how long to stay

Hi me and wy wife intend to travel to maine in sept this year (we are from the uk)we arrive in Boston on the 5th sept we will stay in boston for 3 nights then pick up a car and travel down the coast for the rest of a 2 week break Bar Harbor looks a great place to stay we do not intend to book any where to stay till we get there do you think that there will be a problem finding some where to stay and how long do you think to stay there for and can you suggest any other areas to stay.

Many thanks Paul and Sue

how long to stay

First off---as you will be arriving in Bar Harbor after the Labor Day weekend, you shouldn%26#39;t have too much trouble finding lodging, unless you have some very specific needs or wants. The busiest part of our season ends with the Labor Day weekend; there then usually is a bit of a lull before the autumn leaf-peeping season is upon us in late September/early October.

How long to stay? As you will see from other posts on this forum and the related Acadia National Park forum, there are those who believe that a week is not enough---it depends on what you like to do.

As a starting point, I would suggest that at some point as you drive downeast to Bar Harbor, you take U.S. 1---perhaps from the Bath/Brunswick area. It is slower going than on the interstate route. It passes through Rockland, which is home to the Farnsworth Museum, an excellent collection of art related to Maine as well as the Wyeth Center which features the works of the three generations of Wyeths--N.C., Andrew, and James. Camden, also on Rte 1, has a picture-postcard harbor. The Penobscot Bridge and Observatory is a little further along and worth a stop. There is lodging along the way, especially in the Camden and Belfast areas.

In terms of planning your drive, it is approximately a 5 to 5.5-hour drive via the interstate from the outskirts of Boston to Bar Harbor. Add an hour or a little better if you elect Rte 1, more if you stop along the way.

You might also look at the thread on the Maine forum by SomersetBoy, who has asked some of the same questions.

how long to stay

dales54...

I think that the advice cwvoigt gave is correct... esp. the part about looking at sommersetboy%26#39;s thread. A week is a good amount of time for Acadia. You would have enough time to comfortably head to Conway NH for 2 nights and see the White Mountains before heading back to Boston for the last night.

Thank you that is very helpful we will probley find some where to stay for a few nights on the way to bar harbor and then again on the way back again many thanks.

Paul Dale