Tell me about Maine...on a budget...please!

[Ginny Favers]

Well, I'm just thinking, that if you've NEVER been to Acadia and Bar Harbor, even if it might be a little more expensive, you MUST go.

I lived in Maine for 4 years, so I'm not an expert. I lived north of Portland, and we used to have Moose going through our backyard, actually, every couple of weeks Maybe it was just the same moose, over and over again, and he was lost?

Acadia is gorgeous, one of my favorite places to go, and the hiking can not be beat. Bar Harbor is such a lovely town. While it may be hot at times, it sure beats the rest of the country. We used to weekend there often, because it's about 3 hours from Portland. While I've stayed in the $350/night places, they do have more reasonable places as well, under $100 a night.

I think it's a place everyone needs to visit at least once in their life.

 

[plummer925]

What a great thread! I hope OP doesn't mind me jumping on her thread, but we're thinking of taking a family trip to Maine next summer too.

We have relatives that have a home in the Boothbay Harbor area so we'd stay there.
Any tips for that side of the state??

Tia

ETA: budget minded things to do w/2 "tween" DSs

We'll be driving there, so we'll have our car.

I live close by there - feel free to PM me with any questions!

My biggest tip for the Boothbay area - come in June or October.

 

[AndreaDM]

Bumping this up as we're planning a trip to Maine in August, driving from Ohio. Looking at a cottage in Tenants Harbor, anyone know anything about that area? We're fine with driving to other places for sightseeing, etc., but would that be a good base?

 

[TheMonkeyLady]

We lived in New Brunswick Canada...right above Maine. I loved Maine, I still say it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been!! Bangor is quite far North and a lovely town. Steven King lives there and you can do a drive by of his amazing house! Portland has a lovely waterfront with some great little shops and my husband and I loved the boat tours that showed all the seals, it was great fun!! And if you head up to Bangor you could drive another couple of hours and make a trip across the border into New Brunswick. The capital of New Brunswick, Fredricton, is only a 3 hour drive from Bangor and an amazing place to visit!! Have fun!!

 

[bigmamimia]

I live in the South western part of Maine. I am 33 years old and have never seen a moose in Maine. They definitely aren't walking down the middle of the road like you see in post cards. We go to North Conway NH quite frequently in the summer and have seen moose, deer and even bears up there. The Alton Bay area of NH is also very beautiful. Look for something on Lake Winnipesaukee or rent a cabin from a KOA in Maine or NH. Although if you are looking for hiking and outdoors stuff I would not stay at the one in Saco, Maine. Just an FYI bears really are more afraid of humans than we are of them. They run as fast as possible in the other direction when they see you coming.

 

[wallawallakids]

We are trying to decide where to go for a family vacation this summer. Group will likely include DH, DD (19), DDBoyF (19) and DS 16...oh, and Me! We want to go somewhere new and not too warm and since we've only been "east" to DC, Maine has been brought up. I can use my SW points to fly to Manchester, I think, which would be a bonus. Trip would be in June or July. We like outdoor activities...hiking, rafting, fishing, etc. I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to see lots of moose! As far as accommodations go, rustic is fine, as long as it is clean and has basic amenities (internet and cell phone service). We've visited Yellowstone and GTNP, so Arcadia intrigues me. Any suggestions on any of the above? Thanks so much!

Hi! I live in Maine! Just wanted to let you know that by this summer Southwest will also be flying into PWM (Portland Maine Jetport). They bought out AirTran that was here and so Southwest is taking over. Just thought I would let you know because it is significantly closer then Manchester and is a great little easy airport if you can get a flight into here for your miles. I love flying in and out of PWM when I can! I hope you have a great trip!

 

[wallawallakids]

I am on the coast in Southern Maine and I have a Moose that practically lives in our yard!! (And a fox, and several deer, and turkey!) I didn't think that was rare but sounds like maybe it is for some? We have seen bears up hiking in Northern Maine a few times, but like PP said, they are more scared of you then you are of them. They always run off pretty quick. Only time I was ever scared was when one came into our camp. That was back in 1999! And there was a big drought that year. We were asleep and he was trying hard to get the food we had hung up in a tree down. Woke us up and stayed there for what I remember as an very uncomfortably long time!

