Here is our itinerary from our Maine trip with recommendations below! We dive deeper into what we did, what we’d do differently, and discuss helpful tips/packing tips below the itinerary!
Our trip went from Portland – Acadia – Camden – Portland
Day 1: Travel Day/Lobster Rolls
Lunch – The Lobster Shack at Two Lights
Activity – Two Lights State Park
Activity – Walk around Old Orchard Beach
Dinner – Captain Bill’s Lobster Stand
We got into Portland and all I remember is that the rental car line took forever! I hope it’s not this way any longer but in case it is, I wouldn’t make plans within the first few hours after you land.
Head to Two Lights State Park – Once we got our car, we went to The Lobster Shack and Two Lights, walked through Two Lights State Park. The Lobster Shack at Two Lights was amazing!! It was a great way to kick off the lobster eating. It is perfectly acceptable to have lobster at every meal in Maine. We drove down and stayed the night in Old Orchard Beach. That was a little further away. We probably wouldn’t stay this far out again but was a really cute town if you have more time. For dinner, we went to Captain Bill’s Lobster Stand, which was pretty good.
Day 2: Travel to Acadia & Hike Jordan Pond Trail
Sunrise – Portland Head Lighthouse
Breakfast – Coffee Me Up
Travel – drive up to Acadia
Lunch – Mainely Meat BBQ
Hike – Jordan Pond Trail (3 miles, easy)
Attraction – Thunder Hole
Hike – Ocean Path
Dinner – Beal’s Lobster Pier
Head to the Portland Head Lighthouse – We spent the sunrise and early morning at Portland Head Lighthouse, which was gorgeous. We grabbed coffee in Portland at Coffee Me Up then took the coastal highway up to Acadia National Park! We didn’t stop at any towns on the way up but we made plans to on the way back to Portland later in the week!
Upon arrival in the Bar Harbor area, we went to Mainely Meat BBQ, which we’d highly recommend! It was the only time I ate beef instead of lobster in Maine and it did not disappoint! We then hiked Jordan pond trail (more on Jordan Pond later). Jordan Pond Trail is a 3 mile walking path along the Jordan Pond. It’s easy and great for families. After that, we went and viewed Thunder Hole, which is a cool rock structure that makes the water clap like thunder as it crashes against the rocks. You can also do the Ocean Path and see a few cool areas of the Island on a relatively short trail along the Island. We stayed on the Southwest end of the National Park, away from the action in Bar Harbor. It was a little inconvenient but nice to be tucked away. For dinner, we went to Beal’s Lobster Pier, which was also…fantastic. There was a long line but it moved quickly. I saw that it’s listed as temporarily closed right now and I hope it reopens soon.
Day 3: Hike Acadia & Good eats
Sunrise – Bass Harbor Lighthouse
Coffee – Saint Dreux’s Coffee (wouldn’t recommend but not many options where we stayed)
Hike – Acadia Mountain Trail (medium)
Breakfast – 2 Cats Bar Harbor
Hike – Beehive Trail (hard)
Activity – Sand Beach
Dinner – Project Social Kitchen & Bar
We stayed in the Southwest Harbor within Acadia National Park – it’s off the main area but was fun and not too bad of a drive. Our AirBnb was along the harbor which meant seeing the sun come up over the water and hearing the lobster men getting on their boats at the crack of dawn! I loved the experience but wasn’t very well rested haha. Our first morning we got up early and went to Bass Harbor Lighthouse to see sunrise!
There are not a lot of coffee options in the southwest harbor. Many of them don’t open until later or are closed several days a week. After the lighthouse and grabbing coffee at Saint Dreux’s Coffee, we went to hike Acadia Mountain Trail. I loved this hike! There weren’t many people on it, it was a good work out but not too hard, and the views were some of the best we saw!
When you get up at sunrise in the summer, you have a lot of time between waking up and before lunch is served, which allowed up to go to 2 Cats Bar Harbor for brunch! We loved brunch here and would recommend it! A lot of breakfast places were closed on Monday or Tuesday so be mindful of that when booking your itinerary.
After breakfast, we went to face my DOOM – The BEEHIVE Trail! This trail is not for the faint of heart but you can do it!! It’s a lot less dangerous than reviews make it seem but you do need to be careful and proceed with caution. You’ll have a great time! We hung out at Sand Beach after climbing The Beehive then finished the evening at Project Social Kitchen & Bar for dinner. The atmosphere was so cute! We got several shared plates and left very full. We found that a lot of people eat dinner early in Bar Harbor so be sure and get a table in the early evening to ensure you’ll get a seat!
Day 4: Hike Acadia & Good eats
4:00am (or 2.5 hours before sunrise) – arrive at Cadillac Mountain
6:00am – watch the sunrise at the top
Hike – down from Cadillac Mountain through the the gorge
Breakfast – Jeannie’s Great Maine Breakfast
Activity – shopping in Bar Harbor
Rest time – rest at AirBnB
Early Dinner – Sweet Pea Farms
We got up EARLY and drove to hike Cadillac Mountain! You can also buy a car pass if you prefer to drive to the top for sunrise (I envied all of those people). You’ll need to buy tickets well in advance. If you hike, bring head lamps or flashlights and blankets. It is very cold at the top even in the early fall. You’ll want to get there really early to get the best parking and DON’T DRIVE PAST THE LAST AVAILABLE SPOT BY ACCIDENT like we did. There are only about 10 spots along the side of the road across from the trail entrance. You can park further down the road but it’s a hike. The views at the top are amazing and it’s well worth it. After the hike, we went to Sunrise Cafe which was just ok. I’d recommend Jeannie’s instead. We then shopped in Bar Harbor and rested. We went to Sweet Pea’s Farm for dinner!! It was amazing! It’s a farm to table place that had great pizza’s and a little garden. You’ll feel like you’ve been transported to the countryside!
