New England States
 

We are going to be staying in Falmouth, MA for 1 week at the end of September. We want to see the cape cod area (no problem) and also would like to see some places in Bar Harbor, Me. Is this at all feasible considering the distance? Is there a rail trip we could take?<BR><BR>

Falmouth, MA to Bar Harbor, ME is just over 350 miles, just over 3 hours, driving, and there is no rail service between the two.

Wow 3 hours from Falmouth,MA to the MDI.Some times it takes 3 hours to get past the big dig.

Three hours for 350 miles??<BR>You just average 115 miles per hour and you should have no problem all.

There is a train that runs from Boston's North Station to Maine... The Downeaster, but I don't know if it is really convienent to Bar Harbor, you would have to check it out. Amtrak has a website, www.amtrak.com, you could look it up and find out. But I agree that getting to / through Boston from Falmouth is what will be the tricky part. Even on the weekends, Boston traffic can suck. <BR>I have never done 350 miles driving in 3 hours, as you would have to go over 115 miles per hour. It's more like 5 hours away, if you average 65 miles and hour.

Maybe 3 hrs as the crow flies, but ain't NO way you'd make that Falmouth to Bar Harbor road trip in that time frame. <BR>

We just drove last Saturday from Bar Harbor Maine to Manchester, NH (about 45 min. west of Portsmouth, NH) and it took us almost 6 hours. (interstate driving all the way). The traffic jams at the tollbooths took FOREVER!!! End of Sept. will probably be better than it was last weekend, but I'm guessing it's gonna take you 6 hrs. from Falmouth, MA.

Traffic at the end of September might NOT be better, considering that it will probably be the height of foliage season up there.

Bar Harbor is just too far and there is a lot of Maine to see in between. Consider just traveling to the Kennebunks or maybe as far as the Bath/Brunswick area. Part of the fun of exploring Maine is taking side roads and discovering a great little lobster shack and a good view of the ocean/working harbor. The further north you go, the less crowded it will be but in general, the popular weekend get-away places like Boothbay and Camden will be booked up into October. Spend more time walking a beach and less time in a car.

Bar Harbor is a LONG trip. Maine is a huge state and many folks underestimate time and mileage between coastal areas.<BR>Bath is a great city to visit and is about 1-1 1/2 hours over the Maine state border. Great beaches at Popham in Phippsburg, south of Bath and Reid State Park in Georgetown. Visit Maine Maritime Museum and have lunch in the new Long Reach Hall there (11 a.m. - 3 p.m. daily) and sit outside on the deck overlooking the mighty Kennebec River.<BR>This Thursday, Aug. 15th, the USS Winston Churchill destroyer will head south on the Kennebec from its repair visit at Bath Iron Works and go back out to sea.

Donna, I'd like to hire you for my next trip to Bar Harbor. I've never done it in less than 5 - and I'm coming from Boston! Marcia, forget Maine - it's too far. Enjoy your time in the Cape and save Maine for a seperate 1 week vacation.

As is obvious to everyone, the 3 hours should have been 6 hours - a typo. The mileage is correct and anyone could (and did) calculate the correct time with that mileage. <BR><BR>Over the last four or five years, I have frequently contributed lots of useful information, tips, and experiences on this forum, overlooking anonymous folks like "saugus", "wow", "formerNewEnglander", and "Frank", who love to pick on the responses of others, or worse, and have nothing useful to offer otherwise. I've decided to join the very long list of those who no longer participate.

Oh, Donna, lighten up and stop banging your spoon against your highchair. They only corrected your mistake so as not to mislead the original poster.<BR><BR>OK, now you can go away.

For Marcia, now that you know that Bar Harbor is at least a six hour car ride from Falmouth, and that there are no rail excursions available, it's up to you whether to go for a visit. If you really want to visit Bar Harbor, go for it!<BR><BR>To nodonna: It's because of people like you that dozens of people have stopped coming here and giving others valuable information not available elsewhere - along with many insider tips and recommendations not available in the tour guides. One after another has gotten fed with the likes of you and has gone away. Such a shame.

Donna, yes, we know you made an honest mistake, but people who don't know the area don't know whether it was the mileage or the number of hours that were wrong! ("The mileage is correct and anyone could (and did) calculate the correct time with that mileage.")<BR>I think that people were just humorously pointing out that one or the other must be incorrect. There's no reason to pick up your crayons and go away... (that's an attempt at humor too :) <BR>"

The end of September is one of the loveliest times to visit Bar Harbor. It is not a "leaf peeper" destination, and you will not run into fall traffic (they'll all be headed to the mountains), and you do not have to drive anywhere near the BIG DIG to get there. While it looks much farther on a map, it's really less than 20 miles farther (and well worth it) to go via I-95, rather than taking I-95 through the City of Boston. I would caution, though, that Bar Harbor is totally fogged in something like 300 out of 365 days, and it does not burn off by noontime...making a one or two day trip quite risky.

