Not sure why, but I've always wanted to do a weekend in Maine. Stay at a BnB and eat lobster. Maybe its because I'm never in New England. My travels tend to be primarily in landlocked locations. Anyone have a great little spot on a coastal town or a place they would recommend?
Yeah. My parents’ house. Are you driving or flying? How much time you got? The “more quaint” you want, the further north you gotta go. Once you get north of Brunswick and jump on US-1, you’ll go through lots of whistlestop cities and town. Boothbay Harbor is a decent destination on the southern end, Rockland/Rockport/Camden in the mid coast, further north you’re getting into areas that are more “real New England”, like Deer Isle/Stonington. Take it all the way to Eastport and take a gander at Old Sow.
Definitely fly. I'll only be able to do a 3 day weekend. Renting a car is a given, but I would rather not spend the whole weekend driving to a destination. Let me be clear.. I want to eat my way through the weekend LOL.
Fly into PWM. Grab a hoopty and head north. You can get all the way to Calais and back in 3 days...but why would you? Rockland is the “Lobster Capital of the World”, and they’re now touting themselves as the “Art Capital of Maine”. Locals aren’t too impressed with the stupidity being put forth by the governor and the city council. Http://Knox.villagesoup.com is the local rag there. There’s plenty to see there, but with the Lobster Festival cancelled this year I don’t know how the local scene is for restaurants. How adventurous are you? No guarantees, but it’s possible I could get my BIL to take you out to haul a trap or two. At the very least you could get a view of the boats and get fed at Miller’s Wharf in St George. So easy, even a 7yr old can do it
Point Sebago is a nice spot to visit. My family used to go every summer...I actually never went with them bc I was too cool back then but the pics were lovely [emoji4]
Several years back, we were attending a wedding in Cape Cod. We decided to explore north and took our bicycles. We sampled Lobster and local ice cream shops, as we day tripped north. We skipped the Portland area, and a surprise bonus was the AMA in Nu HAM-sure. Remember Miguel ?
In August wife and I went to Portland ME, Boothbay Harbor ME and Portsmouth NH. If we were to do it again, I’d skip Portsmouth NH, most things were closed and lobster wasn’t nearly as good. Boothbay Harbor was great and we stayed at this resort https://linekinbayresort.com/ which includes use of their kayaks. This place in town for lobster rolls, fried clams etc: https://www.shannonsunshelled.biz/ get a blueberry soda, outdoor seating THIS PLACE FOR THE WIN https://pemaquidseafood.com/ about 35 mins drive, BYOB check closing times, outdoor seating After eating all this walk if off at the nearby lighthouse There’s a bar right next door which had live music when we were there. In Portland ME, https://highrollerlobster.com/ Perhaps the best roll I’ve ever had. And LOBSTER cocktail!
Skip the lobster rolls. Those are the biggest rip off ever. $20??? The fried clam rolls are wonderful, and reasonable. I spent June and July this year in Southwest Harbor. That’s very nice country, and Acadia National Park is right there. There’s a neat B&B in a more rural area if you don’t have to be by the sea. It was amazingly affordable and right next to a snowmobile/4-wheeler trail that runs all the way up to Canada I’m told. It was the home of the Maine senator played by Alan Alda in The Aviator. Check out their “Game Room” suite. Beautiful. https://www.brewsterinn.com/
Nah...cockroaches collapse quicker in your mouth with a crunching motion...well at least quicker than lobster.
2nd Boothbay Area if you are on a quick weekend trip. Not too far from Portland but far enough. A little touristy but all of coastal Maine is now. Stop at Round Top Ice Cream in Damariscotta (close to Boothbay) and get a ham Italian at an Amato's easiest to find in the Portland area. Skip the lobster rolls and just get lobsters and steamers. Fried clams, clam strips if you don't want to deal with the bellies. Tugboat Inn used to have a nice restaurant. Shaw's lobster wharf used to be good too. Been 5 or so years since I have been up there so YMMV.
Never been before then grab a car in Boston. Flying into Logan should save you a few hundred per person. Go to Booth Bay. There's enough to do there on foot and a very nice spot to get a feel of Maine. Plan on a few discovery trips before deciding what area you like. And don't listen to Pickled Egg. His family hasn't been in Maine for long and they're still considered to be from Away. PS I was there mid July and some things had shut down for the year due to Covid