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Travel to MaineCon
MaineCon will be held at the Westin Portland Harborview Hotel, 157 High Street, Portland ME 04101.
By Air
Fly into Portland (PWM): We have secured a modest discount with Delta Airlines on airfare to Portland: discounts are 2, 5 or 10% depending on city of departure. To make a reservation visit Delta.com and enter the meeting code NMHTN or call Delta directly at 1-800-328-1111 and reference the code. Both hotels have a complimentary airport shuttle for guests, see below.
Fly into Boston (BOS): Boston is a 2 hour drive from Portland. If you fly in to Logan I strongly recommend taking the Concord Coach Lines bus which picks you up right at the terminal and drops you off at the Portland Transportation Center which is a quick 2-5 minute cab ride to the hotel. The bus is clean, quiet, and friendly (and there is a movie!) You can purchase tickets in advance online or buy them once you arrive in Maine.
By Train
From Boston: Take the Amtrak Down-easter from North Station to Portland and then it is a 2-5 minute cab ride from the Portland Transportation Center to the hotel. Both hotels have a complimentary shuttle from the train station for guests, see below.
From anywhere south of Boston: You must go through Boston in order to take the Train to Maine and it is very important that you realize that Boston has TWO train stations. Any train coming in to the city from the SOUTH (New York, Connecticut, Philly, etc) will arrive at SOUTH station. The train that goes to Maine leaves from NORTH station. So if you are coming from south of Boston and want to take the train you will arrive in South Station and then need to get yourself to North Station before boarding your train to Maine. You can do this via the subway system (called the T - take the Red Line from South Station to Downtown Crossing and then change to the Orange Line and take that to North Station) or by taking a cab. Please make sure to leave enough time between trains to get yourself from South to North station.
By Bus
From Boston: I like Concord Coach Lines. They leave from the bus terminal at South Station every hour and the bus is clean, quiet and friendly (and there is a movie!) You can purchase tickets online or in South Station. You will arrive at the Portland Transportation Center which is a quick 2-5 minute cab ride to the hotel. Both hotels have a complimentary shuttle from the bus station for guests. See below.
From New York/South: I do not know of any bus that goes direct to Portland. You will need to connect in Boston. There is only one bus station in Boston (at South Station) so your bus will drop you off the same place where you pick up your bus to Maine. See above.
By Car
From pretty much everywhere: Take 95 North and go long until you hit exit 44 in Maine and then take 295 North to Exit 6A. Bear right on to State Street. Make a left onto Congress and a left onto High Street. The hotel is on your right and the parking garage is just past the hotel.
Airport/Train/Bus Shuttle
Both hotels have a complimentary shuttle from the airport and the bus/train station to the hotels. The shuttles are on an on-call basis. When you arrive at your destination you can give the hotel a call at their main number (Westin = 207-775-5411, Fireside = 207-774-5601) and they will tell you the status of the shuttle and when it will arrive. Portland is very small so even if the shuttle is currently being used elsewhere it is a short cab ride to the hotel from the airport or the train/bus station.
Parking
At the Westin: The valet parking through the hotel is $24, parks in the same garage and is actually cheaper than driving in to the parking garage directly. So be sure to use the valet service. The parking garage is managed by a separate company and we were unfortunately unable to get a discount. There are other garages in Portland that have a slightly reduced rate ($21) but are further away. The meteres in Portland operate from 9am to 6pm. Any time outside of that you can park on the street for free but please check the posted signs for street cleaning restrictions, etc. If you will be bringing a car but not wanting it every day there are other options for storing your vehicle such as parking it at the airport for $12 a day or we can perhaps arrange some parking at the Fireside if there are people staying there who do not have a car.
At the Fireside: Parking is free for hotel guests. There will be a $15 reduced day rate at the Westin for those staying at the Fireside and driving to the Westin fo the convention. I am still waiting to hear what the hours are for the day rate.