Bar Harbor

Cruise ships anchor outside Bar Harbor and use tenders to land passengers at Town Pier in the town centre. An Information Center stands at the tender dock, providing maps, answers to visitor questions and tour bookings.

Bar Harbor is a village on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, within Maine’s Down East region.

Large areas of Acadia National Park fall within Bar Harbor, including Cadillac Mountain, the Eastern United States coastline’s highest point within 25 miles (40 km).

Facing the harbour on West St, the Bar Harbor Whale Museum opens 10AM-8PM and focuses on whales and other marine life. Displays include genuine skeletons from stranded sea mammals, among them a 28-foot-long juvenile humpback. Further exhibits examine climate change, bioacoustics, marine adaptations and a concise history of whaling, making it engaging for adults and children.

Eight Island Explorer bus routes connect hotels, guesthouses and campsites with Acadia National Park attractions and surrounding village centres. Its clean, propane-fuelled vehicles carry residents and visitors around Mount Desert Island free of charge, serving walking trails, carriage roads, beaches, shops and restaurants. The service does not include a commentary.

Central Bar Harbor covers a compact area that is simple to discover on foot.

Hire an electric car if you would like to tour Acadia independently.

Oli’s Trolley runs 30 minute tours daily from June to October, departing downtown Bar Harbor at 10:00 AM, 11:30 AM, 2:00 PM and 3:30 PM.

Acadia National Park trolley trips lasting 2½ hours operate daily from April 26 through October, leaving central Bar Harbor at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM.

Narrated Acadia National Park trolley outings of 4 hours are available from July through October.

Whale-watching excursions are another popular local activity.

Acadia National Park, the United States’ second most visited National Park, welcomes visitors throughout the year. Its visitor centre operates from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. between May and early October.

More than 120 miles of signposted paths cross Acadia National Park, with 17 mountains available to climb. John Rockefeller, Jr. built the Carriage Road network of over 50 miles of crushed-stone routes before donating it to the park. The landscape contains 18 stone bridges, while the Park Loop Road extends for 27 miles and provides access to Sand Beach, Cadillac Mountain and Otter Cliffs. Visitors will also find 20 lakes and ponds.

Acadia National Park protects significant areas beyond Mount Desert Island. Fifty miles by road from Bar Harbor, it preserves 2000 acres at the end of the Schoodic Peninsula, its only mainland section. A one-way, six-mile circuit follows the peninsula’s edge, revealing a rugged shore and broad views towards Mount Desert Island. A further 2000 acres are protected on offshore Isle Au Haut, reached from Stonington by mail boat.

The United States dollar, symbol $, is the official U.S. currency, and ATMs are widely available.

Visa, MasterCard and other leading credit cards are accepted almost everywhere, including for purchases worth just a few dollars, and may occasionally be the only available payment method. Overseas visitors should remember that displayed prices can appear lower than the final cost because tax and gratuities are rarely included.

Visitors from overseas should allow for taxes and tips, which are generally excluded from advertised prices and can make the final amount higher than expected.

State sales taxes vary from 2.9% to almost 10% of the purchase price, with 4-6% common. Posted prices almost never include this tax; it is calculated at payment, except for petrol and, in most states, alcoholic drinks consumed on the premises.

Tipping is customary and expected across America. Although the appropriate amount and eligible services are often debated, these rates are broadly accepted:

• At full-service restaurants, allow 15-20%. Waiting staff may depend on tips for their income; leave cash or add the amount to the card receipt. Few venues impose an automatic service charge, so check the bill before deciding whether to add anything further.
• For taxi drivers, hairdressers and similar personal services, tip 10-15%.
• Give bartenders $1 for each inexpensive drink, or 15% of the full bill.
• For hotel porters, allow $1-2 for each bag, with a minimum total of $3-5.
• A hotel doorman may receive $1 per bag when helping with luggage and $1 for arranging a taxi.
• Tips for guides depend on the excursion’s length, group size and quality: allow $5-10 per person for half-day trips or shorter, and $10-20 per person for longer tours.
• Private-car and limousine drivers generally receive 15-20%.
• Hotel housekeeping can be given $1-2 per day on longer visits, or at least $5 for a very short stay, though this is optional.
• For food deliveries such as pizza, tip $2-5, increasing the amount for especially large orders.

Town Pier and Village Green both provide complimentary wireless internet.

There is no federal official language in the U.S., though English overwhelmingly dominates daily life and several states designate it officially. Spanish also has official status and is widely spoken in New Mexico. French is official in Louisiana and Hawaiian in Hawaii, mainly for historical reasons, but neither is used as extensively as English.

For emergencies, dial 911.

In large cities such as New York and Los Angeles, many chemists and supermarkets routinely trade 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Department stores, malls and most other major retailers commonly open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday, with reduced Sunday trading—often from 11 a.m. or noon until 5 or 6 p.m. Shops tend to remain open on public holidays, apart from major occasions such as Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, when they generally close.