Boston/Maine Coast
 

My husband and I are flying to Boston for a wedding at the end of July. We are in our late 20's and love beaches, traveling, sightseeing, boating, hiking, biking, etc. We are planning to spend a few days in Boston, and then head north on Tuesday to Maine. Here is our rough itinerary:

Tues: drive from Boston to Bar Harbor/stay in Bar Harbor
Wed: Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park
Thurs: Drive to Portland/Stay in Portland
Friday: Kennebunkport
Sat: Drive through Portsmouth, NH and then back to Boston to fly home.

Is this itinerary possible or is it too much packed into a few days? We have never been to Maine and would love to see all of these places, even if it means just spending a day to get a taste of some towns. Any suggestions on hotels/lodging in Bar Harbor, Portland, and Kennebunkport areas? We are running into issues with many motels/B&B's being a 2 night minimum. If that is the case, we were thinking we could spend 2 nights in Bar Harbor and 2 nights in Cape Porpoise, skipping most of Portland. Any suggestions? Thanks!

I stayed in Kennebunkport a couple of years ago at Lodge at Turbat's Creek, lodgeatturbatscreek.com. I don't know what your budget or tastes are, but it's a low key, budget-friendly place that was clean and pleasant. I'd be inclined to spend two nights in Kennebunkpork, only popping into Portland to see some light houses en route, if you don't mind driving just a short distance further.

For the time you have available to you, I'd be tempted to forego Bar Harbor, as much as I love Acadia. The drive there will likely be congested and take longer than you might expect. I feel like your time might be better spent if you only stay in a couple of spots and don't drive as far north/northeast as Bar Harbor. That way, you hopefully won't waste the better part of Wednesday in the car.

Portland is not beach, boating or hiking. I would do the two-night minimum in Kennebunkport. You can stop and have a stroll and happy hour in Portland and then move onward.

P.S. There is only one lodging choice in Cape Porpoise, I think, so if they have availability you'd better grab it now. Maine for late July is going to be hard to get in just a week or two from now.

Portland is a good stop if you want to enjoy the foodie scene. The mailboat cruise of Casco Bay would give a break from driving.

Although a friend treated me to a nice sailboat (commercial) ride in Kport or wherever we were, I really don't like all the congestion and crowds in that area. It caters to tourists. It might be fun to browse shops. You run into a problem of access to beaches in southern Maine. Rt 1 will have a lot of traffic every day that time of year.

If you are just going to do a drive thru Portsmouth, you might stop for lunch. Then head to the Strawbery Banke area and take Rt 1B thru New Castle and then figure out how to get to 1A which is on the coast. The Rye area is lined with private mansions but New Castle is one of the oldest towns in America and features very old, small houses and you will also go by the fabulous Wentworth-by-the-Sea hotel. But it sounds like you are flying home on same day you drive thru Portsmouth.

Two nights in Bar Harbor makes sense. You should have a full day there after all that driving. If you wanted something closer that would provide some hiking, maybe Camden. There are a lot of good trails and conservation areas in the Harpswells east of Brunswick but this tends to be a rural area not like Kport at all. Better lobster shacks though and very few shops.

Your original plan is fine. The drive from Portland to Boston is not long at all, even by the coastal route so you could easily skip spending the night in Kennepunkpport and just see it en route from Portland to Boston. That would give you one extra night and I'd put it either in Bar Harbor, or in Camden.

Here's my photos - maybe some places you'd want to stop.http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/new_england

And here's the mini trip report I did about Acadia a couple years ago - http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...s-and-tips.cfm

Bar Harbor will be about a 4.5 hour drive from Boston, and in July probably longer. It is however, fabulous, so you might add another night there. Kennebunkport is scenic, but you can stroll around in about an hour, walk along the ocean walkway, and have a nice lunch, and perhaps continue on southward to Ogunquit, sleeping in Ogunquit. You can walk the Marginal Way, Ogunquit has a wonderful beach, you might visit the Ogunquit Playhouse and then head to Boston from there. Wherever you choose, however, I'd suggest making reservations asap.