Planning a Maine vacation

[elleminopee]

Man, has it been a long time since I posted here.

I'm planning a vacation to Maine. Will happen probably in September. Here are my plans so far based on online research.

Planning to fly into somewhere close to Boston (Providence or Manchester, NH maybe). From there drive up the coast of Maine with stops in Rockport and Bar Harbor. After that drive to Novia Scotia if practical. Then back to Boston area to fly home.

Rockport and Bar Harbor seem to have good lighthouses. Bar Harbor seems to have good whale watching, lighthouse, and nature cruises (2-4 hours). Nova Scotia as well.

I was considering taking the ferry back from Nova Scotia to Maine. It saves time, but it's god-awful expensive.

I'm looking for any recommendations, tips, corrections, suggestions, warnings, advice, you name it. Specific topics might be how long to spend in each place, best place to do whale watching tours, and the best way to get back from NS area to Maine. I should mention that I have two children (7,9) and a pregnant wife, so camping, rafting, etc are out of the question.

Any help from those who live in the area or have vacationed there before is extremely appreciated.

[Linus]

If only there was a regular poster here who lived in Maine.

[tommie frazier]

it will save you 2 hours of driving if you can take southwest into manchester insteda of providence. (I'm guessing you will be on SWA given the two options)

maine-iac should be along to tell you about what to do, although it is probably like 4 hours from her home.

definitely spend time hiking in acadia natl park.

nova scotia is pretty too.

[Wigmeister General]

... and if you love lighthouses, take the "lighthouse trail" on Nova Scotia.

Don't fly into Providence - it's in the wrong direction. Manchester or Boston are better choices.

There's pretty good whale watching from Boston harbor, leaving near the Boston Aquarium, if you fly into Boston and want to break up the trip.

I guess you're not looking for swimming at that time of year, but "tidepooling" is fun, especially for kids. I don't have any good recommendations, but you might look into rocky shorelines where you can poke around for hermit crabs and sea urchins and star fish and whatnot.

[elleminopee]

OK, thanks, Providence is out.

Concerning Nova Scotia. I've been unable to make up my mind how important that part of the trip is. It's quite a lot of extra driving time. Is there really that much extra/better stuff to do there than the coast of Maine or is it just more scenic drives and whale watching cruises. You can do all that off the coast of Maine. Is NS really much incremental value?

[Jack]

I went on a seal watch and a whale watch during my visit to Acadia. Both were awesome.

I didn't do a kayak tour of the Island but I wish I did.

Hiking is a must, You need to get out of the car to really appreciate the Island.

Eat lobster rolls. Why wife must have eaten at least six lobsters and 3 dozen piss clams while we were there.

We stayed at a hotel that had an outdoor hot tub. The temperature was in the high 30's at night so it was fun running from the hotel room to the hot tub. The hotel itself was a dump but the view we had was breathtaking.


I would have loved to taken the ferry to N.S. but we didn't have the time.
We also visited a lobster nursery.

I was hoping to see puffins and moose but unfortunately saw neither but we did see many bald eagles. I also saw foxes and deer but I see them at home also.

Stopping at Jordon's Pond for popovers and tea will make you wife happy and then you can con her into taking a hike around the pond. Or given that your wife is knocked up she can have some alone time eating popovers and tea while you take the kids for a hike around the pond.

[Wigmeister General]

If you go to Acadia, check out "Thunder Hole". Also, consider going up to Cadillac Mountain for the sunrise. (Supposedly, it is the first place to get the sun in the U.S.)

[Merk]

IMO, fly to Manchester (less congested than Boston and much better prices than Portland), then head up the Maine coast to the acadia national park area. Feel free to take the scenic route (something like Route 1) and plan some stops along the way. Skip NS. You are correct in thinking Nova Scotia is not much extra bang for your buck.

Acadia national park is excellent. I agree with seeing thunder hole, tidepooling and Cadillac mountain (you can drive to the top), plus other sights. You can drive through the park. There are also "carriage trails" throughout the park for hiking and biking (you can rent the bikes). So that gives you a lot of options with the wife being preggers. Bar Harbor has tons of accomodations and excellent food and plenty to do (I'd say just get online and look up the options).

A word of caution: Do not get seafood at a roadside lobster house with the cheapest price! It will probably be as tough as shoe leather. Eat seafood at a decent restaurant, a place the locals eat, or buy lobster at a lobster pound (meeting the locals is an experience) and cook it yourself.

[Wigmeister General]

... Another airport is Portland Jetport. It's small, but it puts you an 90 minutes from Bah Hahbah