Maine is surrisingly romantic in winter, when #Vacationland resembes a #snowglobe and a vertiable #winterwonderland! Of all the pretty villages and serene settings, Kennebunkport is Maine’s most romantic town – especially in February when locals Paint the Town Red! Innkeepers and shop owners decorate with sparkling red and white lights, heart shaped everything. Kennebunkport’s best restaurants and pubs offer happy hours with craft cocktails and love potions, and red plates dining specials. Inns offer romantic lodging deals with champagne, chocolates, spa treatments, lavish breakfasts, even late check outs!
1. Have your picture taken by the big heart made of lobster buoys in Dock Square, then visit all the heart adorned boutiques and shop for “Red Tag” specials inside.
2. Walk the quiet beautiful beach. Watch the cool surfers riding the winter waves (brrr). Love the beach so much you don’t want to leave? Stay beachfront at The Seaside Inn, you ‘ll fall in love with their ocean view outdoor hot tub.
3. February is full of fun romantic events… The Frozen Ice Bar Party at the Boathouse Bar and Avalanche at Old Vines Wine Bar. All month long, beer and wine tastings, cocktail classes and cooking demos take place at Alisson’s, Old Vines and Ports Of Italy!
4. Embrace the outdoors – Cross country ski or snowshoe at nearby Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm on their 7 mile of beautiful trails. Go on a skate date -ice skating on Kennebunks Waterhouse Pavilion, a free public covered ice rink in downtown Kennebunk. Date Skate is Feb 10 with a DJ on the ice, nice!
6. Reserve a romantic room overlooking the Kennebunk River at Breakwater Inn and Spa. Their Winter Valentine’s package includes lodging for two, Chocolates and a split of Prosecco in your room, Continental breakfast, afternoon Tea and snacks, and a romantic dinner at Striper’s Restaurant. Check out their Breakwater Spa package too.
7. Indulge in “February is for Lovers” with Ca ptain Lord Mansion’s special mid-week package, your third night is free and you receive a split of sparkling wine, chocolate-covered popcorn and frequent visitor credits. Captain Lord Mansion lodging rates start at $199 per night including a delicious multi-course breakfast. Next door, Captain Fairfield Inn has a month full of love special!
8. The Boathouse Waterfront Hotel has a “Love KPT” package with two-nights stay for two people with arrival goodies of wine and chocolate-covered strawberries, drinks for two at The Boathhouse Bar downstairs, and a late check-out at noon.
9. Can’t escape without the kids? Rhumb Line Resort, Kennebunkport’s affordable family resort, has the solution. Book a Romance Red Tag Package for you and your sweetheart, starting at $199, including two nights, breakfast, flowers & chocolates, and you can get an extra room for the kids for just $20. Rhumb Line Resort has an indoor pool and
hot tub, plus an outdoor hot tub, a fitness room, free WiFi and Continental breakfast, and you’re just a few miles for Dock Square and the beach.
10. If Portland and the romantic city streets of the Old Port are more your speed, check in to The Pomegranate Inn, visit Portland’s best restaurants and shops, livley bars, theatres and the watefront. Their lodging package includes a book of love poems, bubbly, sweets and a sutie room will set the stage for #Vacationland romance in February~
This entry was posted in Beaches, Dining Out, Holidays, Maine events and festivals, Maine Lodgings, Maine Towns, Portland, Winter Fun and tagged February, Kennebunkport February events, Romantic Maine on January 14, 2018 by Maine Lodging and Hotel Guide.	
Maine has become a hot foodie destination in recent years. Portland, Camden and Kennebunkport have attracted top chefs and top dining reviews. Maine has also become a place for food fests, like Harvest to the Harbor each fall, the Kennebunkport Festival each spring, and Maine Restaurant Week in March – now in Year 10. Here’s your invitation to see and taste the best plates of the Pine Tree State with special multi-course price-fixed menus at Maine’s best dining spots. This fun food fest is sponsored by our friends at Maine mag, they also put on the Kennebunkport Festival June 5-10, 2018 – these artistic & editorial folks are passionate about promoting Maine cuisine!
Prices for Maine Restaurant Week are typically $25, $35 and up to $45 for three courses, not including beverages, tax or gratuity. What’s fun about Restaurant Week, besides the delicious cuisine at Maine’s best restaurants, is meeting fellow foodies in your travels. You can dine out nightly and meet new people who share your passion for fine food and wine, also to try new venues like Cliff House Nubb’s and Tiller, and the usually too-pricey White Barn Inn.