 

[princessesintraining]

You might also want to look into the downeast area of Maine. We have flown twice and driven twice from outside Pittsburgh. We've stayed in Eastport,Maine and Lubec,Maine. It's definitely not a touristy area, but we have done day trips to Acadia, St Andrews, NB and several other areas. I agree that cell phone is spotty and in that area sometimes you are roaming to Canada. We have gone whale watching and lobster boat trips. This area is part of the largest tide changes in the world. We got lobster for $4.50 a pound right from the fishermen last year. We always rent a house, which helps with food costs. It is cooler up here in the summer, but this region can also be foggy, but you just go out and enjoy the area anyways. Drive up from Portland Me is about 5 hours. We have never found anyone to be anything nice to us when we've been there. I will warn you though, once you go to Maine, you will want to go back. We were going to go this year, but the Disney won out.

 

[jmsaj]

I can use my SW points to fly to Manchester

FYI...Southwest will be flying into and out of Portland Maine via Baltimore/Washington International Airport......starting in April 2013.....

 

[MinnieForMe]

Since your flying into NH - check our state out also. We have moose too!

Lots of rustic here - mountains, lakes, streams, ocean! We have it all!

That being said, the border of Maine is a quick trip from Manchester Airport. Rustic is a bit further of a drive but Maine is a beautiful state.

Have a great trip!

 

[LovinPooh]

I have lived in nh all my life and seen one moose n one bear lol.
We used to go to maine every year. Usually york. Maine is so pretty. Dh used go to bar harbor as a kid n loved it.
Pretty state for sure

 

[Iamthequeen]

I've been to Maine twice. The first trip was a canoeing trip on the Allagash - definitely rustic - tent camping along the river. We saw several moose on this trip and the area was just lovely. We went in June when the "noseeums" are out.

Second trip was a camping trip. We found a campground located about midway, fairly close to the coast, but not at the coast campground prices. I think the campground has since closed though. We visited a different coast town each day during our trip and spent a day in Acadia. My favorite town was Camden.

Both my daughters have spent a month working in Maine over the summer. One worked at a performing arts camp and the other worked as a stage manager for a theater in Stonington on Deer Isle - and will be going back this July for a month.

We've been talking about going back for another visit, but Disney keeps winning out.

I recently saw a groupon for a b&b in Camden - something you should look into to help keep costs down.

 

[Momma2Mia]

Certainly not an expert on the state of Maine, but spent two summers there working as a camp nurse. Near Poland Maine there is a Wildlife Park. I believe it is called Maine Wildlife Park. All kinds of animals there and was a neat place to visit. I also loved Acadia and had a great time on a whale watch excursion. I also enjoyed Portland and exploring the shops and coast. Freeport was great too but not really budget minded, but I do think everyone who visits Maine should check out L.L. Bean!

 

[Eureka]

I grew up in Bangor, which is central/eastern ME -- about 4.5 hours from Boston and about 4 hours from the Canadian border. The only time I really remember seeing lots of moose is when I went to Girl Scout camp up in Millinocket, around Baxter State Park.

That said, Maine is beautiful in the summer...but it can get hot. Most hotels, restaurants and stores will have a/c but many of the older homes will not. (Not central anyway). It's also buggy, so bring plenty of spray. I grew up less than an hour from Acadia National Park and would highly recommend it for hiking and photo opps on the coast. I love Thunder Hole, it's one of my favorite places in the world. Bar Harbor is not necessarily cheap to stay in during the high season, but there are lots of cute shops and restaurants. And don't forget Jordan's Pond House for their famous popovers.

Last summer we visited family in MA and ME and the kids went home with my parents for a few days and DH and I had a couple nights in Ogunquit alone. Definitely not budget-friendly, but it was fantastic. It's a very artsy town, lots of shops, restaurants, galleries, small museums. We saw a show at the Ogunquit Playhouse on Rte 1, again pretty famous but not cheap.

