DC to Bar Harbor Maine Road Trip
Jan 10th, 2016, 04:30 AM
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DC to Bar Harbor Maine Road Trip
My husband and I have a business convention in Washington DC the 1st week of May. While in DC we will be taken on an evening highlight tour of the city. We will also spend an evening at the Smithsonian Institute, including dinner and drinks. From there we want to take a two week road trip up the coast going as far north as Bar Harbor, Maine. Then flying home out of Portland, Maine. We are not hikers or museum lovers. We like to sight see, enjoy a good meal, possibly do some wine tasting, a little shopping, see a comedy show, listen to some good music. We like to relax, but we do get bored easily. We do have a friend in Boston that we plan to stop and visit. We have been to NYC before, so we decided not to go there on this trip. So far this is what we are thinking. From DC drive to Atlantic City for two nights and stay at the Taj Mahal Hotel. Drive to Mystic Seaport, Conn and stay at the Whaler's Inn for one night. Drive to Newport, RI and stay at the Attwater Hotel for two nights. Drive to Boston to stay Friday & Saturday night at the Seaport Boston Hotel and visit with our friend. Drive to Rockport, Mass and stay at the Bearskin Neck Motor Lodge for two nights. Drive to York, ME and stay at the Union Bluff Hotel for 1 night. Drive to Bar Harbor, ME and stay at the Bar Harbor Grand Hotel for two nights. On Friday drive back south to Portland, ME to stay one night before we fly out of Portland back home to Michigan. Please give us any suggestions for travel routes, things to see and do or variations you would suggest in our hotels or towns that we are visiting. Will spring flowers be out at this time and any suggested favorite places to visit for spring flowers?
Jan 10th, 2016, 04:47 AM
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An awful lot of driving for time spend actually seeing/doing anything.
I would definitely do Philly versus Atlantic City (which is a dump), spend more time in Boston (which is fantastic) and not do so many one night stands (which I find very frustrating -but it sounds like you enjoy).
Don;t misunderstand - I love road trips - but to me this is too much road and not enough trip.
I would definitely do Philly versus Atlantic City (which is a dump), spend more time in Boston (which is fantastic) and not do so many one night stands (which I find very frustrating -but it sounds like you enjoy).
Don;t misunderstand - I love road trips - but to me this is too much road and not enough trip.
Jan 10th, 2016, 09:33 AM
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I would skip York in mid-May,too sleepy, maybe Ogunquit or Kennebunkport...or better yet Camden/Rockport which would not be a bad drive up from Rockport Mass.
Don't book any place in Bar Harbor that has more than a 48-hour cancellation policy, May can be cold and rainy (hopefully not, but...) and you'll want to re-arrange your plans according to the weather. Actually there shouldn't be much reason to book anything not-cancellable at that time of year for Maine....most lobster shacks etc are not even open until Memorial Day.
Don't book any place in Bar Harbor that has more than a 48-hour cancellation policy, May can be cold and rainy (hopefully not, but...) and you'll want to re-arrange your plans according to the weather. Actually there shouldn't be much reason to book anything not-cancellable at that time of year for Maine....most lobster shacks etc are not even open until Memorial Day.
Jan 11th, 2016, 03:48 AM
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I agree with SambaChula esp given that this is an early May trip. That's a lot of driving just to get to Bar Harbor. You would be on boring interstate most of the way. I think you would kick yourself for not allowing more time in Portland where you can do the things you like to do. I would stay in Portland but do a day trip to the Rockland/Camden area. I think Rockland is about 2 hours from Portland. Check open times and map out a visit to a couple of wineries. Rockland has Breakwater Vineyards but I don't think they open until Memorial Day. Cellar Door Winery's location in Lincolnville is pretty but might also be closed for the season. They also have a store on Rt 1 near Camden. Nice boutique shopping in Camden and you could also fit in a visit to Freeport ME outlets. Cadillac has a terrific view but so does Mt Battie in Camden. You might want to do the foodie tour in Portland but it's not as good as the one in Boston's North End which remains my favorite.
Jan 11th, 2016, 04:30 AM
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From Washington to Mystic, CT is doable in a day. It's boring interstate, and with traffic around NY it can be slow, but if you time it right the actual driving time is about 6 hours, so with stops and traffic it will take a whole day. But if you don't want to stop in NY I would just blast up there and have more time for New England. Just make sure you aren't going around NYC at rush hour (which lasts from about 3-7pm). I agree that if you want a casino experience then Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun would be better than Atlantic City.
From Boston north you do not need (or want) to get on the interstate - you want to take the coastal route. Your timing is OK the way you have it, but with an extra night or two by not stopping at Atlantic City it would be even better.
You're planning two nights in Rockport, MA - in addition to Gloucester and Rockport itself, I would stop in Salem. Also Hammond Castle re-opens for the season the first week in May, really interesting. www.hammondcastle.org In NH Portsmouth is nice and the coast road through NH (only 17 miles total) is also nice.
From Kittery (where you enter Maine) to Portland is only 50 miles, if you were to do it on the interstate it's less than an hour. But you want to take the coastal route and there are several towns worth stopping in: York, Ogunquit, and Kennebunkport. There are several lighthouses (http://www.visitmaine.net/page/38/lighthouses), including Portland Head Light which is on every calendar of New England.(www.pbase.com/annforcier/image/147344282 - there are other photos in that gallery of the places you are going including Bar Harbor). If you do want to spend a night in that section I would choose Ogunquit or Kennebunkport over York (but stop in York to see the lighthouse).
What you don't have enough time for is the stretch between York and Bar Harbor. You could certainly do it on the interstate in a few hours but you'd miss some of the best part of Maine. The area around Boothbay Harbor and Camden/Rockport. I would definitely take Rt 1, and even detour off that down to the water a few times.
So I would take at least one night from somewhere else on the trip and move it to the central Maine coast. If you are going that far it's a shame to just blow past the best scenery.
Early May is obviously too cold to swim, but unless it rains it can be a beautiful time here. And you can get rain any month.
From Boston north you do not need (or want) to get on the interstate - you want to take the coastal route. Your timing is OK the way you have it, but with an extra night or two by not stopping at Atlantic City it would be even better.
You're planning two nights in Rockport, MA - in addition to Gloucester and Rockport itself, I would stop in Salem. Also Hammond Castle re-opens for the season the first week in May, really interesting. www.hammondcastle.org In NH Portsmouth is nice and the coast road through NH (only 17 miles total) is also nice.
From Kittery (where you enter Maine) to Portland is only 50 miles, if you were to do it on the interstate it's less than an hour. But you want to take the coastal route and there are several towns worth stopping in: York, Ogunquit, and Kennebunkport. There are several lighthouses (http://www.visitmaine.net/page/38/lighthouses), including Portland Head Light which is on every calendar of New England.(www.pbase.com/annforcier/image/147344282 - there are other photos in that gallery of the places you are going including Bar Harbor). If you do want to spend a night in that section I would choose Ogunquit or Kennebunkport over York (but stop in York to see the lighthouse).
What you don't have enough time for is the stretch between York and Bar Harbor. You could certainly do it on the interstate in a few hours but you'd miss some of the best part of Maine. The area around Boothbay Harbor and Camden/Rockport. I would definitely take Rt 1, and even detour off that down to the water a few times.
So I would take at least one night from somewhere else on the trip and move it to the central Maine coast. If you are going that far it's a shame to just blow past the best scenery.
Early May is obviously too cold to swim, but unless it rains it can be a beautiful time here. And you can get rain any month.
