Best town on cape cod for summer vacation?
March 08, 2010 :: Posted by - travel save :: Category - Summer Vacation
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March 8th, 2010 at 4:42 am
provincetown, by far
March 8th, 2010 at 5:29 am
falmouth is good, it’s just over the bridge so it’s not too far. A little more quaint than most. Chatham is my favorite, it has great shopping and restaurants/bars.
March 8th, 2010 at 6:07 am
That totally depends on what type of vacation you are looking for. The most economical area that is where most college and young adults go to is South Yarmouth right outside of Hyannis. There is a huge range of motels and hotels, with probably the most reasonbly priced motels on the Cape (some of which aren’t that bad either). And Sea Gull beach is a pretty decent beach. There’s TONS of restaurants, clubs and shops. The downside is you definitely get more of a party town atmosphere than a “sleepy beach town” feel. So depends what you want.
My personal fav is Eastham, farther down the Cape. When the above was no longer the peace I wanted in my down time I fell in love with this area. It’s quiet, with just enough good restaurants and places to go. The key is the National Seashore is there, annually ranked on top 10 beaches in the world and US and deservedly so.
To me PTown is a fun day outing. Unless I was part of the Gay/Lesbian community I don’t think I’d want a full vacation there. It’s sort of Greenwich Village/Cambridge MA with beaches. Fun people watching and shopping, wild “unusual” clubs, etc. Some stunning B&B’s though (Day’s End Inn is one of the most amazing places I’ve seen).
So there are 3 options to cover the biggies. Of course there are others. IE you could stay outside of S. Yarmouth if you want more quiet days and don’t mind driving a bit for the restaurants and nightlife. Like I say, I’d need to know more about what you want. But hope this gets you started with some good ideas!
Have a blast and be sure to go shopping at the Christmas Tree Shop…best store in the world, all over the Cape. Trust me you will thank me!!! (check ChristmasTreeShops.com to see a flyer and get ideas and locations).
March 8th, 2010 at 6:29 am
Different strokes for different folks. What’s your thing?
Provincetown has great beaches and fabulous shopping and restaurants. Prices are as reasonable as anywhere on the Cape. It’s crowded in the summer – the streets are very narrow and one-way, so don’t even think about trying to drive around a lot. Park the car and walk. Definitely counter-culture!
Hyannis has beaches, shopping and restaurants. But its very touristy and more traffic than I care to deal with. Boring.
Chatham is a modest little town. A few very nice shops, some wonderful restaurants. Beaches are nearby. Like P’Town, park the car and walk. Fairly sophisticated place for fairly sophisticated tastes.
Sandwich – sleepy little town. Some beaches. Limited shopping. A few good restaurants.
Mashpee – this is mainly a residential community – not a whole lot for tourists. Good shopping and restaurants. You will need a car since things are spread out.
Brewster – mainly rural/suburban. Essentially no shopping. Some good restaurants. Lots of beaches (all Bay side). Some tourist stuff.
Orleans – some shopping, good restaurants, good beaches. You will need a car here.
My wife and I always stay in Brewster – from there we can get to P’Town in 45 minutes, to Sandwich in a bit over an hour, to Chatham in 20 minutes. We generally don’t go to Hyannis or Mashpee.
March 8th, 2010 at 7:15 am
You’ll want to stay in Provincetown (known as “P-town” locally), unless you are homophobic (it’s a very liberal town). It’s right on the very tip of Cape Cod and is well known for its tourism and liberal attitude – known as the “Gay capitol of Massachusetts”. But there are also many straight people there of course, and many tourists are families and straight couples. There is a very long strip of great stores for shopping, great restaurants, gorgeous beaches, but staying right in P-town might be a bit on the pricey side, and you’d want to make reservations way ahead of time because their inns get booked fast in the summer time. I’m not sure of any lower cost places to stay close-by though. I’ve been there a few times and I enjoyed myself every time.