Acadia National Park- Maine
 

Considering a 2 week trip to Maine including Acadia Nat Park.
Any advice? Towns to stay in, best sights to see, things we shouldn't miss, great restaurants.
Would love some direction. Thanks as always

Read all the Maine threads on Fodor's. Acadia is beautiful but if you aren't hikers/bikers you might not want to spend too many days there. Our favorite area of Maine is the mid-coast area. We go up I95 until we get to Brunswick, then travel Rt 1. Don't underestimate the time needed to drive out on peninsulas to see what's there (Pemaquid Point light house, good lobster shacks, etc). By staying in Wiscasset, places like Camden, Rockland, Bath and Brunswick are easy day trips. Get out on the water for some kind of boat ride.
We don't visit southern Maine much because it's too busy but the sandy beaches are popular as well as the more expensive dining options. A friend loves the White Barn $$$$ but we'd rather go to a lobster supper to benefit a local fire department. We also like to plan our visits around an event. One year it was 4th of July and the great Heritage Days in Bath ME. Last year it was the Camden house and garden tour plus a special weekend event at Owls Head Transportation Museum featuring antique trucks and planes. (It was rainy so the planes didn't fly but we've seen them before, some very old planes that you wonder how the heck they stay in the air).

Rather than the overly touristy Bar Harbor, we loved the village of Southwest Harbor. This was in 2000 and we stayed at the Lamb's Ear Inn B&B.

We stayed at the Inn at Southwest Harbor, & I do agree with boom-boom, Southwest Harbor is a much nicer & quieter place to stay. We loved eating at Thurston's Lobster Pound & also at the Lobster Pound just before you enter Mt. Desert Island. For some beautiful & wild scenery, take a drive around the Schoodic Peninsula, about 1 1/2 hours from Bar Harbor. In Bar Harbor, we went on a schooner through the bay.

Because our daughter graduated from Bowdoin College, we are also partial to the Brunswick area, too. Drive out to Harpswell, Orr's & Bailey's Island for some beautiful coastal scenerey and seafood at one of the Estes's restaurants or Cook's, or Dolphin Marina.

Portland is a great city, located right on the water with a nice waterfront, downtown, art museum, shopping, restaurants. If you have the time & want to drive even further north than Acadia, Campobello Island, New Brunswick, is worth a visit.

South of Portland is more crowded than north of Portland. But that is where the swimming beaches are located in Maine, such as York, Wells, Kennebunkport, etc.
I also agree that Camden & Rockland are worth visiting. The Wyeth museum is in Rockland.

What time of year are you going?

Probably going in June or July. Thanks for all the advise - loved many of the suggestions.

We stayed in Bar Harbor (Sept) and it was great.Take the whale excursion with the catamaran.Paul

I agree with taking the Bar Harbor Whale Watch. Also - have dinner at Mama Dimatteo's in Bar Harbor. It is a little bit tucked away off the beaten path near the fire station. The roasted red pepper lobster bisque is to die for!

June will be less expensive, but service in restaurants and hotels can be spotty as they hire mostly students for the summer and in June most of them are new/learning.
July will be crazy crowded but some people love that scene. Car rental rates skyrocket, too.

September is the time to go, just after Labor Day.

bkmk

A thing one shouldnt miss (if you like to hike/climb):

The Precipice!!!

Acadia National Park is good for one day - beautiful scenic drive around the park. There is a nice beach in the park. Not much to do unless you hike or bike.

We were there a week ago and stayed in Bar Harbor. It was busy then so not sure if I would want to be there during the summer months.

For the shoppers, there are many outlet malls in southern Maine and Freeport is the home of L L Bean. Plus many outlet stores in Freeport.

The Route 1 in Maine was listed as one of the top ten senic drives in the USA.

hi brats - where did you stay in bar harbor?

bratsandbeer, did YOU think Rt.1 was scenic? Not sure who's list it's on, but I've never heard anybody say it was anything much scenery-wise.

~Liz

lilaki - We stayed at Bar Harbor Grand Hotel. We thought it was a very old hotel and actually it was built in 2003 (think that was the year) and it was built the same as the old hotel that was there decades ago. It is a very convenient location - close to stores and restaurants and you can walk to the port. We liked the hotel - everything was okay.

http://www.barharborgrand.com/

elberko - we had been on Cape Cod and driven up through Mass. and been to so many places along the coast that by that time nothing looked different. I think we should have gone off Rt 1 to see a lot more and taken time to enjoy it. But we were headed to Bar Harbor that day - we made a few stops but nothing stands out. It seemed like a long drive to me from Freeport to Bar Harbor.