charli47

Thank you in advance. My fellow Fodorites have helped me with all of my travel plans and I need you again...;-)

My husband and I are taking his sister and nephew for their first visit to the New England area. They are both from another country so this will be super special.
The adults (3) are early 50's and our nephew is 14. We would ideally like to end our trip with Boston so we will immediately get on the road to wherever and leave the car once we arrive back in Boston (we won't need, correct?)

We have 10 days and will be flying from Houston. Leaving Houston on or about the 2nd of August through the 11th of August. We will end in Boston for the last 3 nights so that we can put them on a train to Baltimore which is their next destination. We fly home.
Our accommodation budget would be about $250 per night or less. We want to have the following experiences, not in any particular order:

1 - Lobster cookout on the beach - maybe as part of a windjammer. We would only want to do 1 night on the boat though.
2 - Beach accommodation
3 - Bit of hiking/nature walking but nothing too vertical
4 - Relaxation
5 - Mountains and beautiful scenery from our front porch
6 - All inclusive or part inclusive resort that offers kids stuff to do onsite
7 - Any other cool experience that might be unusual.

How far up the coast should we go? I would love to do Acadia but if that is too far I can always do another time. Maybe go to the interior instead? White Mountains?

How are the crowds in August?

Thanks,
charli47

clarkgriswold

A 14 year old is probably not considered a "kid" as far as most "kids activities" at resorts are concerned.

The Samoset Resort in Rockport/Camden Maine comes to mind but most dates in August, as for any resort in Maine, are probably already full-up.

Note that only southern Maine (Ogunquit, Kennebunkport, maybe Old Orchard) have "beach" accomodations and accomodations right at the beach are booked well in advance since they are not particularly numerous. Most of Maine is more "rocky coast" and harbors.

I'm not quite clear from your post if you're looking to do a road trip with a couple of nights here and a couple of nights there, or if you're looking for a weeklong booking in one spot.

Celticharper

you can do everything on your list on Mt Dessert Island, the home of Acadia National Park. Acadia is about a 5-6 hour drive from Boston(depending on speed and number of stops). Accomodaitons on the beach will be hard to come by, because they are usually booked well in advance and the time that you are traveling is among the most popular time of the summer for vacations here in NE.

I'd go straight to Acadia spend the time in Bar Harbor. The Bar Harbor Inn is a lovely place to atay right on the ocean and in town so walking to shops and restaurants, ocean tours and a sail on the Windjammer Margaret Todd right outside your door.

I would suggest that you start now to get itinerary decided and start to look for places to stay, you might find that many accomodations are fully booked and your first choice of location may not be available. You may have to alter your itinerary based on availability of accomodations. This is considered last minute here and it may be a matter of take what you can get. This in one reason my husband and I prefer to tour NE before June 15th and after Sept 1st.

bennnie

If you go to Bar Harbor the Bar Harbor Regency will have much of what you are looking for. Ocean front with a sort of mountainious view across Frenchmans Bay and a nice pool. The area has all sorts of activities including sailing on a windjammer, lobster dinners, hiking, kayaking. But like clark, its unclear if you want to find everything in one spot or will be moving around.

charli47

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately, our itinerary is set for August because that is their time off from school. I will attempt to get booked by tomorrow.

Keep em coming.

I didn't want to do a lot of driving with lots of stops. WE really only have about 8-9 nights and 3 will be used in Boston.

Any reason to fly directly to Portland?