I would’ve never thought of a road trip as a summer vacation idea BUT this became the ultimate summer vacation, literally the best road trip to Maine!! My vacation history included anywhere in the Caribbean or flying somewhere else in the U.S. because I love to fly. Flying high in the sky was where you could always find me heading to my next destination – until this road trip. This road trip changed my entire perspective on how I vacation. As a first for me, there were so many questions I asked myself to plan and figure it all out.
My idea of fun vacations is go big or go home. Make memories to last or stay home. Find something new to experience or why bother. Haha…this vacation was no different. I decided we would take our first summer road trip vacation for 12 days to Maine. The idea was not to share with my kids where we were going next until the evening before. Surprises are so fun for me and I love to surprise others. I thought wouldn’t this be MORE FUN if…I kept our locations hush hush until it was almost time to depart.
12-Day Best Road Trip To Maine Itinerary
CONNECTICUT
Connecticut
Our drive from Virginia to Connecticut was approximately 6.5 hours. We stayed in West Haven, CT. It’s a quaint little city off the coast where we had access to a beach within 5 minutes of walking. We caught gorgeous sunsets, walked out on the open sands, ate some delicious fresh lobster, and visited a castle right in Connecticut. When driving downtown, I was surprised by the state’s traffic. Much busier than I expected. Overall, I loved our visit in Connecticut. We stayed there for 2 nights and then headed off to our next destination.
RHODE ISLAND
Rhode Island
Ah, Rhode Island. The state that stole my heart! Our drive from West Haven, CT to Providence, RI (where we were staying) was approximately 1.40 hours. The drive was easy. We had so much FUN in RI. Between visiting Newport, RI where we were able to enter a real mansion, exploring new beaches to playing in the sand, and then finding this quaint aquarium that was top notch so much fun, a breathtaking Cliff Walk, and a rail explorer adventure! Let’s just say Rhode Island was unforgettable! Our stay in Rhode Island was just for 2 nights. Next up…Maine!
MAINE
Maine
Our final destination was Maine, but not our first stop on the absolute best road trip one could take to New England state. First, we stopped at York Beach, ME after leaving Rhode Island. This trip was estimated to be about a 2 hour drive but whew, that traffic in Massachusetts!! Oh my…we had to alt route and well, it was quite the experience. Once we were done exploring York Beach, we continued on our road trip to our next destination – Portland, Maine. This was only about a one-hour drive which wasn’t bad at all. Portland was a lot of fun too! In Portland, we took a ferry and explored an island while finding our own treasures to take home with us. We visited in Portland, ME for 2 nights before heading to our final destination we would call “home” for the next 5 nights. Where did we land you may be wondering…Lamoine, Maine. It’s about 2.5 hours from Portland and approximately 20 minutes from our favorite place we visited in Maine – Acadia National Park!!
