bbvb

Hi,

What is the best road to take from southern Maine to Bar Harbor? MapPoint shows taking I95 almost the entire way (taking about 3 hours 36 minutes from Kennebunkport). If I change the path to use Route 1 it shows as taking 3 hours and 50 minutes (14 minute difference).

We aren't in a rush and it looks like Route 1 would be the most scenic......right?

Thanks!

Hubster

Go rte 1 for sure, but plan on making more stops along the way in places such as Freeport, Bath, Rockland, Camden and Belfast. The scenery makes it all worthwhile.

tedwjones

we were just up there. rt 1 was indeed scenic - goes thru many costal small villiages. little view of the sea like in california though. problem is you can hit one slow car and be held up for some time. i-95 was scenic in its own way - many trees and no road signs. we were more frustrated with rt 1 than it was worth, but we had a deadline. consider going up rt 1 when you have time and come back on i-95? i-95 does have some tolls though, though our rental had a pass and we went right thru.

elberko

We've always found MUCH more time difference between the 2. We used to go up fast (95), and home slow (Rt 1), but recently have just gone 95 both ways.

I don't want to say Rt 1 ISN'T scenic, but not as much as you might think. Not that much of it is actually within view of ocean, there is a lot of slow going through towns.

~Liz

rkkwan

It's way more than 14 minutes difference. Maybe in the middle of winter (with no snow), but in the summer time? No way.

And elberko is correct that it's not like Rte 1 is hugging some dramatic coastline all the way. Far from it. The fun thing is to go through the towns, seeing some ocean, etc.

One only needs to do it once or twice. For people who've done it multiple times, like elberko, it makes sense to just stick with the freeway.

Also, there's no toll difference. From Brunswick, where you go off to Rte 1, to Bangor, there's no toll on I-95. Now, you can continue on the Maine Turnpike/I-495 when you hit Portland; but that's optional.

dfrostnh

You can hit some major traffic slowdowns during certain times in scenic Camden and Wiscasset. Wiscasset is just before Boothbay but there's a narrow bridge between the two. We found heavy traffic and backups during commuting hours. Downtown Camden is almost always stop and go (lots of pedestrians crossing the street) but it is a pretty downtown. I would not go route 1 from Kennebunkport and am skeptical of the time estimate. We stay on Rt 95 until we get to Brunswick. There are lots of places on Rt 1 that are not scenic.
BTW on a Friday night you could probably double that time estimate.

bassharborbaby

Hello. 'Best' might be somewhat relative. If you want to get to Mount Desert quickly take 95 to 395 to 1A to 3 *or* 95 to 295 back to 95 to 395. Or 95 to 3 (exit 113? Augusta). I would not consider taking Route 1 before that Augusta turn-off heading north. The traffic can be slow (pedestrians, flea markets and RVs) and I would add 2+ hours - more for Friday/Saturday. There is so much scenery here at Acadia that the extra time in stop and go traffic isn't attractive. Have a great trip.