We'll be there in late July for 7 days. Anyone been / have recommendations?

Spent a week in Boothbay Harbor a few years ago. Weather was great. Eat as much lobster as you can, its ridiculously cheap comparitively speaking.

Maine's a big state. Do you have plans to be in a specific area or are you trying to figure that out?

Here are some of my thoughts. There is so much to do it's silly, but these things would make for a great trip. Google them and you'll get more info. Have a great time. Be careful though... we visited and ended up moving here.

Portland area:
Cool small city with incredible restaurants, galleries and shops. The Old Port is worth visiting and walking around. There are also nice beaches in Scarborough. Be aware the water in Maine is cold;
For lobster: The Lobster Shack at Two Lights – rocky coast, great food, close to Portland Head Light (the famous lighthouse). It’s in Cape Elizabeth, next to Portland.
travelandleisure.com/articles/the-10-best-lobster-shacks-in-maine Of these my favorites in order are Five Islands, Harraseeket Lunch, and Shaws.
I would avoid Red’s Eats only because it is 5 feet from the busy road. Crummy place to enjoy lobster.
If you go to Five Islands you can also go to Reid State Park. Rocky shore, sandy beach, some hiking.
Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster in South Freeport – picnic tables overlooking the marina, great food, close to LL Bean ( and my house). It’s one our favorite places. Bring your own wine or beer.
While there plan ahead to take an Atlantic Seal Cruise trip out onto the bay to Eagle Island. Great way to experience the coast.
In Portland - Ride the ferry out to Peaks Island and eat lunch at the Inn on Peaks Island (be sure to sit outside). I think you can still rent bikes and ride around the island – definitely worth doing.

Ogunquit, Kennebunkport – tourist towns; shops, cruises.
Boothbay Harbor - Maine Botanical Gardens are a good way to get outside. Take a cruise out of the harbor. Definite tourist town.
Blue Hill, Castine – pretty, more isolated.
Camden – classic Maine tourist town, but pretty. Another place to take a boat out onto the water. There is a must do hike up Mt Battie that gives you great views of the ocean and town.

Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park – classic Maine beauty, great hikes; will be crowded in July. Bar Harbor itself is a major tourist town – crowded, crappy shops but you can’t avoid it if you go to Acadia.

For mountains check out Pinkham Notch/ Mt Washington area in the White Mountains. It’s New Hampshire but it’s only 1 ¼ hours out of Portland. Beware: the traffic in North Conway will trap you for an hour or more so try to avoid it.

Any of the towns listed above will be crowded in July.

If you want to be more adventurous, take a boat out to Monhegan Island and spend the night – this is an iconic Maine experience.

Other fun things to look into:
Sea Kayaking – there are some places that will give you a quick lesson and get you out on the water.
Whale watching – be prepared for it to be chilly even on a hot summer day.

Thanks for the tips.

@MaineAggie, we're flying into Portland and likely will do the coast (more east I'd assume). Our priorities are to be outside in cooler weather, see the ocean, eat lots of good food, and do some active outdoor things (hiking, sea kayaking, etc...).

And I'll accept your warning - we've both wanted to make it up that way for some time, and I suppose if we find a place we don't want to leave, that's not a bad thing right? =)

Anyway, thanks for the tips - I really appreciate it!

A few more thoughts…
Since you are flying into Portland and heading up the coast, another area worth considering is Damariscotta/Pemaquid Point/Shaw’s Lobster Pound. Pemaquid Point has one of Maine’s most famous lighthouses and classic rocky shore with crashing waves. Shaw’s is mentioned above and is in the area.
Also, in the Freeport area near LL Bean and the Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster, is Wolf Neck State Park for a nice hike along the ocean. Also Bradbury Mountain State Park for a hike up to the top for panoramic views.

Maine Maritime Museum in Bath is good if you want to do a museum.

I didn’t mean to bash the tourist towns. Boothbay Harbor, Kennebunkport, Ogunquit, Camden/Rockport/Rockland area are all definitely worth seeing. Of those my favorite would have to be Camden/Rockport, but they each have their attractions.