Maine Restaurant Week is March 1-12, 2018 with creative menus focused on Maine sourced, locally grown and farm raised food, fresh Maine lobster and seafood and artisan cheeses, and often local wine and beer pairings suggestions. Maine has lots more than just blueberries and potatoes as native food to rave about. So eat, drink and be merry during Restaurant Week in Maine at these great dining spots:
See our Maine Lodging Guide for overnight hotels and Maine’s best BnB’s to stay at during your Foodies Tour of Maine
This entry was posted in Dining Out, Maine events and festivals, Maine Lobster on January 7, 2018 by Maine Lodging and Hotel Guide.	
2016 marked the 100th birthday of Acadia National Park, and also the National Park System’s centennial.
Acadia’s official birthday is July 8, 1916 when Sieur de Monts National Monument was established on Mount Desert Island in Maine. Three years later, the name changed to Lafayette National Park, and finally in 1929, Acadia National Park became the title, the first National Park in the eastern United States. Acadia is also the first park established entirely through private land donations thanks to founders George B. Dorr, landscape architect Charles W. Eliot and John D. Rockefeller.
Today, over 2.5 million people visit Acadia National Park annually. Acadia’s celebrated natural beauty reaches from Maine’s Blue Hill Bay to Somes Sound, up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain overlooking Frenchman Bay, to Isle au Haut and the Schoodic Peninsula, covering 49,000 acres of mountains, main land, islands, ocean, lakes and ponds, forests and cliffs of sparkling granite.
The idea to establish Acadia came from landscape architect Charles Eliot, his father Charles W. Eliot was president of Harvard. Collaborator George B. Dorr was considered the “father of Acadia National Park,” for his land donations and his work on state and federal status with President Woodrow Wilson to create the National Park Service. It’s also great thanks to the uber wealthy John D. Rockefeller, Jr. who designed the park with 50 miles of carriage roads, 17 granite bridges, and two gate lodges, using granite quarried from the site from 1915 -1933. To this day, the granite guard rails are known as “Rockefeller’s Teeth” and also referred to as “coping stones” as these stones help visitors cope with the steep drop offs.
Of Acadia’s 49,000 acres, 30,300 are on Mount Desert Island, 2,728 acres are on Isle au Haut and 2,366 acres are on the Schoodic Peninsula. The National Park Service acquired the land on Schoodic Peninsula in 2012, this former naval base is on the mainland just north east of MDI, with stunning views looking back toward Cadillac Mountain across Frenchman Bay. The Schoodic Loop Drive is a beautiful drive, with gorgeous pink granite boulder shores for picnic’ing with incredible views out to sea.
The crowning glory of Acadia is Cadillac Mountain, named after the French explorer Sieur de Cadillac, Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, it stands over 1500’ above sea level, and it’s one of the first places in the United States to see the sunrise. Acadia National Park is a gem, a haven for hikers and bikers, nature lovers. Its also a natural habitat for over 40 species of wildlife, including white-tailed deer, moose, beavers, porcupines, minks, muskrats, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and black bears, vast birds, bald eagles, and peregrine falcons, plus the many sea mammals, fish and crustacean that inhabit the oceans, lakes and ponds.
Do yourself a favor and visit Maine’s Acadia National Park to help celebrate her 100th birthday. Stay in the bustling port town of Bar Harbor or quieter Southwest Harbor or Northeast harbor, the beautiful fishing village of Bass Harbor, or the nearby towns of Trenton, and Blue Hills. See our top things to do in Acadia National Park, and where to stay in Bar Harbor to help plan your trip to Mount Desert Island.
This entry was posted in Acadia National Park, Activities, Maine events and festivals, Maine Lodgings, Maine wildlife, Summer Activities, Tours and Sightseeing and tagged 100 years, acadia national park, cadillac mountain, history, mdi, mount desert island on January 3, 2018 by Maine Lodging and Hotel Guide.	
Enjoy southern hospitality at Holiday Inn of Rocky Mount ideally situated off of I-95 and US 64. The hotel offers easy access to unique attractions such as The Imperial Centre, Rocky Mount Mills and The Dunn Center for the Performing Arts. While lodging, guests can enjoy the comforts of an indoor, heated pool, a 24-hour fitness center and a sundries shop. Offer valid on one-or-two-night stays.
The aroma of the broth will welcome you. The heartiness of the noodles will give you sustenance. And the flavors of the ingredients will bring you strength — in mind and spirit. This is Tonbo Ramen. A place of comfort and warmth. Where delicious, authentic ramen made from scratch, hand-crafted drinks and Japanese-inspired appetizers, served in our Izakaya bar, can be enjoyed in the company of friends, loved ones and even in blissful solitude. Happy Slurping!
