OH DUers are in Portland with no car, Casco Ferry which island?

[roseBudd]

We are trying to see what/how long we can find things to do without a car. We took the Route 5 bus to Old Port today. I see there is Casco Ferry service to the following islands
Peaks Island
Little Diamond
Great Diamond
Diamond Cove
Long Island
Chebeague
Cliff Island

Recommendations on things to do on the various islands that may help me pick an island appreciated. Hubby does like to fish, I like to hike, riding bikes and eating lobster sounds like fun

Also if and when we break down & rent a car I see in the phone book, A C Rent a Ride - should we head North or South on Highway 1

TIA

[mainegreen]

1. Peaks is a great island to bike and hike around, and the old fort in the center is kinda spooky/neat

It also still has a surprising amount of sea glass on it beaches. Tourists have cleaned out the mainland beaches of sea glass.

Great Diamond Island has a fantastic restaurant on it. Very good!

Also, you must head NORTH on route 1. Never south. Also, if you rent a car, consider trying route 26 and visiting the Bethel area, and visit Grafton Notch or Evans Notch. It's notch to be missed! :7

If your in Portland on the first friday of any month also be sure to do the first friday art walk on congress street!

[luckyleftyme2]

2. just plain north

to get a real view of our state take a costal rte north and come back on an inland rte.
if you have two weeks you can cover a lot of the state. I'm sure that any of the casco bay islands will please you. have fun,enjoy and come back!

[MaineDem]

3. Chebeague is Maine's newest town

I think it's the largest of the islands so there's more to cover by bike. I used to spend a lot of time there. Nice people, pretty scenery. I assume there are restaurants. We usually went in the winter.

My favorite Casco Bay trip is the day-long cruise to Bailey Island. You can take a shorter cruise at lunch time or get off the boat and have lunch at Cook's Lobster House. It's good.

Also if you just wanted to see the islands and not get off and tour, the Mail Boat cruise visits them all.

They used to have a trolley tour from Commercial Street; I assume it's still running. It went all over the historic part of the city and over to South Portland and Cape Elizabeth to visit Fort Williams and Portland Headlight. If you're here you should go see it. It was commissioned by George Washington.

I'd head north with a car. I agree that the western mountains are gorgeous but on your first visit I'd recommend sticking tot he coast. Drive up Route 1. You can stop in Freeport with LL Bean's (open 24 hours a day) and the outlet stores, go through Brunswick, home to Bowdoin College, pass through Bath and the shipbuilding capitol of Maine - and the nation. They build Navy destroyers there. You'll go through Wiscasset where I recommend Sarah's for lunch. Then turn right on Route 27 and head to Boothbay Harbor. Many places to find lobster and other meals there. There are harbor cruises from the wharves and quaint shops to visit. Either walk across the footbridge or drive over to the other side of the harbor and find the Lobsterman's Co-Op for great seafood fresh from the boats.

Continue north on Route 1 if you have time. Many places to visit.

Enjoy your stay! Glad to have you visit our fair state.

:hi:

[roseBudd]

4. Thanks!

I found a page describing all the islands on Ask.com and printed it.

And north it will be when we do get a car for a couple days

[mainer]

5. You can also come north on a bus

Concord Trailways has a coastal route from Portland to Bar Harbor. You can stop along the way in Camden! Check out the Concord website -- it has all the schedules.

[roseBudd]

6. We took the ferry to Peaks Island and rented bikes

Talked to a post office employee on Peaks who said if we get a car we should go to Boothbay Harbor to visit Reds for lobster or go to Cape Elizabeth for lobster shack dining.

When we got back downtown we stepped into the Porthole on Custom Wharf & got a double lobster dinner for $34 so hubby finally got his lobster fix

We are starting to feel like we know the folks who ride the number 5 bus and have almost become regulars at Crab Louie.

I looked at Concord Trailways, I almost think renting a car for one day would be easier than trying to conform to a bus schedule, plus the Concord fares are not cheap.

[spartan61]

7. My favorite place is Ogunquit which is south of Portland.

You can walk on the Marginal Way which is built over the rocky coast where waves crash on the rocks. The Marginal Way is about a mile long and ends at Perkins Cove where there are restaurants and little shops. We usually have chowder and a lobster roll at Barnicle Billy's then walk back by way of Main Street and stop in at the little shops on the way. Ther is also a great, sandy beach to just relax, but remember that the ocean up here never gets warm, even in August. Parking is always a problem, so we go to School St. and park at the school's parking lot. Have a great time in Maine!

[roseBudd]

8. We got a car today and drove north to Boothbay stopping at Reds Eats

on the way back. The line was about 30 minutes at 3pm. Yes I think it may be the best lobster roll in Maine.