Boston/New York/Cape Cod
 

My husband and I would like to make a trip from the West Coast to see New York, Boston and Cape Cod. What is the best way to do this? We have never been to any of these places. We aren't sure what form of transportation would be best once we fly. Where should we fly into? We could probably do about 7-10 days.

Thanks!!

saint1981:

New York, Boston and Cape Cod in 7-10 days is really not enough time.

Fly into any of the airports in New York and take a taxi into the city. You do not need a car, either walk, use the subway or take a taxi. Come back and tell us what you are interested in seeing in NYC.

I would do Boston and Cape Cod as a separate trip.

Anyway welcome to Fodors and my reply will push your post up to the top. Good luck.

Sandy

I agree it might be more enjoyable to pick either Boston/Cape or NYC for a weeks' trip. But if you really want to pack all three in, then go with 3 days each spot, more if you can ...

You can fly into Boston or NYC. If you put the Cape in the middle, you finish in a city where there's an airport. Fly into one city and out of the other, open jawed.

Inside the cities use public transportation -- a car is a liability, and expensive to park.

You probably want a car for getting around the Cape, although it is not impossible to get around without one. You can pick up a car on your way out of Boston/NYC (whichever).

There is a ferry from Boston to Provincetown (at the tip of the cape), that might work if you don't want to drive it.

The drive from the cape to NYC will take about a full day, and about a half-day to Provincetown to Boston. The more scenic and memorable areas of the cape are farther out, past, say, Wellfleet.

You can also take the Amtrak train or the Megabus between BOS and NYC, instead of renting a car. It is possible to fly (via Cape Air) to Provincetown and Hyannis from Bos (and maybe from NYC, I"m not sure).

What time of year are you thinking of coming? It will make a
lot of difference for our suggestions.

Agree that 7 days simply is not enough to see all 3.
with 10 you can try - but would be pushing it.

And when you come makes a huge difference - in what you will want to do and slao in terms of costs.

In NY and Boston the only thing that makes sense is feet and public transit - cars are a nonsense. On the other hand I wouldn't attempt the Cape without a car. There are a number of public transit optins - but they really only work if you have a significnat amount of time. With ony 2 or 3 days you would spend a lot of time just waiting.

I'd suggest a minimum of 10 days for all three destinations and open jaw flights into NYC and out of Boston or the reverse.

4 nights NYC + 5 nights Boston inc 2 in Provincetown?
In summer you can ferry from Boston to Cape Cod and stay in Provincetown for a couple of nights if you don't want to hire a car.
This might be your best option with such limited time as driving to/from the Cape will take quite a while and will give you a 'taste' of Cape Cod.

NYC to Boston? Train/ Bus / self drive. You won't need a car in either city.

If you're not coming in late spring through early fall I would skip the Cape as it's really better to go 'in season'.

It's easy to get to Provincetown from Boston, but it isn't necessarily the best place to go. What many consider the most scenic part of the Cape runs up on the narrow local roads from Woods Hole to Bourne on the West, from Sandwich to Brewster on MA 6A (quaint galore) to Brewster, then down the National Seashore from Eastham to Chatham.

You can take the bus (Plymouth and Brockton) from South Station or Logan Airport in Boston, depending on how you arrive from NY, to Hyannis, where you can rent a car, or you can fly Cape Air from Logan to Hyannis.

You can also take Amtrak from NYC to Providence (shore route, good views) and the bus from Providence to Hyannis. Rent the car there, drive it to Boston, and turn it in before touring the city.