Whale-Watching in Acadia National Park

There are two truly unique experiences you can have at Bar Harbor, and both of them are ideal for family outings. One is a trip on the fast CAT boat to Nova Scotia. The other, also at sea, is whale-watching. Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co. (1 West St. 207/288-2386; 800/942-5374 (800/WHALES-4). www.whalesrus.com) merged with the Acadian Whale Watcher to make one big company with four boats, one of them a 138-foot jet-propelled catamaran with spacious decks. In season, the outfit also offers lobsters and seals cruises, a nature cruise, and puffins cruises. How likely are you to actually see a whale? Very. In fact, the company can practically guarantee it—they apparently have some sort of arrangement with the whales.