Hello,
We're flying with another couple into Portsmouth, NH on 9/22 and returning 9/25. Never been up in that area. Any suggestions where we should go. Do we go south towards Boston or do we go North into Maine? We enjoy the ocean, good seafood, wine. Just open for any ideas you may have. I need to think about where to go and book places to stay. We'll rent a car. Thanks for any and all opinions.....
I would largely pick one place and stay there. Also, if it were me, I would minimize the driving, unless I had a burning desire to visit one particular place. You could easily and happily spend the days in Porstmouth. It has a very nice old downtown with great restaurants, shops, cafes, nightlife. If you have a car, you can easily head south 10 minutes on Rte 1A and have the short but lovely coast of NH. North from Portsmouth, you have the outlet shopping of Kittery just a mile or two across the bridge. You also have a succession of picturesque Maine coast, beginning in York and heading as far north as you like. Staying in Portsmouth, I would opt for the Sheraton or Hilton Garden Inn ( I think that is what it is that just opened.) Both are right in downtown, so you can just walk out to everything.
The other location choices I would consider are:
Ogunquit, ME, about 30 - 40 minutes up the coast from Portsmouth. Another delightful destination, on the ocean. It has less of the small city stuff that Portsmouth has, but you are right on the coast with many hotels to choose from. Walk right out onto the beach, and along the MArginal Way to Perkins Cove, a lovely little fishing village that is very tourist friendly. Agaiin, you are short driving to places up and down the coast, if you must leave such a perfect spot.
Further up the coast is Portland, ME, which is everything Portsmouth is and everything it wishes it is. It is a larger city, the Old Port is larger, there are more arts and galleries, minor league baseball, ferries to the Casco Bay islands, etc. Portland is about an hour, maybe a bit more, from Portsmouth. Again, choose a downtown hotel just for the convenience of not getting in your car unless you absolutely need to. Try the Hilton Garden Inn or the Regency as the two nicest, but I have been very satisfied with the Holiday Inn and Eastland, both a bit of a walk into the Old Port. As with any of these locations, you can drive to a ton of lovely places, and will need to get in the car to get to the beach.
Of course, you could scrap this whole plan and spend the few days in Boston. Try and stay in a downtown hotel. So much is walkable, and the subway system is great. Don't rent a car to get there, and you won't need one once you are there. If you want a city experience, Boston is one of the best. And, you can easily get to the waterfront. There are a variety of ways to get out on the water.
Whichever of these appeals most to you, there will be Forum folks eager to share their local knowledge.
Thank You so much for your opinions!!! It is greatly appreciated!!!
Not sure if you made your plans yet, but Portsmouth is a great area to stay in. I would second the Sheraton or even give the Wentworth by the Sea a shot. They may have some good rates. On some Sat evenings they may be having wine dinners if that is something you would enjoy. You could easily spend a few fun filled days in the area without even having to drive. It will be a beautiful time of year to be in New England. It will be warm and the leaves possibly may have started changing then. Although they peak on the seacoast approx Columbus Day weekend usually. Be sure to head over to Kittery, there is great outlet shopping! A good place for Lobster is Chauncey's Creek. You can bring your own wine and appetizers and any other food you like and get your lobster and seafood there. Nothing fancy, picnic tables on the water(inlet) but some people go all out with candleabra's and fine china... kind of funny.
On another note, you would have an Excellent time in Boston. This is a very historic city on the water. It has everything to offer and is very walkable. Great restaurants...much too many to list! You could do both if you wanted. Portsmouth to Boston is an hour's drive by car. Good luck!
Since you're flying in to the Portsmouth, NH area? I think where it's your first time on the seacoast? Think about staying right in Portsmouth. It's SO ideal if you're going to be renting a car any way. Check out the newer Hilton Garden Inn right in Portsmouth or the Sheraton. If you want to splurge, then the Marriott's Wentworth By The Sea is along the coast in New Castle, NH. just the next town over from Portsmouth on Rte 1-B, it's up to you. If you wanted to go further up the coast to Maine you could do that too. A good spot is the Anchorage Inn in York or the Stage Neck Inn; there's SO many choices along the coast from NH to Maine.
You could always head to Maine if you're staying in Portsmouth by driving along the coast and go north from Rte 1-B and in seconds you'd be in that state. There's 3 bridges connecting New Hampshire with Maine. You'd first be in Kittery, Me. in a flash for the Kittery Outlets:
http://www.thekitteryoutlets.com
From there you just keep driving north from the Outlet shops till you see the sign a few miles up the road for York Village Rd. take that right and follow it all the way in to York and you'd see the famous Nubble Lighthouse and you could then look for Brown's Ice Cream stand and from there the beautiful scenery right from that stand! Before you head to this area, here's some good sites on where to go for dinner, breakfast or any where casual:
For instance, In York? Look for the Stonewall Kitchen Cafe! Even if you just go there to see this whole complex, it's pretty neat. It's a must do on your visit to the area. You can visit their site to see what I mean:
http://www.stonewallkitchen.com
In Portsmouth, there's a lot of happenings, check out Strawbery Banke Museum and Prescott Park or take a cruise from the harbor right from downtown:
http://www.portsmouthharbor.com/cruises.php
OR one of these cruises:
http://www.portsmouthnh.com/port/boats.cfm
There's a lot to see and do from Portsmouth alone. SO many choices; you're going to be very busy....
