If lobster is one of your favorite foods (and you enjoy sharing it with someone special) mark your summer travel calendars for these four very different opportunities – from romantic to rowdy – to indulge in all the tender, buttery crustaceans you can eat.
Lobster Lovers Itinerary from Absolute Belize: Belize, a friendly, sunny Central American country, marks the beginning of its annual lobster season each June (Belize lobsters are shown above at left) with the weeklong San Pedro Lobsterfest (www.sanpedrolobsterfest.com) on Ambergris Caye.
This year, invite along another couple and the four of you can effortlessly indulge in some serious lobster eating June 18-23 via a six-night “Lobster Lovers” package from Absolute Belize (www.absolutebelize.com). Eating, while a highlight, is not the only activity on the itinerary, which also includes sailing, snorkeling (with sharks, rays, and hundreds of other species), fishing, kayaking, cooking lessons, and more. Your stay culminates on the final day of Lobsterfest with an alfresco party of live music, dancing, and lobster eating in San Pedro town. Accommodations are in Sea Breeze Bungalows at Matachica Beach Resort (shown at right) on a double occupancy basis; with four travelers, the package starts at $1,280 per person, including activities, transfers, taxes, and some but not all food, and excludes international airfare.
The Maine Lobster Festival: This annual event (www.mainelobsterfestival.com) in Rockland, Maine, takes place this year from August 3-7 and is a full-on festival with a parade, games, races, cooking contests, and more. The focal point, however, is the Main Eating Tent, where you can enjoy a lobster dinner, served with Cabot butter, and a view of Penobscot Bay. In 2010, over 20,000 pounds of local lobster was prepared, and side dishes included fried clams, shrimp cocktail, and steamed mussels. Leave the zaniness behind by staying 12 miles away in scenic Camden, at the 18-room Camden Harbour Inn, a romantic and luxuriously restored Victorian mansion (shown at left) set right on the harbor. Lobster is also a star on the menu at the inn’s award-winning restaurant, Natalie’s; from $399/night.
Charlestown Seafood Festival: If you like your lobster with sides of carnival rides, vintage cars, and ‘80s tribute bands (covering Kiss, Bon Jovi, and AC/DC), this annual extravaganza in Charlestown, Rhode Island, serves them all. Held from August 5-7, the festival features a smorgasbord of seafood – lobster, steamers, chowder, fish ‘n chips, and more – plus morning-to-midnight activities. Charlestown is located halfway between Watch Hill and Newport, so plan to spend a night or two in the latter. Two great options, depending on your budget, are The Chanler at Cliff Walk, an exquisite circa-1873 mansion set along the cliffs in Newport (shown at right), from $829/night, and the Hyatt Regency Newport, recently renovated and set on its own island in Narragansett Bay, from $365/night.
Key West Lobsterfest: Lively ambience is also on tap (literally) at this three-day “celebration of our favorite crustacean” (www.keywestlobsterfest.com) in colorful and steamy Key West, Florida (shown at left). Held this year from August 12-14, Key West Lobsterfest kicks off with a Duval Crawl down the city’s bar-lined Duval St., a street fair for artists and vendors, concerts, and 15 bars and restaurants serving up some sort of lobster dishes – and plenty of cold libations. Stay just a few yards from the action at the Hyatt Regency Key West (www.keywest.hyatt.com), a chic and recently renovated, 118-room property, from $259/night; or a comfortable stroll away at the grand and historic Casa Marina, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, which dates to 1920, but was fully renovated a few years ago, from $249/night.
For more info, visit our Belize Travel Guide, Maine Travel Guide, Rhode Island Travel Guide, and Key West Travel Guide for more trip-planning information, then use our Travel Search comparison tool for find the lowest rates on flights, hotels, packages and more travel deals.