Portland - Maine Day Trip Tours

[trivia addict]

Portland is a tourist town filled with typical souvenir shops. If you are a shopper, walk through the Main Street. But if you want to experience the culture and the scenery of the area, take the mail boat trip.

I’ve never been to Kennebunkport, but friends have done a sailing tour of it and liked it very much.

[TruckerDave]

On 4/30/2019 at 8:02 PM, trivia addict said:

Portland is a tourist town filled with typical souvenir shops. If you are a shopper, walk through the Main Street. But if you want to experience the culture and the scenery of the area, take the mail boat trip.

I’ve never been to Kennebunkport, but friends have done a sailing tour of it and liked it very much.

If you want the culture and scenery of the area you would rent a car and drive around, not take a boat trip to the islands.

[trivia addict]

19 minutes ago, TruckerDave said:

If you want the culture and scenery of the area you would rent a car and drive around, not take a boat trip to the islands.

Sorry, I stick to my opinion. The Portland mail boat run will visit the small islands off the coast giving you a glimpse of the local populations, and their way of life, many living as fisherman and lobstermen in small villages.  And along the way, you will see various sea birds and occasional seals in the water. For me, this is somewhat different than my life on the mainland in a populated area. Something different than I would see in a car.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

On ‎3‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 8:30 AM, chengkp75 said:

A couple of things I've recommended in the past for Portland are schooner tours of Casco Bay, or the Casco Bay Ferry "mailboat run", which leaves at about 10am, and takes 2-3 hours, depending on the amount of cargo.  This ferry brings not only passengers to the islands of Portland, but also their supplies.  Islanders will shop at mainland grocery stores, where their order will be packaged up and delivered to the ferry terminal, then palletized by island.  Once a month is "propane delivery day" when the islanders' gas deliveries are made.  The ferry skipper will give a running commentary on each island, and island life in Casco Bay.

 

Thank you for this suggestion!  We visited Portland a few years ago on a cruise ship.  We took the Duck boat tour and walked to several sites around the city.  We really enjoyed our day there.  [our lobster lunch was great] 

 

The mail run sounds like a really great way to see things we would never get to see any other way.  

 

We are on the Snowbird Migration cruise, too.  It will be lots of port days in a row.  We will appreciate a leisurely day. 

[TruckerDave]

On 5/5/2019 at 2:14 PM, trivia addict said:

Sorry, I stick to my opinion. The Portland mail boat run will visit the small islands off the coast giving you a glimpse of the local populations, and their way of life, many living as fisherman and lobstermen in small villages.  And along the way, you will see various sea birds and occasional seals in the water. For me, this is somewhat different than my life on the mainland in a populated area. Something different than I would see in a car.

I was born and raised in the Portland area and still have family there. My mom lives in South Portland and aunt/uncle in Cape Elizabeth so I "think" I have a little insight on the local way of life.   This notion that the locals are all fisherman and live in small villages is just wrong. Maybe if you go up the coast but Portland is just like any other city.  The fisherman in the area don't live in quaint little villages they live in towns such as Windham, Gorham, Westbrook, Falmouth etc etc (all suburbs of Portland) and commute to work each day then go home at night.  So go and enjoy the mail boat run, but please don't think that it is representative of how the local population live. 

Edited May 11, 2019 by TruckerDave

[chengkp75]

Yes, "Islanders" are a unique subset, and it takes a unique personality to live there.  Many are not fishermen, but commute to the "mainland" on the same ferry boat runs like the mailboat.  Dave is correct, you will see more piles of lobster traps at towns inland from the coast than in cities like Portland.  But then, there is a wide gap between "southern" Mainers and "northern" Mainers, so even visiting Portland and its surrounding towns does not give an accurate idea of how many "locals" live in Maine.

[Kartgv]

We're visiting near the end of September and would love to do the mail boat run.   Can anyone comment on the available seating - specifically, is it reasonably comfortable for a couple of older folks, very mobile but with some back and hip issues.   We'd be up walking around most of the time, but do need to sit periodically.   

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, Kartgv said:

We're visiting near the end of September and would love to do the mail boat run.   Can anyone comment on the available seating - specifically, is it reasonably comfortable for a couple of older folks, very mobile but with some back and hip issues.   We'd be up walking around most of the time, but do need to sit periodically.   

Seating is no problem, there will be plenty at that time of the day.  The early morning and afternoon runs are when the island kids and commuters use the ferry.  Seats are typical ferry bench seats with cushions.  One flight of stairs up to the upper deck which is better viewing, and the lower deck will have the cargo pallets.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

17 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Seating is no problem, there will be plenty at that time of the day.  The early morning and afternoon runs are when the island kids and commuters use the ferry.  Seats are typical ferry bench seats with cushions.  One flight of stairs up to the upper deck which is better viewing, and the lower deck will have the cargo pallets.

Thank you.  We have decided to do this during our port stop in Portland this October.  It is good to know there will likely be seats available.