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Bar Harbor Maine on October 17th

GA_Traveler

By GA_Traveler,
in Canada/New England

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GA_Traveler

GA_Traveler

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I am going to be visiting Bar Harbor on October 17th on the Voyager of the Seas.   I have just recently booked this cruise and I am looking at excursions.  I am interested in visiting Acadia National Park.   

 

Since I am late booking,  it seems that most of the excursions,  through the ship and private excursion companies,  are booked.  I have also looked at using the Island Explorer for the Park but the website says that the services will not be running past October 10th.  Renting a car is not really an option for us. 

 

My question is this...how can I see the summit of Cadillac Mountain and Thunder Hole?  Would it be possible to take an Uber or taxi?  There will be 4 of us in the group.

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

 

Dawn

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Nanatravel

Nanatravel

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1 hour ago, GA_Traveler said:

I am going to be visiting Bar Harbor on October 17th on the Voyager of the Seas.   I have just recently booked this cruise and I am looking at excursions.  I am interested in visiting Acadia National Park.   

 

Since I am late booking,  it seems that most of the excursions,  through the ship and private excursion companies,  are booked.  I have also looked at using the Island Explorer for the Park but the website says that the services will not be running past October 10th.  Renting a car is not really an option for us. 

 

My question is this...how can I see the summit of Cadillac Mountain and Thunder Hole?  Would it be possible to take an Uber or taxi?  There will be 4 of us in the group.

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

 

Dawn

Dawn, contact Olly's Trolley.  They do private tours but don't know how late in the season that they operate.  You may be missing it by just one week.  You could also consider renting a car.  The area is rather small although the Arcadia National Park is large and a vehicle is necessary to see it properly.

Good Luck.  Downtown is pretty quaint as well.  Bring a warm jacket, as it does get colder off the water.

 

We are from NE and will be going Sept. 1 on our cruise to Bar Harbor.  It's been years since we have been there.

 

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jennygirlmt

jennygirlmt

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5 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

You need a permit to enter the park to get to Thunderhole as well as an additional permit to go up Cadillac Mountain. Uber won't work.

We are in the same boat (pun intended). Arriving that week and had no idea that the IE buses stopped.  We want to hike, rendering the tours useless.  However, Olley's does do a tour of the park, you just can't go off on your own when booked with them. I would reach out to them, that may be our best option as well, if I want to see the park at all.

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jennygirlmt

jennygirlmt

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5 hours ago, RosieRoo said:

When we were in Bar Harbor in June they were renting these small electric vehicles right at the pier. I know a couple who rented one and drove to the top of Cadillac mountain. They had 2, 4, and 6 passenger ones. 

Oh my husband mentioned this and I thought it was crazy two months ago, but maybe this is exactly my answer! 

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RosieRoo

RosieRoo

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4 minutes ago, jennygirlmt said:

Oh my husband mentioned this and I thought it was crazy two months ago, but maybe this is exactly my answer! 

I wasn’t that interested when I saw them, but the couple from our cruise that rented one said it was great. I think this is their website https://www.acadiagem.com.  It shows a map of where you can go. We are considering it for our next trip to Bar Harbor in September. 

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jennygirlmt

jennygirlmt

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18 hours ago, RosieRoo said:

I wasn’t that interested when I saw them, but the couple from our cruise that rented one said it was great. I think this is their website https://www.acadiagem.com.  It shows a map of where you can go. We are considering it for our next trip to Bar Harbor in September. 

My husband and I just booked a half day with one on the 19th. Planning Cadilliac mountain first (with a reservation) then doing the loop road, stopping at the highlights and hiking Beehive. Thank you for mentioning them!

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kluv2cruz

kluv2cruz

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On 8/24/2022 at 9:31 AM, luckyinpa said:

do they sell passes with the car so you can get in the park or on your own for that?

Anybody know this? Do you need a park pass for loop road or only Cadillac Mountain? 

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EmptyNest999

EmptyNest999

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On 8/21/2022 at 8:02 PM, GA_Traveler said:

I am going to be visiting Bar Harbor on October 17th on the Voyager of the Seas.   I have just recently booked this cruise and I am looking at excursions.  I am interested in visiting Acadia National Park.   

