Howdy travellers,

My wife and I (late twenties) are going to try to take a week off in late August and travel from Boston to Acadia NP and perhaps also up to Nova Scotia. We've never been to either destination before, so are looking for advice.

in particular:

+ best way to get to Acadia? (I see that one ferry service from Portland to Acadia has shut down - are there any others?)

+ places to stay at/near Acadia?

+ must sees/do? we'll probably do some (easy-to-moderate) hiking, maybe biking or kayaking)

Is it reasonable to spend a couple of days in Acadia and then take a ferry up to Nova Scotia and spend a few days driving around up there?

basically, i'm just starting out planning and looking for any and all suggestions - I've always found the advice I get here extremely friendly and helpful, so what better place to look for some help?

thanks,
Lee

You'll find a lot of information just by plugging "Acadia" or "Bar Harbor" into the search above.

With popular destinations like Acadia in summer, you might not get as many replies as you'd like on this thread, just because people get tired of answering the same or similar questions all the time.

When we went on a weekend ferry trip to Nova Scotia we felt the time was too limited and didn't enjoy spending the night in Yarmouth. There is plenty to do between Boston and Acadia. We just spent a week in the Wiscasset area. Head up Rt 95 and get off onto Rt 1 around Brunswick. You can easily spend most of a day heading down one point i.e. to Popham Beach for lunch at some lobster shack. I'd recommend splitting your week in half with a few days around Wiscasset and then the rest of the week in Acadia. Plan on spending most of the day to get from Wiscasset to Acadia if you do something like take a picnic lunch to the top of Mt Battie in Camden and visit the Cellar Door Winery in Lincolnville, shop downtown Camden, visit Merryspring gardens, stock up on books at the Chicken House, etc. The new Maine Coastal Garden on Barters Island next to Boothbay has some wonderful short trails.
You would probably want an entire week to explore Nova Scotia. Cape Breton Island is a long drive but one of the prettiest areas of NS. The Bay of Fundy is completely different from the beaches near Halifax. Each region of Nova Scotia is a lot different from its neighboring region. I would combine a visit to Prince Edward Island when you're that far north.

I second the advice dfrostnh gave. A "couple of days" is not enough to fit in NS. We have spent a week at Acadia 5 or 6 times and highly recommend it.

~Liz

While in Acadia/Bar Harbor - did you want to camp or stay in a hotel/B&B?

We camped 2 Labor Days ago and it was great! We found that time of year to be so nice.

We drove there and back, I think it took around 5-6 hours each way.

I'll third that advice. With only one week you won't have time to see any of NS - especially the jewel (Cape Breton Island). Save NS for another trip when you have (at an absolute minimum) a week to spend there.

There are many great things to do in Bar Harbor and Acadia. I will give a short list of must do's.
Hike up a few mountains in the park. our favorites are Dorr and Beehive which has a small lake, the bowl, at its summit.
Try some of the many great restaurants. Our favorites are Eden Vegetarian Cafe (207) 288-4422, we never knew vegetarian food could taste so amazing, and Cafe This Way. Best to call for reservations.
Go sea kayaking. We have been out with three different tour outfitters/guide services and by far our favorite was Acadia Park Kayak Tours (207) 266-1689. They have much smaller groups than anyone else and the guide was unbelievably knowledgeable about the ecology and history of the area. Best to call ahead for reservations.

nice of you to register to post the same ad four times on old posts, acadialover. Which of these businesses are YOU involved with?