Bar Harbor

Any suggestions on excursions? Rent a a car and drive Arcadia Park?

Thanks

First, if you are taking a cruise that includes stops in New England, you should have the moderator move this to the Ports of Call, New England board.

Second, in answer to your question, read the msgs in this thread there:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=607525

Of course, you should pay close attention to my reply.:D

To see ANP, my vote then was Oli's Trolley as it is now.

http://www.acadiaislandtours.com/

SBtS

Acadia National Park has a free shuttle, it stops every 1/2 hour I think. You can get dropped off at a certain point and then picked up later. Don't bother renting a car. The nearest car rental is 15-20 mins away. I don't know if they would leave the car for you or not, but the free shuttles are best. Shops are right by the pier if you are interested in doing any shopping. Have a great trip.:D

I second the vote for Olie's Trolley. The drivers I have had give an excellent presentation on the history of the town, special houses built in the "Golden Age" and stories about the owners, and stops at Thunder whatever (waves come in and boom against the rocks) and at Jordan Pond as well as the top of Cadillac Mountain. Bar Harbour is a great port!

Thunder whatever = Thunder Hole

His explanation is OK. For a more precise one, go here:

http://www.acadiamagic.com/ThunderHole.html

SBtS

There used to be a sign in Brewer that said "Bar Harbour" it made the papers and was shortly taken down after that time point.

We have so many leaf peepers now that even the fall is busy in Bar Harbor ... I have to agree with everyone else on Oli's Trolley ... I wouldn't rent a car as the traffic is so bad. (Which is why LL Bean gave the grant for the shuttle service) keeps the traffic down somewhat.

Have a wonderful time on your visit. Jan

We are doing the free island explorer #3 bus on Monday and getting off at sand beach stop and walking the Ocean path trail.

Then we are coming back into town for Lobster rolls....

sounds lovely ... I hope that the weather continues on ... by Friday it is expected to be 85 ... Have a wonderful time.

PS .. I was at Sand Beach in April right after a storm like we haven't seen in years (parts of the state was made a disaster area) .... sand beach was all rocks from the bottom of the stairs and banks were cut away ... haven't been there during tourist season, but it is my understanding they re-did the sand.

Have a lobster for all of us. Enjoy! Jan

Another vote for Oli's Trolley. The web site is on one of the aobve posts. It is a fun way to see Acadia National Park.

marilyn

There is a WONDERFUL shuttle that is available about every 1/2 hour or so and will take you ANYWHERE in the park! Those shuttle busses are everywhere!! You do NOT have to rent a car. Have fun LOoooove Acadia!

Susan

I agree with Susan on using the free shuttle bus to get around BH & ANP, but there are some downsides:

• The shuttle buses run through Columbus Day ( 10/8 this year );
  
• The shuttle buses are for transportation only, there is no commentary/background etc that a tour bus operator would provide;
  
• The shuttle buses do not go to the top of Cadillac Mountain, for that you either drive/hike/bike or take Olie's tour.

SBtS

We will be stopping in Bar Harbor on October 17. So at that point the free shuttle will no longer be running. I have read the suggestion of Oli's trolley but my husband and I are really not into organized tours. I am just wondering how much of a pain it is to rent a car. It would be our first choice to rent one since we like to explore on our own but we don't want it to be a huge hassle. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Kim

We will be stopping in Bar Harbor on October 17. So at that point the free shuttle will no longer be running. I have read the suggestion of Oli's trolley but my husband and I are really not into organized tours. I am just wondering how much of a pain it is to rent a car. It would be our first choice to rent one since we like to explore on our own but we don't want it to be a huge hassle. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Kim

Kim - some of the pain of renting a car depends upon the traffic. The car rental location is off island approx. 15 miles from Bar Harbor in Trenton, ME at a small airport. You'd have to get a taxi to take you and I'm not sure if there will be any at the pier of if you will have to call. Then most of the road will be 25 mph speed limit and then when you return the car you will have to find a taxi to get back. I would say that you need 2 1/2 hours back and forth to get and return the car.

I don't know how long you have in port, so don't know if it would be worth it. There should still be a lot of tourists around as it is toward the end of "leaf peaking" time. Jan

I don't know what kind of shape you're in, but we rented bikes on Cottage St, about a 5 minute walk from the ship. They will give you a map & directions to the park or you could just bike around town yourselves. The shuttle was running and they will took us and our bikes to the park for free. We did about 15 miles and then rode back into town ourselves. I would recommend against a car as the town is small and has way too many cars as it is. You would just be in traffic, aside from the hassle of getting the rental car. Bike, walk or take the Trolley.

Theorion - from your post I gather you now understand why the free shuttle was started. The traffic has always been bad with the summer traffic, but adding the cruise lines to it and the town is overwhelmed.

