The Harbour Cottage Inn is a family-friendly Inn in Southwest Harbor just 20 minutes from Bar Harbor, and yet, it is worlds away from the crowds that flock to this popular destination each summer. Southwest harbor, on the quiet side of Mount Desert Island, is the perfect place to relax and discover the coastal gems of Maine. Arcadia National Park, where you can easily spend an entire day walking and enjoying a family picnic, is nearby. Numerous boats are available to take you whale-watching, where you can watch up-close, while the aquatic giants frolic and feed. Or you can go for a brisk day-sail through the nearby islands. There is the Oceanarium where you can visit a lobster hatchery and the children can actually touch the spiny creatures. Also available within close proximity are kayaking, bird watching tours, hiking, sailing, museums, shopping and swimming. This quiet harbor, one of Maine’s most beautiful, is quiet, but certainly never dull. It is also noted for its many fine restaurants.

The historic Harbour Cottage Inn is an 1850s Victorian bed and breakfast that is situated atop Dirigo Hill overlooking the picturesque waters of Southwest Harbor. The Inn has seven charming rooms, all with private bath and your choice of queen or king size beds. Located near the center of town, this elegant Inn is within walking distance of excellent restaurants, shopping, marinas and lobster wharves. If you have the time and money, you can even have the local yacht company build a boat to your specifications.

Your hosts, Don and Javier, have owned the Inn for several years and seem to know everyone in town. They can arrange any excursion you would like and can probably suggest a few that you might not have thought of. They not only provide you with breakfast each morning, they specialize in breakfast, and each morning is a delightful extravaganza and a virtual morning gourmet feast. I doubt that any of their creations came out of a cookbook, unless they wrote the book themselves. After breakfast, you will probably want to relax in the bright and airy common room which features exquisite antiques and a superb collection of local art and overstuffed sofas. Or perhaps you would like to savor a last cup of coffee on the old-fashioned front porch overlooking the harbor. Those who feel the need of a little exercise following breakfast, can use one of the bicycles provided by the Inn to tour the village.

Since we would be spending only a short time in Southwest Harbor, Don and Javier helped us arrange our schedule. We arrived fairly late in the afternoon and it was suggested that we have dinner at Fiddlers Green on Main Street. The food was excellent and I certainly enjoyed their innovated presentation of the traditional whole Maine lobster.

We began the next morning at 8.a.m. with a guided Birdwatching and Nature tour in Acadia National Park conducted by Michael Good of Downeast Nature Tours. Michail seemed to have an amazing array of bird-calls that he used to coax the reluctant birds out of the trees.

After several hours of hiking we were ready to eat again so we boarded a small boat at the town dock that took us across the harbor to Northeast Harbor where we had lunch outdoors at the delightful Red Bird restaurant. The Red Bird also specializes in packing food to be taken aboard the many small boats in the harbor.

For an afternoon excursion we choose to enjoy a sail with the Downeast Friendship Sloop Charters, where we were able to enjoy the brisk weather and see more of the area from the water. The perfect end to the day was dinner at the Red Sky restaurant in downtown Southwest Harbor.

Don and Javier were there to greet us when we returned to our welcoming Harbour Cottage Inn. The downy comforters on our beds had been turned down and a chocolate was waiting on the pillow. We turned in early to be ready for our final excursion on the Sea Princess which would take us on a tour of Somes Sound, the only natural fjiord in the Northeast.

Contact: Telephone 1-888-843-3022
www.harbourcottageinn.com