Boothbay Harbor Maine- an authentic lobster fishing harbor.

Boothbay Harbor Maine is a wonderful seaside town to visit if you want to get out on the water and experience the coast of Maine by boat. While I wouldn’t rank it as one of the most quaint lobster fishing villages in the state,  Boothbay offers an unrivalled array of coastal tours, boat charters, day cruises, ferry services and lobster fishing trips. The town has been referred to as the boating capital of New England, with over 25 daily boat excursions from its harbor.

Things to do in Boothbay Harbor

I highly recommend visiting Boothbay if you’re interested in going on a boat tour in Maine. Beyond harbor tours which offer picture-perfect light house views,  you can go out on real Maine lobster boats and historic friendship sloops. You can take excursions local islands for a traditional clambake or tours that offer up close encounters with Maine wildlife, like puffins and whales.

If you are looking for an authentic working lobster boat tour, Captain Clive offers the real deal. His hour long tour takes place on his working lobster boat, where  you’ll get a hands-on experience of how lobsters are caught as well as an opportunity to learn about the lobster industry from an expert. To learn more visit: http://www.golobstering.com.

If you want to immerse yourself in the history of the Maine lobster industry, step aboard a wooden Friendship Sloop and help Captains Nate and Randy catch lobsters the old fashioned way – on a sail-powered, wooden Friendship Sloop.

Another great way to experience a piece of Maine history is via a Cabbage Island Clambake. The clambake tradition is actually older than America itself. Native American tribes of Massachusetts, Maine, and Connecticut cooked clams and lobsters in sand pits as means of subsistence as far back as 2000 years ago.  You can experience this historic tradition for yourself by boarding the Benny Alice from Boothbay Harbor and cruising to Cabbage Island, where the crew will talk you through the clambake process and invite you to explore the island before being seated for a feast of clam chowder followed by a tray heaving with two lobsters, steamed clams, corn on the cob, onion, hard boiled egg, and a baked potato. All of this is cooked the authentic way….wrapped in seaweed and steamed under special tarps and rocks. The meal is topped off with homemade blueberry cake for dessert.

Beyond boat tours, Boothbay has a wide array of seafood restaurants lining the waterfront.  I’ve enjoyed a delicious lobster club sandwich at Kaler’s Crab and Lobster House.  The restaurant offers inside and outside seating with views of the harbor, a variety of lobster and seafood dishes and a lobster touch tank out on the restaurant’s dock, which is fun and educational for kids.  Boothbay Harbor also has a variety of microbrews. A great time to check out all the great seafood and local microbrews Boothbay has to offer is during Boothbay Harborfest which takes place in early September.

For details of other lobster fishing villages to visit in Maine, click here.  And click here for info on great coastal seafood festivals in Maine.