Mid coast Maine in May

Old Mar 23rd, 2013, 02:02 PM
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Mid coast Maine in May

Hi All - my husband and I are planning an 8 night/9 day trip to the East Coast. We've got the majority of our itinerary planned with the exception of lodging on the beginning of our trip. We are undecided between Blackberry Inn in Camden or Berry Manor Inn in Rockland- rates are similar.

Here's our itinerary:

Fly into Portland and drive to Midcoast Maine to sightsee area - 3 nights Camden/Rockport/Rockland? We will sight see in this area and surrounding areas north

Drive to Kennebunkport - 2 nights at Captain Lord Mansion Sightsee Maines south coast

Drive to Cape Cod - Bradford Inn in Chatham for 2 nights - sightsee cape cod

Drive to Newport RI - 2 nights - stay in Newport to sightsee

Fly home

Looking for advise on Blackberry Inn (Camden) or Berry Manor (Rockland) or any other suggestion in that area. Our understanding is that Camden is bigger with more going on while Rockland is very quiet and a bit remote. Having never been there we don't know if that matters or not - we will have a rental car so driving a few miles to dinner etc is not a big deal we don't think .
Thanks for your help.
Thoughts?
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Old Mar 23rd, 2013, 03:16 PM
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Hi - one other question - any suggestions for well priced rental cars that we can pick up at the Portland airport and drop off at the providence rhode island airport? Thanks
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 02:55 AM
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Sorry haven't stayed at the places in question but I think Camden is prettier. Both have nearby wineries to visit. Camden is home to windjammers so the harbor is very interesting to watch. Rockland is larger, more of a working harbor with ferries going out to some of the islands. The Owls Head Transportation Museum is near Rockland. The beautiful Farnsworth art museum is in downtown so I would say there is more to do in Rockland. Unless you are getting Rockland and Rockport mixed up.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 04:29 AM
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I do hope one of your days sight seeing north includes a trip to Acadia NP, it is beautiful.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 07:48 AM
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Hi Dfrostnh - thx for your reply. We are leaning towards Camden but when I read the rave reviews on Berry Manor it caught my attention.

Camden will be our choice and I believe we've narrow it down to Blackberry Inn or the Hartstone - $150/ night vs $200/ night roughly. Anyone have any experience with either? Ambiance? location relative to things a tourist would want to see/do? Breakfast? cleansliness? ammenities? innkeepers and staff? any input would be appreciated. They both get good reviews so it's hard to decide. Hartstone looks a little more upscale.

Yes , my husband and I are both pretty active and we do plan to get to Arcadia for some hiking.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 07:50 AM
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Any one have any tips on affordable rentals car? Pick up in portland Maine and drop off in providence Rhode Island?

Thx
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 07:52 AM
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Dfrostnh - yes I was getting Rockport and Rockland mixed up. Thanks
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 08:10 AM
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We stayed at the Hartstone Inn and friends have stayed there multiple times and have taken some of their cooking courses.

They own several properties but the main location is within yards of almost everything you might want to see in Camden. Though it is on a busy street, our room was very quiet. It is an inn, so the rooms are smallish and have quirky shapes. They are nicely decorated with less twee than one often finds in a B&B.

The owner is a chef, and both the included breakfast and the optional dinner were delicious, and they cheerfully accommodated some dietary issues I have. His wife manages the logging end of things and is friendly and helpful without being intrusive.

May is early in the Maine year, but it is a lovely area. Take the back road from Camden to Rockland through the village of Rockport. It has great charm.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 08:55 AM
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Thanks so much for the reply . Yes May is early but it's the only time we could fit this trip into our schedule ...
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 10:09 AM
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I prefer Rockland to Camden. The couple times we have been in Camden has been crowded (later int he year than may) & it seems so touristy. We have stayed at the Berry Manor Inn and it is quite nice. The Farnsworth Art Museum is wonderful and worth a visit even if you don't stay in Rockland.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 10:35 AM
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Ugh!!! you just sort of described my dilemma

