Road Trip to Bar Harbor

Late-minute vacation planning is always a gamble, especially when airline prices are the deciding factor. I looked at everywhere we could go as a family for a week, and the only "reasonable" flight option was Miami — but the last thing I wanted was to spend peak summer heat in Miami. So we pivoted: pack the car and drive up to Bar Harbor, Maine, a place that had been on my bucket list for years.

After dropping our dog Murphy off with a friend (and a neighbor kindly agreeing to look after the garden), we hit the road.

Princeton, New Jersey

We drove straight to Princeton and stayed with friends, arriving late — the boys ate leftover pasta I'd packed just in case.

The next morning was a full day in Princeton. We started with one of our favorite spots — the Tidal Basin trail by the Princeton campus. It's quiet, scenic, and always a little different: sometimes you catch people fishing, sometimes it's students out rowing. We walked the trail and made our way to a South Indian restaurant, Adyar Bhavan, for lunch. Unappetizing sambar and very flat dosas — my youngest offered up, "if you eat around the edges, it's not that bad," which about sums up how mediocre it was. So we wandered back onto campus and stopped at The Bent Spoon for some gourmet ice cream instead. It was a lively Saturday afternoon on campus, and the energy made up for the lackluster lunch.

After a quick refresh at home, we drove to Robbinsville to visit the Swaminarayan Temple, said to be the largest temple in the world. The architecture and marble inlay work were stunning — incredibly precise. I've always loved Indian temple architecture, but a brand-new temple, however beautiful, can feel a little clinical and museum-like compared to older temples that carry history, wear, and imperfection. Still, the craftsmanship was remarkable, and the space is huge — we took our time exploring.

For dinner, we went to Lorenzo's Tomato Pies in Robbinsville, a spot rated highly on pizza rankings. We ordered garlic and basil tomato pies and demolished two of them without a second thought. Absolutely wonderful. Then it was back home for a well-earned sleep.

On to Portland, Maine

We woke up, had a simple breakfast of cereal and banana bread (baked the day before for the road), and set off toward Portland — with a lunch stop in New Haven, Connecticut, for more pizza. This time it was Sally's, another beloved college-town institution. We got a hot-honey tomato pie and a few others, and honestly, I still can't decide whether Lorenzo's or Sally's wins. Both were excellent.

Several friends had advised us to break up the drive to Portland with small town stops, so we did. We wandered through Ogunquit, a charming beach town full of families in swimsuits, and stopped in Portsmouth for ice cream before continuing on.

We arrived in Portland — with one planning misstep on my part: our hotel was outside the city rather than in it. The upside was that the hotel itself was beautiful and spacious, almost suite-like, giving us plenty of room to rest and a great breakfast of eggs and fruit the next morning.

Before heading into the city, we drove out to Cape Elizabeth for a beautiful view of the lighthouse and a walk along the cliffs. It was a perfect morning for it — the area is landscaped with lovely native plants and fragrant shrub roses, their hips already as big as marbles.

From there, we made our way into Portland and explored the city on foot (we'd parked the car in a garage for the morning), just wandering and taking in the character of the buildings. The kids wanted seafood and got lobster rolls at Luke's, right on the water — a lovely spot to sit outside. I went with a watermelon salad, which was fine, though the lobster rolls were clearly the star. Afterward, we picked up some baked goods at Standard Baking Company before the drive up to Bar Harbor.

Arriving in Bar Harbor

The drive up was easy, with little traffic. My biggest piece of advice for anyone planning a Bar Harbor trip: either book a hotel, which can get expensive, or look for an Airbnb — but choose your location carefully. While researching, I considered towns like Ellsworth or Trenton, which had cheaper options, but after mapping out the distance to Acadia and Bar Harbor itself, we decided it was worth staying in Bar Harbor town or within walking distance of it.

We landed a cute two-room Airbnb right in town. Since I'd booked it for four adults, our gracious host pulled out the sofa bed in the living room so our (now teenage-sized) kids could each have their own bed instead of sharing. We also had a small patio where we could sit outside every evening.

That first night, we learned the hard way that Bar Harbor's best restaurants often require reservations — something we hadn't planned for. We struck out at Havana, Salsa Verde, and Galyn's before finally landing at McKay's, a beautiful old converted bungalow with many tables and gorgeous gardens. The kids ordered fish, and I had a beet salad with feta that was genuinely exceptional — a full, satisfying meal on its own.

Hiking Acadia

We asked the kids to get up early the next morning so we could start hiking before the crowds. We tackled the Beehive Trail, which is steep and narrow, with sections of iron rungs to climb. My advice: go early. It gets congested fast, and the softer morning light makes the climb far more comfortable. I don't usually mind heights, but at one point my husband admitted to feeling a little shaky looking straight down into the drop below.

After the hike, instead of heading back into town for a restaurant meal, we stopped at a local grocery store and picked up fruit, cheese, and drinks to make ourselves a relaxed snack plate at the Airbnb. The kids grabbed pre-made sandwiches from the refrigerated section, and everyone just ate whatever they wanted. Simple, easy, and exactly what we needed after a big hike.

We went back to Acadia again for a second round of hiking, this time splitting up: my husband and I walked the Jordan Pond Path (about 4 miles) and the Ocean Path (about 4.4 miles), while the kids went off to do their own trails. We all planned to regroup at Sand Beach once everyone was done. Sand Beach is beautiful — a small stretch of sand tucked between cliffs, with the cold Atlantic Ocean right there to greet you.

Cadillac Mountain and a Postcard Evening in Bass Harbor

We eased into the next day with a slow morning walk around town, wandering past the gardens in front of all the houses. Hydrangeas and roses were in full bloom, and most of the cottages had that classic climbing-vine garden look — morning glory, cosmos, annuals bursting open, and people sitting on their porches with their morning coffee. I absolutely loved the front-porch design styles here.

From there, we drove out to tackle Cadillac Mountain, one of the highest peaks in Acadia. The hike is genuinely challenging and takes around four hours, but the views are breathtaking — the summit spreads out wide, with viewpoints in every direction. The terrain is rocky the whole way up.

After coming back down the mountain, we drove to Bass Harbor, since the kids had been asking for more seafood. We ate at a spot called Thurston's, right on the harbor and undeniably scenic. I didn't find much for myself and settled for a very sad grilled cheese sandwich, but the boys had their fill of lobster, clams, and oysters — no complaints from them.We headed back to the Airbnb for some downtime. I sat with a book until dinner, while my older one had made us a reservation at Salsa Verde, a lively Mexican spot in town. We got a table right on the patio facing the street, ordered food that turned out to be quite spicy, and enjoyed the people-watching.

After dinner, we walked all the way down to the far end of Bar Harbor, which opens up onto a view that looked straight out of a postcard — sailboats, people strolling, music drifting from somewhere, kids with ice cream cones, dogs trotting along. It was the perfect setting to watch the sun go down before slowly making our way back. It was a perfect ending of this family vacation.

On the walk home, the kids stopped for blueberry pie ice cream while I did a little window shopping — I'm not much of a shopper, so the one thing I picked up was a jar of wild blueberry jam from the local restaurant tied to Jordan Pond in Acadia. That restaurant itself needs a reservation made well in advance. I didn't feel like we missed much in the end — the jam was a fine consolation.

Back at the Airbnb, we packed a little, showered, and turned in early. The next morning would be a long one: the full, almost fourteen-hour drive home to Baltimore.

Namaste

Savitha