Puzofan

Need help with places to stay in central coast Maine in September. We will be coming to Maine the celebrate my 50th birthday in September. We will stay in Bar Harbor a couple of days then do the drifter thing for two days, before spending the night in Portland to fly out the next morning. So what are the two places you recommend I can call home between Bar Harbor and Portland. I love food, scenery, and old things.

dfrostnh

We have camped in the past and now do air b&bs. Maine is still busy in September but some lobster shacks (not restaurants, shacks are unheated take out places by the ocean) close except for weekends in September. You can stop on your way south from Bar Harbor to drive up Mt. Battie just north of Camden. Best view in Maine (I liked it better than the view from Cadillac). If you're lucky there will be sailboats coming along the coast. Camden is home to several windjammers so the view of the harbor is very interesting. Camden is a beautiful town with some elegant hotels/inns. Check to see if the Cellar Door Winery still has their original site open for tastings in Lincolnville.

You don't have much time so you could drive up Mt. Battie on the way north to Bar Harbor unless you stay on I95.
My suggestion for a good place to explore would be Rockland which has a wonderful Farnsworth Art Museum where you can see work by all three Wyeths or head over to the Owls Head Transportation Museum. We have never eaten at Primo but it gets lots of raves. You can visit a winery, stroll down the main street. If you like more causal meals we like the Claw which is on Rt 1 and has a nice dining porch with a view of Rockland harbor. More the industrial part but that's ok. If you didn't get MDI ice cream while in Bar Harbor they also have a shop in Portland. Can you add more time?

If you're really really lucky you can hit Reds Eats on Rt 1 in Wiscasset when there is only a few people in line. The lobster rolls are really great but we aren't willing to wait 2 hours in line. We've only hit it once in many years of Maine visits. BTW if you are traveling Rt 1 you will also go thru the town of Bath. You'll get a grew view of the Bath Iron Works ship building as you go over the bridge. One time we stay a Navy stealth destroyer being worked on.

Macross

Reds Eats is world known. I have two friends who post pics from there. We are staying in Belfast this year after flying into Bar harbor because my husband has this place in Searsport next to Baits hotel he wants to eat at again. Anglers seafood. He got this seafood tower that he still talks about, hoping it lives up to his expectations. I vetoed the stay at the Baits hotel so found this place with a private beach. Colonial Gables, hotel, and cottages. Reasonable price and love that each room has a deck and I can put my feet in the water. We are then heading west to Vermont.

J62

IMO, Reds is far overrated and definintely not worth an hour or 2 wait. The best lobster roll is the one on the plate in front of you, not the one you might get in 2 hours.

Perhaps I'm biased, as I visit nearby Boothbay Harbor several times a year and invariably get stuck in traffic once each trip caused by pedestrians crossing the road to get to Reds. The situation has improved somewhat now that they put in more traffic lights, but it can still back up quite a bit

My favorite lobster roll is a small shack near the water in BBH called Shannon's unshelled. They make theirs with butter, not mayo and you get about half a lobster of fresh meat on each roll. Served up in about 5min, eat outside on a picnic table, no waiting in line or dodging traffic.

clarkgriswold

I like Camden between BH and Portland. I'd much prefer a two-nighter to two one-nighters. From Camden you can take photos atop Mt Battie, visit Rockport, Rockland, Owl's Head and maybe Tenant's Harbor or Belfast, or just take a drive around the lakes in the Camden area. Damariscotta and Boothbay Harbor would be a little further day drive but still manageable. Or if you'd like a stretch of sandy beach head to Popham Beach State Park.

If it's mid-Sept or later you'll probably already start to see lots of fall color at the lakes.

By settling into a hotel or inn for two nights I think you'll be free to get out and see a lot more than if you're packing up in the morning and heading to another check-in check-out location 45 mins down the road.

sue4377

Any suggestions on a nice hotel/motel near the water in Camden (not luxury).

Fra_Diavolo

Agree with J62. Skip Red's Eats if only to strike a blow against traffic jams. A lobster roll is a lobster roll -- and better if it's Connecticut style, warm with butter.