I didn’t say too much about Mount Desert Island/Acadia National Park. It is one of the most beautiful places you’ll ever see. Driving around Mount Desert Island and hiking in the park are definitely worth the drive. If you are looking for active stuff, renting bikes and riding the Carriage Trails is a must do. Also popovers at Jordan Pond. I bad mouthed Bar Harbor but I know when we first visited Maine we went there and enjoyed it (though that was in October). It does get crowded in the summer.

You definately will get all of the lobster you could want, but be sure and try the clams and the scallops too. Good stuff!

Have fun and welcome to Maine!

Don't forget to try our local beers. Almost as good as our local seafood!

Shipyard Summer, Gritty McDuff's, Sea Dog, Geary's, Allagash, Casco Bay and more.

Good descriptions above! Welcome to Maine.

Are you renting a car when you land? Depending on what time (1 pm - 6 pm) it would be a great time to head to the old port to start your vacation with a bang. Head down to Commercial Drive and go to the Portland Lobster Company for some lobster, clams, corn on the cob and cold beer or wine on the deck with live music and watch the crowds hop on all the whale watches. Then take a walk. You'll love it here!

PWM is about 15 minutes from the Old Port depending on traffic.

Spent some time in Portland last summer. The other posters know way more than me. We drove over from northern Vermont, and yes, North Conway is annoying as hell.

The Lobster Shack was great. There is a firepit pizza place there in Portland that was also very good. Personally, the water didn't bother me, but my wife and SIL wimped out pretty quick (yankees, specifically Vermonters don't seem to deal with cold well outside of winter ) The lobster tour was pretty fun for the kids, and you got to see more of the ocean history aspect.

I was in Maine years ago and asked why more motels didn't have pools and the guy told me the summers there are about two weeks long, and I just missed it. Had a great time, good weather and beautiful coastline.

I bought a Bangor Blue Ox t-shirt(minor league baseball team) and the guy was excited that they had "Oil Can" Boyd pitching for them....that will give you a clue how long it has been...still have the shirt.

Say Chowdah is right on. The local beers up here are excellent. Great with a fresh lobster roll! I think his idea of the Portland Lobster Company is right on. Gets you into the Old Port and down on the waterfront, not to mention great food.

The firepit pizza place is Flatbread Pizza. It's right on Commercial Steet next to the ferry terminal that runs the ferries around the islands. It is one of our favorite pizza places. Everything,even the pepperoni, is house made and organic. Try a local brew, Coal Porter, with your flatbread.


For fun check out Harbor Fish Market. It's between Portland Lobster Company and Flatbread Pizza (on one of the wharfs}. They don't sell prepared food but it's fun to go into and get a flavor of the fresh seafood scene here in Portland. Sometimes they have some pretty cool stuff that has come right off the boats.

Man, this is making me hungry.

quote:

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Man, this is making me hungry.

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Man, this is making me excited to get to Maine.

Thanks again for all the tips. We're going to spend some time this weekend putting together a rough travel schedule. All I know is that the more I see / read / hear about the place, the more I look forward to our trip!

Here is a funny story for all of you.

Yesterday my secretary and I were driving to the bank. I was riding shotgun so I could talk on the phone. There was a big yellow thing lying in the middle of a very busy street and all the cars were swerving around it (us included). Because I was in the passenger side, I was able to get a closer look as we passed it. Here it comes... ready? A yellow basket and live lobsters were lying in the street!

I had her do a quick u turn and I hopped out and grabbed that basket and scooped up 8 hard shells that were still kicking!

So, yesterday I had road kill for dinner!!! Well technically not kill as they were still alive when I tossed those bad racals in the pot!

Gave 4 of them to one of my guys who was still in the office when we went back as my secretary doesn't like seafood.

