Maine Coast, Lighthouses & Lobsters - Aug. 25 to 30, 2024

MAINE COAST LIGHTHOUSES & LOBSTERS

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25 - FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2024

PRICE PER PERSON: 

$1897 - Double

$1710 - Triple 

$2484 - Single 

Travel protection is available to help protect your investment, your belongings and most importantly, you. The full plan details can be viewed under About / Travel Protection Plan. Rates are per person and based on the excursion price & length, and guest’s age at time of booking. Travel protection must be purchased at the time of booking and paid in full with the excursion deposit.

TENTATIVE ITINERARY:

Day One – Sunday, August 25: Welcome to Vacationland! Head north for Portland, Maine’s largest city-by-the-sea.  Check in to your full-service hotel, the Best Western Merry Manor Inn (or similar) in South Portland. You’ll meet the Maine Tour Lobsterette at check in, who will provide a souvenir Lobster ‘Hat’ for each passenger. Dinner included this evening.

Day Two – Monday, August 26: After an included breakfast, meet your local guide for a morning tour of historic Portland, including a photo stop at Portland Head lighthouse – Maine’s oldest and the most photographed!

Next, you’ll take a private, guided tour of another nearby lighthouse that is not normally open to the public.  The Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse is accessed via a granite jetty You’ll see how the lighthouse keepers lived on the Maine coast and enjoy the scenic view of Casco Bay when you walk out on the ledge at the top of this two-story beacon. 

Travel to Freeport to explore and enjoy lunch on your own at Freeport Village, home of sporting goods king, L.L. Bean and numerous outlet shops and restaurants. 

Sit back and relax for your afternoon drive through the mid-coast Maine region, dotted with glimpses of quiet coves and bustling harbor villages.

In the lobster capital of the world – you’ll check in to your home for 3 nights in downtown Rockland, overlooking Penobscot Bay. Rockland Harbor Hotel is a modern hotel on the north end of Main Street, within walking distance to shops, restaurants, art galleries & museums. Three blocks from lighthouse museum and boardwalk park. All guestrooms overlook the bustling waterfront with fishing and ferry boats. Hotel features a fitness center but no pool.

Have some free time to explore Main Street or the boardwalk before dinner included tonight at a local favorite restaurant.

Day Three – Tuesday, August 27: Breakfast included at the hotel this morning before heading to Camden.

Have your camera ready for a photo stop atop Mt. Battie within the beautiful Camden Hills State Park, where you’ll see sweeping views of Penobscot Bay and the surrounding islands.

Travel to Bar Harbor. The town of Bar Harbor sits at the gateway to Acadia and is a friendly collection of streets, shops and restaurants atop a hill that overlooks the harbor where tour boats, fishing vessels and cruise ships are moored. 

Enjoy some free time and lunch on your own at one of the many locally owned and operated restaurants.

This afternoon, you’ll meet your local guide for a tour of Acadia National Park. Here in the first park founded east of the Mississippi, you’ll see tremendous coastline views that have attracted the elite to this area for years and hear stories of the Victorian "rusticators", more recent visitors, and famous residents. Highlights of this tour include the stunning Loop Road, the summit of Cadillac Mountain, the crashing waves at Thunder Hole and quiet beauty of the inland park scenery. The trees will be turning their fall colors of reds and golds! 

Roll up your sleeves this evening for a traditional included Downeast Lobsterbake with all the fixin’s! Alternate menus offered for landlubbers. 

Day Four – Wednesday, August 28: After your included breakfast, make your way to scenic Boothbay Harbor for the day.  Boothbay Harbor is the sailing capital of Maine, featuring brick sidewalks and boardwalk along the waterfront wharfs lined with unique shops, eateries, and galleries.

Board a large tour boat for a scenic Boothbay Harbor Cruise. You’ll pass by beautiful vacation homes, lighthouses, small islands and out to see the seals on the ledges on this fully narrated, two-hour cruise with both open and enclosed decks.                          

Enjoy lunch on your own and free time to explore the wharf area after the cruise. You'll find handcrafted goods, antiques, and unique maritime and art galleries. Many of the restaurants here overlook the bustling harbor, some with patios.

Next, you’ll visit the Boothbay Railway Village which represents a turn-of-the-20th-century Maine village containing railroad memorabilia, antique cars and trucks, restored buildings: a blacksmith shop, red schoolhouse, general store, 1847 Boothbay town hall, Freeport railway station, Spruce Point Chapel, and more.  Included in your visit is a ride on a narrow-gauge railway.

Make your way back to Rockland for an included dinner and overnight stay.            

Day Five - Thursday, August 29: After an included breakfast, you’ll head to Maine’s pristine south coast region, famous for its stretches of sandy beaches and salt air breezes.  You’ll have a fun time shopping for bargain souvenirs at the Maine State Prison Showroom enroute. 

Time for shopping along cobblestone streets and lunch on own in Portland's historic waterfront district, the Old Port Exchange.  Portland is a small city that mixes urban sophistication with home-town friendliness. The Old Port area has been restored to 19th century splendor, with cobbled streets and beautiful Victorian brick buildings housing an eclectic mix of restaurants, microbreweries, art galleries, and specialty shops.

Take a narrated Portland Harbor cruise.  Pass through the Calendar Islands of Casco Bay and past several lighthouses. You're likely to spot a harbor seal as well as you hear the maritime history of Maine's largest seaport.

Travel south to meet your local guide in Kennebunkport for a guided tour of this former shipbuilding town.  View the sandy beaches, rocky coastline, Dock Square, the ornate “Wedding Cake House,” former President Bush’s summer estate, and the seaside Franciscan Monastery.

On your way to dinner, swing out to Cape Neddick for a photo stop at Maine’s southernmost lighthouse and learn the interesting way the Nubble lighthouse keeper sent his children to school years ago! 

Now it is time to don your souvenir Maine lobster hat for another authentic Maine lobster bake dinner. Feast on your choice of Maine boiled lobster or barbecued chicken or polenta w roasted vegetables, plus chowder, steamed mussels depending on season and availability, corn on the cob, Maine potatoes and blueberry crumb cake. Sing-along entertainment is included at this festive evening feast! Cross the nearby border into New Hampshire for your overnight accommodations at Holiday Inn Portsmouth (or similar).

Day Six - Friday, August 30: After an included breakfast, we will make our way home with magical Maine maritime memories! Stops will be made enroute for your comfort and lunch on your own.