Save on The CAT ferry transportation between Bar Harbor, Maine, and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia this summer by booking early. ©Hilary Nangle Book by March 17, 2024, to save on The CAT ferry this summer. You read that right; you can save 25% on vehicle and passenger reservations. The CAT operates between Bar Harbor, Maine, and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The seasonal car ferry, which makes it easy to enjoy a two-nation vacation, operates from May 17 to Oct. 25, 2024. Here’s what it’s like to cruise aboard The CAT ferry. Passenger fares for 2024 range from $94 to $210 varying by season, duration (round-tri ..read more

Too many folks store their skis in March. I consider spring skiing the reward for braving frigid temps and blustery winds. Give me sunshine, sunscreen, and corn snow, and I’m in heaven. These eight alpine resorts, offering some of North America’s best spring skiing, are clustered in Montana, Alberta, and British Columbia. Ski one or two or plan an epic road trip. Spring skiing in Alberta, Canada Sunshine: Escape civilization For first and last tracks, check into the Sunshine Mountain Lodge. Sunshine maintains a poker face at its base but ascend in the gondola, and it reveals its winning hand ..read more

Map of the Great American Eclipse is Maine courtesy of Michael Zeiler, GreatAmericanEclipse.com. The Great American Eclipse in Maine passes over some of the state’s deepest wilderness, darkest skies, and best outdoor recreation areas on April 8, 2024. Sure, you can hang out and watch, but you can also pair the eclipse with fun activities. Here’s what you need to know. Where to view the Great American Eclipse in Maine The Great American Eclipse enters Maine from the west, cutting a wide swath until it exits the state and the country at the border with New Brunswick, Canada. The southe ..read more

Don’t miss Maine Restaurant Week 2024 Ready to try something new? Maine Restaurant Week is your chance to try a new restaurant or dish and take advantage of great deals. This much-appreciated cabin-fever reliever runs March 1-2, 2024. This year, more than 60 restaurants are participating. While the majority are in Greater Portland (Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland, North Yarmouth, Portland, Scarborough, South Portland, and Yarmouth), you’ll find options sprinkled statewide. You’ll find participants in Bangor, Bethel, Blue Hill, Biddeford, Brunswick, Camden, Hallowell, Lewiston, Norway, Ogunquit ..read more

Scenes from driving in Ireland. ©Hilary Nangle I was just beginning to relax, just beginning to loosen my white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel and allow myself a quick sideways glance at the stonewall-stitched patchwork of greens quilting Ireland’s countryside when KK-THUMP. “OhmyGod,” I gasped, releasing my foot from the accelerator and peering gape-mouthed into the rearview, then driver’s side mirrors. I expected to see a body lying in the street behind me. There wasn’t one. Still holding my breath, I glanced at the passenger-side mirror. It took a minute for my jetlag-addled brain to r ..read more

Austria’s Aqua Dome wellness hotel is just the ticket after a day of skiing at nearby Sölden or Obergurgl/Hochgurgl. The hotel spa’s indoor and outdoor thermal pools, steam rooms, and saunas soothe aching quads, and booking half-board ensures being well-fueled before hitting the slopes and well-satiated afterward. Guests staying at the Aqua Dome wellness hotel have exclusive access to Spa 3000, a spa within the spa. It’s a nice retreat after skiing the Tyrolean Alps.©Aqua Dome Wellness HotelBond meets Ötzi in Austria’s Ötztal Valley Opened in 2004 and enlarged in 2013, the four-star superior A ..read more

Be among the first to ride one of North America’s fastest lifts when Sunday River opens the Barker 6. Photo courtesy Sunday River Sunday River, home of the longest, steepest, widest trail and the fastest eight-passenger lift is adding another superlative. When the new Barker 6 chairlift ascending from the Barker Mountain base opens on Saturday, Dec. 9, it will be one of the fastest aerial lifts operating in North America. Not only is it fast, but it also promises to be comfy and warm, thanks to ergonomically designed heated seats. The Rivah’s other fastest lift is the Jordan 8 ..read more

Aerial shot of the Inn by the Sea. ©Hilary Nangle In the predawn quietude of a late October morning, clean-up bags tucked in my pocket, I leash my dog Bo, slip out of our suite at the Inn by the Sea, and pad along a boardwalk descending to Crescent Beach. Part of a 243-acre state park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, the beach throngs with families during the summer months. We have it to ourselves. On the beach, it’s easy to forget that Portland, Maine’s largest city and a hot destination for culinary travelers, is 15 minutes away. Grassy dunes, where protected piping plovers nest in the early summer ..read more

When it comes to focused and quirky museums, the Witches’ Museum is one of Norway’s most intriguing.(©Hege Lysholm / Statens vegvesen) I love quirky museums and often stumble upon them when traveling. Some are small, out-of-the-way curiosities with intriguing exhibits focused on one topic. Others surprise me with outstanding and sizable collections. And some offbeat museums make me chuckle and ask: Why not? And let’s face it, what seems odd, quirky, unusual, or just plain weird to some people will delight and entertain others. Indeed, a topic that appears bizarre at first glance makes s ..read more

Camden’s Hartstone Inn pairs a lovely inn with an excellent restaurant in a convenient, walk-to-everything downtown location. The inn comprises three buildings. The three-story mansard-roofed main inn houses a cozy lounge, the Electric Daisy restaurant, 11 guestrooms and suites (three with private entrances), and a massage room. The adjacent Manor House has three suites. And The Hideaway, a block away, houses seven rooms and suites (including one ideal for families). Tea and coffee are always available in the main inn, where guests in all three buildings come for breakfast. What it’s like to s ..read more