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A Travel and Photography Journal

Visit Bar Harbor

I have been going to Bar Harbor, actually Northeast Harbor, its smaller neighbor, in July and/or August for the past 25 summers. This is what I have learned over the years, and it is what I tell my friends who ask me about Maine, my insider's advice for your visit.

Category: Maine

A couple of decades of visiting makes me a newcomer as a summer person since most families have been coming to Maine from Philadelphia for generations. Nevertheless, I have picked up some handy information to know when you visit Bar Harbor.

Updated: 27 Sept 2024

Things to Do

What should be on your list for your trip to Acadia National Park? Here are my recommendations after dozens of visits to Bar Harbor.

Where to Eat

From lobster rolls to popovers to blueberry pie to my favorite restaurants – everything food related in Bar Harbor.

On the Water

On a hot day, boating is a great way to cool down. The air on the water can be 10 degrees cooler and much breezier than in town, and when the temperature starts to climb, island hopping is just the thing.

When to Visit

The short answer is June 1 – October 15; the tourist season is between Memorial Day and Columbus Day, or now, rather, Indigenous Peoples’ Day. I have been there earlier in May and as late as November, and it’s cold. However, I am told that the snow is beautiful, but I have yet to see it. Most Mainers are heading to Florida during the winter for a reason. Bar Harbor is very crowded in the summer, especially when a cruise ship is in town. Don’t forget to check the cruise ship schedules.

Deciding Which Month to Visit Bar Harbor

June can be wet and is known as black fly season, but I was there last year for most of June, and it was perfect. We had a fire every night, and the days were warm. It was easy to find parking along the trail heads, but the park buses weren’t running yet, and some restaurants weren’t open. It’s pre-season.

July and August are prime time. Everyone wants to be in Maine, and you’ll see why. It’s wonderful. Sometimes, the fog rolls in, and you can’t see anything, or you may get a rainy day. When that happens, you are usually grateful because the long days are full and exhausting with hiking, biking, and sailing. Bar Harbor is very far “down east”; the sun rises at 4 am, and the birds sing. It takes some good black-out shades to adjust and get 8 hours of sleep.

September is slower because kids are heading back to school (we hope), but it is lovely. I have been up for the first ten days in October for the past two years, and I love it. It’s prime fall color and cold at night, so there are lots of fires. You don’t have to get up as early or stay up as late for sunrise and sunset, which is a bonus for photographers.

The Mount Desert Marathon is October 20 this year, which is the season’s last bump. People clear out afterward. Houses are closed down, and the pipes are drained. The restaurants shut down. The population of Mount Desert Island is 10,000, with Bar Harbor being home to 5,000. During the summer? I’ve seen more people than that waiting for a popover at Jordan Pond House.

How to Avoid the Cruise Ships

Bar Harbor is a small town, so when the tour buses come in, and the hotels are full, it is crowded, and that number grows exponentially when a cruise ship is in port. It is so unpleasant that I print out the cruise ship schedule yearly and actively avoid the area when the big ships are in port. Last year, there were ships almost every day, but most left in the late afternoon, so the evenings were fine. Check with the Port of Bar Harbor for the schedule.

Getting to Maine

A visit to Bar Harbor is logistically complicated. It’s not easy to get here. Maine fills with tourists in the summer, and the flights are expensive and full. There are lots of summer camps, and it is particularly crowded during the parents’ weekends in the middle of July. Finding hotel accommodations is also tricky.

Drive

You will have the most flexibility if you drive. You can load your car with all your gear without worrying about rental cars, ground transportation, or canceled flights.

It’s a long drive from Jupiter, FL ~ I’m just saying. Still, that’s what we do, making stops along the way. Joe likes to take the auto train, which I loathe, so sometimes he takes the train up, and I drive the car back. It’s far. Did I say that?

Fly

Bar Harbor BHB

The airport is actually in Trenton and is about 15 or 20 minutes from our front door, but it’s a tiny airport. The weather can affect the few scheduled flights, and cancelations are not unusual and can ruin a short trip. However, a cancellation is better than a crash, which just happened on a foggy day in July. Generally speaking, BHB is great when things go smoothly, but you can get stuck. My girlfriends came up recently, and there was bad weather and a bumpy flight, but they made it. Whew.

