I answered your other post but now see that you may have a car in Boston?

Either ferry that services Provincetown from Boston has nearby parking but it will be expensive. The ferry line that leaves from the Seaport area would have less expensive nearby parking. But if you have a car anyway, I would urge you to consider driving to the Cape.

Parking at Provincetown is always at a premium but there are some larger paid lots a little bit away from where the ferry docks.

Not if you value your wallet. Last I looked, the parking garage at the Aquarium was the most expensive in Boston with the exception of a couple of hotels.

If you are traveling on a weekend, parking at the Post Office Square garage is very reasonable. It is 5-7 minutes walk away. Similarly, there is parking at waterfront office buildings north of Long Wharf on weekends.

During the week you are hosed. Maybe $40+ a day? Someone will come on soon with the general Boston parking website.

www.boston.bestparking.com is the website.

There is a ferry that leaves from the Fish Pier area but with all the new construction in the Seaport area there are not as many surface lots.

The cost of parking and the ferry plus the flexibility of having a car on the Cape makes it very attractive to drive.

Thanks for the replies. cw, I posted this first because I was originally thinking that we'd start in Hartford and all of this would come in the middle of our trip. Then I realized that I would have to cut some of the trip and decided we should probably start in Boston, whereupon we'd only pick up a car after doing Provincetown and the question about getting around without a car arose. Maybe it would help if I explained the whole "plan" as it's shaping up--especially since it sounds like you know the area very well and are kind enough to provide valuable help.

Thinking to spend 9 days at end of August. Fly into Boston, spend a day and a half/2 nights there (I see what you're talking about, Ackislander, in the money department--is Boston ever expensive!), then ferry to Provincetown for 2 nights--thinking without a car, although we can rent one on our way out of Boston, on to Ogunquit for 2 (our gay son recommends both towns highly for obvious reasons but we're certainly open to other suggestions in the areas especially since I'm having little luck finding good lodging in either place under $300), then 2 or 3 nights in Bar Harbor, flying home from Portland, leaving about 5 p.m. so we'll have the day for the drive back to Portland.

I'd appreciate advice on the following:

Will Provincetown alone hold our attention for the full 2 days or should we have a car to fully appreciate the Cape--even though my husband is a pretty impatient driver?

Alternatives to Provincetown and Ogunquit but in the same general areas.

Advice on the apportionment of time among the areas/towns we're visiting. Should we cut Ogunquit to a single day? If so, add it where? We've been to Boston before but not in a long time. I've never been to the others. Husband has but many years ago.

We do most of our travel in Europe. Are very partial to small fishing/coastal villages. Prefer general charm over museums, etc. Can withstand kitsch.

Would appreciate your best advice on all/any of this. I'm pretty much flying blind with a Fodors guidebook and this site to guide me. Thanks so much for any intel you can share.

That information is useful. Here are some ideas.

Fly into Boston, using Priceline for a hotel, **** Back Bay or Financial District. No car needed so far. Three nights, not two.

Take a day trip on a nice day by ferry to P-town. There was one from Long Wharf/Aquarium Wharf that is easy to get to on foot or on the Blue Line. Since the beach will not be an interest, you won't need a car in P-town. If the weather is not good, don't bother as the trip and walking around P-town require good weather.

You can take a train or bus or rent a car to Portsmouth, NH, making that your base for exploring as far as Ogunquit and Kennebunkport. Portsmouth is charming, many, many restaurants, historic buidings and waterfront. We stayed at the Ale House Inn, a converted warehouse with ultramodern eurostyle rooms (I-pads, keurig, flat screen television, DWR furnishings, owned by (I believe) a UNH professor and his partner. We really, really liked it and got good recommendations for restaurants.

On the way to Portsmouth, you can sample Essex and Newburyport, maybe Salem and Rockport or Marblehead.

Or you can do what cw suggests, rent a car and explore the Cape in some depth out to Provincetown, bagging places north of Boston. I personally would find this most satisfying. MA route 6A (King's Highway) is lined with antique shops and quaint harbors (usually off to your left) you could still do your day in Provincetown, and you could see Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham and the National Seashore, and Chatham. The back roads between Wood's Hole and Bourne also have a lot of charm, and it is not hard to go to Newport for the day from mid-Cape.

Thanks so much Ackislander. Intelligent options to consider. I'll do more homework. Appreciate your help.

I like Ackislander's suggestion of a day trip to Provincetown from Boston. It's hard to do justice to both Maine and the Cape in the same trip. Different directions and both merit exploring in their own right. So I would recommend doing one or the other. If doing the Cape, then you could easily include Newport.

So, it you extend your stay in Boston, go to Provincetown and then head North you will find your share of small Maine towns along the water. When in Provincetown you can take a tour with Art's Dune tours and you will see the appeal of the Cape that keeps people coming back year after year. http://www.artsdunetours.com/

Driving up to NH you can easily detour to Cape Ann and drive around through Gloucester and Rockport.

Portland, Maine, has become quite a good food destination in New England so you may want to spend at least a night there before you fly out.

I don't know if you will be here on Labor Day weekend but, if so, try to minimize driving on Friday and Monday.

In addition to Priceline, you also can check www.lastminutetravel.com. The hotels are not named, but they can often be identified by the photos. If you can't identify them, just post your dates and I'll take a look. Also, if you look at the site on an IPad, the hotel names are shown. Hotwire is also a good resource for Boston but I'm not familiar with their designations.

Ok, if I am following this correctly, you're suggesting that we go into Boston, spend time there, do day trip to Provincetown to include Arts Dune Tours (thanks for that suggestion, it sounds swell) then pick up a car in Boston and drive to NH, staying in Portsmouth?, and seeing Cape Ann, Gloucester, Rockport--also the towns Ackislander suggested, like Essex and Newburyport, Salem and Marblehead? Can I fit in Ogunquit or by not mentioning it are you saying it's an "also ran?" Then drive up to Portland, spend a couple of days there sightseeing and dining and fly home from there. I suppose the trip could also be done in reverse--flying into Portland and out of Boston depending on cost and schedule differences for flights.

Also save Newport and a more in-depth stay on Cape Cod for another trip, right?

Thanks, so much for your recommendations. I'm afraid without this kind of guidance I'd be biting off more than we could chew.

I like cw's trip.

I would take it. In fact, I have.

May I suggest a Bed & Breakfast on Commonwealth Ave, very centrally located. It is the College Club of Boston,,,a private club with lovely, traditional decor and very reasonable rates. Spent last Sat night there and it was lovely. They rent rooms to non-members and provide nice continental breakfast.

How about this as a framework (similar trip to cw). Stay an additional night in Boston and if the weather is nice, take a day trip ferry to Provincetown. Rent a car in Boston and drive to Portland for a few nights - you can do a day trip to Ogunquit and other towns. Then drive to Bar Harbor and spend a few nights there. I am not sure if Bar Harbor is a "must" - if not, skip it and spend half your time in Boston, half in Portland. There is easily enough to do in both places, especially with side trips.

I think 2 nights in Provincetown without a car is too much - and you describe your husband as an "impatient driver" - the Cape is not for him, especially if it rains since it can be gridlocked with everyone looking for something to do.

Thanks to all of you. Ladystack, appreciate the tip on College Club of Boston, that's the kind of place that doesn't pop up on the big sites. And Gail, thanks for the heads up on the driving issues. I'm featuring DH on the Cape in rain and recognizing it wouldn't be a pretty sight--nor sound. Feeling like I have this down to something managable--with all of your help. Fodors is such a swell site.