 

[Racemom17]

It isn't ME but we spent a week on Cape Cod....and I am not a beach person. It was one of the lovliest vacations we ever had. We were there the week before MA got out of school so it wasn't very busy (mid-June). We stayed in a small house about a block from the beach...the kids loved it...we didn't want to leave and can't wait to go back.

 

[princess barbara]

Been to Tennant's Harbor- absolutely beautiful place.

 

[karenos]

I love Maine, just don't get a chance to visit that often now that I live in NJ.
Met my DH at college in Maine - wanted to add that we saw a moose once during our senior week on a white water rafting trip. We were able to see a lot of the state during our 4 years there- we loved Camden, Boothbay Harbor, BarHarbor and the Old Port in Portland.

Of course, when I was there it was during the off season from September to May. We skiied at Sugarloaf and Sunday River. We even ventured to Quebec a few times.

Enjoy. Oh and don't worry about the natives, they are not as grumpy as some would make them out to be. Still much nicer than most people around where I live now (Northern NJ)!

karenos

 

[KELLY]

I love Maine, just don't get a chance to visit that often now that I live in NJ.
Met my DH at college in Maine - wanted to add that we saw a moose once during our senior week on a white water rafting trip. We were able to see a lot of the state during our 4 years there- we loved Camden, Boothbay Harbor, BarHarbor and the Old Port in Portland.

Of course, when I was there it was during the off season from September to May. We skiied at Sugarloaf and Sunday River. We even ventured to Quebec a few times.

Enjoy. Oh and don't worry about the natives, they are not as grumpy as some would make them out to be. Still much nicer than most people around where I live now (Northern NJ)!

karenos

I have lived here all my life southern Maine. But I think we are pretty friendly people. I live in a beach town and yes my 2 minute drive to the store becomes a hour but I just drive to the next town over. No big deal. I do hate the fact that I live 5 minutes from the beach and buy water park tickets since the beach is so crowded in the summer. But I'm not cranky about it.

 

[britfish]

The White Mountains (North Conway,NH border Fryeburg, ME). There are plenty of moose on Rt. 112 and you could drive up Mt. Washington. Its a great place to cool off on a hot day (it will be 90 at the base and windy and 50 at the top). There are also ski mountains with summer activities and lots of hikes and outlet shopping and a short drive to the coast of Maine (1.5 hr).

 

[eeyorethegreat]

Grew up in Mass but went to college here in Maine at "UMF" Farmington. Still live just a few miles from the college. Maine has many camp grounds. If you want to go cheap I am sure that you can find a campground just about anywhere in the state that will fill your needs. There is a campground that seems to be fairly busy right down the street from me. It isn't super rustic but from there you can travel to Mt Blue State Park, Belgrade, Rangely etc. If you want to have a home base and do some day trips out. People have mentioned Acadia and I have to say I am not a camping sort of person. BUT my son and daughter' s cross country team spend a few days "bonding" in August. I went along this past summer to hep cook for the runners and i have to say, though I am not hooked on camping, it was such a beautiful place! You have to see the sun set on Cadillac Mt! If you want to stay at the National Park itself, you need to make reservations SOON or even NOW. Machias and the Down East area is also lovely. My son will be attending college next fall there and part of his decision was because of the availability of nature.

There is plenty to do if you like the out doors and I reckon if you wanted to do a fly by the seat of your pants trip and just travel the state of Maine and spend a night here or there you would have a good time getting a view of the whole state. You could probably manage it on a budget as well. If you don't stay in super touristy areas you should never have a problem finding a motel room. Just ask the locals. Best place to get info on the area. Mainers are keep to themselves kind of people but overall I think most of us take pride in the beauty of our state. And technically I am not a real "Mainah" I am from "away" so I will always be a "transplant". Though talking to me I have picked up the "accent" so you would never
know I am not from around here LOL!