Perkins Cove in Ogunquit, Maine, is the quintessential Maine village. Lobster restaurants and well-weathered wooden gift shanties and artists' booths vie for elbow room with small kiosks touting boat tours of the cove and walking tours of the area itself.
Before a lobster dinner, a sunset tour of the harbor is just the thing to wind down after a day in busy Ogunquit, which has perhaps the largest rock-free white sand beach on the Maine coast. The cruise boat The Finestkind, which drifts off into the sunset from Barnacle Billy's Restaurant at the cove, has a cocktail cruise every evening in summer. Finestkind Scenic Cruises also has breakfast cruises and lobstering tours.
Perkins Cove Lobster Tours welcomes children, who can learn the life of a lobster fisherman as they enjoy the sights from the 36-foot Three E's boat, which carries up to six passengers. Two-hour cruises run from mid-June to September 1, every day except Sundays. Reservations are required.
The Marginal Way is a gorgeous, easy mile-and-a-half walk along the rocky coast. It begins at Perkins Cove and winds its way to the center of town, offering unobstructed vistas out to sea on the way. In town, you can turn around and walk back or jump on one of the town's trolleys to get back to the cove. In summer, the Chamber of Commerce offers a two-hour walking tour where you learn about the 350-year history of Ogunquit while you walk the cove and Marginal Way.
