First Time in Maine

[silentg]

Hi
We are excited to be going to Maine or the first time this August. Just confirmed a week at Bethel Inn. Reviews are mixed, but going with the idea of a golf get away. In all the years we lived in New England, we never had the opportunity to stay in Maine. It will be be a nice break from the hot Florida summer.
Any tips about the area?
Thanks in Advance!
Silentg

 

[Panina]

Hi
We are excited to be going to Maine or the first time this August. Just confirmed a week at Bethel Inn. Reviews are mixed, but going with the idea of a golf get away. In all the years we lived in New England, we never had the opportunity to stay in Maine. It will be be a nice break from the hot Florida summer.
Any tips about the area?
Thanks in Advance!
Silentg

Maine is beautiful. I am sure you will enjoy your visit even if the accomodations are so so. I haven’t been to the area you are going so can’t help much. Are you flying in or driving? If driving you might want to add a day or two to visit the Kennebunkport area. I believe its about 2 hours southeast where you are going.

 

[missyrcrews]

We actually LOVE the Bethel Inn. Do you have a 2 BR sleeps 8? That will be a townhouse on the golf course. It's dated, and decidedly not fancy like some of the newer places, but it is very roomy. The townhouses are split level, so there are a few steps. Nothing horrible, though. The golf course there is nice, and the Sunday River course isn't far, either.

I don't know how "outdoorsy" you are...but the resort has a nice lakehouse on Songo Pond, not a far drive from the resort. They have canoes you can use, and it's a nice spot to spend an afternoon. You'll be a little over an hour from the North Conway, NH area. Not far to take a drive or ride up Mount Washington. (THAT'S something to see!) Not too far to go to the coast, either. Lots of pretty rides to take.

It is NOT an urban area, and there's not a lot of nightlife or shopping. We enjoy the area, though. We were last there 3 years ago, I believe...right before school started.

Hope you'll enjoy it!

 

[#1 Cowboys Fan]

Hi
We are excited to be going to Maine or the first time this August. Just confirmed a week at Bethel Inn. Reviews are mixed, but going with the idea of a golf get away. In all the years we lived in New England, we never had the opportunity to stay in Maine. It will be be a nice break from the hot Florida summer.
Any tips about the area?
Thanks in Advance!
Silentg

Living in Maine, I have been to the area overnight about 8-10 times (it is almost 3 hours away).

The Bethel Inn Golf Course is marginal, though if you can get past the 1st hole (I do NOT like that hole)-----maybe you'll think it was 'ok'. Sunday River Golf Course (expensive) is a must do for one round at least.

We stayed in one of their condos, it was about an '8' (?) Food at the restaurant was about a 7 or maybe a bit higher.

By comparison, I'd rate the golf course a 5-6, Sunday River can be a 7-9, depending on conditions. BUT: Good luck on the 17th hole!!!

Pat

 

[bluehende]

Not sure how outdoorsy you are, but the Mt Washington area is great for small or huge hikes. Pinkham Notch is a great stop and a lot of hikes run through there. If you would rather ride Mt Washington has a toll auto route and a cog railway to get you to the top. The summit of Washington is a special place even with all the tourist stuff there. Move a bit off the summit and the alpine terrain is amazing. If you want anything more specific about the hikes in the area let me know.

 

[jme]

Try to visit Ogunquit, only 2 hours away from you at Bethel Inn---
a wonderful little fishing village on the sea, full of cute shops, cafes,
and the most gorgeous, magnificent walk along the seaside, called Marginal Way,
(EASY walk along the flat hillside overlooking the rocks and seashore, benches along the way).
It's the quintessential Maine coastal walk.

The town restaurants' lobster rolls and chowder there are outstanding.
https://goo.gl/maps/78LkZMBcEgC2

https://newengland.com/today/travel/maine/ogunquit/marginal-way-ogunquit-maine/

Village of Ogunquit:
https://www.google.com/search?q=ima...gAhXETd8KHXOVAq4QsAR6BAgDEAE&biw=1278&bih=662

Images of Marginal Way:
https://www.google.com/search?q=ima...gAhVJ44MKHSbTDdIQsAR6BAgAEAE&biw=1278&bih=662

Marginal Way, Ogunquit:

https://mainebyfoot.com/marginal-way-cliff-walk-ogunquit/

https://www.dunesonthewaterfront.com/best-walking-trails-ogunquit-maine/

 

[silentg]

We are booked in a studio, although we requested a larger unit if it becomes available.
We plan to fly, is it better to go to Manchester, NH and drive from there or is Portland, ME better choice?

 

[pedro47]

We have been to Bar Harbour, Maine, they had the very best lobster I have ever eaten.
Bar Harbour, Maine was liked looking at the most beautiful natural seashore God have make.
I still cannot described in words how beautiful this state is.

