Bar Harbour, Maine??

Laurathemidwife

Hey ladies-

Anyone ever vacationed there, lived there, been there, honeymooned there?

It Sounds nice to me on a limited budget but I can't actually pin anything specific 'to do' there.

Any help?

LaFemmeRousse

Hi!  I have vacationed there with FI when we lived in New England.  It's BEAUTIFUL, one of the most breathtaking spots in the country.  We stayed in town and spent most of our time hiking in Acadia National Park.  It can definitely be very affordable!

Are you thinking of spending your honeymoon there?  If so, depending on how long you have, I might suggest combining it with another spot or two in coastal Maine.  We did this for an eight-day vacation awhile back and it was wonderful and romantic.

Sue-n-Kevin

You mean Bah-Hahbah? Just kidding, New England accent.

I lived near Bah-stun (Boston) for 6 years. I also vacationed in Maine, up and down the coast. It is fabulous! Fly into Portland ME, rent a car and drive up and down the coast. If you don't like hiking & stuff, just the small shops up and down the coast are great, there's some historical sites, and great B&B's if you don't want a hotel.

Depending on how long you want to stay, you could head south from Portland to York Beach, a cute kitschy town, then head north along the coast and see the lighthouse at Neddick, Kennebunkport, Old Orchard Beach, and continue to Bar Harbor. Or, you could just go to Bar Harbor and go to sites around there. There are whale watch cruises, lots to do. Especially, eat lobster if you love it!

Word of caution: that far north, the ocean is VERY cold even in July & August. You can sun bathe, and it's warm enough, but the water is quite cold if you are not used to it.

Good luck!

katanne9

Maine is beautiful in the summer. I've lived in Boston for the last 6 years.

I would recommend daytrips to Camden and Scarborough if you have the time.

valpal2286

I live near Bar Harbor and it would a nice place to visit if you like being outdoors.  There is Acadia National Park (which takes up most of the island) and there are numerous trails to hike from easy to strenuous day hikes.  Also in the park there are carraige trails  that you can bike or walk on which follow along lakes and have nice places to have a picnic.  They also do have horse drawn carraige rides on the trails, but I have never been on one.  And the park loop road is something worth seeing and has a campground on it.  A week long pass for the loop road was $10 last summer.  There is also a free bus service (www.exploreacadia.com) that runs in the summer from different places on Mount Desert Island and Ellsworth. 

There are also lots of little shops and restaurants in Bar Harbor, but warning some of the restaurants can get expensive.  There are lots of whale watching boats, sea kayaking, and museums.  There are a few places that have nightlife too, right in town.   I'm not sure what the cost of hotels are but they do go up in the summer, but depending on when you were going on your honeymoon you could save a lot (the rates drop after labor day)  and if you decided to stay outside of Bar Harbor you would save money too.  If you wanted to do that I would suggest staying in Ellsworth (off island) or in Southwest/ Northeast Harbor. 

There is construction work being done on route 1A from Bangor, ME so if you were driving in from the south I would take route 1 which runs along the coast and has some beautiful views.

I hope all this info helps!