Weekend Getaway in Maine: Best things to do

If you live on the east coast, I highly recommend going on a weekend getaway in Maine. It is a great location to spend a long weekend in the summer and has so much to offer! The weather is the best between June and August, but going during the spring or fall is best to avoid big crowds. And if you go around mid-October you might be lucky enough to see the Fall foliage at Acadia National Park. You can drive to Maine in a fair amount of time from most states on the east coast. And even if you don’t live on the east coast, I would definitely recommend adding Maine to your bucket list. To see how to make the most out of your time in Maine, check out my itinerary in this blog post!

Day 1 – Drive half way (depending on where you’re coming from). Stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Boston – Westborough for 1 night.

We left on a Friday evening after work and were driving from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Since the drive is about 7 hours to Portland, we thought it would be a good idea to drive 5 hours to Massachusetts and spend the night there, and then continue on with the last 2 hours the next morning. The hotel we decided to stay at was the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Boston – Westborough. We chose to go with an affordable option since we would only be spending the night there.

Day 2 – Continue driving to Portland, Maine. Stay at Tru by Hilton Portland Airport Area Hotel for 2 nights.

Portland Head Light

The Portland Head Light was our first stop. Because how do you go on a weekend getaway in Maine and not go see a lighthouse?? Portland Head Light is one of the most popular ones and is definitely worth checking out. It has great views to get the perfect Instagram shot! The lighthouse also has a small Museum and Gift shop, as well as a Bite into Maine food truck to get their iconic lobster roll!

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Luke’s Lobster Portland Pier

The line for Bite into Maine was quite long so we made our way into town and got lunch at Luke’s Lobster Portland Pier. We spent $30 to park down the street, just to find out they have parking right out front! The hostess said our wait would be about 45 minutes but it turned out to only be 10 minutes. For drinks I got the passion fruit margarita and the Wild Irish Rosé, both were really good! And then for lunch I got the fried haddock bites and the Luke’s trio which was ½ lobster roll, ½ crab roll, and ½ shrimp roll. The lobster roll was the best one of course! After lunch we asked our waitress to take us into the lobster room which is where they store all the live lobsters. This was also a cool experience. Overall, I recommend checking out Luke’s!

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Allagash Brewery

Another place we wanted to check out during our weekend getaway in Maine was the Allagash Brewery, so after lunch we went to our hotel to check in (check in is at 3pm and check out is at 12pm) and then got ready to go. Make sure to check the hours, it closed at 7pm and it was a Saturday. There was a good amount of Allagash beers to choose from, but we preferred the Allagash White the most. They also weren’t doing beer flights again yet because of COVID but they let you sample some. It was an outdoor environment with tables, cornhole and a giant connect 4 game set. They also had a Bite into Maine food truck! If you want to check out some more breweries, there were a couple right in the same area. This was definitely a cool hangout space!

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Old Port

Old Port is a cute area right in the downtown section of Portland, close by Luke’s where we went for lunch. Here are some places I would check out in Old Port:

• Blyth & Burrows. I really liked the Queen Beach drink here. We also tried the 5 second Frenchie which was basically just a Gin and tonic.
• Bar of Chocolate. This place is amazing if you’re into delicious deserts and martinis! I had the German chocolate cake martini (in the below picture on the right) and the Peanut butter martini. Both were fantastic! If I could get one more, I would try the key lime pie martini. Our bartender also made us a special desert sampler with fruits and chocolate and we ordered the Caprese sandwich which was really good.
• Via Vecchia. We went here for dinner. I would recommend making a reservation, but we were able to get in last minute (although it was pretty late). We got the mussels and Vignola pizza (their Margherita pizza) since we weren’t overly hungry. They were both delicious though. And for drinks we got a bottle of red wine.  
• Shopping for souvenirs. There are multiple little shops to check out!
• There were a few other bars that looked fun, they had long lines though and seemed a bit like college bars. The popular ones were Oasis and The drink exchange.

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Day 3 – Drive 3 hours from Portland to Acadia National Park / Bar Harbor.

If your an outdoorsy person, I would highly recommend making the drive to Acadia National Park during your weekend getaway in Maine. The entrance fee is $30 per vehicle and can be purchased upon arrival.

