Maine
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Maine is the furthest east and north of the New England states. Its capital city is Augusta and its biggest city is Portland. Maine has two distinctive parts, the northern part which is much more rural minded and closer in spirit to the Canadian Maritime provinces, or the southern section, which starting around Portland takes on the feel of the big Eastern seaboard cities. There is no large-scale CS organization, though as usual the strongest places of interest are the cities with larger student populations.
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Couchurfing Events
There are rarely any events in the state due to generally small CS communities and their geographic distribution.
Couchsurfing Tips
As usual the biggest cities are the best places to look, but it is worthy to keep in mind the smaller communities, especially going south towards New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Transportation Tips
In some senses Maine represents the end of the line of travel in the US. The travel distance by car from Bangor to Fredericton, New Brunswick is approximately three hours, mostly through empty woodlands. There are three routes onward from Bangor, one which goes closer to the coast and crosses at Calais, another which follows the 95 to Houlton and a third which branches off the 95 at Lincoln and goes through some backroads. The price of bus tickets onwards to Fredericton from Bangor are relatively high, almost 2/3 of the cheapest ticket to Miami. The buses also do not link up well between the American and Canadian companies in terms of time. Many travelers are forced to spend a night in Bangor due to a lack of other transportation options.
West into New Hampshire along Highway 2 will pass through some interesting areas, both in Maine and beyond. As soon as the southern reaches of the state are met at Portland the transportation network takes on a much more American feel to it, with busy interstates and more heavily trafficked bus routes.
Another point to consider if heading on to Halifax or other areas of Nova Scotia is the ferry from Bar Harbour or Portland to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
Things to do and see
One couchsurfer describes Maine in the following way:
"Maine is a wild & beautiful place. It has a million moods, especially depending on the time of year. The scents of the sea & evergreens along the rocky beaches are unforgettable. The climb to the top of Mt Desert Island is amazing. Wonderful views, Flashing cold ocean, whale watches, Carriage trails through my "favorite Park" Acadia. The wonderful trip from the coast to Halifax overnight, watching porpoises on the way back during the day. The perfect taste of fresh lobster cooked in sea water at an outdoor lobster pound... In the winter, the only above -tree-line skiing on the East coast, although it can be Very cold (-30 F) and windblown, hence unskiable in the real winter."
Maine does have the capacity to enchant the traveler who decides to give it some time instead of just passing through. however there are a few points of note:
-The shopping towns of Freeport and Kittery
-Acadia National Park
-Mount Katahdin National Forest
-Antique stores along Highway 2
