You will find little clusters of small cottages, or campgrounds, in Wells and York that will be cheaper than Ogunquit and Kennebunkport. Those areas have less of a town center, though.

I know of cute camping cabins on MDI (bass harbor campground) but not anything farther south. I would check hipcamp and airbnb- sometimes i've seen some cool options there. I would also put in a google search for camping cabins in some of the locations you might be interested in and check it out or google campgrounds and see which ones have cabins. I'm sure there's something out there! Good luck!

8th of Maine on Peaks Island-it's a little out of your geographic range, a little strange but might fit the bill: https://8thmaineregimentpeaksisland.com/rooms.html

Any recommendations for affordable lodging on the Maine coast, somewhere between Old Orchard and Portsmouth?

We're going to be tent camping near Acadia National Park in July and would also like to spend a 2-3 days at a beach further South. We're hoping to find an alternative to camping so that we can have a break from the weather if it turns out to be awful the whole time.

We're a childfree young couple with a limited budget. We're hoping to be within walking distance from a town center and ideally a sandy beach, which is obviously more expensive. On the flipside, we don't need anything luxurious - we're happy as long as the place has a roof and four walls, ideally a bathroom, and isn't downright depressing (unlike some of the cheaper motels we're seeing). Any recommendations for specific motels, or alternative accommodations (cabins, glamping, etc) that would be somewhat cheap but still decent? Thanks!