Below I highlight what the perfect day in Acadia would look like:

• Start at Cadillac Summit (for the sunrise if you can!). You have to buy a day pass for this ahead of time with a selected entrance time. You can purchase these at recreation.gov for $6 per vehicle. We didn’t make it for the sunrise but it was foggy when we went so we couldn’t see the views. I heard this is the first place in the United States to see the sunrise. It looks amazing in photos!
• Lunch at Jordan Pond House. There was an hour and a half wait and they weren’t taking reservations when we were there. I would check on this though because they used to take reservations. We didn’t eat here but it was nice to check out the lake and walk around. If you do eat here, try the popovers!
• Beehive Loop Trail. The entrance to this hike is not too far after the Sand Beach Entrance Station on Park Loop Road. It is an adventurous 1.4 mile hike (might even call it a rock climb!) with metal rungs and ladders with exposed edges and steep drop offs as you ascend 450 feet. If you are afraid of heights I might not recommend this one but the views are spectacular! Luckily it is a loop so once you get to the top, getting down isn’t as scary. It took us about an hour to complete the hike but could take up to 3 hours depending on your pace and how often you want to stop to take in the views.
• Sand beach. This is right across from the Beehive Summit hike, also on Park Loop Road. During the summer months you can swim in the water here and can even lay out on the beach. It is a great away to relax after exploring Acadia’s hikes.
• The cove along Park Loop Road. As you drive down Park Loop Road, there are a lot of stop off areas with beautiful views of the cove. I would stop at least once and walk along the rocks on your way out!

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Bar Harbor

Bar Harbor is right outside of Acadia National Park. It is a cute little town with a lot a restaurants and shops. We didn’t have much time here because we were driving back to Portland this night but I would recommend spending the night here to have more time. It was a lot of fun! Here are some places I would recommend:

• The Chart Room. This is where we had dinner. It is located right outside of the main town and their food was probably the best we had in Maine. We got mussels and the lobster stew (you must try this!) for appetizers and the Baked Stuffed Lazy Man’s Lobster and Fried Seafood Platter for dinner. Meals come with a vegetable (asparagus that day) and your choice of side (baked potato, fries, or rice). As mentioned, the food was delicious. I also tried the Blue martini which was very strong!
• Route 66
• Geddy’s – make reservations.
• The Thirsty Whale
• Side Street Café
• Stewman’s Lobster Pound – on the water.

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L.L. Bean Flagship Store

On the way back to Portland we stopped at the L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport which is open 24 hours. I think this is the biggest store I have ever been to. Not only did it have a huge selection of merchandise, it also had a café and coffee shop, fish tank, ponds, and all types of taxidermy. We even got to learn a bit about L.L. Bean’s history from one of the associates. Totally worth checking out!

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Day 4 – The Holy Donut in Portland then drive to Ogunquit, Maine before heading back home.

The Holy Donut

To end our weekend getaway in Maine we stopped at The Holy donut for breakfast after checking out of our hotel. The Holy Donut is known for handmade donuts made with all natural / fresh ingredients. Believe it or not, they’re made with fresh Maine potatoes! We got the chocolate sea salt donut which was really good and is also their best seller, the fresh lemon donut which was also good and the old fashioned donut which was not so good (very plain). They also have drinks here so we got the Iced Chai tea and the cold brew, both good!

Marginal Way – Ogunquit, Maine

Our last stop was Ogunquit, Maine which is about 45 minutes from Portland. Ogunquit is known for the Marginal Way which is a 1.25 mile walk along the coast line. It has the most amazing views, you would never believe you’re in Maine! We had lunch at Jackie’s too which was at the end of the Marginal Way. It sits right on the cove and looks out to the water. Not to mention, the food and drinks were also refreshing and delicious! We had the Lobster roll (once again) with chips and the Blackened Chicken Wrap with fries. This was the perfect place to take a break and cool off before walking back to the car. It was around 3pm when we left and we got home at 9pm. If I had to choose one place to come back to, it would definitely be Ogunquit!

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Overall, I was not expecting to love Maine as much as I did! There really is so much to offer and it has beautiful towns and views all over. I hope this helps you plan the perfect weekend getaway in Maine!