With the surprise of the pandemic changing everyone’s international travel plans, one of the best things that came out of it this year for us is discovering the less talked about (but equal to some European counterparts) east coast states. We always wanted to visit Maine, and a trip there would not be complete without a trip to Bar Harbor. Maine is the northeasternmost U.S. state and is generally known for its rocky coastline, lighthouses, and nature areas like the granite and spruce islands of Acadia National Park.
About a 3-hour drive from Portland, Maine, Bar Harbor is a town on Mount Desert Island along Maine’s Frenchman Bay. It serves as a gateway to the mountains and cliffs of neighboring Acadia National Park. It is definitely worth visiting if you are a fan of great views, great eclectic food, and lots of crafts and artsy souvenirs!
Start your day at Acadia National Park
One of the most beautiful hikes in America that we ever went on was in Acadia National Park. Actually, it almost compares to our hike overlooking a beach near Muir Woods in San Francisco! Being here reminded us of why the east coast is so great to be around in the summer! We hiked the Great Head Trail which is rated as “moderate” and loops around the north-east side of Sand Beach in Acadia National Park. This is a great hike, for any hour of the day, one that the whole family can experience (with caution of course). We even brought our energetic terrier pup along for the hike as dogs are allowed on the trails here! This starts as a leisurely climb leading to some beautiful pink granite cliffs and then turns into a moderate climb through the rocks with great views of the Sand Beach, The Beehive, and other beautiful views of Maine’s coast. Most crowds were on Sand Beach and there were hardly any people on the trail late morning to mid-afternoon so most people may not even be aware of the beauty of this trail. A trails map app, lots of water, and wearing some good hiking boots are highly recommended as the paths were quite uneven and rocky at times.
Head to Bar Harbor Waterfront
Head into the town of Bar Harbor once you are done with Acadia sights for some wonderful outdoor lunch choices and beautifully crafted local souvenirs by local artists. We found a place called Project Social which had some eclectic options for lunch, after a few days in Maine we got tired of lobster and wanted to find something more appetizing. I especially adored their tapas-style menu options and the first thing we got were the oysters! I believe we got oysters almost every day in Maine! They are the most delicious oysters we have ever tried! Their Nutella strawberry crepes reminded me of some Europe style crepes I had in Italy and Greece! Right next to this restaurant, we found a really cute souvenir store where we found some really cool hand-carved and painted wooden buoys to take home to decorate our place with. Another cool place to eat dinner next door was Cafe This Way which had really nice pop-up menus and cottages surrounding ambiance! We also picked up some locally packaged tea from Bar Harbor Tea Company which had an array of flavors to choose from including blueberry, maple, and some cute tea kettles and pots. There are tons of stores to roam in around this area!
Everyone says Greece seems like a country that would be their dream destination. For me, I knew that was always true! Ever since I read about the beautiful history of its art and architecture, I knew it would be epic and quite possibly something I would never know or see again!
That's what led me to explore it as my honeymoon destination and the first international vacation I have ever taken on my own savings. Don't get me wrong.... I had a chance to visit it in my undergrad as a school trip for a course of history of architecture for my interior design major, however; I was too distracted by working hard to maintain my grades and GPA in my passion and did not want to travel on my parent's dime back in 2008.
So, 2018 was the year! Yes, it took me 10 years to achieve this dream and it couldn't have been more worth it! Although I want to visit the entire country, I was able to visit 3 key places and spend the dream budget for my honeymoon. I saw my first excavated ancient city of Akrotiri. My husband and I stayed in amazingly cute family owned hotels and ate some of the best and freshest food we have ever had!
If you are already drooling, then let me give you some tips and tricks that I learned before I went and after my trip to avoid any unexpected surprises for a 10 day trip to Athens & the islands of Santorini + Mykonos (known as the Cyclades in the map below).
1. Give yourself enough time in each island. The biggest mistake we made was take out more time for one place over another but a good rule of thumb is divide your days equally between 2-3 destinations. Say, if you want to visit 3 islands and have 10 days for the trip, keep 2 days or less for Athens where you will usually fly to and from and divide the remaining 8 days between each island that you want to visit. I highly advice you to not do less than 2 days at each island. It will feel rushed and make you tired from commuting on the ferries and airports.
2. Another piece of advice I can give you is there is a lot you can do in Athens by foot if you stay in the city center and you can get by with just 2 days or even less if you want to see the main historic ruins. Try to get a day pass which is cheaper to see a few of the ruins in the same day when you go to the Acropolis (takes about 2-3 hours to see each area).
We also climbed Mount Lycabettus near our hotel for a gorgeous sunrise and a 360 view of Athens. It only took us 30 mins to climb by foot and it was completely free to visit! It was definitely an experience I suggest not missing out on. Only a few people were there when we went early morning.
3. Research family owned hotels on TripAdvisor that have great reviews before booking the fanciest hotel you see on travel engine searches. We got amazing service and sometimes even free drinks that were not even part of the package because the hotel was owned by small businesses and they also let you check-in early. We stayed at Blue Waves Hotel in Kamari Beach which is a gorgeous black sand beach and Caldera Premium Villas in Oia, which is the famous area of Santorini you see in movies, tv and press. For Mykonos, we chose a very cute and tiny boutique hotel called Lefteris in the hustle and bustle of the main town near the pier. Some hotels also offered us a complimentary airport transfer for certain room packages. Airport transfers can be expensive as there are not public transport options in the islands other than buses.
4. If at all possible, try to visit in the shoulder season which is April, September and October. The reason being, crowds are less, the temperatures are milder (one to keep in mind if you can't take the heat during the day), the hotels are also more affordable but on the other hand, there are less ferries and flight schedules available.
The peak season is Easter, May until August and low season is September to March. We went in the very start of the peak season in early May.
5. Try to rent an ATV or car in Santorini and Mykonos so you can visit a few out-of-the-way villages and places where you can find traditional culture. Your hotel can help book this for you! Santorini traffic can be tricky so ATV might be the cheaper and faster way to get around but don't make the mistake of driving on it to the pier where the ferries leave! We tried that and it was windy roads with big buses and trucks, not a fun drive!
6. Lastly, you can't go wrong with any Greek restaurant you go to! We literally did not look at any reviews and just went to some places to eat that were recommended by the hotels but mostly just experimented with any place that looked good! Definitely have the frappe, especially iced version anywhere you go! I grew up on espresso's with milk so it was my fav thing to order everywhere we went!
The first photo below was on our way to the ancient town of Akrotiri and it was some of the best food I ever had! I finally searched and found the name, it's called Atlantida in Akrotiri and I will also highly recommend you try out Ammoudi Fish Tavern which the second photo is from! I had the best zucchini balls and sesame honey coated feta cheese, not to mention beautiful views facing the sea! Another gem of Greek food in Oia, Santorini is Skala where the third photo is from.