Scooter rental in Bar Harbor?

[mzoscar1]

We have a short day in port in Bar Harbor and are considering renting scooters to tour Acadia NP from Acadia Outfitters. Has anyone done this, or had any experience with other rentals from this company?

[2little time]

Originally Posted by mzoscar1

We have a short day in port in Bar Harbor and are considering renting scooters to tour Acadia NP from Acadia Outfitters. Has anyone done this, or had any experience with other rentals from this company?

I have been looking at this company as well. I would like to rent scooters but wonder if there are so many cars on the park loop that it makes it dangerous?

[SailBadtheSinner]

Originally Posted by 2little time

............. I would like to rent scooters but wonder if there are so many cars on the park loop that it makes it dangerous?

If you provide the date of your visit, I'm sure you'll get an answer.

Have you joined your roll call?


SBtS

[mzoscar1]

2little time raises a good point on safety. We are there on Monday Set 24th. I was hoping since we arrive early (8am), and even after tendering, we would be able to start our touring before the organized tours begin for the day that heavy traffic wouldn't be an issue. Any advice would certainly be appreciated!

[2little time]

Originally Posted by mzoscar1

2little time raises a good point on safety. We are there on Monday Set 24th. I was hoping since we arrive early (8am), and even after tendering, we would be able to start our touring before the organized tours begin for the day that heavy traffic wouldn't be an issue. Any advice would certainly be appreciated!

I called the company today and found out that they do not rent after October 15th due to the weather. I won't be there until the 31st. They did however say that the busy time on the park loop road is from 9 to 3 and that the busses are not usually the problem as they go slowly. It is the cars that you need to watch for. He said the busiest time of the year is the "leaf" season.

[SailBadtheSinner]

Originally Posted by mzoscar1

2little time raises a good point on safety. We are there on Monday Set 24th. I was hoping since we arrive early (8am), and even after tendering, we would be able to start our touring before the organized tours begin for the day that heavy traffic wouldn't be an issue. Any advice would certainly be appreciated!

things to consider before renting scooters:

In your favor-

• children have returned to school, less families vacationing at Bar Harbor & Acadia National Park;
• you'll be riding on the Park Loop Rd which is one-way, no on coming traffic;
• your visit is on a weekday, weekend visitors have left;
• you are visiting ANP before peak foliage change and the influx of leaf peepers, peak foliage season is early in October;
• there are few straight a ways so speeding is not a problem.

Not in your favor-

• you'll be riding on the Park Loop Rd which is only 2 lanes wide with no break down lanes. there are scenic overlooks in spots;
• parking is allowed in the right hand lane in some spots;
• car drivers are sometimes distracted by the scenery (I'm guilty of that one);
• inpatient car drivers may tailgate you and you may not have a spot to let them pass
• if you are going up Cadillac Mountain, drop off on one side and cliff on the other (choose your poison), even in a car, I try to sneak a peak the higher I go, I wouldn't try that on a scooter.

Question-
What is your experience and your wife's on a motorcycle or scooter. For your wife, riding pillion does not count.

If this is your first time on a MC/scooter, I would look into renting a car.


SBtS

[mzoscar1]

Originally Posted by SailBadtheSinner

things to consider before renting scooters:

In your favor-

• children have returned to school, less families vacationing at Bar Harbor & Acadia National Park;
• you'll be riding on the Park Loop Rd which is one-way, no on coming traffic;
• your visit is on a weekday, weekend visitors have left;
• you are visiting ANP before peak foliage change and the influx of leaf peepers, peak foliage season is early in October;
• there are few straight a ways so speeding is not a problem.

Not in your favor-

• you'll be riding on the Park Loop Rd which is only 2 lanes wide with no break down lanes. there are scenic overlooks in spots;
• parking is allowed in the right hand lane in some spots;
• car drivers are sometimes distracted by the scenery (I'm guilty of that one);
• inpatient car drivers may tailgate you and you may not have a spot to let them pass
• if you are going up Cadillac Mountain, drop off on one side and cliff on the other (choose your poison), even in a car, I try to sneak a peak the higher I go, I wouldn't try that on a scooter.

Question-
What is your experience and your wife's on a motorcycle or scooter. For your wife, riding pillion does not count.

If this is your first time on a MC/scooter, I would look into renting a car.


SBtS

SBTS: Thanks for posting your opinions on the scooter. I was hoping that a Monday morning outside of the peak leaf season would result in fewer cars on the road. The road up to the mountain sounds similar to us driving around Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe, so I don't think the cliffs would be an issue for us. However, you raised good concerns on tailgaters and distracted drivers. My husband is an experienced motorcycle rider, but this would be my first time driving on my own. We have seen many times where motorcycles on the roads seem to be invisible to some drivers....

Unfortunately, renting a car is not an option since the only rental outlet is at the airport, and we would lose valuable time on a short port day commuting between the two locations, especially since the rental agency didn't open until 2 hours after we arrived in port. Looks like we are back to the option of Oli's Trolleys or the Island Explorer bus. I was hoping for a bit more freedom to explore on our own, but it appears it is not to be. Thanks for your help.