 

Since I am late booking,  it seems that most of the excursions,  through the ship and private excursion companies,  are booked.  I have also looked at using the Island Explorer for the Park but the website says that the services will not be running past October 10th.  Renting a car is not really an option for us. 

 

My question is this...how can I see the summit of Cadillac Mountain and Thunder Hole?  Would it be possible to take an Uber or taxi?  There will be 4 of us in the group.

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

 

Dawn

Hi Dawn... I don't know what I was thinking and so worried now.  All the tours are booked. Did you find anything?  

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1025cruise

1025cruise

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On 9/2/2022 at 12:59 PM, zukecruiser said:

Wondering if there are private tours available when you disembark at the tender dock. Thanks

Ollie's Trolley is right there. And a great tour. I would recommend booking in advance.

With that said, mid October is end of the season, not sure when Ollie stops running.

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jennygirlmt

jennygirlmt

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On 8/23/2022 at 2:00 PM, GA_Traveler said:

Thanks for all the wonderful information everyone!  I think that we have decided to rent the GEM as well.  It really looks like it will be fun and gives us the flexibility that we wanted.

 

Thanks again!!

We reserved ours too! I decided to forgo Cadillac mountain. Having to choose a time made it a bit too complicated in my head. I asked a friend who spent a week in Acadia last year and said they didn't even go up because of all the things to do. So we are going to do the loop, hike Beehive, and any other little hikes we can manage in that time. I think we also plan to just buy our park pass right in town, just in case we aren't able to get off the ship for any reason. Hope you have a great time!

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okiedrifters

okiedrifters

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On 9/6/2022 at 1:56 PM, milolii said:

We we are using Woody at http://www.barharborcoastalcab.com/index.html

We will be with him on Sept 20.  

I looked at their website but can't find any rates for a tour or cab for a few hours. When you get back would you please post a review of your trip with Woody, and the rate if you don't mind? Thanks so much! Have a wonderful cruise, we are going in Oct. 

Cheers, 

EJ  

Edited by okiedrifters
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GA_Traveler

GA_Traveler

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On 9/5/2022 at 4:53 PM, EmptyNest999 said:

Hi Dawn... I don't know what I was thinking and so worried now.  All the tours are booked. Did you find anything?  

Hey Empty...I decided to book the GEM electric cars.  After reading about them, I am really excited about it.   We are planning to do the Cadillac Mountain Summit...I have already booked our pass.  I'm not really worried about the charge because we are going to do this first and we will add the other stops based on our usage.   We booked for 4 hours so that we will still have time for shopping,  lunch, etc when we get back to town.

 

Good luck with your planning. 😀

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GA_Traveler

GA_Traveler

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On 9/6/2022 at 1:14 PM, jennygirlmt said:

We reserved ours too! I decided to forgo Cadillac mountain. Having to choose a time made it a bit too complicated in my head. I asked a friend who spent a week in Acadia last year and said they didn't even go up because of all the things to do. So we are going to do the loop, hike Beehive, and any other little hikes we can manage in that time. I think we also plan to just buy our park pass right in town, just in case we aren't able to get off the ship for any reason. Hope you have a great time!

Hey Jenny...one of the main things we wanted to do was the summit so I went ahead and booked our pass ($6).  Like you, I am waiting until we get there to get the park pass ($30).  I am actually excited about renting the cars...it's definitely something unique. 😀 

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GA_Traveler

GA_Traveler

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CAN THE GEM’S GET UP CADILLAC MOUNTAIN?

Yes!  Going to the top of Cadillac is the highlight of any visit to Acadia.  You will need a reservation for the mountain and at least 4 bars of battery showing on the dashboard meter.  You can reserve your entry at www.rec.gov.  If you get to the base of the mountain with less than 4 bars you can return to the GEM garage for a fresh vehicle if there is one available.  Also we ask that you coast down the mountain as much as possible as that generates electricity and re-charges the batteries. 

We have had lots of customers tour the Park Loop Road and then climb Cadillac on a single charge.  Air temperature, and number of passengers are both variables that impact the range of our electric vehicles.  Please call us with any questions.

 

I just found this information on the GEM website for anyone worrying that the GEM won't make it to the summit. 🙂

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