Hello!
We would like to drive to Acadia National Park but stop on the drive North. What are the pros/cons of staying in Boothbay and Camden? Which is closer to Acadia? How long would you suggest we stay in the town we choose before moving on? We love active and quaint little scenic towns on the water with shops and restaurants.

Thank you!!!

Camden is closer to Acadia and a lot nicer. -- that is to say, tonier.

We stayed here and loved it - homemade pie and ice cream available 24/7 !! What's not to love??

A bit less hectic than Camden. We'd return in a flash!

http://www.berrymanorinn.com/

We have stayed in both and would go to either again.

There are more traditional things to do in Boothbay. Camden pretty much has the waterfront and Mount Battle. Boothbay might be better for something like a seal tour on a boat; Camden is famous for schooner cruises under sail.

Camden is a little dressier for dinner unless you eat at a lobster pound, which you should.

From Camden, you can tour the small village of Rockport and the larger town of Rockland, with the Farnsworth Museum of Maine Art and the Transportation Museum at Owl's Head. The back roads around Boothbay to Newagen and East Boothbay are scenic and interesting. More crafts and antiques in the Boothbay area.

Both are very crowded with lots of traffic. Both have shops and restaurants. As long as you didn't have to find a parking place, either would be ok. I might favor Boothbay so I could visit Maine Coastal Gardens. We chose to stay in Lincolnville rather than Camden because of congestion (think about waits in restaurants). We took the boat to Monhegan for a day trip from Boothbay.

I would probably go with DebitNM's suggestion to stay in Rockland so I could visit the Farnsworth Museum (dh would opt for Owl's Head Transportation Museum) and dinner at Waterman's Beach (lobster pound). We have not been to Primo in Rockland but it gets lots of raves on Chowhound for gourmet dining. Also wine tasting at Breakwater Winery in Rockland. You can stop at Cellar Door Winery on Rt 1 near Camden but their original location in Lincolnville is a short drive off rt 1 and very pretty location should you choose Camden.

Camden would be an overnight for me. Boothbay longer to include gardens. Rockland longest.

I'm in Boothbay Harbor as we speak. It's a great little town with a lot of shops and restaurants, B&B's, etc. But it is out of the way for your visit to Acadia. For your stated purpose, I'd recommend Camden since it is on the way to Acadia.

I prefer Rockland. Camden and Boothbay are just too crowded and touristy during the season. I do like the gardens at Boothbay. How long to stay depends upon the length of your entire trip.

Not to dispute anyone, but we stayed at the Hartstone Inn in Camden the last week in July while our kids used the Nantucket house.

It was not crowded at all, at least by Cape Cod standards. There is a lot of traffic through town because Camden is where the four lane divided highway ends and all those trucks heading to Nova Scotia have to get through to load up with lobsters.

One of the problems with GPS is that they make us forget that there is almost always an alternative route around traffic.

But we ate well without reservations, got the windjammer cruise we wanted on the first try, and found ourselves in a free sing-along "Wizard of Oz" at the town hall, complete with costumed locals.

It's summer, it's tourist season, we hope it's busy for the locals. There will be some traffic. The only place I find it really annoying is in Wiscasset where it can back up for three miles in both directions because of people crossing the highway to get to Red's Eats. There is no lobster roll in the world worth backing up traffic for three mikes, including there. It used to be fine before it was discovered by the Food Network.

Agree the back up at Wicasset is always bad. I never thought about the fact it was caused by people crossing the highway to get to Reds! I do love Reds though.