Wondering which airport is recommended for a fall trip. Flying in via Chicago or Minneapolis.
Hope to drive to see typical fall sites, Maine coast & possibly Nova Scotia.
I'm not familiar with the area airports & wondering if one has more flights, better starting point since we'd prefer not driving up from Boston?

Driving up from Boston/Logan airport isn't bad but usually the rental car price will negate any savings you found on airfare. Just plan that your arrival time does not coincide with the worst northbound traffic of the day ie 4pm to 7pm.

Manchester NH probably has lower priced flights than Portland Maine but again, check your car rental prices.

Portland would be preferred, if you find a decent car price book it asap as they do sell out if by "fall" you mean leaf peaping/first week in October ish.

We flew into Hartford CT for our NE and Maritime Provinces trip as it was cheapest.

Manchester NH is less than an hour from the seacoast. The trickiest thing would be figuring out which exit from the airport that is closest to Rt 101. Since they put in a new main entrance off the Daniel Webster Hwy, I find it confusing. The old Brown Ave exit is the closest for getting on Rt 101 East. In Portsmouth, I highly recommend an inland rivers cruise. The boat dock is within walking distance of the parking garage. Maine is across the bridge from Portsmouth.

But typical fall sights are north on I93 or I293 (they both end up as I93 north of Manchester) to NH's Lakes Region and White Mountains. You listed VT which is an easy switch from I93 to I89.

Portland would be fine. If you want to go to NH's White Mountains, they are about 1 hour west of Portland. But keep in mind there aren't a lot of east/west routes in northern New England so if you want to visit NH and VT, I don't think Portland is convenient.

Tip: heading north on I93 is the nicest approach to the mountains since the hwy is kind of scenic once you get north of Manchester NH. I93 cuts right through NH's White Mountains so as you go north, the view keeps getting nicer.

Alamo is showing some very good rates in Portland right now so if you know your dates of travel you might want to book a car just in case you end up flying into Portland. Rates will double soon, and you can always cancel the reservation if you end up flying into Boston or Manchester.

Airfares into Portland look pretty high but I don't know your dates.

Got my flight reservation & car (Alamo) into Portland.
Arriving Sunday, October 4. & staying until Thursday the 8th

Suggested itinerary to sees the colors, some short hikes, and the Maine coast?

How early do you arrive on Sunday, and how much time do you have for sightseeing on your departure day?

Aside from that, you have 3 full days to explore so I definitely think Nova Scotia is out. The fall colors are not concentrated near the coastal towns so you'd have to base yourself on the coast and take day drives into the lake areas, or are you thinking of road-tripping and doing 3 or 4 separate overnights in various locations along the way?

http://www.fodors.com/search/results...=Maine+October

I don't blame you for not wanting to drive in/out of Boston.
There are several Amtrak Downeaster trains per day between Boston North station and Portland . The fare is in the $20 range per person each way. Rent the car in Portland when you get there.
You probably don't want to drive a US based rental car into Canada anyway.

Yankee Magazine voted Camden at one of the best fall foliage locations. You can hike up Mt Battie for the fantastic view overlooking the harbor. We like to take a picnic there but usually visit during the summer. You can get a map to the conservation areas in the Harpswells (east of Brunswick), some of which are easy hikes. Brunswick is a college town but the Harpswells are very rural. Keep in mind some of the lobster shacks in Maine are weekends only in September and early October with Columbus Day weekend the last weekend but there are plenty of other restaurants.

You really only have three days.

Here is what I would do.

Sunday -- explore Portland
Monday -- Portland to Littleton, NH, via Kancamagus Highway
Tuesday -- Littleton, NH, to Camden, ME, via US 2

These two days will give you maximum leaf exposure and maybe some snow on the summits of the White Mountains.

Wednesday -- Camden to Brunswick, ME, hugging the coast line
Thursday -- Brunswick to Portland airport

Because NE is pretty small, most of these days involve less driving than it looks like and they all go through places where you will enjoy getting out and walking around, e.g., Bethel, ME.

Much of the leaf peeper traffic will head west into Vermont after the Kancamagus, so you won't find things horribly packed. The Littleton Diner is famous for breakfast, for good reason.

I cannot emphasize enough that you will not see any of the coast of Maine from the main highways (US 1) between Rockland and Brunswick. You have to get off on the back roads that go to places like Port Clyde. From Brunswick, you can go to Orr's Island, Bailey's Island, Cundy's Harbor, South Harpswell, and so on.

Thanks for the replies.
We arrive before noon on Sunday, so we'd have time to get out of town. Getting into Canada does seem ambitious.

Orginial plan was:
Drive to VT/NH & base in one spot for 2 nights.
Drive to Bar Harbor for night 3: explore Acadia NP.
Return to Portland for last night & morning flight home.

Wold Littleton be a good base for this?

We recently enjoyed Rt 2 to Skowhegan and then Deer Isle area. It's very rural and the kind of route we like but you would want to pick out your lunch spot ahead of time. Maybe there are more options when you head toward Camden instead of Skowhegan. It is 3 1/2 hours from Littleton to Camden.

If OP wants to spend two nights in the same place, I don't think Ackislander's route is going to work.

I think original plan to explore Acadia then drive to Portland for last night is too much in one day considering the long boring drive on I95. Generally, too much driving time compared to scenic time.

After plotting the drive times, that's what I'm thinking too. We'll save the coast for a summer trip.

We've found a B&B near Littleton, NH that we're planning to stay at for nights 2&3. We now need suggestions for arriving @ noon, seeing some coastline near Portland & then a place to stay before heading into the White Mountains.
Any place nice near Sebago Lake?