Maine is known for their amazing lobster and lush green forests. Our first time in Maine brought us to the city of Bangor, as we were attending a wedding for one of our close friends. We arrived to the city a few days early to find out what Bangor has to offer and do a bit of exploring around the city.
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Transportation
- Flying into Bangor: For us to get from the West Coast to Bangor, it took a few connections with three flights.
We flew from Phoenix, Arizona to Oakland, California. We did this so we could spend time in one of our favorite cities, San Francisco.
After spending the day by the bay we headed to San Francisco International Airport to catch an overnight flight to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Once we reached Philadelphia, we headed over to catch a quick 1.5 hour flight to Bangor.
- Lyft/Uber: The city’s transportation is very limited so we ended up using Lyft/Uber. Since it is a smaller town, we did end up waiting for usually at least 15 minutes for anyone to pick us up. There was one particular time when we really wish that we had rented a car. The night of the wedding, we were at the after party, which was in the nearby town of Plymouth. We were getting ready to head back to Bangor as we had a super early flight to catch. The only problem was there were no Lyft/Uber drivers in range to pick us up! 2 hours later after refreshing our phones and calling multiple taxies to beg them to pick us up (there was a concert in Bangor so they wouldn’t come out), we finally found a Lyft driver in the area!
Accommodations
- Vacationland Inn (Maine Woods Inn): This is a simple but nice hotel in Brewer, Maine. Located across the Penobscot River from Bangor, the hotel was reasonably priced at around $100/night. There were a few stores close by which was convenient for a few necessities, but it was too far to walk to downtown Bangor.
To-Do
- Stephen King House: One of the top things to see in Bangor is the place that Stephen King calls home. From downtown Bangor, we made the easy and short walk to his house. We spent some time, admiring the stunning architecture and the mystical creatures on the fence.
While we were looking at the house from a distance we noticed a tour group which specializes in Stephen King Tours. The tour had some older clients that would rather see the sights from a van instead of walking. Most sights are very close and within walking distance so you can enjoy a free self tour. Once the tour van went away we were able to see Mr. King himself drive off in his car!
- Thomas Hill Standpipe: Another Stephen King attraction from his book and the movie “IT”, the Thomas Hill Standpipe was something else we needed to check off our list. We made our way to the famous water tower, which was just a short uphill walk from Stephen King’s house. This tower was built in 1897 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Gerald Winters and Son Bookstore: We headed towards downtown when we noticed a unique bookstore called Gerald Winters and Son. We noticed movie props from some of Stephen King’s most famous books. We decided to take a peek inside and we found a lot of Stephen King’s books and souvenirs. If you are a fan of the movie or the book “The Shining” they have the actual axe and door that was used in the movie. We didn’t buy anything but it was well worth a stop at this unique bookstore.
- Mexicali Blues: While walking around downtown Bangor, we came across this cute shop called Mexicali Blues and it looked like the perfect shop for travelers!
We headed inside and were warmly welcomed by the shop attendant. After looking around for a while we did end up purchasing some cute and flowy elephant shirts. Most of their products were made in places like Thailand and Nepal and are responsibly sourced.
- Bangor Police Department: We got sent to the police department… To meet a famous local and internet celebrity that everyone raves about. He is the Duck of Justice and he a Facebook star, providing the people of Bangor and Maine with some good humor and entertainment. The Duck is even used for memes! We of course had to pay our respects and visit this local hero.
The police officers on duty were super nice! They let us into the Law Enforcement Museum and gave us a brief overview, which was super awesome. The free museum is well put together and we learned a lot more about Bangor’s history. We also took some fun pictures along the way.
Food
- Eagle’s Nest: Lobster or lobsta? Whatever way you choose to say or spell it, we definitely needed to try lobster while visiting Maine.
Since we figured locals are the experts, we asked them what they suggested and everyone said to visit Eagle’s Nest and to get a lobster roll. Jonah got the world famous Lobster Roll and Sierra got the Lobster Stew Bowl. Both were really amazing dishes and kept us full for the whole day!
- High Tide Restaurant & Bar: Our lobster tour was not finished as we wanted to have a more traditional lobster. We went to High Tide Restaurant & Bar which was located on the Brewer Waterfront along the Penobscot River.
We started with the Spinach and Crab Dip ($11) which was very delicious and colorful.
For our entree we shared the special of the day which was the Surf & Turf, which included a 12oz New York Steak and a Baked Fresh Maine Lobster. This was a lot of food even for two people. It was very good and took time to eat as we were at the restaurant for over 2 hours finishing our food.
For the Surf and Turf we splurged a bit of cash and paid around $50. We finished our meal with a hot brownie and ice cream.
- Jason’s New York Style Pizza: We decided to be lazy our first night in Maine and talked with the staff at our hotel about a good place that can deliver pizza. They suggested Jason’s New York Style Pizza which had some pretty good pizza. They were very efficient with making and delivering the pizza. We ordered a Hawaiian Style with olives and an Italian Sausage Pizza. The pizza was very affordable as we spent around $35 for both pies and drinks.
In our opinion, Bangor is an underrated city and definitely worth checking out when you’re in Maine. It was a relaxing vacation and we were able to explore the entire city mostly by foot to see some very unique attractions and museums.
