O.T. Boston and Bar Harbor trip

[mg2ride]

I'm planning a trip to Boston and costal N.E. this summer for our 25th wedding anniversary. Leaning towards Bar Harbor for the coastal portion of it.

Anyone familiar with the area and can make lodging suggestion? Very likely will just be 3 nights at each location. Would want a B&B or very nice hotel for the costal stay. Not looking to break the bank but willing to spend for luxury.

Any thoughts on lodging or anything else would be great.

Not tied to Bar Harbor.

Wife does not ride so riding is not part of the plan.

[bewheels]

The following are not inn/hotel recommendations, but the following coastal towns that are very nice.

Portsmouth, NH
Portland. ME
Camden, ME
Blue Hill, ME
Deer Isle, ME
Bar Harbor, ME
Southwest Harbor, ME

All of these areas have a very large in flux of people in the summer. It will be important to make reservations early in the smaller towns.

[wc1934]

You are smart to plan ahead. The nice places fill up fast.

[Ken Robb]

Leslie and I drove a loop from Boston to Bar Harbor, across Maine to Moosehead Lake, then to Lake Winnepesaukee(SP?) N.H.We stayed in some cool B+B Inns and had a great time. Acadia Park and environs are terrific. Bar Harbor is VERY touristy and gets especially crowded when cruise ships disembark hordes at the same time. It's still a nice place but the sidewalks get pretty congested. We were glad it was a day trip for us while we stayed in a charming smaller town nearby.

[Coluber42]

I second the advice on booking EARLY. I was riding home last summer down coastal Maine and ended up riding through the night to the train station (on a 90-lb loaded bike) because there was not a room to be had anywhere.

That said, Portland, ME is a surprisingly good food city. There are lots of good restaurants, and they're a bit cheaper than they'd be in Boston. Also a good beer city!

Acadia is really amazing, although there are lots of smaller parks, peninsulas, etc that are also nice. If you go farther up the coast than Bar Harbor the crowds thin out some. Avoid driving through Freeport at peak shopping times because it can be a total zoo.

[schwa86]

If you prefer quieter to more touristy on acadia, I would stay in Southwest Harbor. Several good restaurants and lots of B&Bs without the chaos. Acadia is nice for the range of activities available (hiking, biking, kayaking, etc.) I have more or less spent the past 20+ summers there, so happy to chat offline as needed.

Re Boston: Are you splurging or do you want something more affordable? On the splurging side, you might think about the Charles Hotel in Harvard Sq. -- not too large, a good area to wander around at night, red line will take you anywhere pretty quickly (except when it snows 6 feet in a month)...

[Louis]

From an e-mail my sister sent me 2 years ago for a related question (she lives on the ME mid-coast). There's some bike-related content that may not be relevant to you for this trip.

I would think about 3 fronts of action in
researching vacationing in Maine: 1) the local
bike assoc., 2) the Casco Bay islands and
Vinalhaven or Islesboro, 3) Mount Dessert Island
(MDI) and Acadia Nat'l Park.

1) If long rides with speed (i.e., not family
scenic jaunts) are very important, I would
definitely be very careful about where you go
and/or plan on having to drive yourself to a
cycling route. It's fairly easy to find scenic
drives in Maine, not so easy to find good cycling
for an advanced rider. Contacts:
http://www.mainecyclingclub.com/index.htm ;
http://www.bikeman.com/ [ 115 Main St., US Route
1 Woolwich, ME 04579 1-800-BIKEMAN
1-207-442-7002] ;
http://www.exploremaine.org/bike/ ;
http://www.mainecoastcycling.com/ You'll see
that although the clubs have "Maine" in their
names, they are still largely regional so you'll
get more info about the spots in which they are
located; e.g., the last group is located in
Southern Maine -- not a spot I'd recommend for
peak season vacationing unless you're fond of
crowds, new money, traffic, SUVs, etc etc....
BUT, that said, any of these places can be a
source of info.

2) MDI - Also a popular summer destination in
Maine but because it's much farther up the coast,
it's not quite the suburb of Boston So. ME becomes
in summer. Can be pricey up there -- Martha
Stewart has a house up there, but it's a beautiful
place and there are lots of towns (check out
Ellsworth, Blue Hill, and Stonington off of Deer
Isle - connects by bridge - area) around and away
from the area if MDI proves too crowded/full
up/expensive. That's one thing: Maine gets
expensive in the summer especially for rentals
(food and extras maybe not so much - compared to
NYC etc - if you shop around); if you can do a
housing exchange or something, that'd be a good
thing to look into. However, be prepared for some
of these places to be h*ll and gone away ---
Stonington has to be one of the most beautiful
places around but if your kids are used to being
able to get exactly the flavor of fancy cereal
they demand at the drop of a hat....that can be
tricky out in these pockets of wilderness.

