My husband and I (both about 60) are planning to visit Maine in early to mid- May. We're planning to spend 7 or 8 days (not including a travel day to get there and a travel day home). We're primarily interested in driving along the coast although we're open to sidetrips that anyone thinks are especially worthwhile. We're interested in scenery, lighthouses, opportunities for walking (not truly hiking!), antique/art gallery browsing, etc. If we have time we'd like to also visit Acadia National Park. We thought we'd see about flying into Boston or Portland (coming from St. Louis), and we'd prefer not to change hotels (or bed & breakfasts) every night. I'm really eager for some recommendations about organizing a specific itinerary--what towns and how many days in each place. If anyone has specific recommendations for places to stay that would be great, too. Thanks so much for any suggestions and advice.

There are a lot of posts on exactly this kind of trip already here where you can search them. The big difference is that you want to come in May. May tends to be cool to cold and often foggy all along the Atlantic coast from RI north to Canada. Memorial Day is the beginning of the season for a reason.

That said, it will be beautiful and uncrowded, though some restaurants may not be open, particularly smaller places like lobster pounds.

Fly into Portland or Manchester, NH, which is served by Southwest and is not all that far inland. I would organize my visit around Portland, Brunswick, Bailey's and Orr's Islands, Wiscasset, Bath, Boothbay Harbor, Rockland, Camden, and then on to Mt Desert Island and Acadia. As you read about these places, see which have the most appeal.

The major roads (US 1 and especially I-95) don't go anywhere near the coast except at big river crossings like Bath. You have to go out on the peninsulas to see the water and the lighthouses. When you look at the map, you will see why you could take a month doing this trip. Most of the roads are lined with more antique and craft shops than you could possibly stop in. People go back year after year for a reason.

I would not do anything that requires you to go very far inland. This is the end of mud season and probably the beginning of black fly season.

Have wonderful time!

I don't know if this is something of interest to you, but we rented a house last year in Rockland, Maine and found that it was a great base for exploring the Midcoast Region. Rockland itself is a nice town to explore and from there we were able to visit lots of other towns. It was a two hour drive to Acadia. We also enjoyed taking our time getting from the airport in Portland to the house. There were lots of cute towns to stop in on the way up and those that we missed, we came back to on the way back. The house gave us the chance to come home after a busy day of exploring, relax by the quarry, and cook dinner.

Be sure to check Southwest for flights to Portland. Car rental rates will likely be lower in Portland, rather than Boston.

Agree that the first week of Maine could be very iffy. Weatherwise, you never know if it will be warmer or very cold. Some years, the leaves on the trees don't come out until the end of May.

Fog is definitely another possibility. Bar Harbor is often fogged in totally for days at a time. So much so that you cannot see forests along the roadsides. One trip, we would not see the shrubs outside the windows of our room. There's usually less and less fog farther and farther south.

"Explorer's Guide Maine" is an outstanding resource for planning this type of trip.

If you can, though, it would be much better to plan your trip for mid-late June - after everything is open for the season, when the weather will be much more pleasant, but before the throngs of vacationers and summer folk.

I think the Camden/Rockport area would be a good central spot to base yourselves, some of the other places you might be considering are not quite as "year-round" and will be very sleepy until mid-June.

Go as late in May as you can, and prepare for some rainy days and some very cool, breezy nights if you go the first half of the month. Mosquitoes, too...though they're not much of a bother along the coast.

I agree with everyone else. Although we haven't stayed in Rockland, it is usually one of the areas we explore. The Farnsworth Art Museum is wonderful and features Maine artists. I think it's about 2 hours north of Portland and about 3-4 hours from MHT and BOS so depending on the airport, you might want to spend your last night closer to the airport or schedule a late afternoon flight.

I love the month of May but black flies might make walking in some areas uncomfortable. I'm thinking of Maine Coastal Gardens near Boothbay which has paths thru pine woods. I would also check to see when some of the great lobster shacks open like the Waterman's (near Rockland). DH loves the Owl's Head Transportation Museum. Check their schedule to see what might be going on during the weekend. When they have antique airplanes flying, it's quite a sight.

There's a great combined antique gallery and used bookstore on the way to Ellsworth - the Chicken Barn. It might be the right time of year for the azalea gardens near Bar Harbor. But if you could change your month to mid-June you could take the Camden House and Garden tour and make a side trip to the Blue Hill Peninsula to see fields of lupines blooming. (The lupine festival and Camden tour may be on different weekends and, to be honest, both times we got rainy mid-June weather.)

Also, in mid-June you're more apt to find rhubarb pie on menus!

If you get even a little bit away from the coast, expect black flies. Insect repellent is a must!!

Thanks so much to all of you for the information. We actually could schedule our trip in early June, so we may at least move it up until then. It sounds like the weather would be less iffy, although I guess the black flies might still be an issue. I really appreciate the suggestions of places to visit and stay as well as the sources for more information.