Suggestions for a day in Bar Harbor

We will be arriving in Bar Harbor on the Caribbean Princes in early October. Any suggestions on what to do for the day in port?

We will be arriving in Bar Harbor on the Caribbean Princes in early October. Any suggestions on what to do for the day in port?

Here are some suggestions:

• take independent long tour of Acadia National Park with Oli's Trolley or Acadia National Park Tours
  
• walk the Bar Harbor Shore Path;
  
• walk to Bar Island (only doable at or near low tide);
  
• walk the Ocean Path in ANP;
  
• rent bicycles to ride on ANP Carriage Roads;
  
• stroll & shop Bar Harbor;
  
• have a meal at the Jordan Pond House Restaurant;
  
• hike one of the many hiking trails in ANP;
  
• go whale watching;
  
• ride on a Maine lobster boat;
  
• sail on the schooner Margret Todd.
  

FYI, from late June to early October, there is a free public bus service (Island Explorer) that has various routes on MDI.

SBtS

Here are some picture ideas from when I was there:

Walk through downtown and have a Lobster Roll

Take a bus tour through Acadia National Park...

...and Cadillac Mountain

See the beautiful Tiffany stained glass of St. Saviour's Episcopal Church

Take a harbor cruise

Generally what is the weather like late September?

Generally what is the weather like late September?

Go to http://www.wunderground.com/, scroll down to History Data and follow the prompts for the towns you are interested in.

We loved the 2 hour tour -- Oli's Trolley to Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain.

Loved the pictures of the town --- it rained most of this week, but still a lovely place!! Next time you will see a big change due to the building of a huge hotel on West Street. http://theweststreethotel.com/ It will be beautiful when it is done Jan

Bar Harbour sounds great- there was a mention of bike riding. Where are you able to hire the bikes from? Given we will only have a short time there on a cruise- what part of the park is best to ride?

Bar Harbour sounds great- there was a mention of bike riding. Where are you able to hire the bikes from? Given we will only have a short time there on a cruise- what part of the park is best to ride?

Here are 2 rental companies; they are about a 5 minute walk from the tender dock if you don't do any window shopping

• Bar Harbor Bicycle Shop,
  
• Acadia Bike,
  

Your best choice on where to ride would be to take the free Island Explorer Bike Express to the entrance to the Carriage Roads at Eagle Lake.

SBtS

Not all cycling in the park is family friendly. Depending on your level of ability and experience, you'll need to find an appropriate route. However, the buses make it easy... you can ride the buses into the park and then cycle back out.... allowing you to determine the amount of hills that you do!

All of this to say that if you choose to do this, you'll want to do your homework. The Carriage Roads are AWESOME.... and well worth it.

By the way... for a chance to see the carriage roads without as much work, you might consider checking out the horse carriage rides out of Wildwood Stables. There's a fun ride to the top of Day Mountain that you might look into.

Whatever you do... enjoy the park!

We are flightseeing over ANP .Booked a 1 1/2 hour flight with Acadia Air.Then lunch at one of the restaurants to sample Lobster Roll,Blueberry ale and pie.Great cozy town very explorable on foot.Everything would be great if we can find a souvenier that isn't made in China

We are flightseeing over ANP .Booked a 1 1/2 hour flight with Acadia Air.Then lunch at one of the restaurants to sample Lobster Roll,Blueberry ale and pie.Great cozy town very explorable on foot.Everything would be great if we can find a souvenier that isn't made in China

There are some lovely paintings that are local, Willis has jewelry that they put together (Maine tourmaline), the Christmas shop has items that are/might be local. Lots of "stuff" that isn't in many of the shops. Jan

Here are some picture ideas from when I was there:

 

Walk through downtown and have a Lobster Roll

 

 

Take a bus tour through Acadia National Park...

 

...and Cadillac Mountain

 

See the beautiful Tiffany stained glass of St. Saviour's Episcopal Church

 

Take a harbor cruise

Sail on this beautiful boat, the Margaret Todd.

You can book an excursion for a sail. On a pretty day, it's wonderful.

We have sailed the Maasdam (the HAL ship in the photo) on the Canada/New England itinerary year after year, b-to-b and always enjoy our visit in Bar Harbor.

Afternoon tea at the Jordan Pond House.

You haven't lived until you've had hot popover ala mode with blueberry sauce.

another vote for oli

shot from the trip

We did the Oli's Trolley each of the 3 times we did this cruise! Bar Harbor is a neat town to walk around afterwards. The free shuttle was closed for the season when we did go or we would have made use of it. The scenes in Acadia NP are wonderful!

We were there about 5 years ago and it was one of the best days I've had on any cruise. We did a 1/2 day tour to Acadia National Park and then had lunch in town - a yummy lobster roll, and then just walked around. We found a place with homemade blueberry pie that was delicious! Our cruise was the last week of September and we had beautiful weather - but too early for fall foliage.

We were in Bar Harbor on the Maasdem in May. We had a wonderful air tour of the area, with Acadia Air Tours they even have a biplane. They pick you up right at the pier and return you when you are done. It was great fun and a wonderful view of the area. Great folks to deal with, check them out on the web and bring your camera these were the best pictures from out trip.

We cruised last Sept on the same ship and Bar Harbor was our favorite stop! We did a Princess tour of Acadia National Park and lobster boil lunch at the Bar Harbor Club. This tour was amazing and lunch was delicious! We had plenty of time at the end of the tour to walk around the town and do a little shopping and took some great pics.

We were in Bar Harbor on the Maasdem in May. We had a wonderful air tour of the area, with Acadia Air Tours they even have a biplane. They pick you up right at the pier and return you when you are done. It was great fun and a wonderful view of the area. Great folks to deal with, check them out on the web and bring your camera these were the best pictures from out trip.

Glad that they pick you up - sounds like a lovely way to see the area - I've flown in and out of the Bar Harbor airport and love the views from the air. We were in the area for a week in both April and May. When in May was your ship? - We did see a ship in the harbor, but couldn't tell which one it was. Jan

We were in Bar Harbor on 5/18. It was a beautiful sunny day. This cruise was the first of the 7 day cruises. We sailed from Montreal to Boston. Ir was a great cruise.

Look for the jewelry they make from sea glass. It is really unique. Better yet, find a beach and hunt for sea glass yourself.

I'm looking at the same cruise too. Do you recommend going through Princess for shore excursions?

After reading these suggestions, I checked online for Acadia Park Service. That also sounds great. We were originally thinking of Oli's, however, now maybe Acadia Park Service. We're doing cruise end of Sept. and will be in Bar Harbor on Oct. 3.

Anyone taken Acadia Park Service Tour? Any better than Oli's or about the same? Price is almost the same also.

Thanks for any input.