Bangor BGR

The next closest airport is Bangor; it’s 45 miles away and takes at least an hour, depending on traffic. This is a larger airport and home to the Maine Air National Guard, so they stay open and have several flights every day. Rescheduling if your flight is delayed or canceled is easier, but still not easy.

My daughter’s friend’s flight home was canceled two years in a row, and she ended up on the Greyhound to Boston. This is common. I do not book connecting flights through Boston because it is not unusual to arrive at the gate only to be informed that your flight has been oversold or canceled, and there is a bus waiting to drive you to Bangor ~ a 4-hour drive, where you arrive late at night when the airport is closed. Good luck finding a ride to Bar Harbor. You can refuse the bus ride, but then they have to try to re-book you on full flights, and it could take days to find an available seat.

I usually fly through LaGuardia on Delta, which has worked the best for me, although not perfectly. One year, while walking to the gate, I was notified that my connection had been canceled. They got me on a flight to Boston, which was closer, and I rented a car and drove the rest of the way – it took 4.5 hrs, and I got in at 11:30 pm. A visit to Bar Harbor is logistically complicated.

Portland PWM

It’s a three-hour drive to Bar Harbor. However, if you have never been, it might be worth flying in and/or out of Portland. It’s a great city with many things to do, and the food is terrific. You could drive up the coastal route (US1), stopping at the L. L. Bean store, Rockland, and Camden. It’s worth the extra time if you have it.

Portland PWM, not Portland PDX

Baby Sis was coming up to stay with us when Joseph was a baby. She had her boarding pass and was watching a traveler lose her mind when informed that the plane had no seats. So, Baby Sis went to the agent and negotiated a later flight, a voucher, and a hotel accommodation in Portland. The agent gave the madwoman the seat, and everyone was grateful she was on her way.

Fast-forward to Baby Sis’s arrival in Portland at midnight. She got in the rental car, called the hotel for directions, and headed out. She couldn’t find the hotel, so she called back, and tried again. No luck. Frustrated, she pulled out a map, and called back, and said where are you exactly? It turns out the hotel was in Portland, Oregon, not Portland, Maine. No wonder she couldn’t find the hotel. When they figured out the issue, the clerk informed Baby Sis that she was at the wrong airport ~ facepalm. In retrospect, she should have known, there are no hotels available in Maine in the summer.

Boston Logan BOS

This airport will provide the most flexibility in flight selections, and is probably going to be the cheapest option, but you have to drive 4-5 hours. If you want to include the drive from Boston as part of your visit to Bar Harbor and take the coastal route, it is fun but a slow slog. There are LOTS of motor homes and tourists, creeping along enjoying the beauty. Be warned. It is much faster to take I-95 to Bangor and drive south on coastal route 1A, even though it is a longer distance.

Where to Stay

Hotels

Bar Harbor has many accommodation choices and is an excellent option if you want to be in the middle of the action. Be sure to ask about parking! It is the central hub for the Explorer Buses, so you can get around the park easily. A lot is happening ~ restaurants, movie theaters, outfitters, etc.

Bar Harbor Inn and Spa

Southwest Harbor is a great option, too. Located on the ‘quiet side’ side of the island, it is much less touristy but is still on the Explorer Bus route and close to some park trails. It is a more mixed community of locals and summer people. It is known for its Flamingo Festival, in July.

The Claremont

House Rental

There are several smaller villages and islands bordering the park, which are quaint and charming. They might not be the right fit for the first visit because they are too remote and lack amenities: Seal Harbor, Northeast Harbor, Pretty Marsh, the Cranberry Islands, and Schoodic Point. You want to be on Mount Desert Island! Don’t economize with a hotel in Trenton or Ellsworth because you will spend your vacation in traffic driving back and forth over the bridge.

We have rented several houses in Northeast Harbor, and they all have quirkiness. If you rent a private home, ask about the number of showers, not bedrooms. Some old houses have eight bedrooms and two bathrooms, only one with a shower.