Gizmogirl

We are going to New England for our Honeymoon in September and fly into Boston on 1st September and I need some advice please!

We are thinking of staying in Boston for 3 nights
- we are looking at the Nine-Zero Hotel - does anyone have any comments about this hotel ?
- we want to go to the Baseball one night - do we need to book tickets in advance ?
- what else whould we make sure we do not miss doing / seeing whilst there ?

We were then thinking of getting the Ferry over to Provincetown for 3 nights.
- we realise that this is Labour Day weekend, will it be busy ?
- any recommendations for places to stay ?
- what should we make sure we do here ?

The plan then is to go back to Boston and pick up a car and drive up through Maine to or near to Acadia National Park for 3/4 nights.
- any recommendations for places to see on the way ?
- where should we stay ?

Last bit is decided upon as we are going to an Inn in the White Mountains for the last 3 nights and then back to Boston to fly home.

As this is a once in a lifetime thing (only plan on getting married once!!) we are not really scrimping on the money so please suggest for all budgets!

Thanks

ParrotMom

Let me start you off...you must be from the UK..lol. The hotel is fine..book it now..asfor a baseball game..good luck..lol.. ticket are hard to find.. People will give you the website for the Boston Red Sox to see what's available. Most important.. this time of the year.. is filled with college students and their parents moving into their apartments and dorms..it's a zoo.. There is the Duck Tour which is not to be missed..

china_cat

As far as baseball goes, you can check redsox.com for tickets. However, with a very small park and a very popular team it is already difficult to get 2 seats together, even in September! Fenway is about 95% sold out for the entire season. I have heard people have better luck calling the ticket office directly, at 1-877-redsox9. I would try to talk to an actual person, and tell them you are on your honeymoon. I suspect there are always a few extra tickets that can be squeezed from a kind ticket agent.

You can still get tickets from online ticket agencies, and probably won't have to pay an arm and a leg. The good news is you get a decent view from most anywhere in Fenway, since the park is so small.

rkkwan

You may not want to stay for 3 nights in Provincetown, especially without a car. There's hardly any public transportation on Cape Cod, and you'll be stuck to the main town area. I think it might be fun for an over-night trip, but spend you time in Boston or in Maine.

There aren't any particular MUST SEEs between Boston and Bar Harbor; instead you'll have a lot of nice little to medium towns in between. It's just very pretty up there. Kennebunkport, Portland, Camden, Rockport, etc...

rkkwan

About baseball tickets, it'd depend on how the Red Sox do this season. This is supposed to be a great season for them, and so far that's true. If they have little chance to making the playoff by September, then you'll find tickets more easily.

One thing in your favor is that they're playing the Anaheim Angels at home 8/31-9/2, and then the Texas Rangers 9/3-9/5, neither of them historic rivals with the Red Sox, so tickets may not be as tight.

Massachusettes do not allow commercial reselling of tickets, but you'll find a lot of agents based in New Hampshire. I don't have details, but you may want to do a search about them, and also a search for "Red Sox" on this board.

zootsi

A few comments - since 9/4-6 is Labor Day weekend, which makes getting rooms reserved for that time period critical. Getting rooms after 9/6 will be much easier. Three nights in Provincetown without a car might be too much, however if you are bicyclists there are some fabulous bike trails thru the cape that end at Provincetown, so you could still explore much of the Cape. There are also many great beaches in the area. Provincetown is also one of the best whale watching areas in the world, but book a day ahead. One comment on Provincetown - it is a very charming town, but is the East cast mecca for gay couples. About half the vistors to this town are gay couples. This may or may not bother you. As for Maine, there are many scenic and interesting towns along the coast, and the Ogunquit-Wells-Kennebunkport area is where the best sandy beaches are. Realize that Acadia is a long ride from Boston. After labor day weekend, the crowds will thin out, but the weather will still be very pleasant. You will love the White Mountains, especially if you enjoy hiking or walking.

doc_

Tickets can be found at stubhub.com. This is where season ticket holders can sell their tickets at face value. This is your best bet for game tickets, but it needs to be checked daily.

Larry0070

Read zootsi's post very carefully. It is very accurate and I agree 100%.
Another thought you might entertain, especially if you do not spend 3 days in Provinctown, is to take a day trip to Newport, R.I. It will only take you about an hour from Boston. It's a great seaport town, alot of shops and great restaurants. There is also the cliff walk that takes you along the shoreline,(very scenic, and something else to consider are the great mansions of Newport which you can tour at your own pace. My favorite hotels in Boston are the Marriott and the Westin, both hotels are connected to shopping malls and are very centrally located, and you can walk to the Duck Tours from there. Enjoy !!!

Gene

I think you have planned a wonderfull Honeymoon in September and I would just like to reinforce your plans for Provincetown due to the negative responses posted by RKKWAN & Zootsi.

Labor Day weekend...busy?
Yes it will be busy, but not as busy as the Summer because many families have already left to get home and prepare for school.

Places to stay?
Commercial Street runs 3 miles along the shore, the Provincetown Inn and the Sandcastle Resort are at the extreme ends of each direction. In between are hundreds of B&B's, Inns and motels.

Things to do: Pilgrim Monument, Whale Watch, Art's Dune Tours, Mile-long Jetty walk, Boat to Long point, Ptown Harbor Cruise, Herring Cove & Race Point beaches, National Seashore Visitors Center, Pirate museum, Macmillan Wharf, Shopping, dining and nightlife, etc. etc.

Negative reviews by other responders:

rkkwan does not know Provincetown! You do not need a car here. Commercial street is a one-way walkers delight with only one lane for driving at speeds of less than 10 mph. There is a town trolley that runs a loop from Truro, along the lenght of Commercial
street, and out to the dunes and National Seashore beaches. There are also several cab companies.

