My husband and I are going up to see relatives in Waterville, ME mid June. We'll be flying into Manchester airport on a Thursday and we'll have Thursday and Friday to visit Portsmouth and Portland. Saturday will be spent in Waterville and then Sunday we'll leave for Bar Harbor and spend Sunday, Monday and Tuesday there. On Wednesday we'll drive back to Manchester for our 5 PM flight. My questions are: Does anyone know of a lovely hotel or B&B in Bar Harbor that won't break the bank? Also, any suggestions for my Thursday and Friday in the Portsmouth/Portland area? And lastly, I'm figuring it will take about 4 hours to drive straight from Bar Harbor to Manchester. Am I correct?
Any thoughts on anything will be appreciated.
Liz

I would say it is closer to 5 hours to drive from Manch to Bar Harbor. It shouldn't take you long to get your bags etc. and leave the airport though. The Manch airport is great and easy to get in/out of. (We use it often since we live 10 minutes away)

Portsmouth is about an hour drive from Manch but it is a straight shoot and really easy. Portland is an hour north of Portsmouth but again it is an easy drive.

The Old Port in Portland is a really nice place to walk around. A lot of cute shops.

-Mary

It takes less than 1 hr. from Peter's house in Waterville to Bangor and 1 hr. from Bangor to Bar Harbor, but less the way Joe drives.

We stayed at a fabulous organic B&B outside of Bar Harbor on our honeymoon in 2002. The owners are warm and friendly and the place is adorable. More modern than frilly. Great prices and excellent breakfasts.

I can't say enough about this place. We had such a wonderful experience. It's called The Yellow Aster and it's in a quiet, cute town called Southwest Harbor which is on Mt. Desert Island. Please report back if you wind up here...I'd love to hear how you enjoyed your stay and how Peter and Bethany are doing. Good luck!
www.yellowaster.com

Liz, I would plan on 5 hours travel. Vacation traffic will play a role in travel time in Maine starting Memorial weekend. Plan for road work on the turnpike aswell.
Have a great time in Maine!

Sue

Have a great time in Maine. You will love it there. It is my favorite place to visit. We live in MA so go there frequently.

There are lots of nice things to do in the Portland area. I can give you some suggestions if you like.

Bar Harbor is very neat also.

I'll be driving up to Camden Me for a weekend of talks, cooking, etc.
"Italy comes to Maine" they have entitled it. What's the traffic like on Friday June 2nd? How long should Lowell, MA to Camden be? We are guests at Camden Inn which is a lovely old yellow Inn owned by an old school friend.
www.camdenhawthorn.com

Hi Mary Jane,

I have a website that I use all the time for directions. It is very accurate and gives nice clear directions. I recently used it to map a trip to Cooperstown, NY and it was letter perfect.

http://local.live.com/?v=2&rtp=pos.42.645430_-71.313145...%20Camden%2c%20Maine

It is called MSN local live.

I do not know if you will be able to open the link where you are in Italy. If you don't I would be happy to send you an email.

Directions say it is 177 miles and 3 hrs. That is about correct from Lowell.

I would suggest that you try to leave Lowell in the morning as the traffic will get heavier as the day progresses. Rte. 95/Maine Turnpike traffic moves along quickly. You will have some tolls along the way.

Good luck. Enjoy your trip. Camden is a lovely area to visit. Have a lobster for me.

Thanks for the informative link. I'll get a regular map for the drive up...we thought Portland was far last time,(stayed at the Percy Inn which is lovely) and gave up on continuing to Aroostook county . The distances are so great compared to Italy.
I'm afraid it will be a bit of culture shock for us. We will be stopping at Rockland to buy fish we'll be preparing for the Saturday evening dinner we are preparing for the guests at the Inn.(they want to eat at 6:30!!)
There is a literary weekend and lots of authors have been invited to speak. I'll be speaking on my 40 year love affair with Italy and signing copies of my latest book. We are bringing our extra virgin olive oil and parmigiano to lend an authentic touch to the meal.

Mary Jane,

Sounds like a lovely time at the Inn. Maybe we'll drive up from MA and crash the party. LOL

Once you hit Portland, then it won't seem that far to Rockland. Aroostook County is way up there. The distances in Maine are much longer than you think. Like driving in Ireland! You think you will never reach your destination.

Portland is one of my favorite places to visit. There are lots of neat things to see there. We were on a New England fall foliage cruise a couple of years ago and docked in Portland. We took the trolley tour around Portland and then a boat tour. It was wonderful. The tour driver was from Boston originally and had done the Boston trolley tours. He had a big white dog (like a Samoyed) that rode the trolley with him and sat in the front seat! It was so funny to see him riding in the trolley. We also visited the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow house. What a treat that was to see where he lived.

Have a great trip and do post when you return to Italy.

We've decided to stay at the Coach Stop Inn near Bar Harbor. Has anyone stayed there? Also, thanks for the tip on the time and the road work warning. I also was kind of hoping that the tourists wouldn't be out till July. Oh well. And to Larry and Debbie, Joe really doesn't drive that fast..........

quote:

Originally posted by Liz F:
I also was kind of hoping that the tourists wouldn't be out till July.

hahah...that is a nice dream! The only time you don't get tourists is April(depending on snowfall), May, last 2 weeks of September, end of November, and December (depending on snowfall).

I'm happy we live in NH now and don't deal with the Maine Turnpike anymore!

Enjoy your time in Maine.

-Mary