Hello, we are coming to Maine in August and spending our days between Camden and Bar Harbor. Still haven't decided how many days at each place..have read that more than 2 in Camden is too many totally confused since we never have been to Maine. We have checked hotels and know that there are still quite a few available and before i book them this week I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about fun things to do in Camden and Bar Harbor. How many days would you suggest at each place, also has anyone ever stayed at the Bar Harbor Hotel Bluenose Inn? Also, we have to girls who need to shop...any big malls around those areas? Thanks...

I'm sorry but you might have to stop at the big shopping areas on your way north. Kittery is full of outlet malls but it's right on the NH border. There is also Freeport ME north of Portland and the big mall in Portland. You might want to spend more time in Camden than in Bar Harbor if you prefer shopping over hiking and just exploring. I know there's a movie theater before you get to Mt Desert but none in Bar Harbor. We like going on boat rides and enjoyed the one out of Bar Harbor. The best one we ever went on was to view lighthouses on a day cruise sponsored by the Maritime Museum in Bath. From Camden it's not too far to go to the Farnswoth Art Museum in Rockland or the Owls Head Transportation Museum.
The anchor stores for large malls in the Northeast tend to be Macy's and/or Filene's. If you check their website, you can see if there are any large malls in the Camden area. Maybe Brunswick. We like to do things like take binnoculars and a picnic lunch to the top of Mt Battie (take the auto road) or Pemaquid Point. We usually spend a week in one place but do a lot of driving around trying to find the best place for lobster rolls. Check the local newspapers for events. The Highland Games were in Brunswick in August. Your shoppers might like to spend the extra days in Portland.

We recently returned from a week in Camden - we had a wonderful time, but didn't have time to do all the things we'd planned. I don't necessarily think that it's true that more than two days in Camden are too many. Granted, we were four families renting a house, so we spent a fair amount of time socializing and just enjoying our beautiful surroundings. There's a lot to do, but it depends on your interests. I've only been to Bar Harbor once, briefly, several years ago, and thought it was very nice - and Acadia is wonderful - so I'm not sure how much time you'll want to spend there, probably several days, especially if you like to hike and do outdoor activities.

I'll address the shopping question first - Camden has quite a few interesting stores and galleries - we ladies had fun shopping, but we didn't have time to get to all of the stores. I think that Bar Harbor also has a number of neat shops, as well. If you want power shopping, though, you should go to Freeport, which is a bit less than two hours southwest of Camden - home of LLBean, and many other major outlets - shopping nirvana! There's also a Christmas Tree Shop in south Portland - contrary to the name, it's not a store that sells Christmas items - it's a chain of stores around New England (the original one is on Cape Cod) that has a huge variety of items at amazingly cheap prices. It's always fun to go to one and see what bargains you can pick up.

Here are some of the highlights of what we did in Camden:

We climbed Mount Battie - a fun hike, and fabulous views of Camden Harbor, Penobscot Bay, and the islands - but if you're not up for a hike, you can drive to the top. We also climbed Ragged Mountain, a fairly easy hike, with a nice view from the top. Our friends climbed Bald Mountain, and said that was the best hike of all.

We went sailing one afternoon on the schooner Appledore, which was great fun. It's absolutely beautiful out on the bay. There are several boats that offer daysails; if you go to the harbor you'll see their booths selling tickets. We also went on a cruise on the power boat Betselma, which goes out to Isleboro - it was enjoyable, we went farther than on the sailboat, and the captain was very friendly - but if I had to choose only one, I'd go with the sailing cruise. We had planned to go sea kayaking, too, but didn't get around to it, to my disappointment. We also thought about taking the ferry to Isleboro for a day trip (it leaves from Lincolnville, just north of Camden), but didn't do that, either - next time!

We spent a day at the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, which we enjoyed very much. Right now they have exhibits featuring works by N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth, and Jamie Wyeth - all wonderful. The Farnsworth homestead is also part of the museum complex, and is a very interesting Victorian house in the Greek Revival style, and is furnished just as it was when the Farnsworths lived there. What I found most fascinating, though, was visiting the Olsen homestead. It's owned by the Farnsworth Museum, but is a few miles away in Cushing, by the ocean. This is where Andrew Wyeth painted his famous piece, "Christina's World", and many other paintings, beside. There are copies of several of the paintings next to the spots where he painted them, so you can see exactly what he was painting. It's a neat house in a lovely setting; very worthwhile to visit, especially if you are an art lover.

We enjoyed visiting Rockport to see the lovely harbor, then drove the scenic road along the coast that leads from Rockport to Camden (some of which is a dirt road). A hidden gem was the Vesper Hill Chapel on Beauchamp Point, we were glad we stopped to see this. It's a small, outdoor, interfaith chapel overlooking the ocean, surrounded by lovely gardens. In fact, I was very taken with how many beautiful gardens there are all over the Camden area.

You'll have a wonderful time in both Camden and Bar Harbor; good luck deciding how to split your time!

Hi. If you are looking for movies in Bar Harbor, you can try Reel Pizza (pizza, beer, etc.) or the Criterion(beer and wine on the balcony). Both are fun and downtown, close to the Village Green. The Criterion is National Historic Register and very art deco. There are some nice gift shops in most of the villages across Mt. Desert, an LL Bean outlet in Ellsworth and smaller shopping. You may want to detour to Freeport to get that mall shopping out of the girls' systems before they prepare to embrace mother nature. Have a great time and enjoy our small, green island.

thanks to everyone for the great suggestions!!! can't wait to get there!!