Cape Cod Beaches & Nightlife
 

My husband and I will be visiting Cape Cod for the first time this summer for four nights. We are both 27 years old and are looking for a hotel or apartment rental which is close to the ocean (not the harbor) as well as nightlife, e.g., restaurants and bars. It would be ideal if we could find a place to stay which was within walking distance to both the beach and the center of a lively town. As we do not know much about the area, we were hoping some of you might be able to provide us with some advice. Thanks!

When are you coming? Have you done any research? The Cape is a very large area. I recommend the National Seashore beaches & staying in the lower/outer Cape. This area includes the towns of Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro & Provincetown. This area is the least commercialized & the beaches are beautiful with sand dunes, beach roses, etc. I'm older so I don't particularly look for nightlife, but I assume the most nightlife would be in Provincetown, or in other areas of the Cape, such as Hyannis, Chatham, or Dennis or Falmouth. You should research the towns I mentioned to see if they are what you are looking for. Wellfleet is very artsy but quiet, Provincetown is artsy, larger & much noisier/livelier.

You could probably find a place in Falmouth where you could walk to the beach & the center of town, but I don't like the Falmouth beaches as much as the National Seashore beaches.

Thank you for the information. We will be there at the end of August. I have been doing some research and Hyannis and Provincetown seem to be the liveliest towns, but I wasn't sure if the beaches were better in the Hyannis or Provincetown area.

Your impression of Hyannis and Provincetown being the most lively (re nightlife and such) Cape Cod towns meshes with my experience.

Of these, the better beaches will be in Provincetown (these are part of the National Seashore), but note well that they're not within easy walking distance from downtown. Unless I'm mistaken, you're not likely to find any really good beaches immediately adjacent to town commercial hubs anywhere on the Cape.

We are staying here. I think it's the best deal in the area. It's like a B&B some rooms have a shared bathroom, or you can pay a bit more and get your own bathroom.

We are staying in a room with a double bed and shared bath for $100/night. Mary (the woman you will talk to if you call -- no website i could find) also had a full apartment that was $150/night (sleeps 2 and has private bath).

other details: once you make a res, she requires payment in full via check in the mail (so quaint!). she'll refund the amount minus $20 if you make a cancellation up til two weeks before. if she's able to rent the room she'll refund the whole amount.

$100 / night.
White Horse Inn‎
500 Commercial Street
Provincetown, MA 02657-2439
(508) 487-1790

Definitely Provincetown if you want nightlife plus ocean beaches. You may not be able to walk to both, but they have a little shuttle that goes around to the Nat'l seashore beaches from town center.

Hyannis is nice, but there is no comparison beach-wise.

You mentioned ocean beach so you'd need to chose Provincetown. Hyannis is on Nantucket Sound. The water will be calmer adn warmer on the Sound.

I agree that Provincetown is your best bet. The beaches are gorgeous. You can go to Herring Cove Beach or Race Point Beach in P'town. There's Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro. As I said in my first response & as everyone else has said, the National Seashore beaches are the best. P'town is close enough so that you can visit Wellfleet for a different atmosphere if you have the time. It really is lovely & very pretty.

hvilla,
If you decide to stay in Provincetown, I recommend The Surf Club for great seafood. It's on MacMillan Wharf & overlooks P'town Harbor. I also recommend The Lobster Pot on Commercial St, & Cafe Edwidge (it's pricey but worth it).
If you decide to visit Wellfleet, I recommend Mac's Shack on Commercial St. and the Bookstore & Restaurant overlooking Mayo Beach. Mac's Shack has a small but lively outdoor bar with outdoor dining & indoor dining. Surf Club has a wrap-around deck for outdoor dining, too.

Nauset Beach in East Orleans is also beautiful.

If you like to bike, it is fun to rent bikes in PTown and ride to various beaches, though you can also take the shuttle as above.

Thanks so much for all of your input!

Ditto, to the Provincetown recs, altho you better make reservations now.

Hi,
I am thinking of going with a friend of mine to Cape Cod in August. From reading these posts, we were interested in staying at the White Horse Inn. Can anyone who has stayed there, tell me about their experience there. Did you like it? Was the beach across the street pretty? Anything you can tell me would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

I would highly recommend Provincetown. My husband and I (29) went in May for our 5th anniversary. Great town, lots to see and do. We didn't go swimming since it wasn't really the season for it but we rented bikes in town, hiked in the sand dunes, and ate and drank our way through the town.

I would highly recommend Front Street and Jimmy's HideAway for dinners. The Lobster Pot was also mentioned - the BEST lobster roll I have ever had. The DH and I got one to go and shared it on a bench at the docks.

We stayed at the White Port Inn in the carriage house. Great Inn, friendly Innkeeper (Matt), and wonderful breakfast!

*Sorry that should reach White Porch Inn (not port)

My second home is in Ptown and based on my read, this is a good place for you to enjoy the outer Cape and the nightlife. Couple of things to think about:

1. Bike rental can book up during the season, so google the options and book early.
2. In terms about eating out Surf Club and Lobster Pot are long standing atractions. I'd eat at one for one night and then try some of the others that are less "clam shack" style. restaurants can be expensive, so google them and plan ahead. there some good budget options for a "to go meal", At the aquairium market place T205 Commercial Street), there is a great bakety for breakfast food, Big daddies Burritos (excellent) and a chinese place. Ypou can take out food walk straight through the building to the back and have your meal on tables at the beach. Other restaurant uggestions are:
The Mews
Victors
Front Street (have the tea smoked duck)
The Red Inn
10 Tables
Saki
Spiritus Pizza (a veritable institution)
In all cases make reservations now (you can always cancel later ...please do cancel if you are not going to show)

3. Another great attraction in town is Art's Dune Tours - one hour into the dunes of the National Seashore - great views, great stories...everyone likes it - and don't forget a whale watch.

Last note, just be aware that Ptown has been and is a town of many cultures, a Portugese fishing town, an aritist colony, a mecca for the gay community and in the Summer a big tourist attraction. So, book/plan early and know that the night life can varied.