Now Hiring Professional Motorcoach Drivers. CDL Training Available. See Details
Travel the coast of Maine during the beautiful summer season. We will visit many of Maine’s must-see destinations including Kennebunkport, Portland, Bar Harbor, and more! We’ll tour Acadia National Park and spend an afternoon at the 77th Annual Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland. There are so many memories to be made on this fun-filled tour.
Departure Information:
5:15 AM – Elite Coach Parking Lot – 1685 W Main St, Ephrata
(please park in the spaces behind the office building)
6:00 AM – Lancaster Shopping Center – 1515 Lititz Pike, Lancaster
(please park in the lot that is along the Oregon Pike side of the old A.C. Moore building)
Loading will begin 15 minutes prior to departure time.
Return Information:
7:15 PM (Approx.) – Lancaster Shopping Center
8:00 PM (Approx.) – Elite Coach
Itinerary, inclusions, timing, and pricing subject to change without notice.
Day 1: Sunday, July 28
We make our way to the outskirts of Portland, Maine for our overnight stay at Best Western Merry Manor Inn. Be sure to bring your swimsuits to take advantage of the indoor/outdoor pool and jacuzzi with a waterfall.
Day 2: Monday, July 29
We begin the day with breakfast at our hotel before making our way to downtown Portland. We will enjoy a narrated Portland Harbor cruise this morning. The cruise passes through the lovely Calendar Islands of Casco Bay, past several lighthouses – and we’re likely to spot a harbor seal as we hear the maritime history of Maine’s largest seaport.
Then we make our way to Maine’s pristine south coast region and have lunch on our own in Dock Square, Kennebunkport.
This afternoon, we’ll meet our local guide for a narrated tour of Kennebunkport. We’ll tour two shipbuilding villages, and hear their history and folklore as we drive past the beaches. We’ll also hear the legend of the Wedding Cake House and maritime history of sea captains and shipbuilders. We’ll travel through the port and along Ocean Avenue, past the Bush summer home at Walker’s Point, and visit the Franciscan Monastery with its seaside shrines and gardens.
Dinner is at a local favorite in Portland before returning to the hotel.
Day 3: Tuesday, July 30
After breakfast, our local guide will step aboard for a narrated tour of Portland – Maine’s largest city-by-the-sea. We’ll travel through the historic neighborhoods, learn about Portland’s unique maritime history, pass by Longfellow’s boyhood home and many sea captain mansions overlooking Casco Bay. Our tour includes “the lighthouse loop” with a stop at Portland Head lighthouse, the most photographed lighthouse in America and Maine’s oldest beacon, set in a beautiful park with crashing surf as a backdrop. We will also see two nearby lighthouses and the WWII shipyard memorial at Bug Light Park.
Then we travel north to Freeport village, home of sporting goods king, L.L. Bean and numerous outlet shops and restaurants. We’ll have free time for shopping in Freeport with many casual cafes from which to choose for lunch on our own.
Sit back and relax for our travel down east to Bar Harbor this afternoon. Cross the causeway onto Mt. Desert Island, celebrated for its breathtaking beauty ever since the island was discovered in 1604 by Samuel de Champlain, who named it for its bare, desert-like mountaintops.
This evening we check in to the lovely Atlantic Oceanside Resort for our two-night stay overlooking Frenchman’s Bay. You’ll have some free time before dinner to explore the resort or just enjoy the views! Dinner is included at the resort this evening.
Day 4: Wednesday, July 31
Breakfast is included at the resort this morning before we meet our local guide for a tour of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.
See the breathtaking beauty that has attracted people to this area for years. We will travel the entire Park Loop Road with stops at Cadillac Mountain, Thunder Hole on Ocean Drive and Sieur De Mont Springs Wild Gardens of Acadia, plus learn about the rich and famous visitors who built summer cottages in Bar Harbor.
Lunch will be on our own in Bar Harbor with some time to explore the shops, boutiques and galleries downtown. There are also two parks and a shoreline walking trail here.
This afternoon, we go on a Lobstering and seal watching cruise where we’ll see lobster traps hauled from the ocean as a professional naturalist describes everything, and answers all our questions about how the lobsterman make their living and marine wildlife.
For dinner, we enjoy a traditional Maine lobster bake dinner with all the fixin’s in a casual setting, you’ll want to bring your appetite for this feast – a non-lobster meal option is offered for any landlubbers!
Then we’re off to a special evening of entertainment at the Great Maine Lumberjack Show. See “the Olympics of the Forest” re-enacted as the lumberjacks and loggers used to compete 100 years ago. We will hear the big crosscut saws singing in the forest, just as we would have heard in a logging camp competition in the Maine woods…and we will watch the thrilling lumberjack sports of wood chopping and sawing, tree climbing, ax throwing, and everyone’s favorite… log rolling… all exhibited with a modern twist, mixed with history, comedy, and lots non-stop, razor-sharp action!
Day 5: Thursday, August 1
Following breakfast at the hotel we depart Bar Harbor for the charming village of Camden – where the mountains meet the sea.
We meet our local guide for a narrated mid-coast Maine tour, including the picturesque villages of Rockport and Camden, and a photo stop atop Mt. Battie within the beautiful Camden Hills State Park.
Spend the afternoon at the 77th Annual Maine Lobster Festival along the waterfront in Rockland – the lobster capital of Maine. We’ll have lunch on our own with seafood and other mouth-watering options galore! There’s music and entertainment throughout, plus craft vendors, maritime attractions and more! Main Street Rockland offers many art galleries, shops and restaurants, just steps from the festival as well.
Feel free to walk just steps to the Maine Lighthouse Museum to explore it on your own. This museum houses a unique collection of local lighthouse artifacts and culture. You can see the picturesque Rockland beacon at the entrance to the harbor here.
This evening we will cross the border into New Hampshire and settle into the Holiday Inn in Portsmouth for our final evening in New England.
Dinner will be enroute to Portsmouth.
Day 6: Friday, August 2
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before we travel home with our Maine summer seacoast memories!
We're sorry. Our site does not support your browser.
In order to view this site, you will need to upgrade your browser.
Choose one of the free upgrades below.
