I spent a week in Bar Habor and Acadia National Park with 5 Other People. We're From the South. Here's My Thoughts

I’m from South Georgia and now live in South Carolina so that’s where a few opinions come from

1. Do the beehive trail. The ladders put in place were for people who are around 5’10. I’m 5’0 and I had to find a lot of rocks to help me find my way up because the rungs were far apart, but I could do it. (26F). My mom is 53 and so scared of heights and she did it. She did need a little bit of help, but no shame there. If you have kids younger than around 10 doing this, be prepared to push and pull them up. Turning around on this trail is truly not an option. Go early. Like 7:30am. I didn’t need an audience see me do that. That trail gets packed.
2. Sidestreet cafe will show up in every google search about bar harbor. It’s not good. Don’t go.
3. West Street Cafe is great. I ate there twice while there and met the owners both times. Even though the food wasn’t southern, I felt like I was in the south with the way that they invited me in. They told me their whole life stories before I even found out they owned the place. 
4. The Lobster tours are fun. The whale watching tour is long and hit or miss. During my time in early/mid June no one we spoke to had seen a whale. The lobster trapping tour also shows you seals. We caught (and released) lobsters and got to see seals. This may have been the best part of my trip.
5. Dont skip thunder hole. Not only is the name funny, but it’s just a beautiful place to look out at the ocean. Go towards the end of the day to be able to get parking. We went at sunset and it was stunning
6. Want to really really beat the crowds? Drive over to Winter Harbor, do a mostly secluded hike, then eat at Bunkers.
7. Havana is amazing.
8. Take a walk up on the walkway from the pier to where downtown ends. You’ll see the most beautiful homes.
9. Jordan Pond takes reservations for high tea and it’s all you can eat, but they serve it to your table. Do with that as you wish.
10. Jordan Pond trail is an easy walk for a seasoned hiker, but it’s gorgeous and worth doing.
11. Go to Mud Island and skip a rock, or at least try. They had the smoothest rocks there. You will be able to start a rock skipping competition among all of the men there without meaning to.
12. Bass Harbor Lighthouse is gorgeous to see, but be ready to climb over some rocks next to the ocean

Our sunrise Cadillac Mountain reservation was messed up by a thunderstorm, so we did not get to see that. We did visit Cadillac Mountain during daylight hours. The best views I saw on the trip were from the top of Champlain. We did that hike from the Beechcroft Trail. We only saw 7 other people during the whole hike.

Things I noticed while there

1. Bring cash.  There were so many places we didn’t expect to be cash only. If each person has $50 in cash on them then they should be set.
2. Most requests made to our servers obviously annoyed them. Requests like “could you cut my sandwich in half” “no tomato please” were met with servers who were not interested in that. That could totally be a thing I’m expecting since I’m from the south, but I also thought that those things weren’t big asks.
3. If you plan to grocery shop while visiting, pack a few reusable bags to use. The grocery store in Bar Harbor has paper bags with no handles only. 
4. Drivers are way more cautious to pedestrians than in the south
5. The hiking/waling here is very rocky, so having good ankle support is important. Get a pair of hiking boots if you don’t already have them.
6. The best stores for cute merchandise were further from the pier.
7. Don't skip the rain jacket, or the extra fleece while packing

If you’re considering where to stay, Downtown Bar Harbor is a great way to have walking access to restaurants and shopping while also being just a few minutes from the park. This was great for us since we traveled in a group and only had one car. We were able to split up for a few hours easily.