[SailBadtheSinner]

Originally Posted by mzoscar1

SBTS: Thanks for posting your opinions .................

Unfortunately, renting a car is not an option since the only rental outlet is at the airport, and we would lose valuable time on a short port day commuting between the two locations, especially since the rental agency didn't open until 2 hours after we arrived in port. Looks like we are back to the option of Oli's Trolleys or the Island Explorer bus. I was hoping for a bit more freedom to explore on our own, but it appears it is not to be. Thanks for your help.

Since you mentioned Oli's Trolley, their long tour starts at 10:00am which would be 3 hours after arriving in port.

Bar Harbor is a tender port, the first tenders will carry paxs with cruise ship excursions and then the rest. I would guess you'll be on shore by 8-8:30ish.

Also, CC members who have visited Bar Harbor and posted here have written that when they rented a car, delivery and drop off of the rental were at the town (tender) dock and were arranged in advance. They did not have to travel off-island for pickup and return. I believe they mentioned Enterprise as the agency. IMHO, that would be worth looking into.

The Island Explorer is an option which would give you longer stays at places of interest. Much longer than Oli's tour would or the cruise ship excursion would; but the downside is that it does not do Cadillac Mountain.


SBtS

[mzoscar1]

Originally Posted by SailBadtheSinner

Since you mentioned Oli's Trolley, their long tour starts at 10:00am which would be 3 hours after arriving in port.

Bar Harbor is a tender port, the first tenders will carry paxs with cruise ship excursions and then the rest. I would guess you'll be on shore by 8-8:30ish.

Also, CC members who have visited Bar Harbor and posted here have written that when they rented a car, delivery and drop off of the rental were at the town (tender) dock and were arranged in advance. They did not have to travel off-island for pickup and return. I believe they mentioned Enterprise as the agency. IMHO, that would be worth looking into.

The Island Explorer is an option which would give you longer stays at places of interest. Much longer than Oli's tour would or the cruise ship excursion would; but the downside is that it does not do Cadillac Mountain.


SBtS

We did initially have a reservation with Enterprise. They will pick passengers up at the port area, but the car would need to be returned to the airport and then they would transport you back to town. Given our timing in port with a 4:00 departure, and allowing for transit time, we would only have the car available to us for about four hours, which we didn't feel made it worth the effort. After giving up on the idea of a car, I tried to find a motorcycle rental option, but the best I could find was the scooter which does have it drawbacks.
mzO1

[fruitnut]

Originally Posted by mzoscar1

We did initially have a reservation with Enterprise. They will pick passengers up at the port area, but the car would need to be returned to the airport and then they would transport you back to town. Given our timing in port with a 4:00 departure, and allowing for transit time, we would only have the car available to us for about four hours, which we didn't feel made it worth the effort. After giving up on the idea of a car, I tried to find a motorcycle rental option, but the best I could find was the scooter which does have it drawbacks.
mzO1

Hi SB, just wonder what you ended up doing or decidimg We'll be arrive Oct 19th and wondering best option.

[daigleclan]

Just an FYI -
The Island Explorer stopped their route last weekend during Columbus Weekend.
Oli's Trollies still operates until the end of October.
I wouldn't recommend renting a scooter/motorcycle at that time of year because it can be very chilly here, esp in the mornings. Although this past weekend the weather was great for hiking/walking.
The airport is only about 15-20 minutes away from downtown Bar Harbor. The traffic shouldn't be too bad since it will be at the end of the foliage season here and usually traffic slows down after Columbus Day weekend anyway.

Have fun! It is a beautiful place to visit and I go there many times throughout the year esp in the summer and fall. Any other questions feel free to ask.

[daigleclan]

Ooops, forgot. While in Bar Harbo this past weekend I saw numerous taxi's doing tours of the island. Go to http://www.barharborcoastalcab.com/ or http://atyourservicetaxi.com/ and they list their rates and tours. They will stop wherever you want for as long as you want on your tour. This might be an alternative to renting a car.

[fruitnut]

Hi Daigleclan, I so appreciate you taking the time to provide info and just in time too as I was plaaning to use the park bus. So looks like will need to find alternate. Car rental is relatively expensive compare to other cities. So I will probably take one of the taxi tours you mentioned. Btw, according to one of the taxi companies, lobster pounds close this year on 8th Oct. sucks, I was looking forward to it

[klauer]

This is just my opinion, but I think that four hours is plenty of time to explore Acadia NP.
It very well could be chilly and rainy like one of the posters mentioned, so riding a motorcycle or scooter might not be too enjoyable.

[fred30]

Acadia:
http://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm

Acadia map:
http://www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisi...CADmap2005.pdf

Four hours in Acadia would definitely be a condensed trip through if the weather is nice. The main road through the park is one way so you have to plan what you want to see so you can get it in order. At the time you are going there should not be much traffic but you need to keep this in mind.