For The Most Magical Family Vacation In The Northeast, Head to The Inn at Diamond Cove!
We made it back our favorite destination in the North East and finally got to bring our girls! Justin and I went to the Inn at Diamond Cove last year and it was such a magical getaway that we knew we had to bring our kids here this summer. We were finally able to and it was everything we imagined it would be. It’s still shocking to me that such a magical getaway is only a 3 ½ hour drive + short ferry ride from home.
If you’d like to read my write up with all of the hotel details from our stay last year you can find it HERE . If your looking for a quite and unique getaway to slow down and reconnect with your family then The Inn at Diamond Cove is where you’d want to be. I wanted to take time in this post to share 5 reasons that this is a fantastic getaway with kids!
1. The ferry ride over is pure magic- My girls had a blast on the boat! They raced to the front and were totally enchanted by the passing islands covered with beautiful little homes, the birds flying overhead and the charming little sailboats passing by. The ferry ride alone was likely worth the whole trip and they could have gone home happy!
Here’s some practical details for jumping on a ferry as you plan your stay: You can look up to schedule for Casco bay lines HERE. They have ferry’s running to Great Diamond Island regularly. There are no cars on the island so make sure you give yourself at least 45 min extra to find parking in Portland. On the weekends Garages tend to be full so you might have to drive around a bit before finding one (It took us almost a half hour to find a place to park and we had to run to catch our Ferry! I would love to save you that experience!). The round-trip fare to the island is around $10 for adults and $5 for kids 5 yrs old and over. Kids under 5 are free. Parking in garages around Portland seems to be about $50 per 24 hours so make sure you budget for that as well.
2. The island is perfect for exploring- A lot of the island is wooded with a number of trails. There are no cars (just golf carts) so it’s great to bring a bike or scooter. There are old overgrown army bunkers and firing ranges to explore and you can expect to see wild turkeys all over the island as you walk around. Watch out if you go off the main paths as we did see a few snakes slither off (But don’t worry. There are no poisonous snakes on the island).
3. They have an amazing heated pool and hot tub- We stayed at the Inn in July and the weather was really nice. Maine mornings still tend to be a bit chilly even in the summer and I personally don’t go in water unless it’s in the 90’s or feels like a bath. When my kids wanted me in the pool every morning around 9:30 I was more than thrilled to find it was heated to a very comfortable temperature and I had no problem jumping right in. The pool has a great snack bar as well and you can order lunch right from your lounge chair! Our girls ordered pizza while we went with mushroom toast, a GEM salad and a crab cake! There really is something for everyone.
4. Diamonds Edge Restaurant is great for kids- While you can eat at the Hotel, there is only one restaurant on the island and I highly recommend going there. The views over dinner are truly stunning and if you can, try to grab a table over sunset. You can sit on their back porch or at a table on the grass looking out over the water and kids can run around while waiting for food.
One family brought lawn games for their kids to play and our girls made friends with them in about 2 seconds. Before we knew it, 4 tables of kids were off to the side playing tag in the grass while we enjoyed our drinks and cheese board waiting for our dinner to arrive. The food was incredible and so fresh! I had scallops, Justin had swordfish and they had a great kids menu as well!
5. Sea Glass Beach- There are actually a number of beaches you can walk to on the island (or the front desk will drop you off in a golf cart!) but our favorite by far is Sea Glass Beach. I don’t know how but this beach has tons of sea glass that washes up on it’s shore. Our girls had the best time looking for treasures up and down the beach and they filled an entire bottle full of sea glass to bring home with us. The views off the shoreline are stunning and it’s a beautiful place to relax, swim and spend an afternoon hunting for treasure!
If all of that didn’t convince you that your kids will love this island then take it from my oldest daughter who, on our way home, said “Mom, I like it here even better than our trip to Disney!” Yep. You heard it. Mic drop from a 6 yr old. I promise you that if you can get your family here, you will have a truly magical stay.
xo,
Kelly
