Am planning a trip to Maine for around 10 days leaving somewhere around Oct. 8 or 9. Need help. Our list of want to see/do include some coastal, fall foliage, and moose. Questions:
1) Best place to fly into, Bangor or Portland or other?
2) Should we head to the coast first or go north towards MooseHead Lake?
3) If we stay on the coast for 2-3 days, which is the best area?
Have seen a little bit of coast around Bar Harbor. Is it a pretty drive from Bar Harbor to Lubec?
4) How far from say, Bar Harbor to Moosehead Lake? Is it drivable in a day?
5) Places to stay around Moosehead Lake?
6) Don't have plane reservations yet, is that the best time to see the fall foliage?
7) Other things we should see or do during our 10 days?
8) Is it to late to do a whale cruise?
All help will be greaty appreciated. Thanks

Wow-- a lot of question here.. I will answer the best I can.. Fall foliage or "peak" is usually the 1st or second weekend in October. If your goal is to see Bar Harbor then I would recommend flying into Bangor...-- South of Bar Harbor has some of the most beautiful coastal towns.. If this is of interest Iwould fly into Portand (30 minutes south is Kennebunkport/Wells/Oguinquit.. within 2 hours north of Portland.. Boothbay harbor?camden..
Sorry do not have info on Moosehead lake..

Bar Harbor is not a must, just picked it because it seemed more central if we wanted to do some of the coast and Moosehead lake. More interested in the beauty of the state as opposed to shopping, etc.

It is any easy drive from Bar Harbor to Moosehead lake.

I recommend staying at the Indian Hill Motel. It is right as you enter Greenville with a great view of the Lake. My relatives used to own it, but sold it a few years ago.

I think you would need to check with a local Greenville or Mooshead or State of Maine tourist organization to see when the fall colors are the best. My mother went on a fall color trip to New England a couple of years ago and I think she went in Sept.

If the boat Katahdin still is running on Moosehead, then it is worth the ride.

Portland is less expensive from most cities...Bangor is probably best if your main attraction is Moosehead.

I would estimate that you'll be about a week late for the peak colors since there was so much early rain this year, but it is always a wild guess.

Bar Harbor to Moosehead Lake is just a few hours.

Will probably up our trip a week in hopes of seeing some beautiful foliage. Is the coast prettier from Bar Harbor up or from Bar Harbor down? Thanks.

I've only been from Bar Harbor down and it certainly was beautiful. As far as the foliage goes, you might try to play-it-by-ear as much as you can, since the northern and southern halves of the state peak about a week or two apart from each other. So if you're hearing that the south peaked two weeks ago, head north.

Last October, we flew into Bangor and drove (approximately 90 minutes) to Greenville at the southern tip of Moosehead Lake. We stayed one night at a beautiful bed & breakfast, The Pleasant Street Inn (www.pleasantstreetinn.com) in Greenville. We spent our first day driving - first north and west to Jackman, then south along a scenic route (and the Kennebec River) to Skowhegan, then over to I-95, back to Bangor and down to Bar Harbor. That scenic drive - including stops for coffee, lunch and even a 1-hour hike in the woods to see a waterfall - took about eight hours. It was beautiful and gave us an opportunity to see a lot of the "beauty of the state", as you put it. The distance from Moosehead Lake to Bar Harbor is very driveable in a day considering the round-a-bout route we took!

There was beautiful fall color near Moosehead Lake and along the Kennebec River, and very little color when we got to Bar Harbor, so we're glad we made the drive.

We have been going to Bar Harbor once a year for five years and, though we haven't visited the Portland area yet (we're going in August), we certainly love Bar Harbor.

While we were in Bar Harbor last October, we drove about halfway to Lubec one day. Some parts of the drive were lovely, though I wouldn't say it's a must.

You should see fall foliage near Moosehead Lake at that time of year, though it's difficult to know what area will be peaking while you're visiting Maine. The State of Maine's web site has a Fall Foliage guide (http://www.state.me.us/doc/foliage/index.html), though posts don't begin until September. There are many other fall foliage web sites (Yankee Magazine has another good one, or do a search on "fall foliage" and "Maine").

I hope this helps! It's easy to fall in love with Maine. Be prepared to return again and again!