First Trip to Maine

We will be spending a week in Maine in September (week of 13th) with my Husband%26#39;s brother and wife - ages 50-64. We are planning on visiting the Maine coast.

We will probably be flying into Boston and driving up the coast (assuming cheapest airfare). After spending much time visiting the postings here we are thinking of visiting Portland, Bootbay, Rockland,and Bar Harbor. Not sure which of these areas are best for lodging but we definitely want it to be waterfront.

We love the ocean, beaches, fishing, boating, and most importantly, we want to get our fill of lobster!! We also want to visit Acadia National Park and the Portland(?) lighthouse and the bridge tower (not sure where it is).

We do enjoy some nightlife but won%26#39;t be upset if there is none. Mostly just a small pub or bar to hang out in for an hour or so where we can talk with some of the locals.

We don%26#39;t have much of an itinerary at this point. Hpoing I can get some help here.

Help with questions:

1) Have we picked the right areas for what we are looking for?

2) Any recommendations for lodging?

3) Fun boating/fishing experience?

4) Best places to get our fill of Maine lobster?

5) Any small pubs/bars open at that time of year?

6) Unique shops/antique stores?

Appreciate your help.

First Trip to Maine

First of all, a week isn%26#39;t really a very long time to see and experience all of the areas you mention. You may need to settle on fewer venues.

1. They all look good to me. I%26#39;m biased in that I chose to retire here on MDI (Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park); I really enjoy Portland; and I love the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland. I will leave it to others having more knowledge to speak to the Boothbay area.

2. That depends on the type of lodging that interests you. Most every place you mention has a mix of hotels, motels, and B%26amp;Bs---can you be more specific in terms of your needs and expectations?

3. This area (Bar Harbor, et al.) isn%26#39;t noted for its fishing opportunities, but does have a variety of boating and kayaking opportunities. See, e.g.,

http://www.acadiamagic.com

4. In most of the areas you mention, the two places that you cannot get lobster are the Post Office and the Police Station. The rest depends on what amenities you like.

5. Everything should still be open. This area has a couple of local breweries, one World-Class medal winning, that produce excellent beers. (I grew up in Wisconsin and this place beats them when it comes to beers.)

6. I don%26#39;t know what unique means in this context. There are artisanal arts/crafts shops throughout the area. Searsport, along the coast between Rockland and Bar Harbor, has several antique shops.

Happy planning.

First Trip to Maine

cwvoight: Thank you so much for your response. Sounds like we should plan on spending more time in the Bar Harbor area.

1) The areas we have chosen are just the areas we would like to spend a day wandering around. As to which ones we spend the nights at, depends on what the areas have to offer.

2) As I said, we would like waterfront, we like the idea of driving down through some of the ';fingers'; and even possibly spending an evening or two, if accommodations are available. This could be, as you said, hotel/motel, b%26amp;b, or cabins. Whatever would be available. We are planning on making reservations, so we would want this information prior to our trip.

3) I know we can get a boat over to Vinalhaven Island from Rockland. That is something we may want to do. Fishing is something the guys would like to do more than the women. That would be when we split up - girls shop, guys fish. I have also read that we might even be able to go out on a lobster fishing boat for a day.

4) I have read on the forums some places are better than others for lobster. We would like to have it cooked for us, as we could not do a Maine lobster the justice it deserves.

5) You mentioned a couple brew pubs in the area. That is basically what we are talking about when I mentions ';nightlife.'; Do you know where these are located?

6) Unique shops just means not visiting shopping malls or large shopping centers. More the ';one of a kind'; type shops for gifts, antiques, etc.

I hope this helps clarify what we are looking for. Guess you could say we are looking for the Maine we read about in novels . . . fishing and lobster boats coming ashore, locals picking fresh seafood to cook up in their establishments. Sitting around, eating, and talking with the locals to hear some of the stories that I%26#39;m sure we would enjoy. Nothing big and adventuress, just want to try to enjoy the Maine Coast as the locals might if they were just hanging out on a free weekend, or maybe there are other areas along the Maine Coast that would fit our purposes better. Is this possible? Do these things still happen or has the Maine Coast become too commercialized and ';touristy?';

1%26amp;2:

Check out: http://www.travelinmaine.com

This web site has sections on eight regions of Maine---click on the Where to Visit link on the left side of the page to get started.

