Hi all. We%26#39;re planning a 9 day trip in late August with 13/16 year olds. Want to combine the action of Boston with the beauty of Maine. We could fly Portland one way and Boston the other. Love the idea of Acadia National Park - but is that too far? Thinking 3 days in Boston, then drive north - where should we stop? Don%26#39;t want to spend too much time in the car. Or are we better off starting in Portland - heading to Bar Harbor for a few nights - stopping in one city on the way back down (which one?) then 3 nights in Boston to finish? I%26#39;d appreciate your thoughts - we love good food, hiking, biking, - would love to go whale watching, maybe kayak. Thanks for your advice!
Maine/Boston with 2 Teens - Advice???I don%26#39;t know that this is advice, but here are a few things to put into your equation.
Travel time via the interstate route to Acadia/Bar Harbor is roughly five hours and change from Boston, three hours from Portland.
If you decide to hit Acadia first, then on the way back, you could travel the coastal route---Camden might be a good stopping place in that event. The coastal route (Rte 1) will take you down to Freeport and L.L.Bean, after which you can jump onto the interstate and be in Boston in about three hours. The coastal route is slower going, but with a mid-way stop should be manageable.
In terms of things to do and places to stay:
%26lt;www.visitmaine.com%26gt; a statewide resource
%26lt;www.acadiamagic.com%26gt; focus on Acadia N.P. and Mount Desert Island.
Maine/Boston with 2 Teens - Advice???You don%26#39;t really need a car to see Boston unless you%26#39;re thinking of getting out of town--to Salem, to Concord, to the Cape, etc. Driving in Boston is horrible and parking is expensive. So, you want to do eliminate a car there if at all possible.
And, three days is enough to get a great taste of Boston. I just got back from a 2 1/2 day Boston trip where I met my sister, and her 14 and 15 year olds and we packed a lot into those days. We did everything on foot or via ';the T'; Boston%26#39;s public transportation system. We got a pass for each person--for $15 per person we had all our transportation paid for including their airport connection.
(You can take the subway to/from the airport.)
My suggestion is to put Boston at the start or begnning (not the middle) so you can avoid paying to rent and park a car.
Boston to Portland (or vice versa) is doable via the Downeaster Train. I took it for my trip and loved it. So, you might even fly into Boston, do your three days there, then take the train to Portland and get your rental car in Portland.
See http://www.thedowneaster.com/
Definitely go to Acadia.
Ditto to everything that has been said. I%26#39;ll offer a few specific suggestions.
In Boston - Have you seen the performance of Blue Man Group? If you haven%26#39;t, and unless you have no tolerance for off the wall performance based theater, I highly recommend it. Your teens will love it, and you will, too. It is plpaying at the Charles Playhouse. You can buy tix online, and I would recommend that you do that ahead, as they sell out.
You can also check www.ticketmania.com and click on Boston for access to all theater and performance in Boston. You can also get some discounts through this site, but not for Blue Man Group. It is way too popular.
If you are baseball fans, you can try to get Red Sox tickets, but I would not be too hopeful. Again, the sooner the better, but they may already be sold out for the season. You may be able to pick up some tickets for the Sox on eBay at not too absurd a markup.
Bar Harbor - Go there. The longer the better. Bar Harbor is really just the largest town on Mount Desert Island, on which is the home of Acadia National Park. It is such a great place for outdoor recreation, from low impact to extreme, as well as for all that a vacation town has to offer. You can swim in the freezing cold ocean or a delightful lake. Bicycle rentals are readily available, and with miles and miles of gravel carriage roads with no cars, bicycles are king of the road. The biking is great, as is the hiking. There is also sea kayaking, scenic nature cruises, whale watches, and more.
I highly recommend doing a whale watch. It is an awesome experience. You will almost certainly see whales, often a lot of them - Minkes, Right Whales, Humpbacks - as well as dolphins by the score. The whale watch boats go about 25 miles out to sea. The water can get rough and the air temp can easily drop 20 to 30 degrees. Dress in layers with a wind break. If any of your family are prone to seasickness, take Dramamine just before getting onboard. It works!! Suffice it to say that I have experienced it both ways, and though the seasickness was as bad as I think I have ever felt, I would do it again, but never again without Dramamine.
You%26#39;ll definitely have to pay inflated prices for tickets to the Red Sox, but you might feel it%26#39;s worth it. We did. Lots of information on the Boston forum about how to find tickets, so go read about that there.
If you decide not to buy tickets, at least take the Fenway Tour. Information on the Boston forum and on the RedSox web site.
Have a great trip.
Thanks for all the info. Is 4 nights in Bar Harbor too much? Where would you suggest we stay - we%26#39;d love to be within walking distance of the town. If we do 3 nights Boston, 4 nights Bar Harbor, should we stay in Portland for the last 2??
Thanks!
You can find everything from intimate B%26amp;Bs to huge resort type hotels in walking distance of town. One motel that is not really in walking distance of the downtown, but is still really close (and has the free bus service to downtown) is the Bar Harbor Motel. It has two-bedroom family suites, which might be just the ticket. The teens can have their own room (and TV) and you two can have some privacy and can rise early without worry about tiptoeing around while the teens sleep in.
Four nights would be nice and allow you to see a lot without taking too frenetic a pace. And, give you a cushion in case you have a rainy day when you can%26#39;t hike, bike, etc.
On the way back you might consider taking Route 1 and stopping along the way. You might consider one night in Camden or Rockland and one night in Portland.
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