Also, included among all the great places to eat that we've supplied, I am going to give you a place to NOT eat. Don't go to DiMillo's Floating Restaurant. Pricy and really not that great. However, going upstairs on the deck for a sunset drink is a great idea. Just don't make dinner plans there. There are too many GREAT restaurants to try.

I wondered what happened to my basket of lobster...

Okay - question. What do y'all think of this itinerary? We're going to be there from a Tuesday afternoon through the following Tuesday morning. Is it realistic for us to land in Portland, spend the night, then head to Camden for Wednesday and Thursday night, then on to Bar Harbor for Friday and Saturday night, then back to Portland for Sunday and Monday night? If we did this, would the driving kill us (again, we'll be there late July)?

Thanks again for all your help!

Portland to Camden - 2 hours.

Camden to Bah Habah - 2.5 hours.

Bah Habah to Portland 4 hours (you'll take the interstate back once you are in Bangor).

Sounds very reasonable.

Where are you staying?

Also - depending on the dates you are going to be in Portland, if you are interested, I have season Tix to the Sea Dogs (Red Sox Minor League Team - 4th row behind the Sea Dogs Dugout). If you are at all interested and want to use them, give me the date of a game, and I'll leave them at the box office for you gratis. (Hey, I love out of staters - especially Ags!)

[This message has been edited by Say Chowdah (edited 5/9/2011 11:28p).]

Just got back from Maine, and what can I say other than we want to move. If you’re looking for the short version of this post, here it is:

We spent a week in Maine, it was gorgeous, the food was terrific, the beer and wine was great, and the weather (even when it was hot for a couple of days) was a considerable improvement over Texas.

The Details...

We left Houston on the 19th and landed in Portland around 2:00. By the time we got our things, it was 2:30 and we were staying in Portland for the night, so we had plenty of time to kill. After we checked in at the hotel (we stayed at the Howard Johnson Plaza… nice enough for less than $100 / night), we decided to head up to Freeport to check out L.L. Bean. I’m glad we went that afternoon – that place is incredible, and we spent a couple of hours just checking out everything they had to offer. While we were checking out, we commented on the facilities and the friendly staff to the person at the register. She told us “We’re like Neiman-Marcus, but we sell guns.” Perfect.

After that, we wandered around for a bit then went to dinner at Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster. That place was delicious, and gave us an excellent taste of things to come.

We ended the night at Portland Lobster Company with some great local beer and live music.

The next day (Wednesday) we started our drive to Camden with stops at Bowdoin College and Pemaquid Point. Both were impressive and we enjoyed the diversions / stops. When we arrived in Camden, we checked in to the hotel (Cedar Crest Inn, again a nice enough place for not too much money) and made our way to the harbor for a sunset cruise on the Schooner Appledore. Lots of fun, great crew, and an amazing sunset view over Camden.

Thursday we got up early and hiked to the top of Mt. Battie in Camden Hills State Park. Not a bad hike, and we had lots of great views on the way up. We did take a different way down which, unfortunately, dropped us about 2.2 miles away from the car. Ooops. It was a bit of a walk back, but we saw some great houses along the way. After cleaning up, we took off to visit three local wineries – Savage Oaks, Cellardoor, and Sweetgrass. The last one is also a distillery, and we were able to sample some great gin and rum in addition to wine (they have a whiskey they’re making currently, and it should be ready in 5ish years…). After wrapping up at the wineries, we headed back to Camden for a great dinner at Atlantica. A bit pricey, but it was the wife’s birthday dinner and the food was well worth it.

Friday we left Camden and continued up the coast toward Acadia National Park. We purposefully passed the road to Mt. Desert Island, though, and went a bit further to see the “other” part of Acadia and some smaller towns . This detour was well worth it and we saw some great coastal views we would have missed otherwise… we also grabbed some great smoked salmon from Sullivan Harbor Farms (try the salmon pate or the “bacon”) on the way back to Mt. Desert Island, and that made the detour even more worth it.

