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Singto
02-04-2018, 06:29
Hi All,

What does everyone do about accommodations in or around Bangor if they're catching a late morning flight/Greyhound home after ending at Katahdin?

Positive thinking on my part but I want to consider the logistics and provide for costs as a part of planning.

Thank you.

moldy
02-04-2018, 08:37
I stayed at the Super 8, cheap price and they give you a free taxi from the Concord bus and the airport.

peakbagger
02-04-2018, 08:42
Bangor has all sorts of motels and many have airport shuttles. I believe the AT lodge in Millinocket aligns their rides to line up with the bus out of Medway. Flights out of Bangor are limited you are far better off heading down to Portland on the bus. The only caveat about Bangor is they have waterfront concerts every few weekends at the waterfront and every room in town may get booked depending on the act. If you do go to Portland via the bus and need to overnight, the places closest to the airport are in South Portland, there is quite a cluster of motels in the Maine Mall area that is near the airport.

Singto
02-04-2018, 10:46
Thanks for the prompt replies.

At the moment, I'm considering taking Greyhound (11:20 AM) out of Bangor with flights (Bangor, Portland or Boston) as a second choice. It will be what works best at the time. I gotta catch a cheap flight to make flying happen. I have about $250 budgeted to get from Katahdin to central Ohio. Greyhound is $107.

tiptoe
02-04-2018, 11:42
If you are headed to Boston (or Portland), check out the Concord Bus schedule, too. It makes fewer stops than the Greyhound.

https://concordcoachlines.com/stop/bangor-me/

Singto
02-04-2018, 11:46
If you are headed to Boston (or Portland), check out the Concord Bus schedule, too. It makes fewer stops than the Greyhound.

https://concordcoachlines.com/stop/bangor-me/

Thank you, I will do that. The Greyhound choice is to get me all the way to home from Bangor....27 hours...UGH!

4eyedbuzzard
02-04-2018, 12:29
Unless this is a short section hike with a predictable schedule, it's difficult to book a "get home" flight far enough in advance to get the best fares. You are starting in HF in late April, yes? That's +/- 1000 miles of hiking. Lots of stuff can, and will, happen. You could arrive a week or more early, or late, or never. How do you really know when (or honestly, even if) you will finish? Refundable tickets tend to be pretty pricey. Southwest is the only airline I know that gives you full credit if you cancel, and even then their best "wanna get away" fares are often gone if you need to make last minute changes. You could consider just waiting until you finish and checking airfares then, with Amtrak to Cleveland and bus from there, or just the bus as a back-up.

peakbagger
02-04-2018, 13:51
FYI, you can catch Amtrak in Portland but when you get to Boston you need to head across town from North Station to South Station, not a bad walk on a nice day, but not so nice at night in crappy weather. The T also runs between the stations. Lot to be said to take Concord Coach to South Station in Boston, from there you can catch Mega Bus, Greyhound or Amtrak or stop at Logan and catch a flight on Southwest.

Deacon
02-04-2018, 16:48
FYI, you can catch Amtrak in Portland but when you get to Boston you need to head across town from North Station to South Station, not a bad walk on a nice day, but not so nice at night in crappy weather. The T also runs between the stations. Lot to be said to take Concord Coach to South Station in Boston, from there you can catch Mega Bus, Greyhound or Amtrak or stop at Logan and catch a flight on Southwest.

And once you get to Boston you’ll have a 22 hour layover overnight, as you’ll just miss the westbound train. That means a hotel stay. This is what I ran into last summer, so I opted to fly home, even though it cost me $387 for airfare.

I flew Bangor to Philly, to Chicago to Toledo.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

TJ aka Teej
02-08-2018, 14:34
No need to overnight in Bangor. The morning bus from Medway gets you to Bangor in time to make connections.

putts
02-08-2018, 16:04
To answer your question - Motel 6 and Super 8 are probably near the top of the list for budget accommodations.

To some of the other advice here - I'd also recommend staying in Millinocket, then hitch/bus to Bangor (schedule permitting) And I would avoid any greyhound ride of more than 10 hours. Is a 1 way ecconomy rental out of Bangor an option?

For what its worth - I have seen more than a few long distance hikers approaching the journey's end with the uncomfortable pressure of having to catch a flight. Some of them skip to Katahdin from Monson, some try to rush thru the 100 mile wilderness, and some just shorten their hike.