I am very dissapointed in Zootsi's comments! There is no excuse for making derogatory comments about gays in todays society.

Provincetown is an open community that welcomes anyone. It is so maqnificent with it's Dunes and Seashore that anyone with the means to visit it should do so, and certainly not be influenced by any Homophobes.

Gizmogirl

Thank you all for your replies - yes I am in the UK.

We were hoping to hire bikes in Provincetown and see as much of the cape as we can that way - sounds like that will be possible.

We know Acadia is a long drive from Boston but should be worth it.

I think we need to start and get a few things booked!

Thanks again.

zootsi

Gene - I don't want to turn this into a hostile post. I just want to make it clear that I was not being negative towards gays in my comments. I have no issues in dealing with or inmteracting with the gay community. I just wanted to explain to someone who may not be familiar with P-town that there is a large gay population there. I don't have a problem with this, but some folks may be put off by it. No offense intended.

rkkwan

What I am saying is that there's little public transportation from Provincetown to the rest of Cape Cod, which is a large area with various attractions. Yes, you can travel around P-town, which is fine for a day - that's why I suggest one night stay there.

But 3 nights with no car? It's fine for someone from Boston to just go to the beaches for a few days, but for someone from overseas, that's a waste of time in my opinion.

Gizmogirl - If you want to truly explore Cape Cod for 3-4 days, you should get a car and stop at various towns along the way. Maybe stay a night or two somewhere in mid-cape. There are tonnes of hotels/restaurants everywhere. If you don't want a car there, I'm afraid 3 nights is too much just for Provincetown. I've been there many times, and it can be covered in a day or so.

Jackie

I agree that 3 nights in Provincetown may be alot. I took the ferry over once and thoroughly enjoyed it--went out to lunch, to the beach and checked out all the art galleries.

If it were me, I would rent a car and drive down the Cape and spend just a day in Provincetown. I'd recommend driving down 6a and stopping in the shops along the way, stopping at Daniel Webster Inn in Sandwich for lunch and then checking out the 2 beaches in Sandwich. Chatham is also another great little town to spend some time in.

Larry1

While I agree that spending 3 days in just P-town is a bit much, the suggestions to rent a car and see the rest of the Cape kind of ingores the fact that it is Labor Day weekend. Cape traffic is notorious, and a long holiday weekend will make it worse (despite what Gene said about familys going back to school, Labor Day weekend will still be more crowded than a typical summer weekend- Memorial Day and Fourth of July excepted). I am not sure how much fun a person from the UK (who may or may not be comfortable driving in the US, and who will have to use a map to get around) would have driving around the Cape during a holiday weekend.

gail

I would extend stay in Boston to 4 nights and reduce Provincetown to 2 nights - especially since you will lose some useful time through fatigue - from jet lag and post-wedding exhaustion.

Two nights will be OK to see Provinecetown on foot.

Red Sox are sold out for that time period except for some single seats or standing room - I like the idea of calling box office and explaining your situation - but since tickets are so scarce that may not work. If you really want to see baseball, you will be limited to buying from some secondary source - on the street from a "scalper" (illegal, but enforcement is spotty, at best); from a ticket broker; or on-line sites (like stubhub). Any of these methods will cost extra over face value of ticket.

Bar Harbor and White Mountains should be nice in early September - a warning that it could be cooler than you might think - at least a warm sweater/jacket - or it could be quite warm. Ocean in Maine, if you so dare, is at the warmest of the season in September - but it is still freezing!

Have a good trip.

johneel

Hotel 9-0 is great but so is Xv (15 Beacon) right around the corner. I spent my honeymoon there.

Three nights in Provincetown may be a bit much, but don't even think of driving to or from the Cape on Labor Day. It is the worst traffic of the Year along with July 4 weekend.

Sox Tickets -- redsox.com. If given a choice between the bleachers or any section between 1 and 9 along the right field side, go for the bleachers. The latter tickets stink.

Enjoy Boston and the Cape. They're great places, and congrats on your marriage.

clarkgriswold

Try to do as little driving as possible on labor day Fri and Mon.

travbabe

Nine Zero and Beacon XVI are both really nice and located within one block of each other. Rooms are larger at Nine Zero and last time I checked less expensive. Restaurants in both hotels are great.

I would not go to Provincetown. I think you should consider Martha's Vinyard, Nantucket, Western Mass. or Newport for the in between days. You are late in trying to reserve, but consider these places -- Martha's Vinyard - the Charlotte Inn; Nantucket - Jared Coffin House; Newport - the Francis Malbone House; Western, Mass. - Wheatleigh. My personal choice for you would be the Charlotte Inn. The Vinyard is only an hour by boat, after a one hour drive from Boston. The Inn is very romantic, has a great restaurant, and right in Edgartown. You can rent bikes and go all over the island on nice paved paths,with flat terrain.

You will enjoy driving either north through Maine or in the direction of Vermont, but look at the White Barn Inn in Kennybunkport, maybe for one night on the way up the coast of Maine. Gorgeous and the restaurant is great too.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

Gizmogirl

Thanks for all your responses. We need to rethink our plans for Provincetown and maybe include Marthas Vineyard as well. Thanks for all the warnings about traffic on Labour Day weekend.

Further suggestions are always welcome.

In particular can anyone recommend places to stay near to Acadia National Park?

seashell

Gizmogirl, I am planning our first trip to New England myself for the same time you are. Unfortunately, we only have one week. We are spending the majority of our time in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. We have reservations at the Bar Harbor Inn (www.barharborinn.com). I've read some great things about it and it looks beautiful. Good luck!