Victorian Villages of Mount Desert Island: A Small-Group Tour
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Port
Bar Harbor, Maine, US
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Activity Level
Easy Activity
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Excursion Type
Information Not Currently Available
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Wheelchair Accessible
No
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Starting At (prices in USD)
$100
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Minimum Age
Information Not Currently Available
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Duration
Approximately 2 Hours
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Meals Included
Meals not included
Drift back to the Victorian era on a drive through the villages of Seal Harbor and Northeast Harbor. These are the last bastions of old-money wealth on Mount Desert Island. They are home to the mansions built by the robber barons of American capitalism and now occupied by Hollywood celebrities and captains of industry.
Set out with a small group (maximum 14 privileged guests) to the charming small town of Seal Harbor. A stop along the way allows you to view the church Edsel Ford built a century ago so that his servant staff could celebrate mass. Interestingly, the church is now owned by homemaking celebrity Martha Stewart, who purchased the Ford Estate many years ago.
In Seal Harbor village -- home base of the Rockefeller family -- you'll pass the bucolic village green and pause above Seal Harbor Beach. This is one of only two sandy beaches on Mount Desert Island, and it offers a view of the former Rockefeller boathouse.
Northeast Harbor is the other village on the island and seems untouched by time. The mansions here have been handed down from generation to generation. You'll have about 20 minutes to browse in the quaint downtown area. Meander through the village's most exclusive residential area, populated by Victorian mansions that exemplify the "shingle-style" architecture of that era.
Sargent Drive -- the waterfront road -- is four miles of jaw-dropping beauty. It is closed to motorcoaches but accessible to your smaller executive coach. The road skirts the shoreline of Somes Sound -- the only fjord on the east coast of the United States.
Please note: This tour consists primarily of sightseeing from the coach. No inside visits are included.