Bar Harbor and Boston

Old Mar 1st, 2015, 11:25 AM
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Bar Harbor and Boston

My adult DD and I are planning a trip, starting in Boston and going to Bar Harbor, then back to Boston in August. I like the idea of staying in a B & B, but most of them have 1 bed in each room and we really would like 2! We are looking at kayaking, maybe whale watching, bike riding and hiking. As you can tell, we are in the beginning stages of planning this trip. Any suggestions on where to stay? Thanks!
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Old Mar 1st, 2015, 11:50 AM
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I'm a little unclear about your plan.

You are looking for a B&B in BH that has a room with 2 beds?

You are planning to spend some time in Boston, too, correct? Are you aware that Boston to BH is about 5 (not very pleasant or scenic) hours drive?
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Old Mar 1st, 2015, 12:54 PM
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Holland Room at the Primrose
http://www.primroseinn.com/rooms.html

or a cottage at the Inn at Bay Ledge.

http://www.innatbayledge.com/hillside.html

If you have time take Rt 1 up the coast of Maine. It is scenic.
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Old Mar 1st, 2015, 03:09 PM
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elberko - I thought Boston to Bar Harbor was a scenic drive? I realize my post was vague, as I am still unsure as to our plans. I do know our trip will be approximately a week, with a few days in each city.

cmcfong - Thanks for the recommendation. I will check out those 2.
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Old Mar 1st, 2015, 03:30 PM
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Rt. 1 is only very occasionally scenic. Mostly through scrubby woods, and sometimes through towns which is slow and, during summer, lots of traffic. I love Maine, and it is scenic along the water, but Rt.1 is rarely within sight of the ocean.
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Old Mar 1st, 2015, 04:23 PM
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Agree it's not a scenic drive. We usually stay on rt 95 until Brunswick. Rt 1 goes thru Wiscasset and downtown Camden but otherwise not scenic. You have toget off on a secondary road for some ocean views.

You'll probably want to see some other coastal areasof Maine. If you want to spend two days out of seven, driving, choose a great place for lunch on the way.
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Old Mar 1st, 2015, 04:32 PM
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I'll just speak from the southern most border of Rt 1 to Boothbay - it's not scenic but congested. Further north, I forget the best route since my heyday in acadia
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Old Mar 2nd, 2015, 05:27 AM
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So, since we really want to focus on Bar Harbor and Acadia, maybe we don't want to fly into Boston? Would Portland be better?
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Old Mar 2nd, 2015, 05:32 AM
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I wouldn't waste my time in an airport with connecting flights. You'd likely spend more time then the 2 hour drive to Portland and back. Do the math to add a value to your time.
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Old Mar 2nd, 2015, 05:47 AM
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Look at flights into Boston, Portland, ME, and Manchester, NH. Compare cost of flights and rental cars, and tolls as well as time on plane and driving to where you want to be.

I wouldn't worry about time with a connecting flight to Portland or Manchester since it could easily be eaten up sitting in traffic getting out of Boston.

If you don't have a transponder for tolls, you will need to check with the rental car company on if they charge you for one anyway if you go through a toll booth or if you go through tolls you can pay in cash (not possible on some Boston area bridges). You will need them in MA if you go to/from the airport on the normal routes and also if you use I-95 in NH and ME.
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Old Mar 2nd, 2015, 08:34 AM
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I did a similar trip last August with a friend, so we were also hoping for two beds. We had 3 days in Acadia and 2 days on the coast, plus 36 hours in Boston. Here's a quick summary of what we did and what I'd do differently:

1) We flew in and out of Boston. This was mostly due to it being a direct flight for us and me never having visited Boston before. Now that I've been, if I were doing it again, I'd look at flying into Manchester (Portland was prohibitively expensive and there are no direct flights for us, but might work for you). Driving in Boston, even on a Sunday just to return the rental car, totally harshed my vacation vibe.

2) We flew into Logan late on a Monday night, stayed in Danvers just north that night, and took I-95 straight to Acadia the next morning, saving the "scenic" drive for the way back. It worked well for us.

3) In Acadia, we stayed in Southwest Harbor at the Seawall Motel. It is no-frills, but did have two beds, was a great price and the owners and staff are fantastic. It worked well for us, but it does mean you have to drive to restaurants and anything else. We were in Bar Harbor a couple of times and it was so crowded that I was glad we stayed elsewhere, but it meant more time spent driving around the island (even though we took the Island Explorer buses a lot). Good tradeoff for us; maybe not for you.

Acadia highlights for me: The Ship's Harbor and Wonderland trails near our motel; hiking Gorham Mountain; Schoodic Peninsula (long drive, but if you stay in Bar Harbor you can take the ferry), walking to Bar Island, sunset on Cadillac Mountain. I really just loved it there. If we'd had more time I would have liked to rent bikes to ride on the carriage roads.

4) Once we left Acadia, we took Route 1 down the coast, basing in Boothbay Harbor for a couple of nights. We stayed at the Bayside Inn, which I really liked and would totally recommend, but we did have to share a bed there. You're planning much earlier than we did, so you might have better luck finding a twin or triple room! The others are absolutely right that Route 1 is not terribly scenic most of the way - it's not like driving the PCH, for example.

We stopped in Camden (took the free walking tour that meets at the library, which was great), Pemaquid Point, Wiscasset, and Freeport, which was only going to be a quick stop, but we ended up staying the rest of the day because we happened on one of the free summer concerts outside LL Bean. We stopped at Cape Elizabeth in Portland and ate lunch there on our way back to Boston.

5) We spent two nights in Boston before flying back, visiting Harvard/Cambridge the afternoon we got in. The next morning, I did the Freedom Trail tour and my friend went to the JFK library, then we explored the North End and went to Fenway for the tour. We made sure to drop off the car at Logan and not go across any of the big Boston bridges, so didn't run into any of the toll issues emalloy mentions. The rental agency at the airport warned us about that. We took a cab to/from the airport (we stayed near the convention center) and the T around Boston.
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Old Mar 2nd, 2015, 09:00 AM
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If you can wait a couple of weeks and go September just after labor day, you'll have a much better time in Bar Harbor...and especially driving TO Bar Harbor.
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Old Mar 2nd, 2015, 09:08 AM
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What clark said
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