DINEtinerary: Travel the Coast of Maine via DINE Inns

travelerWhere shall we go next?  That question for adventurous travelers conjures exhilaration.  The anticipation and planning of the adventure can sometimes be almost as much fun as the adventure itself.  For those seeking the adventure of coastal New England, a trip up Maine’s craggy coast offers insight into the power of the ocean and Mother Nature’s enduring ability to create rocky steps to experience it!

Travel the Maine coast in distinctive luxury and stay at two Distinctive Inns of New England, the Captain Jefferds Inn in Kennebunkport and the Camden Maine Stay Inn in Camden.  These two inns, both located in coastal Maine towns offer not only gorgeous accommodations but fabulous shopping, sightseeing and oh yes! plenty of chances to sample lobster too!

If you’ve arrived in Boston, and are looking for an expanded tour of New England’s coastal towns, you might want to travel south and follow the Southern Coastal DINEtinerary first then,  from Newport’s Cliffside Inn to Captain Jefferds Inn in Kennebunkport is about a three hour drive.

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Captain Jefferds Inn, Kennebunkport, Maine

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Captain Jefferds Inn, Kennebunkport, ME

Exit the Maine Turnpike in Kennebunk.  No matter where you’re coming from, chances are you’ll travel on the Maine Turnpike to get to Kennebunkport.  Follow your GPS through Kennebunk to Kennebunkport and you’ll see beautiful gingerbread houses and meticulously cared for mansions.  You’ll travel through Dock Square, Kennebunkport’s renowned shopping and restaurant district and then you’ll come to Captain Jefferds Inn.

If you’re hungry, help yourself to a cup of tea or a home baked cookie in the bottomless cookie jar. Your warm welcome will include a tour of the inn and orientation of the amenities here.  Take some time to relax in your spacious room (they all are!) and if your trip occurs in the spring, summer or fall you’ll want to take a tour of the gardens and beautiful water features here at the inn. Note: be sure to mention give Erik, co-owner and innkeeper, a high-five for all his work in planning and maintaining the gardens!

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Sarah and Erik Lindblom, innkeepers and owners, Captain Jefferds Inn

Dock Square is a lovely stroll into town.  Sarah and Erik Lindblom, co-owners/innkeepers, and their staff are happy to make suggestions for great places to enjoy dinner, from casual lobster and clam shacks on water to fine dining.  Enjoy dinner Kennebunkport-style, and then return to the inn for a great night’s sleep.  Everyone always sleeps well here.

Awake the next morning to a steamy cup of coffee or tea followed by a hearty breakfast crafted by Erik in the kitchen.  Choose to sit “family style” in the dining room or at private tables.  Your choice.

Consult the brochure rack and visitor information center at Captain Jefferds Inn, then you might head out on a sightseeing tour that always includes Walker Point, and the Presidential Bush compound, easily seen from the road but inaccessible to visitors.  Don’t forget to include some time for exploring Dock Square’s fabulous shops and restaurants too.

Return to the inn in time for afternoon tea and the chance to relax. After all, isn’t relaxing what vacations are for?  Enjoy another night out on the town and then that perfect night’s sleep once again.

You’ll awake to another hearty and healthy breakfast and set out for a ride up Maine’s famous Route 1 to Camden.

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Camden Maine Stay Inn, Camden, Maine

Camden Maine Stay Inn, Camden, ME

It’s just over a two hour drive from Kennebunkport to Camden, with plenty of great places to stop along the way.  You’ll jump back on the Maine Turnpike (95 North) and follow it to Brunswick, where you’ll pick up Route 1 North, or if you really enjoy exploring, take Route 1 all the way from Kennebunport! You might want to spend a few hours exploring Portland’s harborfront along the way, or skip it and duck into Boothbay Harbor or Damariscotta, two beautiful quintessential Maine harbor towns along the way.  Your trip on Route 1 will also take you right through downtown Rockland, where the shops and harborfront park may beckon for a stop.  Just six more miles up Route 1 from Rockland you’ll come to Camden, rated a 5-star (out of 5 stars) harbor by Maine sailors.  With a Main Street dotted by wonderful shops and restaurants on one side and the harbor and harborfront park on the other, this waterfront town has been a favorite destination for gentrified travelers and the yachting crowd for centuries.

Continue down Camden’s Main Street (also Route 1) , and veer on to High Street.  Just about two blocks down you’ll come to the Camden Maine Stay Inn, a beautiful 1802 former farm and carriage house.  You’ll know it by the American and Italian flags flying outside the Inn.  Owners and Innkeepers, Claudio and Roberta Latanza, are both Italian natives who fell in love with B&Bs during their frequent American trips and eventually chose the Camden Maine Stay Inn as their own.  Expect a hearty welcome as you enjoy a tour and orientation of the inn upon arrival where you’ll spy plenty of artifacts and art pieces from Italy.

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After settling in, be sure to check out the fabulous garden trail winding over bridges and through gorgeous natural gardens.  Filled with ferns, flowers, a babbling brook and more, the garden opens up to Adirondack chairs beckoning you to set a spell.  Roberta and Claudio will advise on great dinner choices in downtown Camden, just a short two tree-lined blocks away to Harbor Park, then downtown shops and restaurants beyond.

The next morning, enjoy a hearty home cooked breakfast in the sunny breakfast room overlooking the gardens.  Don’t miss the homemade granola.  You may even want to take a little “doggie bag” of it to snack on during the day. Today should be an “outdoor day”.  Venture out to Camden Hills State Park (just 4 blocks from the Camden Maine Stay Inn) where more than 30 miles of scenic trails offer lovely hikes.  The one you won’t want to miss, however, is to the top of Mount Battie, offering spectacular vistas of Camden Harbor and Penobscot Bay beyond.   We on the lookout for a small wedding; they take place at the top of the mountain all the time.

Camden from Mount BattieIf time allows, take a short drive to Cellardoor Winery in nearby Lincolnville.  Located in a beautifully restored 1790s barn, this wine shop and tasting room offers a wide range of wines from grapes grown on the 68-acre farm.  You can choose to sit inside the barn’s tasting room or out on the deck overlooking the vineyards.  The setting is bucolic and the wines are unusually delicious, especially the blueberry wine, the Clary Hill Blue, a favorite.

Return to the inn for a nap and then another night on the town. Tonight you might choose to dine overlooking the harbor.  Fresh seafood and of course, lobster, is always plentiful!

Claudio and Roberta Latanza pose in front of the fireplace in the living room at the Camden Maine Stay Inn.  Photo by Marti Mayne.

Claudio and Roberta Latanza in the living room at Camden Maine Stay Inn.

Enjoy another delicious breakfast the next morning, then a hearty “Ciao” from Claudio and Roberta.  You may enjoy meandering back through Maine towns along Route 1 or take a more direct route depending upon your need to get home.

All 11 Distinctive Inns of New England are strategically located so that no inn is more than about 2-3 hours drive from the next one.  Each offering haute hospitality, distinctive style and surroundings and located in destinations filled with activities and interesting places to discover, DINE inns offer the ideal DINEtineraries for combining two or more inns into one trip. We look forward to welcoming you as you travel these DINEtineraries on your next trip throughout New England.