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My husband and I will be spending about a week in Bar Harbor. We will fly in and out of Portland. I always like to spend the last night close to the airport so its not a mad rush to get there. What would you say would be the best small town to stay for our last night---definitely not an "airport hotel". what is boothbay harbor like? my aunt stayed at the spruce inn last May----is there another "not to be missed when you're in Maine " town that we should visit on our way out. We could stay 2 nights. We're not really into shopping--rather mostly hiking, & nature.
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which not to be missed town near portland
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What month will you be staying? Portland is actually a great city with lots of islands to hike and bike easily.
we will be there the 3rd week in July-----
When calculating time, keep in mind Rt 95 will have heavy traffic during commuting hours. Boothbay is lovely but a ways off Rt 1. There's a narrow bridge on Rt 1 south to Wiscasset. We have seen traffic backed up because of the bridge (or maybe it's all the pedestrians crossing to get to Red's). Maine Coastal Gardens would be a nice place for a last hike/nature but we tend to devote all our time to mid-coast Maine and I hear we should visit Peak's Island off Portland. It's on my to-do list since it's so close. Perhaps devote your last full day to Portland and vicinity, have a great meal at a chowhound recommended restaurant, and stay in Portland itself. I agree,I would avoid the hotels and area around the mall. Don't miss Camden on your way south from Acadia. The top of Mt Battie is one of our favorite picnic spots. But I would also consider having your last lobster meal at Dolphin Marina in South Harpswell (east of Brunswick). Besides being an area that is very rural and quiet, we found a small beach sanctuary. The waitress said there wasn't anything there which is exactly what we wanted. It was kind of hard to find the right road but there were just a couple of families there, a few fishermen, and plenty of space to sit and enjoy the water. Boothbay is not my favorite place because of its popularity but it is very beautiful (with a lot of shops) and there are some great drives in that area.