During our time in Bar Harbor we stayed at the Holland Inn, a great B&B. The location was perfect – walking distance to everything, but not so close you were bothered by noise / traffic. After checking in on Friday night, we relaxed, wandered through town, and enjoyed some beer at Bar Harbor Brewing Company.

Saturday we were up early for a day in Acadia. We rented bikes at Acadia Bike and hit the carriage roads in the park. This was a great way to get away from car traffic but still see lots of different sites at our own pace. Halfway through we grabbed some popovers at the Jordan Pond House – a well-deserved and delicious break. We wrapped up the ride around 3:00, then spent the rest of the day walking around Bar Harbor some more.

Sunday we headed back to Portland via Bangor and grabbed another meal at Harraseeket.

Monday was spent in and around Portland, and included trips to Cape Elizabeth (the lighthouse and the state park), lunch from Ananias Deli, and some great whoopee pies also from Ananias. When we were good and full, we headed back to the old port area and grabbed beer samples at Gritty McDuff’s (good beer) and Sebago (I liked this better), followed by dinner at Flat Bread Pizza (great).

Tuesday, we took off for home – a trip which saw a 40+ degree swing in temperature. Good times…

To sum it up, Maine was great and we can’t wait to get back there. Thanks again for everyone’s $.02 in helping us plan our trip. If anyone has questions after reading this or wants more info, let me know!

Heading to Boothbay in a week. This thread will be helpful. Any advice for some Texans coming from 100+ temps, WTH do we pack?

We packed a pretty wide array of options. During the day, it got fairly warm and we wore lots of shorts. We did bring and use light windbreakers or long-sleeve shirts for a couple of the evenings we were there... As for pants, I think we only wore them on the boat (and we were glad we did).

My best advice would be to bring and dress in layers.

Pardon the old bump - buddy of mine and I are looking at taking a trip to Maine this summer and we're getting some ideas. Anything else anyone want to recently share? Considering flying into Portland!

Portland? Or Boston and drive up the coast?

Great info, thanks!

What made Boston a poor choice?

jtbru8508 said:

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Great info, thanks!

What made Boston a poor choice?

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It was a long drive, with nothing particularly scenic for most of the way. There was A LOT of traffic getting out of Boston that continued kind of on and off all the way to Portsmouth. We were going all the way to Bar Harbor, so it was just a long drive without much to break it up and nothing particularly memorable to see along the way. We went into Boston twice on our way to Maine. Once so we could catch a game at Fenway and go down to Plymouth, and once to go hit the freedom trail before heading to Maine. If I were just wanting to go to Maine, I would fly to Portland instead to avoid that drive again.

As for things to do, it really depends on what you like to do. We were up there both times for funerals in Blue Hill, so we had a bunch of family and stayed in VRBO houses. The first time, we stayed in one between Surrey and Ellsworth that was right on the water. The other time we stayed at one on the water right outside of Bar Harbor on Mt. Desert Island. The scenery all around Blue Hill Bay and Mt. Desert Island is just spectacular.

You can rent kayaks and/or do a kayak tour at several spots along the coast near Acadia or Trenton. You can rent bikes and ride the carriage paths in Acadia. If you do, get down to Day Mountain at the south end of the island, the view is spectacular and nobody goes there. We did a wildlife watching cruise for a few hours out of Bar Harbor and saw plenty, seals, bald eagles, ospreys, plus some cool lighthouse views. We did a fishing trip out of Bass Harbor that was fun too. They also do lobster boat tours where you can see how they catch lobster. There are hikes for all levels around Acadia, some fun little brewpubs and restaurants in Bar Harbor and Portland. Lighthouses all up and down the coast.

It just depends on what you like doing, but there is no shortage of things to do.

We go to Maine every summer. Have always flown into Boston and driven up, but we stay in southern Maine (Wells/Ogunquit/Kennebunkport), so it's like 1.5 hours from BOS car rental to our condo up there, so I'd just say it depends on what you want to do. Flying into Portland is usually more expensive by a decent amount when we go, so it doesn't make sense for us to fly in just to save an hour. Very boring drive, and traffic for us usually clears up around Saugus. The most exciting thing is usually seeing the 2 Dunkins right across the street from each other in Revere.

