Maine Coast: Bar Harbor, Camden and WHAT?
 

Hello All, I am all truly mixed up here(what else is new;-)). We are flying int and out of Bangor for an 11 day Maine coast trip. Our first 5 nites are in Bar Harbor at the Miramonte Inn. We plan to do Acadia, hiking and kayaking. I want to do Portland, but DH does not. How does Boothbay sound? Is it too ticky tacky touisty? Is there enough to do? Thought about Kennebunk, but don't know if that will be too much driving. We plan to stay in Camden for 3 nites at Lord Camden Inn before we fly back. So I am missing a 3 day section....any feedback, input? Thanks so much. Judy :-)

Is it too late to fly INTO Bangor and OUT OF Portland? It's about the same price and a lot more convenient.

I love Boothbay, but mostly for the quiet, there certainly isn't "much to do besides an island clambake and some kayaking.

Maine has some beautiful lakes, and if you do Bar Harbor and then Camden, a detour to the Belgrade Lakes area on your way back to Bangor is certainly something to consider.

Clark(love your name BTW), originally had planned to include a trip over to Nova Scotia, but the logistics did not work out. So we have our(to change would be 100$) tkts into and out of Bangor. Next year it will be Nova Scotia. On some posts here, people rave about Boothbay, others do not. So I am confused. We like to hike almost every day(to keep fit and site see). Does this sound reasonable? Is there good walking, hiking around Boothbay? I read your post about Welchhouse Inn. I will look it up. Judy

We stayed in Bar Harbor last for three nights and hiked our buns off. One hike we really liked was the Beehive,quite challenging for me anyway. We also, did a windjammer sunset tour that I felt wasn't really worth the money. Anyway, I thought three nights was enough so, unless you have quite a bit of hiking already planned you might want to think about how many days you need to stay.
Boothbay is wonderful! We stayed at Fisherman's Wharf and loved it. We took a day trip to Mohegan Island and hiked there. We really enjoyed that but,only stayed two nights in Boothbay and didn't really hike in Boothbay area. I would highly recommend Boothbay. I didn't feel like a ticky tacky tourist at all nor did I see any.

We've been to Maine a few times, and really love it. The first time we went, we flew into Portland and drove up the coast. I don't really think you would be missing much if you skip Portland (IMHO). We stayed that first night on the coast at Bailey's Island. We then worked our way up the coast all the way to East Port. Boothbay was one of our favorite areas. Bar Harbor is far more touristy than Boothbay. We were lucky enough to rent a beautiful home for a week and a half in Sept. of this year in a small town north of Bar Harbor called Addison. We had such a nice time, we plan on making the trip again this Sept., only this time we want to stay at least 2 weeks. Hope you enjoy your Maine trip as much as we have.

Trisha, no offense meant to you or Boothbay, I just heard it described by some as being that way. I am seriously considering it. I looked up Fiddlers Green Inn and it looked very nice, so did Brown's. I want to go to Moheghan and hike very much. One thing I found on the whole, is that hotels inn and B&B seem to be very pricey. Some I had looked at in Blue Hill and Castine, were very dear and did not have a TV. DH must have a TV!

Oh no offense was taken at all. I know what you mean about tacky tourists. You know Bar Harbor is crawling with tourists.
Anyway, I went to go get my journal because I remember I liked my stay at Fisherman's Wharf SO much that I wrote down my room number to make sure I get that same room again(if I ever go back there). I have never done that before either. The room was number 211.It had a balcony that overlooked the harbor, the ocean and all the ships were just beautiful. We were just steps away from our boat that took us to Monhegan Island, VERY convenient. They are very reasonable and I think it was about 110 a night. They had great service and a nice restaurant. The website doesn't give the place justice and I remember I couldn't get any reviews on the place last year. Hope this helps.

Yes, Trish, it helped so much, I made a reservations there. personal experience means alot to me. The man who took my reservation seemd quite nice. :-) Judy

Hi Judy,
I live in Portland so tell DH I am insulted. Seriously, if you want to visit a pretty city that is a stop on many cruise ships, you might enjoy my home town. There are also islands in Casco Bay that have places that can be rented, some are part of the city of Portland, others are not.

Since you are flying in and out of Bangor rather than Portland, it doesn't pay to come here just for beachy stuff, as you will have gotten that already.Portland has more of a working harbor, good cobble stone street type tourist shopping ("the Old Port" -- not really better than Bar Harbor's or Camden's -- but a little less expensive)-- not at all ticky tacky, nice stores. And Freeport is just 20 minutes north of Portland, with L.L. Bean and countless other stores, outlet and otherwise. I agree that Kennebunck is too far, it is an hour south of Portland and you are flying out of Bangor which is more than 2 hours drive north of Portland. K'bunk won't give you anything you wouldn't find in Bar Harbor and Camden. Now I will have insulted my neighbors from Kennebunk, but it is true. Also, if you do drive south, keep in mind that the coastal route (Route 1) is pretty but can get very slow in summer. The highway from Portland to Bangor is not pretty but is quick. If you come this far south I suggest driving South on Route 1 and then returning to Bangor by the much quicker highway route.Route 1 is pretty plkus you need to take it to get to Camden but it is slow, especially in summer.den)and take the highway back to Bangor.
Enjoy you Maine holday.
Marcia from Maine