Am I spending enough time in Acadia National Park in Maine?
 

I plan to stay one night in Boothbay ME , then one night in Camden and then two nights in Bar Harbor. Is two nights enough time for Bar Harbor or should I skip Camden or Boothbay? I do want to take a trip from Boothbay to Mohegan Island as well. I just am hearing so many good things about Acadia National Park that I'm afraid I will feel that I didn't have enough time with only two nights. Thanks

It depends what you want to do in Acadia/Bar Harbor. you can do the basics in 2 days there, see the park loop, eat somewhere. However, I would think that you will probably be disappointed if you don't leave yourself some more time there. If you have no interest in Kayaking, biking the hundreds of miles of carriage trails, whale watching, hiking....that being said it would be hard to leave Camden or Boothbay off of your itinerary. Can't you stretch this trip a day or two?

I would eliminate Bootbay and go to Castine or the pemaquid peninsula instead. Boothbay seemed to be getting kind of run down and seedy the last time I was there (3 years ago). If possible, spend another day or 2 in Bar Harbor, Northeast harbor or Southwest Harbor. There's so much more in the Acadia area than just Acadia. That whole area is gorgeous.

My hubby and I were just in that area last August. We spent 2 nites in Boothbay (GREAT B&B: Welch House Inn----got the name and info from people on this forum), then we spent 2 nites in Camden, and then 3 nites in Bar Harbor. We loved our B&B so much in Boothbay, and were out on the water most of those 2 days. Yea, the shops aren't very upscale, but we still enjoyed BBHrbor--very quaint and picturesque. If we do the trip again, we'd probably skip Camden. Pretty town, but wish we'd spent more time in Bar Harbor. Camden has hiking on Mt. Battie, but we enjoyed the views and town better at Bar Harbor and Boothbay Hrbr. Bar Harbor is great if you like kayaking, eating, shopping (more upscale), hiking the park, etc. So my personal opinion is to do Boothbay Hrbr a couple of days, and then spend 4 days in the Acadia/Bar Harbor area. Nice B&B in Bar Harbor: Castlemaine Inn----but it looked like there were lots of nice B&Bs there. 2 nites in BarHrbr we stayed at a very inexpensive place, but with a great location. It was called the Towne Motel----I think it was only $99 a nite, nothing special at all, but very clean, and wonderful location for walking to restaurants and shops at nite. Enjoy!

OK, I'm going to figure some way to lengthen my stay in Acadia. I was planning on driving from Mystic and staying in Mass. somewhere near Boston but, I think I'll keep going to Maine. I tried a search on pemaquid Peninsula but can't find much info. on lodging etc. I do want to do the Mohegan Island so, I need to stay near the ferries that go there, that's why I chose Boothbay. Is there somewhere that is better that will allow that? I think if I skip Boston area , I can add a day to Acadia. Thankyou very much!

Off the top of my head I can't remember where it is, but there is another place north of Boothbay Hrbr that you can get the Monhegan Isl. ferry. Look at a map of the coast of Maine and I know it shows the 2 areas that the ferries leave from. We didn't do the trip to M.Isl. Since we only had a week, I posted many questions re: should we take an entire day to do that trip, or should we save that day and go on to Acadia/Bar Harbor instead? You maybe have enuf time to do it all, but the responses I got were: forego M. Isl. and go to Acadia. (some poster will probably refute this advice, but that's the advice I got in Aug. 2002) :) :) I think the reason I liked Acadia/Bar Harbr so much is that we could do all the hiking, kayaking, outdoor activities we wanted during the day, but there were still so many fun things to do in town at nite. Hope this helps!

I like Boothbay a lot, but I think it's ferry to Monhegan is the second choice. IIRC, New Harbor or somewhere else not too far from Pemequid has a much shorter, cheaper route (less departures - check ahead).

Thanks for the help. My only problem now is where to stay in the Pemaquid area to take the other ferry. I did some searching but, found only lodges with few amenities, like no tv. phone,etc. I'm leary of a place like that. Is there a good place to stay around there and is it better than Boothbay? Thanks

STAY IN BOOTHBAY. I've worked in Pemaquid area, and could hardly find any hotel or anyplace to stay. Takes forever to get around, along endless solitary drives. Fine for a daytrip combined with Monhegan excursion, but there's more lively character at the bigger coastal villages like Boothbay.

When we visit Maine, we do exactly what you plan. A visit to Boothbay (2 nights) with 1 as a trip to Monhegan(aboard the Balmy Days II-search the net for their site.)It was great. We stop in Camden (for lunch & shopping)(visit Mt Battie for a phenominal view of the Harbor) and proceed to Bar Harbor.We stop at the Trenton Lobster pound before crossing over to the island where Bar Harbor is located.Bar Harbor is excellent for shops, food, and exploring the Park-by car or by foot onto different paths.Additional time is needed if you want to do more outdoor activities-kayak, bike, hike(all different levels-ask at the parks information booth or visit the web site)Hope this helps.

Another vote for Castine. This is a quaint and lovely place to stop along the way to Bar Harbor. I think I checked a website for the Castine Inn recently and got info.The beauty of Acadia is that spreads around various spots in Maine. If you are planning to take a trip to Monhegan is it an overnight? Here's another idea completely..check out "The Keeper's House" on Isle au Haut. This island is made up of Acadia Park almost entirely. The "Keeper's House" is an old lighthouse keeper's residence. There are I think 5 rooms total. Your stay includes three delicious meals (oh to have their lobster dinner again). This place stands out in my memory as one of my favorites in Maine. (We have also stayed in Bar Harbor and Camden among others). In trip planning one time we seriously considered Monhegan but opted for Isle au Haut instead. I actually prefer Southwest or Northeast Harbor as places to stay. We found Bar Harbor a bit overdone(too many tee shirt shops)much to our surprise!