3) This is why I'm kind of a fan of of the island
options. Maine has some really neat islands with
both working ports (i.e., lobstermen -- and women
-- go out regularly and live on these islands) and
year-round residents. This gives you a more
normal and realistic view of Maine life with still
the really striking natural beauty of the place
and also, often, the benefit of small communities
of families who have vacationed in these
communities for years (thinking kids to play with
kids). Most of the islands are rather small and
you wouldn't need a car, so it's very safe for
(older) kids to wander and run about, bike to the
beach etc. And, though the ferries don't run with
the frequency of Washington State Ferries, you can
always get to to either Portland (in the case of
Casco Bay) or Rockland/Lincolnville (in the case
of Vinalhaven/Islesboro). Portland is a great
little city for food and shopping (some touristy,
but still...), often theater and movies
nearby-ish. And that's the thing about Maine --
you'll definitely want to have a car to get around.

So, the key thing, I'd say, is avoid far Southern
Maine (Scarborough/Casco and south), although
Portland and South Portland are neat little cities
to check out (and there's a very snotty vacation
area near there called Prouts Neck, but honestly
the social boost isn't worth the attitude!);
inland can be nice, but then you can get trees and
lakes just about anywhere, so...; I'd say go for
the coast. And don't be shy about calling folks
at the tourist info lines or wherever -- most
people up here are living very low stress and
won't mind taking a minute to give you their take
on things (note "most": we have a lot of
NYC/Boston transplants too....). As an example,
my dear mother and I came to Freeport years ago
(before I'd moved here) and ended up having to
stay the night but all the hotels and inns were
full; someone at LLBean heard us chatting about
what to do and several conversational links later,
we were spending the night in a lovely home, a
sometimes B&B run by the kindest people around.
And our current political leadership
notwithstanding, Maine is still a lot like that.
Good luck!

[buddybikes]

Really depends upon what you are doing. Just driving? Suggest some Maine kayaking if you want something different. If you want quieter but still get up to Acadia, try Blue Hills area - then kayaking in Deer Isle. Southern maine - Scarborough is great if you get a place right on the water. Easy to get into Portland. Another option rather than staying right in Boston is Newburyport, great fun town, then just get on train into the city for the day.

[shovelhd]

If you want to be on the water in Boston take a look at the Marriott Long Wharf. We vacation in southern Maine not the Midcoast but I can suggest places there. On the way you should think about stopping in Portsmouth NH, a great little city on the harbor with excellent shopping and dining.

[rounder]

Bar Harbor is nice, but to me it is just a tourist area. Acadia Park, which is close is a world class destination. It is beautiful there and a good place to ride bikes if that is what you are after.

Deer Isle is also beautiful but different. Stonington is classic Maine coast. Rugged, not developed, worker class but if I was going to catch lobsters for a living, that is where I would want to be.

Camden / Rockport area. Classic Maine coast. Really pretty there. Oceanside mountains, rocky coast all over. Nearby islands: Isleboro, North Haven, Vinal Haven. You can take ferry boats to get there.

I am from Belfast, originally. It is up the coast from Camden.. Working class town. It is being taken over by artist types and has gotten beautiful.

You would not go wrong with any of those places.

[sitzmark]

If you hunt Hotwire.com "hot rates" you might snag a Boston waterfront hotel (Harbor Hotel) or other 4-5 star (InterContinental, Meridien, other) for $200-$300/nite in Boston. If that's the level of "luxury" you're contemplating. Same for Portsmouth, Portland and mid-sized harbor towns.

Fellow Maine Adaptive volunteer owns Pilgrims Inn on Deer Isle, ME. He and his wife are terrific hosts and the food is a fantastic. http://www.pilgrimsinn.com

Acadia is a special place. So many options ...

[mg2ride]

Thanks for all the info and PLEASE keep it coming.

Our timeline has been decided for us. Right after I posted this I got an invitation to my wife's aunt/uncle 50th anniversary in Enfield, CT on July 25. Our anniversery is July 28 so it seems like a natural to work that in the plan.

After reading the above I'm leaning away from Bar Harbor for something a bit less touristy.

There is almost no chance it is not already reserved, but I'm eligible to rent a great little cottage in Portsmouth (http://get.dodlodging.net/propertys/Gull-Cottage).
I can't check availability until Monday but that would be my first choice if I get stupid lucky.

[NHAero]

The Nine Zero on Tremont St is my favorite Boston hotel. Join Kimpton Hotels and look for deals. Just off the Boston Common. Best rooms are the 1705, 1805 corner rooms on the upper floors, amazing view of Boston.

[dziehr]

Acadia is stunning; I recommend rising early and catching the sunrise from the seawall. There are loads of beautiful hikes.

If you're in Portland, ME, Eventide and Fore Street are both phenomenal restaurants. Both are reasonably priced and semifinalists for Beard awards this year. You'll want a reservation for Fore Street.

Between Boston and Portland is Crane Beach, also pretty for a stroll. It's a beautifully preserved New England beach with dunes, windswept grass, and expansive views. I've heard the seawalk in Ogunquit is fantastic but haven't yet been.

Some of my favorite restaurants in Boston are not in the city itself, but closer to where I live (Cambridge). Oleana, Sarma, Alden and Harlow, and Hungry Mother are the first to come to mind. Some of the premiere restaurants in town are No 9 Park (a Barbara Lynch spot) and L'Espalier; I've been to the latter, and it was lovely, but not my style. Check out the Boston Eater 38--you can't go wrong.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by mg2ride

after reading the above i'm leaning away from bar harbor for something a bit less touristy.

+1