 

[missyrcrews]

We are booked in a studio, although we requested a larger unit if it becomes available.
We plan to fly, is it better to go to Manchester, NH and drive from there or is Portland, ME better choice?

Compare prices to see. Portland is definitely closer, but Manchester often has the better price. I haven't flown since 9/11...so I am definitely not the expert!

A studio could be in the basement of one of the newer townhouses, or it could be in the main inn/Oaks buildings. We've never stayed in anything other than the 2 BR townhouses that are older. At any rate, you'll find lots to do if you go knowing that you'll have to make your own fun.

I'm envious! Our late August trips have been curtailed by high school sports training for now.... sigh.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

Hi
We are excited to be going to Maine or the first time this August. Just confirmed a week at Bethel Inn. Reviews are mixed, but going with the idea of a golf get away. In all the years we lived in New England, we never had the opportunity to stay in Maine. It will be be a nice break from the hot Florida summer.
Any tips about the area?
Thanks in Advance!
Silentg

I've always's wanted to go to Maine, I can't wait to hear about your adventure...

 

[#1 Cowboys Fan]

We are booked in a studio, although we requested a larger unit if it becomes available.
We plan to fly, is it better to go to Manchester, NH and drive from there or is Portland, ME better choice?

Portland is about 1:30 away, maybe look at Jet Blue.

Manchester is about 2:30 away; compare what Southwest has for options.

 

[1st Class]

Have you ever been to the Lincoln/White Mountain region? If not, my suggestion is to fly into Manchester, NH then drive to Lincoln, stay overnight and explore the White Mountains for a day or two before continuing on to Bethel. Since Lincoln is the halfway point between Manchester and Bethel, it's a good opportunity to do some of the other things mentioned above, like not-to-be-missed Mt. Washington, the notches, the Kancamagus Hwy, and Omni Mt. Washington Hotel (which offers a tour). I haven't been yet, but these items are on my itinerary. Mpumilia is a great resource for this area, so you may want to check out her posts as well.

I can't help with the Bethel region, but coastal Maine from Kennebunkport south to York Beach along Rt. 1 is great fun! It's always somewhat congested in the summer but August less so. Happy travels whatever you decide!

 

[AwayWeGo]

Maine is the setting of the 2 old movies I viewed most recently -- Shawshank Redemption & Carousel.

Coincidence ?

( I think so. )

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[WinniWoman]

My two cents-fly into Portland- it is closer to drive to Bethel. (disclosure- I have never been to Bethel). Another advantage of flying in and out of Portland is with the right timing of your flights you can spend some time in southern Maine BEFORE and AFTER your stay at the resort without having to make the 2 hour drive down during the week of your stay.

Manchester airport might be cheaper for flights, but it is farther to Bethel and flying into Portland would possibly give you the opportunity to see a little of the Maine coast depending on your flight arrival and departure times. I would try for this if it were me.

You then can optimize your trip- seeing some of coastal Maine and also seeing the White Mountain Region, as well as anything the Bethel area has to offer, of which I am not familiar with.

Know that you can get a good lobster dinner in inland Maine. We visited a restaurant in that area of Maine a few years ago and we had awesome lobster pot pies.

You will be staying far from the coastline, which is what most people think about when they think about Maine and the lobsters and lighthouses and all that. Southern Maine (2 hours) and Acadia National Park (4 hours)- far drives from Bethel. If you don't care about the driving- great.

To me- the area where you are staying is kind of like it is in northern NH BUT without the awesome sights like there are in the White Mountains. In fact- you will be about an hour from North Conway and it is worth checking out if you haven't been. Just be prepared for crowds of summer tourists.

Diana's Baths and Echo Lake State Park are nice places to see there.

The OMNI Mt. Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods is awesome as well- they do tours once per day starting at the clock in the lobby. I forget the time. Maybe 10am? Call and check. A bit more driving but well worth it.

As someone else mentioned if you haven't done the COG railway up Mt. Washington- do it- the steam car is awesome if you can get a reservation on it (I think the steam car one only runs in the early morning.)- book ahead as soon as you know it will be a clear day. Just check the weather for the week and plan accordingly. Keep in mind- in the mountains the weather can change drastically though from day to day, so at that point you just have to keep your fingers crossed! Awesome up at the summit. You want cool temps?- you will be VERY cool up there! LOL!

When we did it I booked on line when I was at our resort so we didn't have to deal with standing in line for tickets and all that and insured we got the steam car (operated by coal) and the best forecasted weather day of the week.

More driving, but if you want to, drive the beautiful Kanc towards Lincoln and make the stops along the way.

I would try to do most of these things in the early morning since you will be up there during prime season and there are a lot of tourists, of course.

