Three plans built around real driving times, one-direction routing and the assumption that you would rather see four places properly than nine badly.
Before you pick one
Almost every disappointing Maine itinerary fails for the same three reasons. Fixing them costs nothing and changes the whole trip.
All times below are realistic door-to-door figures including a petrol stop, not optimistic map estimates. Coastal Route 1 through summer traffic runs significantly slower than the mileage suggests — especially Camden to Belfast and anywhere near Wiscasset.
Itinerary 01
The best first trip and the easiest to execute. Fly into Portland, stay in one hotel for three nights, and use it as a base for the peninsula and the beaches. No long drives, no packing twice.
| Day | Base | Driving | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portland | ~15 min | Old Port on foot, waterfront, dinner |
| 2 | Portland | ~40 min | Lighthouses, Cape Elizabeth, Peaks Island |
| 3 | Portland or Kennebunk | ~1 hr | Ogunquit, Marginal Way, Nubble Light |
| 4 | Depart | ~30 min | Morning beach walk, return to PWM |
Collect the car and check in. Spend the afternoon on foot: the Old Port's brick streets, Commercial Street's working waterfront at the far end, and the Eastern Promenade for the view over Casco Bay.
Drive to Cape Elizabeth early while the light is still soft and the car park is empty. Portland Head Light is the state's icon and genuinely worth the early alarm. Loop through Two Lights, then return and take the afternoon ferry to Peaks Island.
Drive to Ogunquit and walk Marginal Way, then continue to the York beaches and Nubble Light. If the weather is warm, this is your swim day — the water here is the warmest in the state.
One last beach walk or a proper breakfast, then back to the airport. If you have a late flight, add the Portland Museum of Art or the Winslow Homer studio tour instead of sitting in the terminal.
Portland for all three nights if you want restaurants and bars within walking distance. Kennebunkport or Ogunquit if you would rather wake up near the beach — you trade evening options for a shorter drive in the morning.
Itinerary 02
Kennebunkport to Bar Harbor in one direction, with three bases and no backtracking. This is the trip most people are actually trying to plan when they search for a Maine itinerary.
Fly in, then two days on the peninsula and the coast immediately south. Portland Head Light, the Old Port, one ferry, one good dinner.
Two options. Fast: I-95 north, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Slow and better: Route 1 through Wiscasset and Damariscotta, about 2.5–3 hours with stops. Wiscasset's traffic is genuinely legendary — go early or accept the delay.
Hike or drive up Mount Battie for the harbour view, then continue to Rockland for the Farnsworth and the breakwater walk. Pemaquid Point is an hour south if you want a tower you can climb.
About 2 hours on Route 1 through Belfast and Ellsworth. Arrive by midday, drop bags, and use the afternoon for the quieter western side of Mount Desert Island rather than fighting the loop road traffic.
Park Loop Road at dawn, Sand Beach and Thunder Hole early, Jordan Pond late. If you have a Cadillac reservation, this is the morning for it. Otherwise do the Beehive or Ocean Path.
Drive the hour east to Schoodic Peninsula for the quiet version of the same coast, then head out from Bangor airport (about 1 hour 15 minutes from Bar Harbor) or start the long drive back.
If your ticket allows an open-jaw arrival in Portland and departure from Bangor, take it. It saves you a four-hour drive back down the coast at the end of the trip and costs nothing extra on most bookings. Bangor is a small, quick airport about 50 minutes from Bar Harbor.
Itinerary 03
Adds the half of Maine that most visitors never see. Best in the last week of September or the first week of October, when the interior is turning and the coast is still warm.
| Days | Where | The point |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Portland | City, lighthouses, food |
| 3–4 | Midcoast (Camden) | Harbours, windjammers, art museums |
| 5–6 | Bar Harbor / Acadia | Loop road, a summit, a real hike |
| 7 | Schoodic → Bangor | Quiet coast, then inland |
| 8–9 | Moosehead / Greenville | Big lake, moose, dark skies |
| 10 | Baxter or return | Katahdin views, then out |
The pivot point is Day 7. Once you leave the coast at Schoodic, you are committing to the interior — the drive from Bar Harbor to Greenville is about 2 hours 15 minutes, and from there to Baxter's southern gate another 1 hour 15 minutes. It is worth it, but it is not a detour you can abandon halfway.
Why this order works. Coast first, interior second, means you are following the foliage rather than chasing it. In a normal year the northern forest and the western mountains peak a week to ten days before the shore, so ending inland puts you in the right place at the right time.
Vehicle access is capped daily and day-use entry is first-come. In foliage season the gate can be full by early morning. Camping is allocated by lottery well in advance. Check current rules before building the last two days around it, and have a Moosehead or Katahdin-view alternative ready.
Once you leave Route 1 the roads straighten out, traffic disappears and the distances are honest again. Fill the tank before heading north — petrol stations become genuinely sparse, and some close early.
Adjustments
Shorten to the 4-day plan and add a second beach day. Sand Beach in Acadia and Ogunquit are both gentle and supervised in season. Skip Precipice and the Beehive entirely. The Island Explorer shuttle is free and children treat it as an attraction in itself.
Fewer bases, longer staysTwo nights in Acadia becomes three, and you swap the Midcoast galleries for Baxter or the Rangeley lakes. Add a guided sea kayak day out of Stonington. Accept that you will eat at 8pm after a long hike and that this is the correct priority.
Acadia + BaxterIn late September, start inland and finish on the coast. You catch the northern mountains at peak, then follow the colour south as it arrives. Fly into Bangor instead of Portland and drive down.
Last week of SeptemberPick Portland for a city-and-lighthouse long weekend, or Sugarloaf for four days of skiing. Winter is not a season for a multi-stop road trip in Maine — weather will rewrite your schedule and the coastal businesses you planned around will be closed.
Dec–MarDriving distances, ferry bookings, where to stay in each town, packing for the actual weather, and the cookie and privacy notice for this site.