wendydenny

We are revisiting Maine next summer and are looking for some help with our itinerary for about an 8 day trip. We definitely want to go back to Bar Harbor, so I thought we could fly into Bangor again, go to BH for a few days, and then head south. I have some ideas about visiting places along the way to Portland, but don't know where we should stay--a different place each night or make 1 or 2 locales a base to explore other areas by day.
Please help-reading other posts has not given me a clear idea about what to do.

dfnh

Mid-coast is our favorite part of Maine. We've done vacations where we have spent a few days in different areas which has worked out well. Our last trip was to the Wiscasset area which is a long drive from Bar Harbor yet still a couple of hours from Portland. We also figure a good half day to explore one of the points of land i.e. going out to Pemaquid Point and having lobster for lunch. From Wiscasset it's an easy drive to Boothbay Harbor (next town) to do a day trip to Monhegan Island. If you're up for more hiking/walking you can also visit the new Maine Coastal Gardens near Boothbay. Although Boothbay is wonderful I wouldn't choose it as a base for traveling due to the amount of time to drive between Boothbay and Rt 1 plus there's traffic during commuting hours because of the bridge on Rt 1 to Wiscasset. Camden and Rockland are also within decent driving distance. I think there is a lot more to see and do in this particular area than there is between Camden and BH, for example so I would do a leisurely drive south from BH, stopping to explore different places and then pick someplace in the Wiscasset area for a base. You have Bath and Brunswick to the south. Since we camp, we have lunch out and cook dinner back at the campsite. Our choice of restaurants tends to be lobster shack places. If you want nicer places for dinner, Rockland might be a better choice. Boothbay is also a little too crowded for us. Two bases for an 8 day vacation would be okay, 3 would be moving too much.

tbelgian

I love the Bar Harbor area. There is also the Moosehead lake area and some nice hiking and nature viewing around there like Gulf Hagus or that island in the middle of Moosehead. The area south of Portland is very popular with fabulous sandy beaches. That might be worth looking at. I love Monhegan and you could do an over night out there. Boothbay Harbor is a big tourist area with a lot of the tourist arriving on their own boats. There are a lot of islands off the coast of Maine that you can ferry to and investigate. We always like to see lots of stuff on our vacations, so we move around alot. Many people don't like to do that, so if you are in that group you could stay in or around Portland and do day trips out to islands, to beaches, to lakes, to lots of light houses and that sort of rocky viewing. We live in Maine, so we haven't stayed anywhere south of Bar Harbor or Moosehead Lake.

wendydenny

Thanks for the help dfnh. I am starting to have nightmares. Boothbay does sound very touristy, especially around the Windjammer Festival. Having done a Windjammer cruise, it still sounds appealing.
Wicasset keeps coming up in my dreams so I think that may be the place for us.

dfnh

wendy, our Wiscasset visit was over 4th of July week so traffic was extremely heavy late Friday afternoon in the Wiscasset area and all along Rt 95 and Rt 1. But, there are places that aren't crowded even around the 4th. Pick some things you would really like to do and then pick a base to stay. The top of Mt Battie in Camden is one of the places we love to picnic (take the auto rd) but downtown Camden is very crowded. It's worth it to visit the town but we don't stay there. A few years ago we discovered a tiny lobster shack near Rockland that is never crowded although they have expanded since our first visit. We get a picnic table by the water and enjoy the scenery. It's on a very quiet road. We have to tell people to wear a hat and sunglasses because the best tables by the water are on gravel. They added a porch in the back for people who prefer shade. On another day we tried to get a lobster roll near downtown Boothbay. The lines were long, the places were crowded, and we thought the meal was overpriced.
It sounds like you have a great plan to re-visit a place you loved. Try a new place for the last part of your vacation and have an adventure. We usually try to do something new each time we vacation in Maine although we also like to return to our favorite lobster place and a few other places.

sarahtamsin

Hi Wendy ..... if you're concerned about BBH and like the sound of Wiscasset I would highly recommend my neck of the woods which is the Twin Villages of Damariscotta and Newcastle. You're basically on the Pemaquid Peninsula, you can get to BBH "the back way", you're just off Rte 1 and only about 8 miles from Wiscasset.

Cassandra

Pemaquid Light is absolutely my favorite, and lunch there is a great idea, although you'd probably never know where to look for the small cafe -- it's attached to the tourist gew-gaw shop on the other side of a fence from the grounds of Pemaquid Light itself. You go into the "gift shop" (great ice cream on your right) and walk all the way to your right through the "gifts". The view is great and the food should be good. Has to be a Lawbstahroll, if they have them.

The Bradley Inn, a 15-min. walk back from the light (at the fork where you turn down to go to the light), is a charming place, known for its fine-dining dinners as well as nice rooms. http://www.bradleyinn.com/

wendydenny

Thanks everyone for their help. I am basically a city girl, so a bit of crowding doesn't bother me. We may have decided on staying at the Camden Maine Stay Inn and using that as a base in the beginning. I definitely will visit the places you all have suggested, and I think we will probably head back to Ohio before the 4th. Lobster pounds or shacks are wasted on my husband, he won't eat shell fish-his loss.