Deacon
02-08-2018, 21:16
No need to overnight in Bangor. The morning bus from Medway gets you to Bangor in time to make connections.

This is true if you are in a hurry to get home. If not, there are several motels right next to the Bangor airport. So close I think any of them will pick you up for free.

MuddyWaters
02-08-2018, 21:37
Yup.
If you not prepared to pay for next day ticket price, flying is problematic on hikes over a month or so. Need to have conservative schedule and keep to it for prebought ticket.

Which is why i use frequent flyer miles specifically for that
That$450- $700 ticket is still only 12500- 25000 miles. (Non peak travel period)
Price in miles...dont change as departure day gets close.
Do pay a booking fee close in though of $40 for one way.
You can redeem miles for $125 value or $700 value by being choosey. I save miles for expensive tickets to maximize that. Cause i dont like riding greyhound.

Plan a yr in advance, sign up for credit cards you can meet spend requirements on, get free bonus miles worth a ticket or two. Cancel card. Recycle every 2 yrs. Worth $1000 per yr in free airfare if you have normal expenses and can charge everything.

This is also reason it can make sense to purchase miles when airlines offer discounted,. You can redeem them for more than purchase cost sometimes.
I stayed at holiday inn in bangor. Free airport shuttle. But....i stay for free at holiday inns usually , and might choose cheaper if had to pay. I recall airfare to bangor being very pricey.

Not sidetracking thread, just showing how i take 1-2 big hiking trips per yr, and dont pay much for travel....i wouldnt take them if i didnt do this. A student cant do it, but someone working, paying rent, insurance, bills, etc can if has good credit.

Singto
02-09-2018, 00:19
No need to overnight in Bangor. The morning bus from Medway gets you to Bangor in time to make connections.

Thank you, it looks like the CYR bus arrives at Bangor Greyhound at 11:10. That's 10 minutes before my 11:20 departure time....lol. Sounds risky to me. Is there another shuttle service between Medway and Bangor that arrives earlier?

Singto
02-09-2018, 00:22
To answer your question - Motel 6 and Super 8 are probably near the top of the list for budget accommodations.

To some of the other advice here - I'd also recommend staying in Millinocket, then hitch/bus to Bangor (schedule permitting) And I would avoid any greyhound ride of more than 10 hours. Is a 1 way ecconomy rental out of Bangor an option?

For what its worth - I have seen more than a few long distance hikers approaching the journey's end with the uncomfortable pressure of having to catch a flight. Some of them skip to Katahdin from Monson, some try to rush thru the 100 mile wilderness, and some just shorten their hike.

Hello Putts, I'm not excited about the possibility of a long Greyhound ride. It might be my only choice if good last minute flight deals aren't available. At least Greyhound has free on-board WIFI.

T.S.Kobzol
02-09-2018, 02:11
Well there is a Best Western right across the street from the Greyhound station

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Best+Western+White+House+Inn/@44.7736488,-68.860186,17z/data=!4m12!1m6!3m5!1s0x0:0x48485a3e43eedd2!2sGreyh ound:+Bus+Station!8m2!3d44.7752177!4d-68.863115!3m4!1s0x4cae4a6af7c53b53:0x5277f0b528151 427!8m2!3d44.7735857!4d-68.8629276


Thank you, it looks like the CYR bus arrives at Bangor Greyhound at 11:10. That's 10 minutes before my 11:20 departure time....lol. Sounds risky to me. Is there another shuttle service between Medway and Bangor that arrives earlier?

peakbagger
02-09-2018, 07:03
Portland has far better options for airline deals than Bangor, Southwest and Jet Blue both fly out of Portland. There are a lot of business flights out of Portland and some of the flights are ferry flights intended to get empty flights into place for peak flight times. Spend a few more hours on the same Cyr bus and you get to Logan in Boston and the options expand significantly. Bangor on the other hand has very limited options, they do ramp up a few flights in the fall for leaf season.

Most likely not an option for a typical thru hiker is Katahdin Air, a charter air service with a base located half way between Baxter and Millinocket. They can get you to Bangor or Portland pretty quickly albeit for far more dollars. They have niche market shuttling folks out into the 100 mile wilderness for section hikes.