Expert: Tom Webster Date: 2/27/2006 Subject: Portland to Bar Harbor
Question My family is planning to travel to Nova Scotia this summer, and we were considering Amtrak. We can get to Portland on Amtrak, and take the cat from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, NS. How is the best (and cheapest)way for a family of 5 to get from Portland to Bar Harbor? Thank you!
Answer Hi Beth,
This is really outside of my expertise, but I will give it a stab anyway. I am going to assume that you are going to return via the Cat from Nova Scotia and that you'll need transportation once again from Bar Harbor to Portland.
My guess is that bus transportation will be more expensive for 5 persons than renting a car, but I would check it out to be sure. I would rent a car one way to Bar Harbor and then rent a car one way to Portland coming back. I don't have any idea what rental company is cheapest, but you might want to consider Enterprise since they will pick you up and then drop you off thus eliminating any travel expense between the drop off place and the train station or the Cat or both. If you travel on the weekends, you should be able to get some decent rates. If you decide to rent a car, be sure to book these early as inventory gets grabbed up quickly in the summer season. It's about a three to four hour drive from Portland to Bar Harbor depending upon traffic. If you do rent a car and you want the best route to take, then drop me a line and I will outline it for you.