I made the trip at the end of Sept 2001, it was about eight hours on all interstate and not a very interesting drive, Bar Harbor was worth it, but I had 2 weeks and we also did Cape Cod. Save yourself the rush, go out and enjoy the cape, save Maine for another trip. By the way, they are very similar in shopping and sights save for Acadia, which everyone should experience once.

You jerks above, and you know who you are and are obviously proud of your conduct, abuse this forum and have chased many people off. But, what goes around comes around. You have nothing to offer and you'll reap no benefits either. Some day, if you ever grow up, you'll be really embarrassed by the way you used to be.

Message to Donna/djbooks: please re-consider. Several years ago you helped me get the phone number for the carriage ride in Portsmouth NH. We had a wonderful ride and my MIL enjoyed it immensely. I always enjoy reading your posts. Please stay!

Too bad and Donna: You can't take a good natured ribbing on an internet chat board? Nobody here personally attacked you. All they did was clear up an obvious mistake with some jokes. It makes you wonder how you actually survive in the real world if you can't even handle a chat board.

The "banging spoon" comment was not good-natured ribbing. I agree that there are some people who "tune in" to every thread for the sole purpose of putting someone down. These immature, attention-craving people have made posting here like walking through a mine-field. The gratuitous mean-spiritedness and the wise-ass nastiness is the hallmark of people who somehow never got past their 12th birthday, but it's really trashed the experience of exchanging travel info here. <BR><BR>You know who you are, esp. the ones who post as "xxx" and with smart-ass phrases instead of names. If we left the world, or this forum, entirely to you and people like you, you'd choke on the poisonous atmosphere.

"esp. the ones that post as xxx with smart-ass phrases instead of names"???<BR><BR>Like "Ujerk" and "xx" in your own response. Hmm.<BR>

I'm one of those who used to participate often (responding whenever I had good first-hand knowledge to offer) and found that the predominance of trolls was just too tiresome to make it enjoyable or worthwhile. So, I've been a lurker. Just visiting to accumulate information and tips, but rarely responding to any inquiries. That's what the anonymous jerks, who enjoy disrupting this forum and have twisted ideas of "jokes" and "fun" do to this forum.

Way too far...<BR>The DownEaster goes as far as Portland. That might be fun for an overnighter. It's also a pretty easy drive up Rt. 95 to many lovely closer places: Ogunquit, Kennebunkport. Book accommodations asap, however, since foliage season makes it tight.

I don't know if this article is available online. I read about the 'Down Easter' in the Sun Sentinel newspaper (story was in Sunday's Travel section). The DownEaster is a train that runs out of Boston, MA (North Station) up through NH and ends/starts in Portland, Maine. Trip takes 3 hours and sounds like an excellent way to experience the fall foliage in New England. The train also stops in Saco, ME, however doesn't go to Bar Harbor. They advise it's best to make advance reservations. In the article, it sounded like a comfortable train and especially designed with large windows so you can experience the sights.<BR><BR>http://www.thedowneaster.com/<BR>

Yes, the story is available in the Sun Sentinel's online version. Here's the overview, per Dale Koppel:<BR><BR>--- Tracking the foliage ---<BR>Be the first on your block to see spectacular New England fall foliage from the comfort of The Downeaster, a passenger train with service from Portland, Maine, to downtown Boston.<BR><BR>Train service from Portland to Boston started in 1842, but this is the first time in 30 years that Mainiacs have had access to Beantown by rail. And vice versa. The Downeaster made its maiden voyage out of Portland in December 2001. Covering 116 miles, it makes two stops in Maine: Saco (say, Socko)/Biddeford (say, Bid a fud) and Wells, and three stops in New Hampshire: Dover, Durham and Exeter, before making two stops in Massachusetts: Haverhill (say, Hay vrill) and Saugus before reaching its final destination (Boston's North Station). The 65 miles (130 miles, really, if you think of it as looking out the west-side window when you're heading south and the east-side window heading back north) of New Hampshire and Maine vistas are the most breathtaking, from an autumnal eye candy point of view. You can do the trip in a day, but a week is the ideal amount of time to spend.<BR>

Bar Harbor is well worth the trip up there (try 8 realistic hours from the cape)....go for it if you want, but I suggest to you that there is plenty to do in the cape for 2 weeks. and plenty to do in Bar Harbor/Acadia for 2 weeks. I suggest them separately, maybe do a day trip to kennebunk/ogunquit (about 1.5 hours from boston).

Falmouth to Bar Harbor is at LEAST 6-7 hrs. driving. I would pick one or the other, but not both if you are only staying one week.