Any recommendations for Maine?

[sparrowsong]

I'm tentatively planning a trip for the fall to the northest U.S. I have a friend who lives on Cape Cod, so I'll probably fly into Boston and stay with her a day or two. Then I want to drive north. I have another friend who lives in Calais, Maine. According to map programs it's about 8 hour drive between them so I'm thinking a stop or two on the way. After Calais I think I might go to Halifax/NovaScotia and then to Prince Edward Island. And then, I'd rather not drive all the way back to Boston... not sure how I'll get back to Denver.

Any suggestions on sightseeing or places to stay along the way?

[mrssavy42112]

Oooh, I love Maine! I've been there on at least 10 family vacations. It really depends on what you enjoy doing. I love to hike, kayak, sight see. So I would probably stop at Portland to go shopping. Lots of great stores there. Then up to Boothbay Harbor & definitely Bar Harbor. They've both become more touristy now, but Mt. Desert Island is just so beautiful. Also, there are several ferries that leave from Bar Harbor to Halifax/Nova Scotia. That might be an option also.

[LoveTrains]

I love North Conway, NH, but sadly it is a MAJOR detour if going to calais, and not really worth it. If the OP wants outlet shopping, I think either Kittery or Freeport would be sufficient and both are actually on the way north to Calais.

Years ago, H and I took a ferry to Nova Scotia from Portland, ME. I think it was called the Scotia Prince and it carried our car as well. We had a little cabin on it with a bed and the ferry was overnight. It was cute!

We have also driven over the border at Calais and there was barely any wait at all. Calais is about 8 hours from Boston.

The best places to stop en route, IMO, would be Portland, Freeport, Camden/Rockport. You could really spend a day in any of those places and not get bored. There really isn't much going on in Calais, and its a very long/boring ride from Bangor to Calais. Plus, IIRC, that part of the drive isn't even on highway - you have to get off I-95 and take some back road that is one way in each direction.

[pugz]

We honeymooned in Maine, it is a beautiful state. We did 4 stops: portland, bar harbor, camden, and ogunquit. Faves were bar harbor and camden. We stayed at b&bs in each place. I want to go back and i want a vacation home in camden!!

[Redpoppy]

I love Bar Harbor and we also stayed in Ogunquit. Ogunquit was nice, but too touristy (we aren't beach people). We did a road trip from Boston up to Saint John in 2010. We really only had five days with a goal of seeing the Fundy NP so there was a lot of driving squeezed in (with a 2 year old, woohoo). We stopped in Bar Harbor on the way back for about 18 hours (overnight) but we'd been there before. It was enough to check out Bar Harbor the afternoon we got there, see sunrise the next morning, and drive through some of the park and check a few spots before driving home.

Also, timing wise, I'd advise travel before or through the Columbus Day weekend. We travelled then and I recall seeing places say they'd be changing hours or closing after that weekend.