Southwest Harbor has just a little of everything – services and recreation, but enough so we didn’t need to leave town. For first time visitors to Mount Desert Island the best reason to leave Southwest Harbor for the busier side of the island is to see the sights of Acadia National Park – Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Jordan Pond House and carriage trails, Cadillac Mountain.
But you should expect crowds and traffic and a $20 weekly pass into the park area even if only visiting for one day. To ease the driving and parking stress, the Island Explorer is a free bus system available to get around both sides of the island. Riders can pick it up in three places in Southwest Harbor, and get off and on all over both sides of the island.
We thought we needed to go on a whale watch while in Maine. We battled the traffic and the crowds to Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company and got there early – not such a great idea when the parking was $4 an hour. For $98 we were herded around roping on the dock and onto the 140-foot catamaran for a high speed trip out in cold and wind surrounded by kids’ running back and forth on the front deck and people talking louder than the guide over the speakers. We saw a pair of whales and some porpoises and dolphins, but all at quite a distance. We couldn’t wait to get out of Bar Harbor.