janey47

My husband and I will be flying from Los Angeles probably to Boston since there are no direct flights to Maine. We can leave Oct 2-3 and travel 10-11 days including flights. Of course want to see beautiful foliage, towns, maybe lighthouses, take a boat ride, do light hiking. Do we have time and is it a good time to visit White Mountains as well as visit Acadia? We have a friend in Wells, Maine, and I wouldn't mind visiting LL Bean, but its not the most important. Itinerary suggestions with recommended overnights. Not fancy, but no objective to charm here and there!

clarkgriswold

There's another recent thread about October honeymoon in Maine that you might want to take a look at. Also just do a forum search for "foliage" or "New England".

20 mins out of Wells you have the Lake Lovell/Shapleigh area which should be nice for fall colors.

For a nice hike that has a gorgeous view as a reward consider Mt. Major near Alton Bay New Hampshire. Stay at the Bayside Inn or maybe in Wolfeboro.

janey47

Thank you so much for the specific suggestions. That's just the kind of information I need. I have read tons of general foliage/New England info, and I did read the honeymoon couple forum. I want to book lodging in advance having a general idea of where we should be when, and meander around getting there.

dfrostnh

Consider flying into Manchester NH (MHT). For that date, I would go directly to White Mountains. One of the prettiest towns in NH is Center Sandwich which is between Lake Winnipesaukee and the White Mountains. Squam Lake is also nearby (On Golden Pond was filmed there). Best for less traffic if you visit mountains during the week.

From that area you can head east to Maine/Portland area. I would then head north visiting coastal areas. We've stayed at Bay Leaf cottages in Lincolnville ME just north of Camden which is no frills but decent. I would not bother going further north to Acadia since your time is limited and there is so much else to see. Then you could head south to visit LL Bean and your friend in Wells. We have not done the foliage cruise but I would suggest the inland rivers cruise because it's so beautiful any time. You leave out of Portsmouth NH and can walk to dock from parking garage. We did the inland river (Piscataqua) earlier this summer. A few days ago I had lunch with a friend overlooking Portsmouth's harbor area. All the restaurants have rear tables overlooking the water and the decks are all connected so you can walk along. We ate at Surf which is upscale seafood but my husband and I usually do lobster and clam shacks (very casual).

If you want to eat lobster at a picnic table, some lobster shacks are still open Columbus Day weekend but not weekdays. You can get lobster at lots of other restaurants but they just don't have the terrific views.

Also good for a boat ride is the mail boat cruise out of Portland ME. They have some scenic cruises as well as the island stops. In Wells, I have stayed at the Elmwood Resort Hotel which is set up like condos with full kitchens. It's on busy rt 1 but we like having a kitchen and LR.

I don't think you have time for Vermont unless there is a particular place you really really want to see.

janey47

Thanks so much. I don't want to change planes this trip, so Boston it is. Agree no time for Vermont. Do you think it's a bit much doing the river cruise in NH and then out of Portand for the islands? I see why you advise skipping Acadia- will look into it further. Looking forward to the lobster shacks, and will check out Bay Leaf cottages now.

isabel

Distances are not that far and if you wanted you could certainly go as far as Acadia and Vermont in 10-12 days. Depends on what you want to do but a round trip from Boston up to Acadia, over to Vermont and back to Boston in 12 days is not at all over the top. I do agree that most of the Maine coast is gorgeous and you don't have to go all the way to Acadia to see it, but no question Acadia is beautiful. Other 'good' areas along the coast are the Camden Rockport area, Boothbay Harbor area, Portland (Portland Head light house is the 'quintessential' lighthouse, plus there are at least 4 others within a few minutes of it). Kennebunkport, Ogunquit and York are all near Wells.

Depending on the year, Vermont and the mountains of NH can be almost past peak by mid October so if you want best color I would actually start by heading from Boston to Vermont and then work your way back. Even though parts of the Maine coast are further north, the trees turn later (by a week or two) along the coast than they do inland. Columbus Day weekend is usually peak around mid Maine coast.

