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Town of Bar Harbor


alrose251
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Hi, we are thinking about doing a private tour to Acadia Park. We have an option of 3, 4 or 5 hours tours.

 

How much is there to do around the town? Should we allow time to explore the town too?

 

Thanks!

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  • 1 month later...

I have this exact same question. There will be three ships in port the day we are there. Will Bar Harbor be overrun with tourists (weekday, mid-September)?

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Hi, we are thinking about doing a private tour to Acadia Park. We have an option of 3, 4 or 5 hours tours.

 

How much is there to do around the town? Should we allow time to explore the town too?

 

I have this exact same question. There will be three ships in port the day we are there. Will Bar Harbor be overrun with tourists (weekday, mid-September)?

 

I've checked the cruise ship schedule, and yes, there will be 3 cruise ships at Bar Harbor during your visit, but the total passengers will be about the same as if the Breakaway was visiting. And don't forget the land based tourists who are on vacation that also will be visiting. It will be crowded.

 

You have to tour Acadia National Park, but leave enough time to walk the town. Besides shopping, there is not much to do there but enjoy the small town ambience. Bar Harbor is the quintessential New England small town.

SBtS

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We were just in Acadia National Park a week ago and it was crazy just before the July 4th holiday. People parking up and down the roads made it almost impassable at times with large sections basically becoming one lane roads. Be sure to watch your time and you may have to pass on some parts of the park. Cadillac mountain access is closed if too many people are on the mountain.

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It's a really great little town within walking distance. I have spent several land vacations in the area. How much time do you have total? Because I think spending more time on an Acadia tour would be best if you have 2+ hours to spend in the town. It's not big, lots of little shops, but for general wandering purposes, you can see a lot of it pretty quickly. You could spend days in Acadia, though. How do the tour itineraries vary?

 

Mid September is a great time to be there. The ship will add a lot of people, but the land-based tourism really drops off after school starts. So pretty! Makes me want to go back!

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The itinerary for the 5 hour tour is:

Historic district of Bar Harbor

Acadia National Park

Seal Harbor

Northeast Harbor

Lunch at Beals Lobster Pound in Southwest Harbor

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse

 

The 4 hour tour ends after Northeast Harbor (no lunch or Lighthouse).

 

 

The 3 hour tour appears to be Acadia National Park only.

 

 

We are having great difficulty deciding between the 4 and 5 hour tours, so any feedback is appreciated! We have a maximum of 7 hours shore time, and three ships in port that day. Our first time in the area.

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Oh the lobster pound is a good addition to the tour! Definitely the 4 or 5 hour tour.

 

I think, since the tour includes the historic district of Bar Harbor, you should go for the 5 hours. Then you can be back in town for long enough to get a souvenir/ice cream/ whatever else you might like. Having transportation to see the lighthouse and the other towns will be huge.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
Will try to remember to post feedback of how we like our tour in September.

 

The tour was itinerary was good, but we wished we had booked a shorter tour. Bar Harbor is beautiful, we wanted more time to explore on our own. I would book the 3 hour tour if I could do it over again.

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Earlier this month in Bar Harbor, we did an air tour with Scenic Flights of Acadia. They picked us up at the pier and drove us to the airport. We did the 50 minute flight and we got to see much more than a land tour. It was great. They dropped us off back downtown where we had lobster rolls and then wandered around a bit. Would recommend for something different!

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  • 2 weeks later...
The tour was itinerary was good, but we wished we had booked a shorter tour. Bar Harbor is beautiful, we wanted more time to explore on our own. I would book the 3 hour tour if I could do it over again.

 

 

Thanks jdaa, for the update! I'm leaving this Friday and also booked at 5hr tour with At Your Service in Bar Harbor... now I am reconsidering. We were also thinking 4hrs initially. Was Beal's Lobster worth it? Or should we try a place in town instead after a shorter tour?

 

Were there any areas that you would have rather skipped and moved on to make it a shorter tour?

 

 

Granted, but the time the tour ends, we do still have several hours before we leave town to explore...but I'm concerned if 5hrs might be too long for a 76yr old and two kids age 6 &9.

 

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks so much for your help in advance! =)

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Earlier this month in Bar Harbor, we did an air tour with Scenic Flights of Acadia. They picked us up at the pier and drove us to the airport. We did the 50 minute flight and we got to see much more than a land tour. It was great. They dropped us off back downtown where we had lobster rolls and then wandered around a bit. Would recommend for something different!

If you don't mind, I have a few questions regarding your experience with Scenic flights. Did you take their "Cruise ship tour"? Was the 50 minute flight the right amount of time needed? Did they fly by the ship? How much in advance did you book this trip? Any other comments are appreciated.

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We took the 4 hour Acadia National Park with Olie's Trolley on 10/3 (book on-line) at 0930, were back at the port by 1:30, waited about 20 min. in line to eat a late lunch at the West Street Cafe (very good) and then went back to the ship. No shopping, although there is a lot of that available close to the pier. The line for the last tender was long, and the last tender ran at 3:30. We had two ships in port (HAL Zuiderdam and Regal Princess).

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