Day 5: Short hike, pastries, & travel back down coastal Maine
Sunrise – Photoshoot at Sand Beach and Otter Rock
Pastries – Mount Dessert Island (orange ricotta cake)
Hike – Bubbles Divide
Brunch – Jordan Pond Tea & Popover’s
Travel – drive back down coastal Maine to Camden
Lunch – Must Be Nice Lobster Co. in Belfast
Hike – Mount Battie Trailhead in Camden
Activity – Shopping in Camden
Dinner – Long Grain
This was one of my favorite days!! We woke up early (again) for a photoshoot in Acadia National Park! We then went up to Bar Harbor for pastries and coffee at Mount Dessert Island. The orange ricotta cake there changed my life. I asked them to ship it to me and they said no but I will never lose hope. I cannot recommend it enough. We did a short hike on Bubbles Divide, then we went and got in line to make reservations at Jordan Pond Restaurant. I believe we got in line for reservations at 9:00 or 9:30. Then, someone comes out at 10:00 and allows you to make reservations for 11am, when they open. The line can get really long so I found it to be worth it to wait to make reservations and then enjoy a walk around the pond while we waited.
On our way down coastal Maine we stopped in Belfast at Must Be Nice Lobster Co. which had THE BEST LOBSTER ROLL I HAD THE WHOLE TIME!! We carried on to Camden and hiked Mount Battie trail for a quick but amazing view of the city. We stopped in some of the little shops and went to dinner at Long Grain which we’d also recommend!
Day 6: Enjoy coastal Maine towns on the way back to Portland
Breakfast – Bagel Cafe in Camden
Travel – Down coastal Maine to Portland
Lunch – Duckfat Frite Shack
Activity – Shopping
Snack – Kombucheria
Dinner – Street & Co.
We picked up a bagel at Bagel Cafe in Camden before continuing down coastal Maine on our way back to Portland. We were close to several Apple Orchards and I would recommend checking one out if you have time. Looking back, I wish we would have made time for it.
In Portland, we ate at the Duckfat Frite Shack. There was a long wait at the original but the shack did the trick and we got to experience the same fun combo of sauces to dip the fries in and a killer milkshake.
We shopped around the streets and stumbled onto Onggi, which is a fermented foods store. We got a sourdough cookie and looked around at all of their fermenting features. That was one of my favorite parts, even though it was small!
As a way to unwind before dinner, we also stopped at a Kombucheria called Root Wild Kombucheria. They had a lot of fun flavors and I loved sitting outside and enjoying a kombucha flight! As someone who doesn’t drink, flights aren’t something most restaurants have available sans alcohol so it was a lot of fun to experience that!
Lastly, we went to Street & Co. for dinner which was impeccable! The level of service was awesome and the food was amazing. It’s a little tricky to find…you need to go down the steps and turn onto an old street to find it. Trust your GPS.
Day 7: Portland excursions
Breakfast – The Holy Donut
Activity/Travel – Freeport for shopping + L.L. Bean Store
Lunch – Pai Men Miyake (Ramen)
Dinner – The Highroller Lobster Co.
If you research Portland, you know you need to go to The Holy Donut! It was a lot of fun experiencing this donut shop and I wish I could have tried more than what we did. Their donuts were great and they had some fun flavors! I love that they had gluten free as well, which we found to be about as good as the regular donuts!
We then traveled to the L.L. Bean Store in Freeport. It was great to check out the store. It reminded us of a Bass Pro with more of a focus on clothing. They had a lot to offer but, more than that, there were A LOT of outlet stores around! It was a really good selection that we weren’t expecting.
When we reached our fill of shopping, we traveled back to Portland and grabbed lunch at a ramen spot called Pai Men Miyake. We’d highly recommend that if you like ramen and need a break from lobster!
There are a lot of little shops you can find and walk to in Portland. We even went to another kombucheria called Urban Farm Fermentory before heading to dinner at Highroller Lobster Co. which was an A+ lobster roll!
Day 8: Portland food and relaxation
Breakfast – Hot Suppa!!
Activity – Portland Farmer’s Market
Activity – East End Park
Lunch – The Shop by Island Creek Oysters
Dessert – Sweetcream Ice Cream
Travel – to the airport to head home
On our last day in Portland we went to breakfast at Hot Suppa and oh my goodness WHOA!!! I can’t imagine going to Portland and not eating here. I got the oyster mushroom omlet with mushrooms harvested in Portland. They are a big mushroom-harvesting community. I have no clue what that means but #eatlocal.
Next we went to the Portland Farmer’s Market which is on Saturdays. They had flavors and types of vegetables I never get to see! It was fun walking through the park and seeing all of the vendors.
After that, we walk up to East End Park. We drove a little closer before we hiked up the hill through the residential area to get there. It was beautiful weather and a great way to see the coast. There were food trucks up there too which would make it a great option for you. It definitely could have taken a big part of our day if we brought a book and just hung out.
For lunch we stopped at The Shop by Island Creek Oysters! Travis ate a lot of oysters and I…didn’t. He said they were pretty great though! We stopped in this little cheese shop which had local ice cream in the cooler. I got the lemon ricotta cake ice cream flavor by Sweetcream Ice Cream, which I had been wanting to try! Definitely a good decision. I ate it on the way to the airport as we began the travel home.
All in all, I can’t recommend Maine enough! Acadia was my favorite part and I could have spent more time there and traded a day in Portland for either another day in Acadia, a day taking in the sites of Coastal Maine, or going to Kennebunkport. However, we’d definitely copy/paste this itinerary for when we go again! Happy travels!
LVL 