Advice Maine (& Canada) road trip
Replies: 4 - Last Post: Jan 31, 2013 8:48 AM Last Post By: RayitoG
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Advice Maine (& Canada) road trip
Hi,We wanted you guys to review the roadtrip that we are planning to do the last week of August, first week of September. We would like to know if you think this is doable? We also wanted to let you know there is the two of us (41 years old), we like to do roadtrips and do not mind keeping it at a steady pace. We like to see as much as possible and we are not beach vacationers. We also like to start early in the day and do not mind to keep going till late at night.
We will fly in from Chicago to Boston, pick up a rental car and drive following itinerary:
08/24/13: Chicago - Boston, MA
Boston - Cape Elisabeth, ME (114 mi/2:01)
08/25/13: Cape Elisabeth, ME - Boothbay Harbor, ME (65,4 mi/1:29)
Boothbay Harbor, ME - Owls Head, ME (47,2 mi/1:09)
Owls Head, ME - Bar Harbor, ME (88,7 mi/2:12)
08/26/13: Bar Harbor, ME
08/27/13: Bar Harbor, ME - Bangor, ME (48,8 mi/1:18)
Bangor, ME - Greenville, ME (71,4 mi/1:35)
Greenville, ME - Rockwood, ME (19,3 mi/0:25)
Rockwood, ME - Quebec, ON (140 mi - 2:54)
08/28/13: Quebec, ON
08/29/13: Quebec, ON - Montreal, ON (158 mi/2:40)
08/30/13: Montreal, ON
08/31/13: Montreal, ON Ottowa, ON (124 mi/2:05)
09/01/13: Ottowa, ON - Toronto, ON (279 mi/4:28)
09/02/13: Toronto, ON
09/03/13: Toronto, ON - Niagara, ON (79,7 mi/1:23)
09/04/13: Buffalo, NY - Chicago
We really would appreciate your feedback on this trip. Are we seeing the Maine highlights with this trip?
Thanks a lot.
1
Because I'm anal over these sorts of things: Quebec is a province. "ON" stands for Ontario, which is a different province. Neither Quebec City nor Montreal are in Ontario. Hence: Quebec, QC and Montreal, QC.Other than that...it's a bit rushed. Personally, I would want to spend at least three full days in each of Montreal and Toronto. I don't know much about Maine so I couldn't tell you what to drop and instead allocate to Canada. I like Ottawa but I would drop it for more time in Montreal.
I would recommend doing Niagara Falls as a day trip from Toronto to give you a third night there. A night in Niagara Falls isn't my idea of fun.
If possible, I'd use public transportation for all of your Canadian destinations because they are well linked by train and bus and you don't need the car in any of those cities. In fact it is a hindrance because you will have to pay for parking. However, I'm not sure where you can drop-off the car and then how to get to Quebec from there. Possibly, you could end your US trip in Burlington, Vermont and then bus it to Montreal.
2
It seems indeed like we might have been somewhat overambitious in our planning ;-). Think we will skip the Canadian part of this planning and focus on the Maine part of the trip here.Since we are coming from Chicago, do you think the best way to do this trip is a round-trip starting and ending in Boston (do not really need to visit Boston, been there 2 times before - so we can focus on Maine).
And can you recommend the main focus points for this Maine roundtrip, taking into account our total time there (Sat 8/24 - Wed 09/04)? We could potentially also switch the period from Sat 08/31 until Wed 09/11. What would be the better period?
Any other tips or suggestions are also welcome.
3
Probably best to ask about this new trip on the USA board.4
Assuming you planned to return the car in Chicago, why not route your trip through New Hampshire/Vermont then return to Chicago on the south side of Lake Ontario with a day trip to the Falls from Buffalo.This way you won't be so rushed, fuel/rooms are significantly cheaper. Save QC/ON for another trip when you have more time.
