We're going to Portsmouth NH Aug 1 - 8. We plan on going on day trips to Maine and maybe the White Mountains or Portland Maine. Does this make sense or should we divide the trip into two destinations? Thanks for your thoughts.

I think it does make sense to use Portsmouth as your jumping off spot for those places you mention and more. It is a lovely little city but you don't need a week there.

You might want to have a secondary base in Portland. From there it would be easier to explore more of Maine in "day trips," and you could also cut west on back roads to hit the White Mountains via the Conway area.

We split a week in VT once and it worked out very well. It gave us more area to explore without going over the same roads back to our base all the time. The Maine coast north of Portland is a lot different than south of Portland. We usually stay on Rt 95 until we get to Brunswick. The Rockland/Camden area is wonderful. If you are flying into Boston or Manchester NH you could drive thru the White Mountains on your way home. Head there from Portland and then connect up with Rt 93 for the drive south.

I would love to hear about your trip when you return. My husband and I are considering going after Labor Day but still need to confirm. We are only going for 4 nights and will probably stay at the Port Inn but have also considered the Sheraton. While the Port Inn isn't right in town, it got great reviews (much better than the Sheraton) on tripadvisor.