Glad you enjoyed the bikes ... I've often thought about trying it myself, but I worry about the traffic. Did you have the opportunity to do any of the carriage roads? Did you go up the mountain on the bikes ... I would think that would be a lot of work!!! Jan

JanfromMaine -

The shuttle dropped us off at Eagle Lake. We biked the carriage roads up to and around Jordan pond, around to Bubble pond and back to Eagle Lake. Then we biked over to Witch Hole Pond and went to the visitor center - BIG MISTAKE. Long steep hill down, and the only way back to the carriage road from the visitor center was back up that same hill. Really wish my map reading skills weren't taking a break right then. But we walked up the hill got back on the trail and took Duck Brook Rd back into town.

It was a long ride, almost 20 mi. and I don't reccommend it for anyone not used to biking. There is a cut across to Bubble Pond that cuts the ride in half that would be comfortable for most people. And leaving off the side trip to Witch Hole Pond cuts off a few more miles. If you start off from town it is uphill to the park and had it not been for the shuttle our ride would have been much shorter. We didn't have any problems with the bikes in town. They have maps at the bike shop and they can steer you in the right direction based on your ability. Bike rentals were $20 for the day, helmets & locks were no extra charge. We were back within 4 hours and they refunded us $5/bike. I would definately reccommend Acaida Bike Rentals on Cottage St.

The best part: the bike shop was a few doors down from nice bar with good cold local beer (Atlantic Real Ale - try one) and a lobster corn chowder to die for. I think it was called the Thirsty Whale. It definately eased the pain after the ride.

Enterprise offers a free shuttle service to the airport. We did this the first week in September. About 20 minutes each way to the airport. Less than 10 miles but there is lots of traffic getting out of Bar Harbor. Once at the very small airport, the car rental is quick and easy.

Sit back and enjoy the ride to the airport. Not a big deal, if you really want to enjoy Acadia on your own!:D

Kim,

We were there about the same time last year that you will be there this year. We had a fabulous time. We had arranged for a tour taxi van to pick us up at the port. We are happy we did because it was raining quite hard and those waiting for the buses got soaked. We jumped into the van and off we went. We toured Acadia Park at our own pace and without the crowd of the bus. Our driver that day took our tour the opposite way of the buses so that we would not run into the crowds at the stopping points. We were able to stop anytime and take pictures while those on a bus would not be able to. We saw everything we wanted to and had time to eat and shop in town. Don't miss the great Lobster lunch/dinner at the west street grill. This entire cruise we took some private tours as well as some ship sponsored. If you need more info you can email me at dimndave@hotmail.com

Another vote for Oli's Trolley. I'm not usually big on the organized tours either, but this one was only 2.5 hours (they also have a shorter one), which still leaves plenty of time to wander Bar Harbor. If I had known about it beforehand and planned better, I would have worked it so we could go out on the sand bar, but we got there during high tide so the sand bar was underwater. We ate at West Street Cafe which was recommended by several people- overrated in my opinion. It seemed like there were several nice looking (and smelling) restaurants around.

Heather

We booked the ship tour that included Acadia and a lobster bake. Not everyone recommends a lobster bake but since it would be our first and we live so far from the shore, family thought it would be nice. Then we learned today that NCL accidentally cancelled our DD and her family's tour/lobster bake. They apologized but nothing they can do. So...I am wondering about using Oli's Trolley and then an independent lobster bake...Thanks for your help. We will be leaving NY 10-4.

We just returned from the 9/14 sailing of the Explorer of the Seas. We reserved a private car from "at your service taxi". It was terrific. The car was waiting for us as we exited the tender. The tour took us around Bar Harbor, Acadia Ntl Park, Cadillac Mtn, Thunder Hole, Sand Beach. Don't miss Jordan's Pond. Take a moment to stop and get a pop-over. They were just melt in your mouth, served warm with fresh strawberry jam.

Our driver left us in town after the tour. We still had plenty of time to shop at all the cute stores. We did enjoy the lobster, clam chowder and blueberry pie at the West Street Cafe.

Debordo

We just returned from the 9/14 sailing of the Explorer of the Seas. We reserved a private car from "at your service taxi". It was terrific. The car was waiting for us as we exited the tender. The tour took us around Bar Harbor, Acadia Ntl Park, Cadillac Mtn, Thunder Hole, Sand Beach. Don't miss Jordan's Pond. Take a moment to stop and get a pop-over. They were just melt in your mouth, served warm with fresh strawberry jam.

 

Our driver left us in town after the tour. We still had plenty of time to shop at all the cute stores. We did enjoy the lobster, clam chowder and blueberry pie at the West Street Cafe.

 

Debordo

Debordo..could you tell me the price you paid for the private tour? I see by the web site its by the hour I think with most tours being from 1 1/2 hours

to 4 hours how long was yours? Thanks Theresa

I found this cruise ship schedule for Bar Harbor and thought those of you looking for information regarding tours, etc, might look for reviews from the cruises that have been there before yours.

http://www.barharborinfo.com/cruiseships_frame.html

This is a great website for learing about BH and what to do there! (found the ship schedule on this site)

http://www.barharborinfo.com/home.html