Going to Maine

First, am I in the right forum??? Move if necessary, please.

Planning a road trip with my daughter - we are flying into Boston and
renting a car and just driving up the coast of Maine. No hotel reservations,
or B&B reservations - just driving for 5 days getting back to Boston on the
5th day.

So much to think about - but thought I'd ask for some special not-to-be-missed places to see. Antique Shop, place to eat, anything art glass or pottery, home tours, museums..........and what we can just drive past because it's a tourist
trap and not much fun, don't want to waste our time.

I'm open to any suggestions...........thanks!

This will probably get moved to the New England thread even though Maine is technically not New England.

One suggestion: Boothbay Harbor.

I've never heard of this. What is Maine a part of, then?

Thanks, now I'll have to go hunting for New England - must be here someplace.

Putting Boothbay Harbor on the list - what should we do/see/eat/stay there?

What time of year are you planning to go? It's pretty quiet until April or May. I was just in Boothbay Harbor two weeks ago and only two restaurants were open, one of them Chinese. The full-on tourist season in coastal Maine is pretty short... mid-May to Labor Day. I definitely don't recommend it in the depths of winter.

Recommended stops in more welcoming weather, working north:

Ogunquit for lobsters and the seawalk along Marginal Way
The Old Port neighborhood of Portland for restaurants and galleries / crafts
Freeport for L.L. Bean
Wiscasset for Red's Eats at the foot of the bridge
Boothbay for boat trips, clambakes, and more lobster
Moody's Diner in Waldoboro
Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island

Do you want to stay in conventional hotels and motels, inns / resorts, or B&Bs?

I love Maine...and live about 3 hours from there.

You don't want to miss York Beach, Wells Beach, and definitely don't miss Nubble Light! Even though Nubble Light is a tourist trap, it's just wonderful to sit on the rocks, feed the seagulls, etc. And close to Nubble Light is Brown's Ice Cream...SO GOOD...some of the best ice cream.

York Beach has good little shops...the taffy in the candy shops is just wonderful and just visiting the random shops is fun. It's best to park at York beach (short sands I believe, there are two, Long and Short sands), then walk to the shops. Very close by.

Also, if you don't mind a bit of a hike, there is a BEAUTIFUL, stunning walking path that walks up the rocky coast for about a mile...it's called Marginal Way at Ogunquit. More neat shops there too.

The Holiday Inn and Suites in South Portland, ME is pretty clean and we always return there. Short ways from there is a massive shopping area. Burlington Coat Factory is super nice. Don't forget to visit the Ihop if you've never been there. And Dairy Queen if you don't have one.

Oh yes! You'll probably want to visit the Kittery Trading Post. That's in Kittery, Maine, just over the border.

As for driving, if you want a scenic route, take Route 1 all the way up through.

If you want to go farther up, Boothbay Harbor is gorgeous.

In Rye, NH there is a very good Whale Watch...I don't remember the name of it but you'll want to try it. If you get sea sick, take some meds, because it's sooo worth it!

If I think of anything else for you to check out up there, I'll let you know!

I knew I came to the right place - thanks both of you for the great input!!

We are going Memorial Day weekend - coming on Friday and leaving on
Monday, or maybe Tuesday.

As far as staying - we are open to staying anywhere - we don't really
want to be tied to a reservation unless we really have to. Want to just
roam Hwy 1 and drive, stop, look, explore, and when tired stop for the
evening.

Given this weekend - do we need to make reservations now? Or can we
take our chances?

Don't forget Rockland and Camden. Both are on US Route 1. Great small towns.

If you have time Moosehead Lake is gorgeous, it is about 2 hours from Bangor (probably less if you have directions, we didn't). The drive is pretty boring.
If you are in the Bangor area (well this is actually in Brewer), there is a restaurant called the Eagle's Nest. It is small, but wonderful.

Just an FYI, Acadia will be PACKED over Memorial Day, as will Bar Harbor, parking there is at a serious premium. There's an ice cream shop called Ben and Bills that has lobster ice cream (which is okay), and amazing blueberry gellato.

There is a sardine and blueberry museum east of Bangor, and north of Ellsworth. I couldn't tell you where exactly.

I split my time between WI and Bangor. There is definitely a lot more to do when it is warm out.

I go to IHOP because I like seeing foreigners.

honestly, there are enough "mom and pop" restaurants to completley avoid all type of chain restaurants. Unless we're in a rush, we've generally been able to avoid chains.

As Maine is most often discussed in the Travel->New England forum, I'll move this thread there. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

You might want to make some bookings -- that's a really big weekend. And the lodging picture thins out considerably north of Bath / Boothbay or so. I know that takes some of the spontaneity out of the trip, but frantically calling around for a room as the sun goes down takes some of the fun out of things too.

If you are open to conventional hotels there's an excellent Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport... I've been back there about ten times.

Portland Maine is one of America's underrated cities.

Glad you've found your way to the New England forum, hitherandyon, despite InkUnderNails claiming that Maine is not in New England.

I agree with BearX220, DO make reservations. Memorial Day weekend is VERY busy in Maine, with it being the rather unofficial start of the summer.

If you're looking for sort of "quintessential" coastal places to go in Maine, I would recommend spending time in Kennebunkport, Boothbay Harbor, or the Camden/Rockport area. If you're interested in scenery that does not involve the ocean (but beautiful nonetheless), I would highly recommend a drive up US Route 201 to Jackman, and over to Greenville from there on the Trans-Maine Highway. There are places to stay on Moosehead Lake, which is a popular destination (and again, I would HIGHLY recommend a reservation there).

Portland is a great city and there are myriad dining and entertainment options in the downtown area, especially in the "Old Port" area, roughly the area between Commercial Street and Congress Street North/South and Central Street and Franklin Street East/West.