ldehayes

We are planning on six days in Boston and Cape Cod in late Sept early Oct.
I found a seemingly great hotel called Green Harbor Resort in Falmouth Mass for only $120 per night. Instead of staying 3 nights in Boston at much higher rates, we planned to stay at Green Harbor Resort the entire 6 nights and drive into Boston on alternate days. Is this a feasible plan?
Louise

gail

Feasible - perhaps. Pleasant or a good idea - definitely no. While Falmouth to Boston on Mapquest or some other program may say it is 90 minutes or so, it is not, except perhaps at 2 AM on a Tuesday. You are almost certain to hit a great deal of traffic, which could easily double or worse the trip in either direction. Then you have to pay to park the car in Boston - at least $25 per day.

You would have to leave Falmouth at 5 AM to beat rush hour traffic in the morning - and forget it if it is a Monday after a nice Cape weekend as some people make the commute then. That could put you in Boston at 7 AM with nothing to do - or much later if you are unlucky. You would have to wait until after 6 PM to leave Boston to head back south - and forget it on a Friday.

Another option would be to drive to Quincy MBTA station and park there each day. I have no idea what parking availability is there after rush hour - some stations fill, but in the summer I am guessing you would be OK. You have to pay to park there and then pay to take MBTA in - less driving but if you are a group, weigh the costs as well. MBTA.com can give you details.

seafox

Gail is 100% right. I'd go with 2 nights in Boston and then the rest in Falmouth. I'm not familiar with Falmouth, but I can tell you many places on the Cape labeled as "resorts" are not really resorts....so check it out carefully. Also, Falmouth is a bit out of the way and may limit your Cape exploring - I'd suggest mid-Cape as a base. (look at a map)

travelbuff

For a very nice and well priced hotel try the Harborside Inn, in Boston. It is nicely located right across the street from Quincy Market, so site seeing is easy from there.

Staying on a Cape and trying to see Boston, most of what you will see is traffic.

wyatt92

No, that's an awful idea. Traffic going into Boston from 93 is terrible.

Falmouth is only ok as well. There are definitely nicer towns to stay in on the Cape. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

cw

Is this the Green Harbor Resort in West Yarmouth? Different location from Falmouth.

I would explore some less expensive options in Boston because the drive from the Cape will get tedious and won't give you long blocks of time for exploring the city. You could try bidding on Priceline for a hotel in Boston. Do an advanced search here for Priceline and Boston and you'll get some good tips. You can also search here for Boston hotels--you're not the first person looking for more inexpensive Boston lodging.

If you're set on staying on the Cape, and your resort is in West Yarmouth, you have the option of taking a bus to Boston. There's a big park and ride lot at exit 5 on Rt. 6. You can check schedules on the Plymouth and Brockton website: http://www.p-b.com.

It's a lovely time of the year to come to Boston. I hope you enjoy your trip.

gail

I think OP really does mean Falmouth - I checked on TripAdvisor and this place seems fine. Falmouth is also fine - less of a "real" Cape Cod feel, but if what you want is beach and sun, you get that there.

What I think others are trying to say about Falmouth, Boston and combination is that you may be getting cheated on both in an attempt to compromise - you are not seeing the real sand, dunes, quaintness of Cape Cod nor are you likely to fully appreciate Boston after a long daily commute. But some people really prefer to get settled and sleep in one place for a week - that becomes personal preference and I think you now have enough info to make an informed decision.

Ackislander

People do Verona as a day trip from Venice.

You could do Falmouth and Boston if you drove after rush hour: leave Falmouth about 8:45 in the morning and leave Boston after 6:30 PM. Many of the attractions in Boston don't open until 10 anyway.

I often take the 6:30AM ferry to Hyannis from Nantucket, and that puts me on the road at 8:45. Unless there is an accident somewhere or they are working on the bridge, the traffic is easy by then.

Falmouth Town center isn't very Capey, but the area along Buzzards Bay through Quisset Harbor, up to Grey Gardens and the bridge, is very picturesque, Woods Hole is intersting ( a whole day, maybe), and you could go to (shudder) the Vineyard for a day!

Cape afternoon traffic from Boston starts at 3 when the 7-3 shift gets off; it takes another bump when the 8-4 folks leave the office, and the final push is the 9-5 crew. It's sort of like a snake eating three successive eggs. They have to work their way through the system. By 6:30 PM, the worst of this is over. It may not be much fun from the Braintree split to Norwell, where Route 3 narrows, but by the time you get to Marshfield, again, barring an accident, you are home free.

If I really wanted to avoid traffic, I might have my dinner in Boston, then drive home. It will light until 7ish. I would not drink a lot of wine with dinner and try to do this, though.

alley

I think staying in Boston would be a better bet too.

But if for some reason you don't make that choice...

There is a commuter boat that runs from Hingham (about 25 miles south of Boston) into downtown Boston (Rowes Wharf) during weekdays. So one could take Route 3 north from the Cape to Hingham, park there and take the boat in to town for the day and thus avoid the worst section of traffic.

The problem is that I believe the boat lot fills up VERY early on weekdays with the local commuters. And you would have to check the boat schedule to see if it runs at appropriate times for your plans. It does not run at all on weekends and holidays.

Google Hingham Commuter Boat if you're wanting more info.