Here's my photos of some of the areas you are considering: http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/new_england

janey47

Oh no - more choice! (just kidding??)Great photos- thanks. I wish I could be spontaneous but I want to have lodging booked. Recommendations?

clarkgriswold

It's hard to make lodging recommendations without yet knowing what you've decided on as a basic itinerary. How many different places to you anticipate you'll be staying over 10 nights? Would you probably choose 3 areas and base there for 3 nights apiece, or are you looking for more of a road-trip with one-nighters or two-nighters in five or six different locales? Do you prefer to be in the hubbub of the downtowns with dining a walk away or do you like the Bay-Leaf-Cottage type idea where you're isolated and quieter?
I assume you want a variety of some coastal/some lakeside-foliage /mountain areas?

janey47

Tentatively thinking overnight flight to Boston, drive to Jackson/North Conway area, Staying in NH 2-3 nights, longer driving day to Bar Harbor, 3 nights there, drive to Camden/Rockland and stay 1-2 nights, drive to Portand 1-2 nights, drive to Wells, 1 night, and drive to Boston last day for our flight home. Since its just the two of us its not a big deal to stay just 1 night here and there, and we'd like a variety of everything. Because, despite good intentions, we rarely revisit places, if there's some way to go through Vermont it would be nice. Not clear from Isabel's post what we'd have to trade from it.

isabel

Right now you have 7 nights on the coast. You could certainly enjoy that many nights, but you do not NEED that many in order to have a really nice experience. It's totally up to you if you'd rather experience a bit of Vermont rather than spend most of the time on the coast.

One suggestion for 10 nights would be: day one drive from Boston to Brattleboro Vt (just over 2 hours), then head north in Vermont on Rt 100, one of the most scenic roads (www.vermont-byways.us/). Depending on what time your flight lands and how much you want to do the first day would determine how far you go. Brattleboro itself is a cute little town that you could spend the first night in. You could easily go all the way from Brattleboro to Stowe in one day with stopping at cute towns, covered bridges, etc. (www.coveredbridgemap.com/vt/). From there to North Conway NH is three hours not counting stops. Two nights there. Then over to Bar Harbor for 3 nights. Then one each in Camden, Portland and Wells. This is a good site for Maine lighthouses (www.lighthousefriends.com/me.html).

So I would shave two nights from your original plan (maybe one from NH and one from Camden) and add in Vermont.

clarkgriswold

For Bar Harbor I can recommend Emery's Cottages or Edgewater Cottages, or the Best Western Acadia Park.

Portland is a large city and probably not really what you're looking for. It might be nice to spend an afternoon in the Old Port district and have lunch or dinner there on the day that you depart Camden, but then I'd recommend maybe heading 30 mins further south to Kennebunkport for two nights. Fontenay Terrace Motel is perfect if they have a room open, and you'd have an easy hop to Wells, just 15 mins or so.

www.emeryscottages.com
www.edgewaterbarharbor.com
www.fontenayterrace.com

clarkgriswold

For Camden/Rockland....Glen Cove Inn and Mt. Battie Motel are two great places to consider.

dfrostnh

I would do just a single overnight in Jackson/Conway. The traffic is going to be heavy. It all depends on whether you are going to just drive thru the mountains or get out and do things like visit The Flume, drive up the auto road, etc.

Probably yes to question about two cruises being too much.

I would not drive all the way to Stowe. Rt 100 is going to have a lot of traffic if it's a weekend and maybe even during the week. VT tends to have more open field and farm areas but more on the other side of the mountains, closer to Lake Champlain.

If you are staying with your friend in Wells, that's fine but if you are just changing hotels, it's very close to Portland and not worth the move.

janey47

Now we are starting the trip Oct 5, driving that morning to NH or... where in Vermont. If we shave 1 night from Camden and 1 from Portland, this gives a little more room. Would we see different scenery from what we'll see in the White Mountain area? If there's not a lot of stops we'd probably want to make, we'd be in Battlesboro well before noon. It is during the week, so dfrostnh, where would you recommend we stop for one night either on the way to Stowe, or skipping it as you suggest? We do want to get out of the car and I wouldn't cut a night in NH.