Ogunquit Beach in Maine

[disneyred]

Hi there.
My colleague has just informed me that his family has decided on a trip this summer to Ogunquit.. (I have heard of this place but never been!)..
I know you guys are a wealth of info with first hand knowledge...

So , he is a family of 5 (this includes 3 teens )... he wants to stay on the beach if possible ... and close to walking everywhere (is this possible?)
any comments , helpful links ?? and of course budget conscious !! any tips for first timers to Ogunquit ! another question , he read somewhere the beaches were not free ? or is it the parking ? anyways, he would love some tips on where to stay for a great vacation. thanks.

 

[npmommie]

Hi there.
My colleague has just informed me that his family has decided on a trip this summer to Ogunquit.. (I have heard of this place but never been!)..
I know you guys are a wealth of info with first hand knowledge...

So , he is a family of 5 (this includes 3 teens )... he wants to stay on the beach if possible ... and close to walking everywhere (is this possible?)
any comments , helpful links ?? and of course budget conscious !! any tips for first timers to Ogunquit ! another question , he read somewhere the beaches were not free ? or is it the parking ? anyways, he would love some tips on where to stay for a great vacation. thanks.

Ogunquit is one of our favorite beach towns! we have stayed at the Beachmere and Anchorage. both are on marginal way and on the trolley stop. you can walk over to the main beach, but its probably about a 15 min walk. give or take a few.
Beachmere actually has a small little beach area, but its not big.
also beachmere does not have a pool, so hence why we go to Anchorage now.

the Norseman is right on the beachfront, again no pool, but you are oceanfront.
you can walk into town from any of these areas, or use the trolley if you need to.

there are tons of nice hotels all along rt 1, again you could use the trolley to come into town or the beach.
one of our friends stays at the Mariner, and they like it. I think its quite a bit cheaper than say Beachmere or Anchorage.

my best advice is to stay somewhere that you don't have to drive because rt 1 can get quite crowded in the height of summer.

I don't know how to do Ogunquit budget unless they go off season

 

[Disney Doll]

Beachmere, Anchorage, Sparhawk are right on the water. There are a few more, but those are th eones that I remember immediately. We were just there a couple of weeks ago.

We stay at a place called The Grand Hotel. The name makes it sound much fancier than it really is. It is actually a lovely little place, probably about 30 rooms. It is all suites, so you have a living room with pullout furniture for the kids and you also have a separate bedroom for the parents. There is a short hallway that connects the 2 areas which houses your bathroom and a kitchenette consisting of a sink, dorm size fridge, microwave and a couple of cabinets. Iti is on Shore Road, not on the water side of the road. It is a short walk to Perkins Cove and the entrance to the Marginal Way. It is also a short walk to the other end of Shore Road where there are some cute shops etc. There are also cute shops in Perkins Cove. They have a built in pool and hot tub and they offer continental breakfast in the lobby and coffee, tea, hot choclate all day. It is quite a lovely place, well-located and the people who own/run it couldn't be nicer. I HIGHLY recommend it even for not being right on the beach.

 

[Jen414]

I have stayed at the Anchorage and the Meadowmere, both of which I would recommend. They both have indoor and outdoor pools. The Anchorage is on the water, but not the beach. You can walk into town from both establishments. I believe there is only one hotel on the actual beach--and it's not one that to me (although I am a bit of a hotel snob) that looks like it's that great. Everywhere is accessible by walking or taking the trolley. You do need to pay to park at the beach and it can get expensive--much easier to just take the trolley.

 

[disneyred]

thanks for these great tips.. i will pass it along.... its a great start ..
i tried to do some googling but did not come up with most of the names listed here .. so I am glad I asked....

 

[npmommie]

try this
http://www.ogunquit.org/

hope it helps,

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

This was DW's and my favorite weekend retreat when we lived in Boston. In fact, our first trip away together was to Ogunquit.