As you can see- this is a NH vacation. Many of these excursions are from a half to full day experiences depending on your preferences.

Again as I mentioned, if you fly into Portland you can spend some time in southern Maine before driving up to your resort, as well as when you are heading back down to the airport on your departure, or make the 2 hour excursion mid week during your stay, but be aware that Route 1 has a lot of tourist traffic in the summer so it is slow going.

 

[#1 Cowboys Fan]

Just to let you know, the Bethel area has some businesses, but neither there, and especially surrounding towns are quite rural. A good area for relaxing, etc.; not so much for being "on the go".

Years ago, $50 green fee passes ($95+) to Sunday River Golf were available, but that has stopped. Now I'm not sure how you can get on for $100---but I suggested before, you should play it once.

As far as Bethel Golf, I think they offer "Unlimited" packages----especially good if you plan to play more than 18-holes some days.

Pat

 

[tonyg]

It's been about twenty years since we stayed in Bethel at the Jordan Grand near the top of a mountain and reminiscent of the movie "The Shining" (only it was summer). There was nothing to speak of other than the town where the Bethel Inn is located and that is a very small town. Best activity we had in the area was an evening van Moose Trip. Good idea if you want to see Moose or you could take a daytime drive in the Umbagog area or an evening trip to the Rangley Lakes area for Moose sightings on your own. Moose tend to show up around state garage properties because of the salt content. Since our old trip we have been in the area several times, but never stayed there again despite the 4 timeshares there. North Conway is a busy town in NH with all kinds of outlets, malls, restaurants and frequent traffic jams. It is also home to the Conway Scenic Railway which has one trip south called the Notch Trip that we enjoyed (box lunch available by reservation). Other train trips there were forgettable. The Cog railroad up Mount Washington is another interesting scenic trip and some of the locomotives have been upgraded. Expect the temperature to drop as much as 50 degrees on the mountain top. Although we periodically take a ride up that way, we usually try to stay in Lincoln, NH for our base of operations and our almost annual trip to the nearby Clark's Trading Post. We will be staying in Lincoln at the end of August this year - if you are there we can perhaps finally meet. If you have any questions, I've been going to the White Mountain area since the late 1970's, spending 25 or more weeks in area timeshares. Let me know if you have any questions.
Should you pick up a map and decide to drive over to Moosehead Lake - do not take a shortcut named Shirley Mills road !

 

[silentg]

It's been about twenty years since we stayed in Bethel at the Jordan Grand near the top of a mountain and reminiscent of the movie "The Shining" (only it was summer). There was nothing to speak of other than the town where the Bethel Inn is located and that is a very small town. Best activity we had in the area was an evening van Moose Trip. Good idea if you want to see Moose or you could take a daytime drive in the Umbagog area or an evening trip to the Rangley Lakes area for Moose sightings on your own. Moose tend to show up around state garage properties because of the salt content. Since our old trip we have been in the area several times, but never stayed there again despite the 4 timeshares there. North Conway is a busy town in NH with all kinds of outlets, malls, restaurants and frequent traffic jams. It is also home to the Conway Scenic Railway which has one trip south called the Notch Trip that we enjoyed (box lunch available by reservation). Other train trips there were forgettable. The Cog railroad up Mount Washington is another interesting scenic trip and some of the locomotives have been upgraded. Expect the temperature to drop as much as 50 degrees on the mountain top. Although we periodically take a ride up that way, we usually try to stay in Lincoln, NH for our base of operations and our almost annual trip to the nearby Clark's Trading Post. We will be staying in Lincoln at the end of August this year - if you are there we can perhaps finally meet. If you have any questions, I've been going to the White Mountain area since the late 1970's, spending 25 or more weeks in area timeshares. Let me know if you have any questions.
Should you pick up a map and decide to drive over to Moosehead Lake - do not take a shortcut named Shirley Mills road !

We are going the first part of August, combining it with a trip to Massachusetts to visit family. Spend a day or two with them then stay in Bethel for the rest of our visit. Pretty much been to New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, but Maine is unexplored territory for us. Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. I’ll post a review when we get back.
Silentg

 

[WinniWoman]

We are going the first part of August, combining it with a trip to Massachusetts to visit family. Spend a day or two with them then stay in Bethel for the rest of our visit. Pretty much been to New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, but Maine is unexplored territory for us. Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. I’ll post a review when we get back.
Silentg

We have week 31 in Lincoln so if you are there that week and have the time- drop me a message and maybe we can say "hello" in person.

 

[WinniWoman]

We are going the first part of August, combining it with a trip to Massachusetts to visit family. Spend a day or two with them then stay in Bethel for the rest of our visit. Pretty much been to New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, but Maine is unexplored territory for us. Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. I’ll post a review when we get back.
Silentg

We have week 31 in Lincoln so if you are there that week and have the time- drop me a message and maybe we can say "hello" in person.

