lynnalan

We are planning a week in Maine in July and have settled on Bar Harbour, Camden and Boothbay Harbour for lodging. One primary goad of our trip is hiking and cycling in Acadia so currently I have planned 4 nights in Bar Harbour. Our interests are good food and charming towns (ie bookstores not tshirt stores), exercise (hiking, cycling, kayaking and possibly tennis) and nice lodging. I am trying to decide how to spend the last 3 nights (2 Camden, 1 Boothbay?) and also is 4 nights in Bar Harbour too much? We are flying into Bangor and out of Boston.

dfrostnh

Don't miss the Chicken Barn for used books and antiques on Rt 1 between Ellsworth and Camden.

I don't like Boothbay's location because it is so far off Rt 1 if you plan to drive around to see other places but nearby Maine Coastal Gardens is a great place to walk. There can also be traffic backed up if you head south on Rt 1 to Wiscasset depending on time of day/day of week - like late Friday afternoons. But it is a very beautiful town with lots of restaurant choices plus you can do a day trip to Monhegan Island for some great hiking.

Both Camden and Boothbay have good restaurants and an upscale downtown shopping area so I think it depends on whether you want to do a day trip to Monhegan Island. Visit Camden on your way to Boothbay but spend 3 nights in Boothbay. If you can avoid commuting hours, Boothbay is a fairly good location for exploring (i.e. lobster shacks for lunch).

According to Chowhounds, best dining is in Rockland Maine but that's more of a small city. Boothbay is close enough for fine dining in Rockland (see Primo) if you don't mind the drive. We took a picnic lunch when we went to Monhegan so we could eat on the hiking trail overlooking the ocean.

Barblab

Acadia has some great cycling. Our favorite ride there was the day we took the ferry over and explored the Schoodic Penin. Maine puts out a great map and booklet on cycling, or at least they use to. You ought to see if it is still available and order one from the state website.

Three highlights of our Maine trip were:
1. The Farnsworth Art Museum Wyatt Center in Rockport.
2. The Penobscot Marine Museum in Searspoint.
3. FDR's home on Campobella Island.

Have fun, Maine is just beautiful!

bigbomoho

make sure to visit Southwest Harbor when your in Acadia---theres a really neat outdoor dining spot where the ferry comes in that has lobster rolls that are terrific--can recall the name

bigbomoho

PS we also steyd at The Bradley Inn in Pemaquid Point--great B&B, food was fantastic,and there are many local points to walk to

cmwbak

We just returned from a trip where we hit Maine. I know you are looking up in the Northern end, but if you have a chance to stay at Cape Elizabeth, check out the Inn by the Sea. We had the kids with us, but my husband and I would go back to this hotel in a flash. GREAT views, beautiful rooms, quaint little town. I just had to mention it since we all LOVED it so much.

lynnalan

Thanks everyone for the great tips. I am beginning to think we need more than a week! Learning of new places every day ... I love these little islands for hiking and cycling.

bigbomoho

we spent 10 days and loved it--i see your flying out of Boston--i did alot of travelling in my career and always flew into/out of Providence--its so much easier.That way when we visited Maine last time, we spent a night in Newport on the way home--really fantastic little town, with lots of history

bennnie

Here's a second on the suggestion for the Schoodic Pennisula if you get the chance. The area is great. Winter Harbor has a nice coffee shop, a little 5 and 10, some art galleries and a good seafood restaurant.

trekker2

Definitely visit Rockland. We enjoyed visiting the Lighthouse Museum, the Farnsworth Art Museum and a number of the different art galleries along Main Street. We were staying in Rockland and rented bikes to head up to Camden.

Kwoo

Depending on what you like, I recommend staying at the Inn at Southwest Harbor instead of staying in Bar Harbor. Southwest Harbor is much quieter & less touristy. We also had a great lobster dinner at Thurstons's Lobster Pound in Bernard on Mount Desert Island. I highly recommend it!

lynnalan

I should probably write a trip report but in the meantime I will briefly report here that we spent 4 nights in Bar Harbor, 1 in Campden (stayed with a friend and did not want to wear out welcome thus the short stay) and 2 nights in Kennebunkport. In retrospect we might have shortened our Bar Harbor stay to 3 nights because we had very full days in the Park, but it was a pretty good way to spend the week. Flew in to Bangor and out of Boston and only had to drive a couple of hours at a time with no backtrack. Kennebunkport was very fun and we loved our accommodations a the Tides Beach Club.

travelerfromtx

Thanks for the update. Would love to read a trip report!