3: You are right, there are all sorts of boat tours and ferries to islands. One of our favorites is the boat from Port Clyde to Monhegan Island. (There also are ferries to Monhegan from Boothbay Harbor and New Harbor.

4: To me, the two major differences regarding lobster are (1) how simply or elaborately it is prepared and (2) what other things accompany the lobster. The basic boiled lobster is readily available in everything from restaurants to lobster pounds---the differences are in the amenities of the place and what is included in the meal. There also are restaurants that serve lobster in a variety of ways (Poor Boy%26#39;s Gourmet, here, is one such) including baked/stuffed, over linguini, etc. Lots of people have their own favorite place--the Bar Harbor forum has many threads dealing with this issue.

5: Our local beers are served at most places. Atlantic Brewing has a brew pub in Town Hill, not far from Bar Harbor. Bar Harbor Brewing has a small brew pub in Bar Harbor (and a store as well).

6: Once you get away from the larger towns and cities, you won%26#39;t see very many malls or large shopping centers. If you drive the coastal route (Rte 1), most of what you will find are individual shops. Camden has many, as well as a picture-postcard harbor. Bar Harbor also has many shops.

You mentioned Rockland. I don%26#39;t know if you would be interested, but Rockland is home to the Farnsworth Musuem, which specializes in art works dealing with Maine. Included in the Farnsworth is the Wyeth Center, devoted to the works of N.C., Andrew, and James Wyeth.

Happy planning.

I sent my sister-in-law the information you sent me and we both agree - this is where we want to be. We also sent it to our husbands (who really don%26#39;t have a choice ;~))

We are really excited about the Acadia/Bar Harbor area. Guess we will just have to plan another trip to see the rest of what we where hoping to do, but we both think we want the whole week in your area -- good sell!! Thanks

Any suggestions on the best airport. At this point, we don%26#39;t think flying into Boston is the best idea, maybe Portland or further up. We are coming from the Baltimore, MD area.

You might take a look at flying Southwest Airlines from Baltimore to Manchester NH. We like SW as it is reliable and reasonable. Driving in and out of Manchester is far easier than the Boston effort. You can catch such neat towns as Exeter NH on your way. We stayed on what they call the quiet side of Mt Desert Island in Southwest Harbor in an attractive historic hotel called Claremont, which personifies the quirkiness of old Maine. (Croquet courts, rowboats, bicycles and chess sets replace tv%26#39;s, pools, and business centers). It was a short commute to hiking trails and kayaking trips. You are lucky to miss the August rush. Maine is great.

If you%26#39;re flying up from Baltimore, you should also look into Air Tran, which has excellent rates up to Portland, Maine. It would be about a six hour drive to Acadia from there, but it is a very pretty one. That way you can stop at the outlets and at Red%26#39;s in Wiscasset.

I was under the impresstion that the drive from Portland to Bar Harbor/Acadia was approx. a 4 hour drive...........is it really 6 hrs? (along Rt 1, not the interstate). Thanks!

RE: juleecat:

Portland to Bar Harbor via Rte.1 is much closer to 4 hours than 6---depending, of course, on how many stops you make and for how long.

This is really helpful.

So, if we try to do som

e sightseeing along the way and stop for lunch and hit an outlet we%26#39;re probably talking closer to 6 hours versus 4?

We are staying in southwest Harbor on MDI. While there we would really like to do the fishing/lobster pull boat trip. Has anyone done this?

Yes, three and a half to four hours in September along Route 1 from Portland to Southwest Harbor, if you make no stops. Six hours if you have a nice lunch some place and do a bit of shopping.

Three hours if you forgo the coastal route and just shoot right up the Interstate to Bangor and then 1A and 3 to Southwest Harbor.