My wife and I and 2 year old son our trying to decide on where to base ourselves for a 1 week trip to the cape. Would appreciate any advice.

Mid-Cape somewhere. Not a lot of traditional hotels, but plenty of cottage rentals if you are doing a typical Sat-Sat week. Cottage renters can buy weekly beach passes for town beaches which gives you parking, free or greatly reduced, at beaches in that town and access to some that are considered "residents only"

We like Dennis (East or West), Wellfleet, Eastham. Check out VRBO rental site or even local realtors for rentals. While in normal years most decent rentals for summer fill by mid-spring, who knows about availability with this economy.

Howdy, from San Antonio;
Last May, my wife & I spent a week in New England. We stayed a week at a condo at Weirs Beaach on Lake Winnipesaukee, NH. We visited ME [lobster], VT [ice cream + green mountains] NH [Castle-n-Clouds + White Mountains], and MA [Boston sights, history + Cape Cod] and we only unpacked once.

Though it's more commercialized, we like Hyannis. There's more motel-type lodging, and you're well-situated to catch the ferries if you wish.

The Cape is not that large, and no matter where you stay, you'll probably want to go all over.

I would agree that Hyannis is well located and has a better choice of lodging than other places.

The cape is 70 miles long and depending on your time of year it can take a long time to get anywhere. The Summer traffic can be awful in the Hyannis and Dennis areas (get a detailed map and use side roads). I would suggest that you look for a cottage on the Bay side (calmer water for the 2 year old). Yarmouth, Brewster, Eastham are lovely areas. While the Cape is not huge don't expect that you will see all of it. Personally I like the outer cape the best, towns are less commercial and the beaches and bike trails are grand. Chatham and Provincetown are each different, but traditional at the same time.

Chatham is a lovely town, pretty much central to everything on the Cape. Two other nice areas are Orleans, to the north of Chatham, Harwichport to the south.

The Cove in Orleans is a delighful moderate motel, great for families with shopping and restaurants within walking distance. Check it out at www.thecoveorleans.com.

Enjoy!

yes - the cove is a very good idea!

I agree...check out the Cove. Great place for families and Orleans will put you close to lots of things to do. Rock Harbor, on the bay side, is fun at sunset. Sometimes they have a steel band.