 

[WinniWoman]

It's been about twenty years since we stayed in Bethel at the Jordan Grand near the top of a mountain and reminiscent of the movie "The Shining" (only it was summer). There was nothing to speak of other than the town where the Bethel Inn is located and that is a very small town. Best activity we had in the area was an evening van Moose Trip. Good idea if you want to see Moose or you could take a daytime drive in the Umbagog area or an evening trip to the Rangley Lakes area for Moose sightings on your own. Moose tend to show up around state garage properties because of the salt content. Since our old trip we have been in the area several times, but never stayed there again despite the 4 timeshares there. North Conway is a busy town in NH with all kinds of outlets, malls, restaurants and frequent traffic jams. It is also home to the Conway Scenic Railway which has one trip south called the Notch Trip that we enjoyed (box lunch available by reservation). Other train trips there were forgettable. The Cog railroad up Mount Washington is another interesting scenic trip and some of the locomotives have been upgraded. Expect the temperature to drop as much as 50 degrees on the mountain top. Although we periodically take a ride up that way, we usually try to stay in Lincoln, NH for our base of operations and our almost annual trip to the nearby Clark's Trading Post. We will be staying in Lincoln at the end of August this year - if you are there we can perhaps finally meet. If you have any questions, I've been going to the White Mountain area since the late 1970's, spending 25 or more weeks in area timeshares. Let me know if you have any questions.
Should you pick up a map and decide to drive over to Moosehead Lake - do not take a shortcut named Shirley Mills road !

What do you do at Clark's Trading Post? I don't get it. Was there once and that was ok, but never been back.

 

[1st Class]

<<snip>>Pretty much been to New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, but Maine is unexplored territory for us.<<snip>>

Well then, for sure fly into Portland and give yourself time to explore southern Maine!

Things to do: eat lobster, climb the rocky shore line, walk on the breakwater and tour a lighthouse, pick some blueberries (season opens in July), watch the lobstermen bring in their haul, take a boat tour on Casco Bay, or better yet, explore Kennebunkport aboard a sailboat, plan a beach day to watch the windsurfers and listen to the gulls ...

 

[tonyg]

Clark's Trading Post doesn't change much, but I really enjoy the bear show. Really liked the show when the elder Murray did it and sad to see him pass on. I almost know the routine by heart for the show and have seen many different bears doing it. There's also a lot of historical stuff there and my wife likes the train trip. We didn't go last year, so there may be a change in the other entertainment near the bear show location. I also like riding the Segway. It's not bad entertainment for the money-perhaps a bit too corny for some tho.
Had my own "bear show" early this winter - heard a noise outside one night and opened the slider to see what my neighbor was up to - but it was a bear 3 ft. away on my deck. I told him to get off my deck and he left - perhaps more training will occur this year.

 

[tonyg]

For me Maine is far east of the NH border. or Downeast Maine. We visit the Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park area about two times a year which is about a 4 hour drive from Portsmouth, NH. We own at Acadia Village and have also stayed many times at Harbor Ridge. There's also timeshares southwest of there in Rockland or Rockport. The main National Park is on Mount Desert Island, but there are many smaller park sites in the surrounding area.
I also have enjoyed visiting the Moosehead Lake area a couple of hours or so to the north. Stayed there in a camping trailer as a teenager and later in a Greenville B&B and most recently in a timeshare.

 

[talkamotta]

We love Maine. You are lucky to get anywhere in Maine in the summer. We are spending two weeks at Samoset in May. It's in Rockland. It's right on a very nice golf course. We are not golfers, I am a lighthouse junkie. You might want to check out the interior and then next time, because there will be a next time, find a resort on the coast. You may have to go in May or September.

We fly into Manchester...flights and cars are generally cheaper. The previous post of flying into Portland is a good idea....you could see my favorite lighthouse Portland Head. You could fly in a day or two early and rent a hotel. Portland alone is worth a couple of days but its an easy drive up the coast either way.

 

[tonyg]

We go to Maine in early June and mid-September. After several years and several visits at several times we picked those weeks to own. We owned a late June week, but it was getting too crowded with tourists. We had an August week, but it was too hot and crowded. We also have an October week, but we usually exchange it now that we picked up that September week. Shoulder seasons seem to be our favored travel times - tho summer wins in NH.

 

[talkamotta]

We are booked in a studio, although we requested a larger unit if it becomes available.
We plan to fly, is it better to go to Manchester, NH and drive from there or is Portland, ME better choice?

We are going to Samoset in Rockland me for two weekweekss, leaving on friday. We fly into MHT . Flights were cheaper and so was car rentals got a midsize sub for 500.00 for three weeks.