey bypassing the dam on the fish ladder, on their way upstream to breed.

Swing time
Newport is famous for its Gilded Age mansions, but visiting them at night is extra special. On May 10 and 24, you can sashay into the opulent ballroom of Astors' Beechwood Mansion and dance to hits from the 1930s and 40s played by Larry Brown's Swinglane Orchestra. Be sure to book early.

Crafts galore
Vermont is full of artisans and on Memorial Day weekend, May 27-29, hundreds of them open their doors to the public. This year is the 14th annual Open Studio Weekend; talk to craftspeople, watch them at work and buy beautiful glass, jewellery, textiles, quilts, pottery and more. Finding them is easy, just download a map and off you go.

Painting Summer in New England
Nearly 100 paintings by some of the USA's greatest artists are on show at the Peabody Essex Museum from April 22-Sep 4. See works by John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, Andrew Wyeth and many others in Salem, just north of Boston. America's first major museum, the Peabody recently expanded and now boasts a stylish modern wing.