We spent 5 days in Acadia the first time we went and we saw MOST of what we wanted to see. We spent an afternoon at Jordan's Pond, did Cadillac Mountain for sunrise (it was cold and VERY windy), rode bikes around different parts of the park, spent an afternoon in downtown Bar Harbor, went to several of the beaches to test the waters (too cold for this Southerner), took in Thunder Hole and just hiked/walked throughout the park.
On the way up, we stopped and spent a couple of days at Old Orchard Beach and ate lots of lobster. We really enjoyed this small beach town. We drove on up and took in the Portland area and the original LLBean. We again ate more lobster.
We also took a day for Camden/Rockport areas, which were so charming and beautiful.
You can find stuff to do all along the way up or back down. Most of our activities were outdoor related and we hit beautiful weather.
We have done the trip two more times and have taken in other areas that we found just as picturesque with all sorts of things to do.
I will say that we drove straight up, spending a night in PA, then another as soon as we crossed into Maine. It was a long haul with kids, but we knew we only had 12 days and wanted to make the most of our time there.
On our second trip, We started in the very southwest corner of Virginia and went to DC for a couple of days, then on to Philly for a day to see the Liberty Bell and Constitution Hall; hen on to NYC for a couple of days (Liberty Harbor RV Park), before we headed on up to Maine.
You will NOT be able to see everything along the way and will have to go back several times. (That's what I keep telling DH, anyway).
