On our visit to Acadia National Park, we decided to take a boat ride to see three lighthouses and a lot of amazing wildlife. We booked tours in advance with Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co. Our specific tour was to see the puffins off the coast of Maine, which can’t be seen from the mainland. It is officially called the Puffin Lighthouse Cruise, and we loved it!
What to Bring
The office for the Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co is right on the corner of Bar Harbor near Bar Island. We purchased advanced tickets online, but you can purchase tickets in person based on availability. We climbed aboard the boat, which was a ferry with inside and outside seating. Still, don’t forget a jacket or sweatshirt as the wind was cold even in June.
Other things you’ll want to remember for you boat experience is a good pair of binoculars, your camera, sunscreen, and sunglasses. The glasses will help with the wind and sun when you are on deck, and the binoculars will help you identify the birds you see.
You are allowed to bring snacks and water, which we did. There is a galley on the boat, but it only accepts cash, so be prepared if you are planning to purchase their snacks or drinks.
We also recommend sturdy shoes, not flip flops. Boats move around a lot, so it’s best to have good close-toed shoes to help you stay steady when walking around.
Boat Ride
Our boat ride lasted three hours and was fully narrated by a crew member. We stopped by three lighthouses including Winter Harbor and Petit Manan (the second tallest lighthouse in Maine). We also stopped several times for wildlife. At the first island, we saw seals, eiders, and guillemots. The boat was able to get close enough to the animals to see them well, but binoculars were even better.
The next island is all for puffins. At Petit Manan, there were hundreds of them both on the shore and swimming in the water. A few even flew around the boat. This was the highlight of the tour. These birds looked just as beautiful as they do in pictures. Unfortunately, you can’t see them without the boat ride because they only nest on islands off the coast, so there is no place to spot them on the mainland.
We stopped a few times for other birds, too. We saw nesting eagles and ospreys, and the eagles had young in their nests.
The last stop was for a sea arch, which was a narrow bridge of granite that had eroded in the wall. Of course, we’ve seen a lot of arches, but most were out of sandstone or limestone, and this granite one seemed unique.
We enjoyed our tour on The Puffin Lighthouse Cruise and the Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co was great. They offer lots of other tours including whale watching. You can find more info about times, pricing, and tours on their website.
