Explorer's Guide Maine (Explorer's Complete)

"An Explorer's Guide to Maine" is in its eighteenth edition, an up-to-date and highly readable exploration of the State of Maine. This is a guide for those travelers who like to read about where they're going. The guide is well-organized, with lots of the usual information about where to go, what to see, where to stay, and what to eat. What may appeal the most to the thoughtful traveler are the large chunks of history, commentary, and opinion about Maine, its past and its present. The guide comes in at a little under 600 pages, with coverage of the ever-popular coast of Maine, but also of its scenic interior mountains and lakes, the great Baxter State Park, and even the open expanses and Acadian flavor of Aroostook Country. It is a big state, with lots of room to wander, with borders on New Hampshire and the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick, yet Kittery is an easy drive (traffic permitting) from the Northeast travel hub of Boston (and you can fly to Portland anyway). Its many parts add up to lots of possibilities for touristing, especially for visitors willing to get off I-95 or Route One and explore. Maine has much to appeal to many tastes. A careful reading of this guide will point the way to many experiences in outdoor recreation, sightseeing, some forgotten history, and some great food (this edition particularly calls out the many opportunities to partake of freshly prepared lobster). The text includes multiple maps and photographs (including a terrific selection of color photographs in this edition). The state is worth the time, and this book is worth the read. Highly recommended.

I like guide books that are not focused on hotels - after all when you are on the trip you have already paid for your accommodations. This book is more for bringing with you on the journey. This books is full of hidden gems and "secret places." This is how we found some off the road bookstores, hole in the wall lobster roll trucks, and best of all the hidden side of Acadia. We traveled to Maine in August and the park was crowded. After two days of park exploring in the crowds we hit the road and drove to the other side of the park. This is how we found Winter Harbor for a quiet lunch and the Schoodic peninsula for some fabulous photos.

There's really no need to write a long drawn-out review of this book. This is, easily, the best, most comprehensive, most refined, and most entertaining guide to Maine, period. No part of this surprisingly vast and diverse state is left out. From ancient York, to sophisticated Portland, to the remote highlands, it's all here. The selection of lodging, dining, shopping, and sporting options is particularly good, especially if you're interested in heritage and ecological tourism. Fodor and Moon guides don't even come close.

This guide provides excellent information for a newcomer to Maine. I knew almost nothing about the state before purchasing this book, and received much help for planning a 10-day trip from which my husband and I have just returned. The guide tends to focus on higher-end lodgings and restaurants, while we were on a budget. We also found one restaurant highly recommended in the guide to be very disappointing. Based on our Maine travels I recommend this guide but strongly suggest using Trip Advisor reviews as a cross-reference for all destinations.

I trusted this guide to suggest casual restaurants loved by locals in the Casco Bay area and I'm glad I did! The menu descriptions gave me enough information to select restaurants that suited my tastes and every meal was delicious. I would never have discovered these places on my own. The maps and suggestions of things to do also came in handy. I'll be carrying this guide every time I visit Maine.

This is the best guide book I have ever seen for the state of Maine (or any state for that matter)--it is full of color photos and maps, and the information is presented in an easy to read format/style. I highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking about visiting Maine, or for anyone who just loves the state.

This is the second time I have purchased this book due to updates. Wouldn't go to Maine without it. Has excellent out of the way things to do and places to eat. Taking it in the kindle version makes it so easy to search and find things. Best info we have found!

Just wasn't what I was looking for in a book. It does point out places, where to eat and things to do. Yet it continually says to refer to chamber of commerce. I just wanted an easy travel guide with information about the area. This did not suit my needs.

In Maine at the moment, on holiday from UK. Using the guide for all sorts of recommendations, which have proved to be accurate, balanced, wide-ranging, and current.

Great book

Has it all about Maine

Très bon livre pour les amateurs du Maine; pour ceux qui veulent sortir des sentiers battus. Très détaillé.