We usually stayed in B&Bs, which may not be well-suited to teens, so no help there. One year, right after we had our daughter, we rented a condo that was a block off a beach and it was wonderful. Unfortunately, I cannot recall the name (and it was a private renter, regardless).

So, since I do not have any useful insights on the hotel front, I wanted to throw in a couple of our most favorite restaurants. Barnacle Billy's is right on the water and has fantastic lobster rolls, steamers, strawberry shortcake, and ambiance. There are two Barnacle Billy's, owned by the same family, and they are next to each other in Perkins Cove. We prefer the "front" one, i.e. the one that is more of a shack, because we think the ambiance is better.

There is a fantastic candy store in Perkins Cove, as well. I cannot recall the name, but it's about halfway back on the loop on the left side. They have great fudge, taffy, penny candy, etc.

Lastly, not in Ogunquit but up the coast a bit in Wells, Maine, they must try the Maine Diner (right on Route 1). They have a lobster pie that must contain a pound of lobster and a pound of butter, smothered beneath a pound of cracker crumbs. Simply fantastic. They also have really yummy she-crab soup! It's a quaint place, as well; a little touristy, perhaps, but the food is unbelievable!

 

[Disney Doll]

http://www.thegrandhotel.com/

http://www.thesparhawk.com/

http://www.anchoragebythesea.com/

http://www.pinkb.com/

http://www.beachmereinn.com/

http://www.ogunquitbeach.com/

http://www.ogunquit.org/

 

[PatsMom]

I have to agree that the Maine Diner is a great place to eat! There is also an ice cream shop very near to it that is awesome!

Ogunquit is a nice beach - I lived there the summer between high school and the Air Force. There are several cruises that leave from Perkins Cove - they are fun to do. The trolley will also get you around the town pretty well if you don't want to drive. Parking can be a little difficult. If you are driving there, bringing bicycles might be an option.

 

[CandyMandy]

Repeat after me:

The beach at is Ogunquit is nice, but...

THE WATER IS FREEZING COLD
THE WATER IS REALLY FREEZING COLD
THE WATER IS FREEZING, BONE-CHILLING, MEGA-NUMBING COLD

 

[PatsMom]

Repeat after me:

The beach at is Ogunquit is nice, but...

THE WATER IS FREEZING COLD
THE WATER IS REALLY FREEZING COLD
THE WATER IS FREEZING, BONE-CHILLING, MEGA-NUMBING COLD

That is also ever so true! No one over the age of 18 voluntarily gets into the water! And even when I was a child I dreamed of warm oceans.

 

[npmommie]

That is also ever so true! No one over the age of 18 voluntarily gets into the water! And even when I was a child I dreamed of warm oceans.

LOL, I do I do!!!! nothing better on a hot July or August day! LMBO, mentally I might still be 18 though!

 

[PatsMom]

LOL, I do I do!!!! nothing better on a hot July or August day! LMBO, mentally I might still be 18 though!

You are a braver soul than I! When my daughter was young, I would wade in up to my knees to watch her. Sometimes mid-thigh. But the thought of actually getting my stomach wet was horrible. I know I would have done it if she were in trouble, but that didn't mean I would like it!

 

[disneyred]

This was DW's and my favorite weekend retreat when we lived in Boston. In fact, our first trip away together was to Ogunquit.

We usually stayed in B&Bs, which may not be well-suited to teens, so no help there. One year, right after we had our daughter, we rented a condo that was a block off a beach and it was wonderful. Unfortunately, I cannot recall the name (and it was a private renter, regardless).

So, since I do not have any useful insights on the hotel front, I wanted to throw in a couple of our most favorite restaurants. Barnacle Billy's is right on the water and has fantastic lobster rolls, steamers, strawberry shortcake, and ambiance. There are two Barnacle Billy's, owned by the same family, and they are next to each other in Perkins Cove. We prefer the "front" one, i.e. the one that is more of a shack, because we think the ambiance is better.

