Renting a House though agency in Trenton Maine - Any Advice?

We are looking to visit the Bar Harbor area and Acadia National Park.

I found a rental agency through acadiamagic.com calle Mount Desert Island Real Estate. They sent us some rental listings and we found a house in Trenton across from Blue Hill Peninsula that seems to suit our needs and looks good.

We usually stay at hotels and review Trip Advisor a lot. I%26#39;m nervous about using a random rental agency for a house I%26#39;ve never seen.

Any thoughts or advice?

Renting a House though agency in Trenton Maine - Any Advice?

I just checked their web page---would that be ';Ella%26#39;s'; that interests you?

If so, the place looks good. I haven%26#39;t had any experience with MDI Real Estate; neither have I heard any bad reports.

Usually we have a few regular visitors who go the house-rental route and who monitor this and the Bar Harbor forum, so keep tuned.

Renting a House though agency in Trenton Maine - Any Advice?

You could also try www.onthewaterinmaine.com and www.heartsofmaine.com. I know the second one has a couple of houses around Bar Harbor. Try L.S. Robinson also, it%26#39;s a real estate company that also has house rentals.

Godd luck and have a great time!!

Yes, it is Ella%26#39;s.

I am also wondering how Trenton is? I realize it%26#39;s over the bridge from Mount Desert Island. What kind of a commute can we expect into Bar Harbor or to Acadia in late July?

Most of Trenton is on the peninsula that leads to the causeway/bridge to MDI. As an aside, depending on exactly where Ella%26#39;s is on the peninsula, you may be on Union River Bay rather than Blue Hill Bay.

Anyhow, you are likely to be somewhere between 7 and 10 miles from the the main entrance to the park (the village center of Bar Harbor is about another 2 miles). In late July, the traffic will be appreciable but not really unmanageable (it won%26#39;t be like rush hour in Miami or Atlanta)---maybe 15-20 minutes from the park entrance and Bar Harbor. On the bright side, you will be beyond the Ellsworth bottleneck which sometimes can be troublesome.

Also, if you want to hit the so-called ';quiet side'; of the island, you will have a fairly straight shot (after the bridge) down Rtes. 198 and 102 to Somesville, Southwest Harbor, Bass Harbor, and the trails and paths of that part of the island.

You might also want to check out the routes and schedules for the Island Explorer shuttle:

http://www.exploreacadia.com

This past year, the shuttle expanded to include a route from the visitor%26#39;s center at the park entrance; there also is a route that includes parts of Trenton.

We want to stay in a cottage or camp in one of those places that provides the tent. Any suggestions? Want to be reasonably close to the park and the bus service.

Trenton gives you great access to the ';quiet side of the island,'; as suggested in another posting. While Bar Harbor is exciting (ice cream, shops, a busy waterfront), the towns on the western side of the island offer lovely large lakes and ponds, the postcard-perfect headlight at Bass Harbor, and working fishing villages. It%26#39;s my favorite. I%26#39;ve written about other favorite spots on my site: www.ouracadia.com. Pictures, too. And recommendations for restaurants. If you%26#39;re in Trenton, you have to go to Trenton Lobster Pound and stop at Mother%26#39;s Kitchen for sandwiches after you%26#39;ve come onto the island. Don%26#39;t be nervous! It%26#39;ll be great! (P.S. But if you are nervous about the rental, the Davis Agency in Southwest Harbor is totally reliable. See info on www.ouracadia.com again under Inns and Rentals.)

If you rent in Trenton you likely won%26#39;t be doing a lot of going back and forth from Acadia to the cottage during the day. More than likely you%26#39;ll go onto MDI for the entire day then go back out to the cottage in the evening.

If you need to be going back and forth a lot --if you have small children that need naps or older folks with less stamina, you might prefer a place closer to the center of Mt. Desert Island so you can crash during the middle of the day. Not that you have to be right in downtown Bar Harbor, but just closer to the places you%26#39;ll be going during the day.

On my very first trip to Acadia I stayed at a motel on High Street in Ellsworth and it just seemed so far away.

Insofar as renting a cottage thru an agency, I wouldn%26#39;t be so worried about that if they have photos of the property on teh website. Just study the photos very carefully. There are probably hundreds of properties in the region that are privately owned and handled by the various rental agencies.

And, judge the quality of the property in part by the price. Your rate should be somewhat lower than on-island prices since you are not so close to the action, but if the price is considerably lower than other properties located in that area, that might be a tip-off that the place is a dump. A price too good to be true might indeed be...too good to be true.

Did you rent ';Ella%26#39;s'; in Trenton? We%26#39;re looking at it for 2009 summer and wondered what you thought.

Maine/Down East is wonderful. Lots to do for all ages.

Did you end up renting Ella%26#39;s? If so, what did you think? We%26#39;re looking at it for 2009.

If you want to do a lot inside Acadia and can afford to be on the island itself, that would be the most convenient.