Southern Maine is really touristy, nice beaches, lots of small shops and restaurants. If you're looking to just relax and do tourist crap, I'd stay around Kennebunkport or Wells. Ogunquit is a really liberal town, but everyone there is really nice and there's some good bars and restaurants there. You could also hit Perkins Cove which has shops, restaurants, and whale watching/lobster boat tours. Marginal Way is a nice trail that goes along the coast, but it's only like 1.5 miles long. We have a young kid, so that stuff is right up our alley and we spend most of our time on the beach anyway.

If you're looking to be active, go up the coast to Bar Harbor so you can spend time at Acadia. It's beautiful up there and there's no shortage of things to do. Kayaking, hiking, whale watching, lobster boats. You can stop by Red's Eats in Wiscasset on the way up to Bar Harbor. It's pretty widely accepted as the best lobster roll in Maine, but the lines are always long.

Any thoughts on best time of year, location, and guide for whale watching in Rhode Island/New England/Maine?

I've always wanted to go to Maine. No cities though/ all backcountry and water everywhere.

The Phoenecia market across the street from my office sells bombers of Lunch from Maine Beer Company. Very tasty stuff

Those colors are awesome which is why October would be the best month IMO.

cr0wbar said:

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JT Bru and I got back a few weeks ago. Ate our weight in Lobster Rolls. Portland -> Trenton -> Bay Harbor -> Acadia Park and all the way back. We were both BIG big fans on Maine Beer Company about 20-30 minutes outside of Portland. Just going to post a few pics we took!

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Those first two photos smell like pumpkin spice.

j/k Great photos and glad you had a good time.

ScapeGOAT said:

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We go to Maine every summer. Have always flown into Boston and driven up, but we stay in southern Maine (Wells/Ogunquit/Kennebunkport), so it's like 1.5 hours from BOS car rental to our condo up there, so I'd just say it depends on what you want to do. Flying into Portland is usually more expensive by a decent amount when we go, so it doesn't make sense for us to fly in just to save an hour. Very boring drive, and traffic for us usually clears up around Saugus. The most exciting thing is usually seeing the 2 Dunkins right across the street from each other in Revere.

Southern Maine is really touristy, nice beaches, lots of small shops and restaurants. If you're looking to just relax and do tourist crap, I'd stay around Kennebunkport or Wells. Ogunquit is a really liberal town, but everyone there is really nice and there's some good bars and restaurants there. You could also hit Perkins Cove which has shops, restaurants, and whale watching/lobster boat tours. Marginal Way is a nice trail that goes along the coast, but it's only like 1.5 miles long. We have a young kid, so that stuff is right up our alley and we spend most of our time on the beach anyway.

If you're looking to be active, go up the coast to Bar Harbor so you can spend time at Acadia. It's beautiful up there and there's no shortage of things to do. Kayaking, hiking, whale watching, lobster boats. You can stop by Red's Eats in Wiscasset on the way up to Bar Harbor. It's pretty widely accepted as the best lobster roll in Maine, but the lines are always long.

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We've done 3 summer trips to southern Maine. We love Ogunquit, never noticed it being liberal but haven't really cared or paid attention. We fly to Boston, usually hit up a restaurant and grab some cannoli at North End, then up to Maine. We always stop at Nubble Lighthouse in York because it is stunning.

Easy trips from Ogunquit to Kennebunkport for lobster or whale watching tours and my go-to lobster shack -- Cape Pier Chowder House. We did the boardwalk at Old Orchard Beach one year, fun for kids.

Excited to head to Maine in 2 weeks for a quick winter weekend. We're doing night in Portland and then driving down to spend two nights at the Cliff House in York.

The food scene in Portland looks fantastic.

Ttt for trip planning

Thinking about this for possibly next October. Would the first couple of weeks in October be good for color? Like maybe 8th-15th ?