frommer's maine coast day by day
TRANSCRIPT
8/8/2019 Frommer's Maine Coast Day by Day
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M e r r y m
e e t i n
g
M u s c o n g u s
B a y
SebagoLake
Litt le Sebago L.
PantherPd.
C a s c o
B a y
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Freeport
Cumberland
Cape Elizabeth
LisbonFalls
Topsham
Brunswick
OrrsIsland
BaileyIsland
SouthHarpswell
Sebasco
SmallPoint
WoolwichBath
Wiscasset
BoothbayHarbor
EdgecombBristol
Friendship
Newagen
Southport
New Harbor
ChristmasCove
Phippsburg
Monhegan
Ogunquit
Moody
Wells Beach
Wells
KennebunkKennebunkport
Kennebunk Beach
Goose Rocks Beach
WestKennebunk
Biddeford Saco
Ferry BeachBiddeford Pool
Old Orchard Beach
Pine Point
BuxtonScarborough
WestbrookGorham
SouthWindham
Sebago Lake
StandishTwoTrails
FalmouthForeside
Yarmouth
NorthWindham
EastSebago Gray
Portland
Allen I.
Monhegan I.
M e r r y m
e e t i n
g
M u s c o n g u s
B a y
SebagoLake
Litt le Sebago L.
PantherPd.
C a s c o
B a y
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Freeport
Cumberland
Cape Elizabeth
LisbonFalls
Topsham
Brunswick
OrrsIsland
BaileyIsland
SouthHarpswell
Sebasco
SmallPoint
WoolwichBath
Wiscasset
BoothbayHarbor
EdgecombBristol
Friendship
Newagen
Southport
New Harbor
ChristmasCove
Phippsburg
Monhegan
Ogunquit
Moody
Wells Beach
Wells
KennebunkKennebunkport
Kennebunk Beach
Goose Rocks Beach
WestKennebunk
Biddeford Saco
Ferry BeachBiddeford Pool
Old Orchard Beach
Pine Point
BuxtonScarborough
WestbrookGorham
SouthWindham
Sebago Lake
StandishTwoTrails
FalmouthForeside
Yarmouth
NorthWindham
EastSebago Gray
Portland
Allen I.
Monhegan I.
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dayBy
day™
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Maine Coast
26 Smart Ways to See the Region
8/8/2019 Frommer's Maine Coast Day by Day
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1Strategies for Seeing
the Maine Coast
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8
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The Maine Coast
Previous page: Paying a little more for an ocean view is well worth the cost.
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9
S t r a t e gi e s
f or S e e i n
g M ai n e
Going to the Maine coast for a week isn’t like going to
Daytona, Maui, or even Boston; it’s far bigger, chillier, foggier,
less expensive, and more thinly populated, to take just a few exam-
ples. Here are a few strategies and rules of thumb that can help you
get the most enjoyment out of this unique place.
Rule #1: Get yourself somewheels. Public transit in Maine
exists, but it’s frankly not all that
great. (This is a big and mostly rural
state, so you can’t really blame
them for that.) Unless you’re plan-ning to confine yourself to Port-
land—in which case you could use
city buses, but even then, you’d still
end up walking a lot—you’re going
to need bicycle, scooter, or automo-
bile wheels almost anywhere that
you want to go.
Rule #2: Think about visitingduring the off-season. Maine is
a prime summer destination, of
course, but it’s pretty wonderful in
late spring and fall, too. And you
can sometimes save big on coastal
hotel rooms by visiting the coast
before July or after Labor Day.
Weekdays, of course, also tend tobe much cheaper than weekends—
even in high summer season.
Rule #3: Don’t try to do toomuch. After all, the Maine coast is
a place to relax. That means travel-
ing and sightseeing slowly. Some of
my very best memories here involve
slow, solitary walks along beaches
or up mountains when I had no itin-
erary and no watch on my wrist,
and the next day’s plans weren’t
pressing me to hurry back to my
room or campsite. Staying in onetown—and one room—for 3 days
isn’t a bad idea at all.
Rule #4: Adjust your expecta-tions slightly downward. Luxury
inns and gourmet restaurants are
here in increasing numbers, but there
are also plenty of villages (Downeast
and on out-of-the-way peninsulas)that still offer lodgings best described
as throwbacks to the old days—days
when a traveler would sleep in a
sparely furnished room, sharing hall-
way bathrooms and communal break-
fasts with fellow travelers. That’s not
an unpleasant experience at all, so
long as you come in expecting it. Any-way, on this coast, Mother Nature is
the star attraction.
Rule #5: Pay more for a view(or don’t). It’s up to you, but know
what you’re getting before you get
here. Even resort rooms on the
Maine coast sometimes look out on
Renting a bike is a great way to see the sights along Maine’s coast.
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10
S t r a t e g i e s
f o r S e e i
n g M
a i n e
tried to nudge you gently toward
things that aren’t obvious tourist
stops—local coffee shops and din-
ers, little-known historical spots,
somewhat-secret beaches. You cansee just the “greatest hits” if you
want, but you’ll probably have a bet-
ter story to tell afterward if you
deviate from them.
Rule #9: Bring a good cam-era. I’ve traveled and photo-
graphed all over the world.
Recently, I realized that many of my
favorite shots came from right here
on the Maine coast, often in anony-
mous places. The interplay of water,
sunlight, fog, stone, snow, and sand
never fails to create something I’ve
never seen before—and won’t see
again, after the next 1 ⁄ 8th of a second.
Rule #10: Be like a Boy Scout. You know, “Be Prepared”? I’m talk-
ing about the weather here. We all
dream of perfect, sunny days on the
beach, but in reality, Maine is a
pretty humid place (it’s next to a big
pile of water called “the ocean,”
after all). You can expect to be
rained out maybe a third of the time
in summer, sometimes much more
often than that in a bad year. Bring
umbrellas, a sweater, a change of
dry shoes, a TV Guide, and a thick
novel, just in case. •
gorgeous ocean vistas and sometime
look out over big parking lots. Prices
usually reflect these differences in
scenery—but not always. When
booking, always ask about your viewand try to negotiate a better one if
possible. You could scrimp, of
course, but here’s my take: Going to
Maine and then skipping the views
doesn’t make much sense.
Rule #6: Get out on thewater. Maine is all about the sea,
so at some point, you need to feel
that salty, bracing sea spray on your
face to really experience the place.
Whether it’s on a ferry boat, a deep-
sea fishing excursion, a boogie
board, or a friend’s yacht, it doesn’t
especially matter; just get out there.
Rule #7: Engage locals. Youdon’t need to put on a fake accent
and wear a Red Sox hat to fit in (in
fact, don’t do those things if you’re
not from New England). Mainers are
surprisingly open and humorous,
you’ll find, even if they seem pretty
quiet at first. It’s a cultural thing. Get
past that hard shell (here’s where a lit-
tle Red Sox knowledge really comes in
handy), and people are usually pretty
friendly deep down. And you can
always talk about weather.
Rule #8: Get off the beatentrack. Throughout this book, I’ve
Water taxis are a convenient way to experience the sea in Maine.