Bar Harbour was part of our itinerary on a recent USA and Canada cruise on the Sky Princess. Bar Harbor was one of those places that I had read about and always wanted to visit.
I love photography and one of the attractions of cruising is the opportunity to explore new places from the comfort of a floating hotel. On the downside time spent in any one port is limited and unless an overnight stay is scheduled your time ashore will likely be no more than six or seven hours.
So if you are planning to visit the area by cruise ship here is how I spent my time in the town and surrounding area along with some of my photographs from my visit.
When is the best time to visit Bar Harbor, Maine?
Your time of visit will be largely determined by your chosen cruise company schedule and your other commitments. My cruise took place over September and October during the Autumn fall when the destinations on our itinerary would be full of autumnal colour. On the downside, the weather can be on the cooler side with the threat of grey skies and rain. It's also a very popular time for cruise lines with many ships calling at the town and discouraging thousands of tourists. A combination of the weather and crowds of tourists may hinder your landscape photography attempts!
How to get from your Cruise Ship to Bar Harbor
Bar Harbor does not have a cruise port terminal. All cruise ships anchor out at sea and passengers are ferried to the town by the ship's tender. Disembarking a ship via tender can take time and this has to be factored into your plans, particularly if you intend to do your own thing and not take one of the organised ship tours. The same applies to the return trip when everyone has planned to return to the ship at the same time.
As this was our first visit to Bar Harbour we decided to explore on our own and see what took our interest once ashore.
A little research always helps
As this was my first visit to Bar Harbor a little research always spays dividends. It was apparent that for a first visit, there would be enough to do locally to keep us entertained and busy for a few hours without missing out on any "must-see" attractions.
I knew we could explore the town and do a little shopping, maybe grab some lunch or a beer or two, walk along the coastal path and take a trip to the Acadia National Park. A couple of local companies ran private tours of the park of various durations and we had decided to check them out upon arrival.
Part One - Getting Ashore
An early rise and a quick breakfast and coffee in the ship buffet restaurant put us ahead of the crowds for our tender into the town. We spotted one of the local tour companies straight away and booked ourselves a tour of Acadia Park at midday (the first slot available). This gave us enough time to explore the coastal path and take in the scenery.
Part Two - The Shore Walk
The shore walk effectively starts from the Town Pier where your ship tender arrives. The walk is a mile long and you can return the way you came or take the back road into town and do a sort of loop. There are several signs and if in doubt follow the others!
The shore walk was a great start to the day. The weather was dry but a little cool and misty but this did not distract from the beauty of the coast. Although the town area at the start of the walk was busy the tourists soon started to thin out and it all felt very serene.
Along the coast are several hotels, private properties, spas etc all with commanding views across the ocean. I'm guessing they are all outside my price range and that if I could afford one I'd be pretty upset at hordes of day trippers traipsing past my lawn and spoiling the view. Some of the signs referred to the generosity of the landowners for keeping the path open. I won't complain about anyone parking opposite my drive again :)
Because of our impending trip to Arcadia Park, we turned around at the end of the walk and retraced our steps back into town.
Part three - Oli's Trolley Bus and Acadia National Park
The 2.5-hour. All tour of Acadia National Park takes 2.5 hours with Oli's Trolley company 2.5-hour. This includes three stops at the Thunder Hole, Cadillac Mountain and Jordan Pond. The driver/guide was entertaining and informative with a lot of background to the tour and the various stops.
After an early start and morning walk it was good to sit down and relax and enjoy the views.
I believe there are other tour companies who pretty much provide the same tours but I would have no hesitation in recommending Oli's Tour's.
Part Four - A walk around the town, some shopping and a beer or two.
The tour ended back where it started and once back in Bar Harbor, we took the opportunity to walk around the town a little before getting the tender back to the ship.
There are many stores selling clothing most of which are emblazoned with Bar Harbor or lobster-related logos of one kind or another, but it's not too tacky and you can purchase a gift or two if required. If you want to eat lobster then take your pick of the many places serving it in many ways - including ice cream: and no I didn't try it.
Before heading back to the cruise ship we stopped at West Street Cafe and sampled a beer from the Atlantic Brewing Company which was a fine way to end the day.
I visited Bar Harbor during a USA and Canada cruise on board the Sky Princess
Comments