Philadelphia to Bar Harbor1
 

Hello, we are travelling with our 11 year old twin boys this summer in late June/early July and would like to spend about 10 days total travelling from our hometown outside of Philadelphia to Bar Harbor, Maine. My husband is not too crazy about the long drive to Maine all in one shot, so we'd like to break it up with some nice stops along the way and back- maybe spending about 2 to 3 days or so in each spot. Does anyone have any suggestions for an itinerary? Many thanks!

> we'd like to break it up with some nice stops

Please define a "nice" stop.
Urban? Rural? Historic? Scenic? Educational? Lots of amusements? Lots of quiet? Upscale shops? Bargain shops? NO shops? Beach? Mountain? Forests?

There are hundreds of "nice" places along the way. Problem is, a place *I* consider nice may be horrendous to you, and vice-versa. So, unless and until we get an idea of what YOU are looking for, neither I nor anybody else can tell where YOU will find what YOU are looking for. All that will happen is people telling you what THEY like.

Which, experience has taught me, is exactly what will happen.

Using 11 yo boys as a guideline and late June/early July.
Schedule 4th of July for Bath ME. Big parade. They also celebrate Bath Heritage Days around the same time with a craft fair, midway, etc. Also have a great Saturday farmers market.
Get a list of farmers markets from the State of Maine Dept of Agriculture. This will be an important resource for tasty baked goods and fresh berries. You should have fresh strawberries at that time of year. You can also buy locally made yogurt - bring picnic equipment so you can put the two together for snack break.

But York ME has a pretty good 4th of July parade or did have back when we used to do family cookouts there. Great sandy beaches. Walk to the Nubble lighthouse, stop for ice cream. Buy salt water taffy at the Goldenrod and watch the taffy pulling machine. There's an amusement park but I'm not sure how good it is.

There will be many places where you can rent a kayak either on a river or ocean. You can rent kayaks with two seats so each boy can paddle with a parent. Pick a place where you can also picnic during your paddle.

Not sure where you might stay coming and going to break up the long drive. Southern NH might still be too long a drive but I'm thinking of Canobie Lake in Salem NH or the water park on Rt 1 Portsmouth (Water Country). You can probably find something sooner, maybe around Springfield MA. If you make it to Portsmouth, there is also the Seacoast science center, events at Prescott Park, the Albacore sub, etc. Sandy beaches at Hampton or Rye area.

On the return trip, you could swing thru NH's White Mountains with tons of stuff to do but that might still be a little far from home. NYC to White Mtns is probably about 7-8 hours. Actually, because of the distance, I might choose White Mountains/Lake Winnipesaukee area as an alternative to Bar Harbor.

Rhode Island is fun - Newport or Block Island.

Madison Beach Hotel-Madison, CT
Mystic Aquarium-Mystic, CT.
Minor League B/ball-Harbor Yard-Bridgeport, CT

Thank you everyone for your help! Very much appreciated...to PaulRabe, you are correct, I should have been more specific in what types of activities, etc. my boys would enjoy and what we consider "nice"- your feedback is helpful to me for futher questions, and I will keep such in mind. Thanks!! Elinda

http://www.higgins.org/ A cool armory museum that is closing at the end of the year. You will drive thru Worcester so it's on your route.

Sturbridge Village is on your route...if you stop there, go to BT's Smokehouse for some great BBQ.

Boston is a good midway spot. Also stop in New Haven for Pizza.

There are other minor league baseball parks along your route, like Norwich CT, Pautucket RI. to name a couple.

Mystic Seaport and/or Mystic Aquarium would make nice stops.

The Native American museum at Foxwoods Casino is also a great stop for kids and adults.

10 days is not a lot of time to drive from Philly to Bar Harbor and make several stops along the way. All of the previously mentioned suggestions are great diversions, so I'd pick one or two at most then continue to BH. Acadia National Park is wonderful, and you could easily spend your entire vacation there, your kids will love it. (We live in Maine and often go there for a week, or a few days at a time)