Snorkelling is one of our top recommended activities in the Turks and Caicos. Snorkelling sites accessible from the beach vary greatly by island, with Providenciales offering the finest shore reefs. Boat excursions do tend to equal the field a bit and excellent reefs can be easily reached by boat from any of the main islands.
Reef off the remote side of Providenciales. The Turks and Caicos offers so many unique and secluded snorkelling spots.
The Turks and Caicos is made up of two groups of islands separated by a deep channel: the Turks Islands and the Caicos Islands. Spectacular ocean water, vibrant reefs and impressive walls can be found around both island groups, but there is a little difference in what can be seen.
Grand Turk and Salt Cay are located directly adjacent to the deep Turks Island Passage that separates the Turks Islands from the Caicos Islands. Migrating humpback whales are naturally funnelled through this channel, so the waters off the Turks Islands offer the greatest chance to spot these majestic mammals.
On the other hand, the Caicos Islands group subterranean plateau is surrounded by an extensive barrier reef that is second to none in the region. Due to their large and more irregular shapes, these islands also offer a bit more variance in marine terrains and ocean conditions.
Providenciales has the widest range of beach snorkelling locations, boat cruises, and equipment offerings. The central Bight Reef and Smith’s Reef are excellent and easily accessible sites.
Although the diving on Grand Turk is exceptional, beach snorkelling sites are however limited. Find out about snorkelling cruises, what shore spots are the best and where to get equipment.
Due to being close to the barrier reef, the northwest coast of the large and central island of Middle Caicos offers excellent and impressive snorkelling when ocean conditions are calm.
Learn about snorkelling from the beach, with whales and on boat excursions here. The tiny laid-back island of Salt Cay offers many unique and secluded sites to explore.
Natural arches off of Water Cay. Countless majestic coral features can be found on the northern barrier reef off of the Caicos Islands.
Spectacular coral and sea life can be found off of all of the main islands in the country, however, accessible beach snorkeling sites and the availability of organized snorkeling boat tours does vary greatly by island.
As the busiest and most developed island in the country, Providenciales has by far the most options. Along with having the two centrally located beach reefs of The Bight Reef (Coral Gardens) and Smith's Reef, there’s a wide selection of remote sites and snorkeling tours available.
Grand Turk has great reefs, but these unfortunately aren’t easily accessible from the shore. If you want to explore anything more than a simple rock patch, a snorkeling boat cruise is the best choice.
The tiny island of Salt Cay offers	many small yet interesting sites. Although not the most vibrant reef, the sheltered coast off of Cockburn Town Beach is interesting to explore. A bit more exposed to the constant east southeast trade winds, North Bay has many small reefs.
On North and Middle Caicos, Mudjin Harbour and Conch Bar Beach offer close access to the vibrant barrier reef, but keep in mind that ocean conditions at these two sites can often be too rough for snorkeling. Three Marys Cays is usually calm and offers a bit of reef to discover, however this site is limited in both size and variance of wildlife.
Take a boat cruise and discover the spectacular reefs of Grand Turk. Most trips include a visit to the stingray haven and scenic beach of Gibbs Cay.
A good snorkeling cruise will typically give a better experience than a visit to one of the reefs near the beach.
Visibility is almost always far superior, reef and coral formations are better defined, and you’ll also have a greater chance to see some of the larger sea animals.
However, one of the decent shore sites (such as the outer reef at Smith's Reef on Providenciales) will typically offer a wider selection of approachable reef fish and small creatures, along with the obvious benefit of not costing anything.
You’ll probably see more on one the dedicated snorkeling trips offered by a dive companies than you will on the combination beach and snorkeling cruises.
Complimentary snorkeling gear is typically offered on most boat cruises. But be aware that quality and condition vary. If you have your own equipment, bring it.
If you plan to do much snorkeling, it’s best to have your own equipment. We highly recommend visiting a dive shop in person (either in your home country or here) so you’ll get proper fitting equipment. Prices will often be a bit higher locally than what the cost for equivalents would be in the USA.
The numerous watersports and dive shops on Providenciales offer a wide selection and quality range of gear, and the Dive Provo shop in Ports of Call carries the nicest range of snorkel gear on the island.
Grand Turk does offer a decent selection of equipment for sale. The dive shops tend to have a better range of equipment than the gift shops do.
Unfortunately, the other islands in the Turks and Caicos either have a very limited range of snorkeling gear for sale or none at all.