Hi,I from the UK and am looking to stay in a central cape area for a couple of days with the best beaches, & restaurants.

Chatham is probably the nicest town.Beaches on the south side of the Cape are smaller, calmer and warmer water. Just past Chatham on the outer Cape are Big, long beaches with dunes, usually surf, colder water, but spectacular. Hope that helps.

Central Cape towns include Barnstable, Yarmouth and Dennis. These towns have places to stay, beaches and restaurants on Cape Cod Bay and also Nantucket Sound.

what about on martha's vineyard - a great beach for a couple of hours??? only there for the day and will be relying on public transportation.

ltt - in that case, the best beaches on the Vineyard for you would be State Beach in Edgartown, South Beach in Edgartown, or the Lighthouse beach in Edgartown.

Nicest beach-Nauset beach in Orleans.

The Cape has beaches for every taste - South Shore - warm, calm, somewhat commecialized and crowded(motels right on the beach).
East Shore - Spectacular National Park ocean beaches - totally unspoiled,colder water. Parking lots fill up early!
West and North (bay) - Wide sandy beaches, cool water, usually calm. Parking can be tricky.

Zootsi's report is very accurate. I would add that the east beaches have great waves (for the Cape) and that while the bay side beaches do indeed have cooler water, it warms up substantially by August, so depending on when you're going...

It really does depend on what you're looking for. Some Cape beaches have sandbars that seem to go on forever when it's low tide. You've got to walk aways to even get to the water at these beaches. The sandbars are beautiful, the walking is great, but some people just don't want to have to walk to get into the water. At a couple of beaches on the south side, you've got to walk a ways just to get into deep water, even at high tide, because of the sand bars.

My personal favorite beach is Chapin in Dennis (Mayflower beach is close by). It's on the Bay side, so the water is cooler, but refreshing on a hot day. The sandbars are gorgeous, especially during a sunset. Dennis is very central and near a lot of restaurants. Some of my favorites within 20 minutes--Chillingsworth (French, special occassion-worth, expensive but excellent), Abbiccis (Mediterranean, very good), Inaho (Japanese), and Bramble Inn.

Just to express how much we love Chapin Beach...I grew up in Sandwich (at the beginning of the Cape) and my parents are still there. But even though they have a big house with plenty of room for my family to stay (which we often do), and they're 1/2 mile from the beach, we still rent a place right on Chapin beach for two weeks every summer. My parents used to rent the same place when I was a kid. People used to think they were crazy, living so close to the beach and all, but we just really enjoy Chapin.

No matter where you end up, I'm sure you'll have a great time. Enjoy!

West Dennis beach is long and calm and warm - great for kids.