There is a fantastic candy store in Perkins Cove, as well. I cannot recall the name, but it's about halfway back on the loop on the left side. They have great fudge, taffy, penny candy, etc.

Lastly, not in Ogunquit but up the coast a bit in Wells, Maine, they must try the Maine Diner (right on Route 1). They have a lobster pie that must contain a pound of lobster and a pound of butter, smothered beneath a pound of cracker crumbs. Simply fantastic. They also have really yummy she-crab soup! It's a quaint place, as well; a little touristy, perhaps, but the food is unbelievable!

your tips are much appreciated..will pass along all the info.

 

[disneyred]

http://www.thegrandhotel.com/

http://www.thesparhawk.com/

http://www.anchoragebythesea.com/

http://www.pinkb.com/

http://www.beachmereinn.com/

http://www.ogunquitbeach.com/

http://www.ogunquit.org/

thanks for all the links... when i did some googling , just came across 3 of the above .. so it new info to look at !

 

[goofyernmost]

Repeat after me:

The beach at is Ogunquit is nice, but...

THE WATER IS FREEZING COLD
THE WATER IS REALLY FREEZING COLD
THE WATER IS FREEZING, BONE-CHILLING, MEGA-NUMBING COLD

Well that's not entirely true. I went there once on a 4th of July weekend and I was able to enter the water and my voice only went up three octaves. It did serve to make me sure not to fall asleep in the water though, so that is a positive safety issue.

When my kids were little they used to stay in it for long periods of time. Of course, most of their extremities were a very pretty blue when they got out.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

When my kids were little they used to stay in it for long periods of time. Of course, most of their extremities were a very pretty blue when they got out.

On our last trip there before moving away, we went up for just a day trip and my daughter, then about 18 months, had just returned from a vacation where we had spent much time swimming in the very warm Pacific off the coast of San Diego. She saw the beach again, and ran at it full speed (holding my hand, of course). She hit the water and got about five steps in before her eyes went wide and she shot up and into my arms like she'd been launched from a torpedo tube screaming "ice, daddy, ice". She must have chattered for an hour after that, and even today will dip a toe into any water before jumping in.

 

[JESW]

We have stayed at Gorge's Grant several times and really liked it there. Not sure if they still have it, but a couple years back you could take a trolley down to the beach and downtown for a small fee.

Jill

 

[RUDisney]

Another link for you: http://www.ogunquit.com/

It is a list of three hotels, all of which are very nice. We've stayed at the Milestone. That is a little far from town, but doable by the trolley. The beach that is closeby is Footbridge Beach.

Juniper Hill is nicer than the Milestone. It is easy walking to everything.

We've also loved the Anchorage and have stayed there two or three times.

The Colonial Inn is also nice. We've stayed there on several occasions.

When your friend goes, tell them that they have to try Congdon's Doughnuts while they are there. I don't know what they do to these doughnuts, but they are the best I've ever had.

The best restaurant, in our opinion, is the Five-O. It is fine dining at its best. For a fun lobster dinner, go to the Ogunquit Lobster Pound. You can select your own lobster and the "executioner" (our term) will steam it for you.

Kennybunkport and Freeport are close by. KBP is about 1/2 hour away and Freeport has wonderful outlet shopping about 1 hour north. Freeport is, of course, the home of LL Bean, too. There is also an LL Bean outlet store there. On the way to Freeport, or on the way back, stop in Yarmouth at Day's Lobster Pound. It is a little shack that has the best lobster rolls. It's worth the trip just for those.

This is the place that my DH and I plan to have our summer home when we retire. We'll winter in FL.

 

[disny_luvr]

I love Ogunquit. DH and I actually honeymooned there. We stayed at the Anchorage by the Sea. I like the location of the Anchorage. We liked walking along the Marginal Way down to Perkin's Cove. We also enjoyed eating breakfast at Amore. Don't plan on spending too much time in the water. We were married on July 26th and the week we were there the water temps were in the mid 50's. BRRR!