Jon_Eric

Hi everyone! Planning my annual "escape from heat and humidity" trip for July and I'm leaning towards the beautiful state of Maine. Its hard to narrow down an area of the state to concentrate on though. Biking, hiking, theatre, historical sites and cruises are all of interest to me. My first thoughts went to perenial favorite, Kennebunkport, but Camden also looks beautiful. Boothbay Harbor seems popular, but there doesn't seem to be as much there for the single traveler. I also considered making Portland a base or even spending half of my time, 3 nights, there and 4 nights in one of the smaller towns. Regarding lodging I prefer small and historic over large and modern. Thanks for any suggestions!
Jon-Eric, New Orleans, La.

mrsbu

Hi Jon
My Mom lives in Maine and you will not be escaping the heat and or humidity unless you stay in the Coastal area. Kennebunkport and Bar Harbour are nice areas to visit and I believe you can also take a ferry to NOva Scotia from Bar Harbour.
Have you considered one of the island off the coast of massacusetts. Marths Vineyard or Nantucket .

KenCT

Doesn't seem as if MrsBU has been to New Orleans in July. Compared to that, anyplace in Maine is going to seem positively frigid. I think your plan to base yourself in Portland is a good one - Southwest has excellent fares between there and MSY. There are many things for the single traveller. Off the top of my head: A market similar to the one on Decatur, but not as large; the Portland Museum of Art is a really great small musuem to keep in mind for a rainy day; harbor cruises on the Bay, an LLBean factory outlet.

After a couple of days, you can rent a car and drive south along the coast. Camden and Boothbay Harbor are beautiful, and you could spend an morning or afternoon in either one, but I agree that there wouldn't be much to do for someone on his/her own.

Kennybunk, York, Wells, and Ogunquit would all be excellent places to spend a couple of nights. Ogunquit has a summer theater. Every year, I save one day to bike from Ogunquit to Kennybunk and back, taking back roads along the coast. Just beautiful, with well-placed lobstuh stands along the way.

JoeyJoJoJr_Shabadoo

We went to Ogunquit last summer and the beach is great, but people aren't kidding about the crowds and traffic. You might want to head further north. I would like to get back up to Acadia Nat'l Park, but for all I know that might be crowded in July-Aug. too.

theladyjess

Acadia would be good for biking/hiking. If you're looking for a quiet typical "Maine" coastal town, go to Castine. They have a wonderful bed and breakfast, The Castine Inn. It has been featured in Bon Appiete. The food there is excellent. Castine also has lots of history and is home to Maine Maritime Acadmey. The schools training ship will be returning from summer cruise in July.
Just remember, their are some places in Maine that "you can't get there from here."

Bob_C

We have found Camden to be a good base. You can go down to Freeport and shop at LL Bean or go North to Bar Harbor. You can go sailing for 2 hours or for 2 days. Each evening we would walk down to the harbor for dinner. Just a great little town. The place we have stayed in the past has sold so this year we staying (for the first time) at the Blackberry Inn.

ARKANSASNURSE

Mrsbu was correct, you can take a ferry from Bar Harbor to Nova Scotia, it's only 2.5 hours and worth it, you can rent bikes there. People in the South do not think 70-80 degrees and 75% humidity is sweltering. Come to Arkansas in the July August times and watch the roads melt.

Jon_Eric

LOL Arkansasnurse, we sure dont. It's 80 degrees NOW lol.

mrsbu

Well here in Connecticut and up in Maine we have snow yes April 8th and it's snowing. There was a blizzard in Maine on Saturday. Enough aboutt hat if you go to Acadia which is basically Bar Harbour there is a ton of stuff to do.
There is all Acadia has to offer, there are Boat trips to see the Puffins, also I believe another boat trip, which we couldn't take because unlike most boat trips they did not allow dogs on the boats. If you go down to the docks in Bar Harbour you can actually pick your lobster from the "pond" and watch them cook it for you.
There are some great roads for biking that are very scenic but last summer the July weather was roughly in the 100's and very very humid. This was lead into by a terrible black fly season in MAy and June and a misquito season so bad they clung to your clothes and made out door activities almost impossible.
I would stick with your original ideas of Kennebunkport and Camden. Portland not as Mainey as ypu would think, it was voted the fastest growinf city in 2001 or 2002. So if you idea of cute and Maine includes Pier One and The Mall Portland may ne it.