Have a wonderful time!
The Chapman Cottage B&B in York Harbor, ME. is quite a place to stay at and their restaurant? Is incredibly wonderful. Here's their site to read about it:
http://www.chapmancottagebandb.com
Also, here's a good article about the Stonewall Kitchen. My sister knows one of the owners (way back when when they first started out!) and recently received a recipe book signed by him, it's quite a place now:
http://www.visitingnewengland.com/stonewallkitchen.html
Also, try to squeeze in Chauncey Creek in Kittery Point, ME. for lobsters and seafood if you can, somehow! Here's their site for their directions and menu. It's without a doubt one of the best best places for it too! As the previous poster mentioned to you, people will bring their china and fancy table cloths for the picnic tables here. It's really pretty funny, their coolers, candleabra's & even their vases! What-ever! It's actually part of the fun of being here. You'll get a kick out of just being there for lunch, it's also very reasonable and if you don't eat lobster or steamers, that's okay because they have other great menu choices:
If you like Italian cuisine? This restaurant used to be called Anthony Alberto's for years in downtown Portsmouth but they changed the name of it recently to Ristorante Massimo's. It's still one of our favorite places in Portsmouth for Italian cuisine and I think it always will be a gem. The atmosphere alone is quite nice here. Go to their site to see what I mean:
http://www.ristorantemassimo.com
I'm glad you're going to be planning this trip after Labor Day because that's when we head to Mimmo's up at York Beach, Me. when all the summer tourists go home, it's wonderful there! The reviews on it are always good in the off season with it! If you want a really fun casual Italian place where you bring your own wine and where you'll get serenaded if it's your birthday and where you can relax and hear the chef in the background with his antics? Then definitely try to get up to Mimmo's Fine Italian Continental Restaurant in York Beach, ME. it's located at 243 Long Beach Ave. 207 363-3807, it's as close to the North End of Boston as you're going to get for this area of New England.
Finally, look for Rosa's right in Portsmouth, you can't miss their sign near the bridge that's beside Prescott Park and Strawbery Banke's, it's been very consistant here for years and it's a fun relaxing local place to go for lunch or dinner.
I agree to use Portsmouth as your base- there is so much to do and see in close by. For accommodations, if you like a bed & breakfast in Durham (10 minutes from Portsmouth) take a look at three chimneys inn- very nice and great restaruant.
If you like wine- Flag Hill Winery in Lee (next to Durham) would be a fun stop not sure but they may be stomping grapes late Sept.
I'll keep thinking about late Sept. and things going on in the area...
Just thought- You can take a train into Boston one day! This would be the easiest way to get in and out of the city! you can get train from Durham, Exeter, or Dover.
Thanks All,
I am not a huge history buff but the other couple is....if we get into Portsmouth early Saturday morning (9:00ish), would you suggest heading straight to Boston then for the day??? and then head back to Portsmouth for lodging??? How much time would we need in Boston to see the highlights??
I'm happy with the Lobster and seashore!!
I think that any day you head to Boston would be fine. If you are arriving for a long weekend, I assume you will have bags. I'd want to drop those at the hotel before heading out. That will make your 9/22 departure to Boston later in the morning. I don't know enough about the transportation options, except that there is the Amtrak, the bus and car. If you do the bus or train, you will be beholden to their schedules. You will want to plan accordingly to maximize your time in Boston, given the transportation schedules. If you drive, you can be a bit more loose. Bu if you are flying in at 9AM, you probably awoke at about 5 or 6, eh? Would Boston, with all the walking, be a better choice on a a full night's sleep? That's for you and your group to decide.
If you rent a car from the airport, you could drive directly to Boston. Be savvy about your belongings in the car. Keep your bags in the trunk. Don't leave anything of interest to thieves in view in the seats. It is generally better to anticipate things you will want to leave in the trunk and have them there before you park, rather than parking and then opening the trunk for all to see. Boston is a safe city, but it is a city, and appropriate precautions should be taken.
I would not advise driving into Boston, traffic is extremely busy whenever you go. Your best bet would be to park at a commuter rail station or the T station nearest your hotel and take the train or T into the city. The cost of parking and the hassle of finding a place to park can be frustrating.
