Hi again, I had to take a little time away from my planning the week trip this fall and now am ready to make some reservations. I have done more research and thanks to you who have given me input. With planning on doing a fair amount of driving and stopping for walking and touring does this sound like we would get a fair taste of the area? We will be arriving in Boston at noon& drive to Ogunquit. Monday drive to North Woodstock and the kangamagus hwy. & on to Portland (5 1/2 hr.drive day) Tuesday tour a little of portland and on to Bath and finish up the day @ Bar Harbor. Stay Tues. night and wed. night. Thursday drive to Portsmouth and stay the night. Friday drive to the cape early and stay, driving back to Boston early saturday for touring the freedom trail. We need to return on Sunday. Any thoughts on spending more or less time in 1 of these areas ? Any places you have stayed in some of these towns or towns near by that may be more reasonable? (under 150.00 a night?) Thanks

I think the side trip to NH's White Mountains could be better scheduled. With your hectic schedule, most of your driving is going to be on boring interstates. I would choose Portsmouth for your first night and do Ogunquit as a drive thru. If you get to Perkins Cove early enough, there are a few free parking spaces. Perhaps you are thinking of walking the Marginal Way? Slightly north of Ogunquit on Rt 1 is Mike's Clam Shack (actually a nice family type restaurant) where we found The Best fried clams and scallops and went back for a lunch of steamed lobster. It's a nice walk. Continue on to Portland. Perhaps talk a cruise of Casco Bay. Don't miss Mt Dessert Ice Cream on Exchange Street for very unusual flavors. Looks like you planned to overnight in Portland. We generally prefer the mid-coast area so we stay on I95 until Brunswick then get off on Rt 1. That will take you thru Bath, Wiscasset, Camden, etc. Slower drive to Bar Harbor but those are great towns.

Then take best route to the White Mountains. I think you'll still be mid-week. Do something like visit the Flume or take the tram up Cannon Mountain. Then go to the Cape and Boston.

Sorry, no lodging recommendations. We usually camp when we visit Maine and the White Mountains are a day trip for us.

Thankyou. I will look into changing my time in Portsmouth. The one thing I want to avoid is long drives without anything special to see. Is the trip to NH worth it? We have never been along the coast and have seen nice foliage before. Just wondering about using this much time going over there when I have heard the coast will offer it as well. Also I was under the understanding that the mtns. turned color 1st, then north Maine. That was my thinking to do that 1st.? Thanks again for the help.

We just came back from camping the the White Mountains, our first time in NH. While it was beautiful to drive through the mountains, and while we did see a couple of moose , if I were doing your trip I think I'd skip NH and spend more time in Maine in the coastal towns or a night in Boston at the beginning or end end of your trip...much more to do than along the Kancamagus Hwy in my opinion. Enjoy!

dhfrost pretty well nails it.

I think you have to decide the reasons for your trip and what you really want to do. We love mid-coast Maine but we don't spend time of beaches. Acadia is beautiful but I think those who hike and bike enjoy it more than we did. We like to find the great lobster spots, take a boat ride, go to places with great views and just spend time looking at the water in a quiet area.
White Mountain color will probably be best the first week of October. It's funny to read travelbug's post because there was a recent post by someone who loved the area and their teen had a fabulous time. We've actually not spent much time in the White Mountains in recent years since we go to other New England places that require overnights and then we eventually think, sheesh, it's been ages. We have a Labor Day weekend camping trip planned with friends. Last year they enjoyed ziplining for the first time. We love the Center Sandwich area but tend to visit in winter and summer and once I went on a great garden tour of the area. I know avid hikers who are in the White Mountains all the time. Driving thru just to see colored leaves can probably be skipped. There's lots of beautiful leaves in a lot of other places. I think the best corn maze is just over the line in Danville VT from Littleton. I still want to see the leaf people (scarecrows) that I hear they put up around Wolfboro on Lake Winnipesaukee. I'd like to go to Polly's Pancake Parlor again. Lake Winnipesaukee is gorgeous. The Flume is an interest though pricey hike thru a gorge. We've been to the top of Mt Washington on a clear day. We have yet to visit the Remick Museum in Tamworth. I want to spend more time in Jackson. We've picnicked by a small waterfall you won't see unless you hike about 50 yards into the woods off a seasonal dirt road. We tend to do a day trip for a special event like an antique tractor show. We have yet to do any train rides.

Since you are trying to cram a lot into a short week, probably staying on the Maine coast would be the best idea. You can add more stops instead of the long detour thru the White Mountains. The Maine coast has a lot more restaurants and shops.

I was starting to think the same thing about staying along the coast and really enjoying that time. We look forward to the lobster stops and would like to do the mail cruise or some other cruise. With coming into Boston Sunday, I wondered how busy traffic might be to Chatham or somewhere along the cape? Maybe spend late Sunday & early monday in that area, then head north. All of your ideas have been a big help!