I too was thinking Camden w/b touristy. So if we stay at Berry Manor how far are we from all the "things to do" in Camden? I'm certain we will want to spend a day visiting Camden just thinking if Berry Manor is close by it might be better place for lodging - quiet and relaxing - away from it all.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 11:48 AM
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They are very close together -- maybe a half hour assuming traffic is normal. Easy to visit one from the other. I know Camden is very popular and recommended on this forum, but it never does anything for me for some reason. It's a nice harbor town I guess. You can hike up Bald Mountain in Camden which has a nice view. I find Rockland far more charming.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 01:55 PM
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Hi yestravel - we sound abit like you - we don't really like super touristy. Thanks for your insight. Much appreciated.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 02:11 PM
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I forgot to answer on the car rental -- we had a good priced rental from Enterprise which is off airport in Portland. We picked it up and dropped it off there so don't know what the drop off rate would be. I would check hotwire.com and carrentals.com which will compare rates for you. Then you can pick the type of car you would like and book thru the website.

I will add the breakfast deal at Berry Manor Inn was a bit kitschy -- owner dresses up and walks around doing "funny" things. Owners are very nice and helpful. As I said the B&B is very nice and they have all the pie and I think ice cream you want!
I think you will be happy in either Rockland or Camden esp during May when I imagine there are not a huge number of tourists.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 03:36 PM
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Thanks again, yestravel.

Another question for you - or any others that will chime in - how about Rockport. That was originally what I was looking into, not Rockland. I was mixed up. I understand Rockport is closer to Camdem. Anything you can offer about Rockport vs Camden. Lodging suggestions?
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 04:46 PM
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Rockport is tiny, with a picturesque harbor and nothing visible to do, though that doesn't mean that there isn't anything, only that I didn't see anything. Ditto restaurants, tho we weren't really looking. It struck me as a great place to sit on the front porch and read, then go for a walk.

This whole area is in a part of the world that is not what you would call "activity intensive." The Farnsworth Museum, which I heartily recommend, is a morning. A windjammer cruise is an afternoon. Ditto an expedition to Owl's Head. The Olson House, owned by the Farnsworth, could be a whole day if you wandered around the fishing villages below Thomaston. There is golf at a big resort in Rockland (I stayed there for work but forget the name). It's too cold to swim. You could take the ferry to Vinalhaven or Monhegan and wander around there instead of on the mainland.

This is an area where you come pretty much to relax and look at scenery and think about time and about how people lived and about how you live and about whether the life you are living is the life you want to
live, a place to re-create rather than recreate.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 05:46 PM
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Hi - Ackislander - thanks for the informative response. Any lodging in Rockport that you know/heard is above average? We are not looking for a resort - something smaller and more intimate like an Inn, etc...we don't need a pool and such - we are looking for a romantic/time together week to relax on the coast.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 05:57 PM
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We stayed at The Berry Manor Inn in July of 2010. We loved it! It was very conveniently located to get to all the top spots in the area.

The inn is lovely, and in a quiet area, just a short walk to the main street. The rooms were really nice, super well maintained.

The breakfasts were delish but what we absolutely loved was the free pie and ice cream that was available 24/7!! There were 3 types of pie - Always blueberry and raspberry, apple, peach....we're the other choices.

Don't forget Watermans Lobster Pound, near the transportation museum.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 08:21 PM
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Thanks DebitNM
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Old Mar 25th, 2013, 02:40 AM
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I think your dilemma about crowds can be solved. (BTW it's Mt Battie not Bald Mountain). Downtown Camden is crowded and it's tough to find a parking space (maybe not in May) but if you can walk around instead of stressing over parking, it makes a big difference. There's actually a side street we found that eliminated driving thru the downtown area. Go to restaurants when it's not busy or have reservations. Once you are outside downtown areas of popular mid-coast towns, there are plenty of places that aren't congested. Our last visit to Maine was for 4th of July so we could see the big parade in Bath. We've never had to wait for a table at Waterman's but we go either a little early or mid-afternoon and there is nothing around them but beautiful scenery.
The other thing to think about is you've chosen all very popular tourist towns. Hope your visit to Kennebunkport is not on a weekend. We don't care for Boothbay because of the crowds but outside of town, you're fine. But even in Ogunquit, if you get up early, you can find a parking place so you can walk the Marginal Way (near Kennbunkport). But if you go to the Giant Steps in the Harpswells area, there's a shorter but very scenic walk along the cliff where you might not see anyone else at all esp in May. To avoid crowds, we also have never gotten a lobster roll at Red's in Wiscasset. There are plenty of other places to get a great lobster roll without standing in a long line.
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