We are planning a 5 days on the cape in August - 4 of us, mom, dad and two teen girls. My husband mentioned our plans to someone who said that it is not a very good family spot. She implied it is too much of a party, single person vacation place.

I have heard this about Provincetown - which we will visit for a whale watch tour and Pilgrim monument, but my impression is that the rest of the cape draws families and others.

It is a fairly long drive for us (vs northern Michigan!) but we really want to bring the girls to the ocean again and somewhere different before they are too old to travel with us!

What? The Cape is the epitome of family friendly. I'll bet the person your husband talked to has never even been to the Cape.

You'll have a great time. If you're going to visit Ptown, I'd recommend staying in the Chatham or Wellfleet areas.

I can assure you that Cape Cod is very family friendly. (I think all the singles out there might be having a good laugh at your husband's friend's description.)

Tons of little kids on the beaches (toddler buns are about the only nudity you'll see), lots of mini-golf and soft-serve ice cream, and souvenir shops.

You don't seem to have any other questions, so I'll stop here for now.
Where are you staying?

Continue reading for unsolicited advice... The areas between East Dennis and Chatham are quite central, and I think, good choices to stay. Also, Take Art's Dune Tours if you have time when you are in P-town. It is really interesting; my teens loved it.

Enjoy your family trip!

The person your husband spoke with has either never been to the Cape or has it confused with somewhere else - send him the link to capecodtravel.com......or the national seashore....or the trustees of the reservations......and on and on

the Cape is the perfect family vacation spot - it has everything for families with toddlers to teens and beyond - ENJOY !

There are one or two party spots on the Cape and a few clubs here and there, but by and large, the area is totally about family atmosphere.

Re Provincetown party atmosphere. Whoever told you that about P'town was speaking in code: That area is known to be very gay-friendly. Still, that doesn't rule it out as a spot for families. You should just be aware that it is heavily patronized by gays, if that means anything to you.

Cape Cod is one of our very favorite vacations! On the other hand, I think anyone looking for a party, single person vacation place at the Cape might be a bit disappointed...

Thank you for all your responses - it is on track with what I had read about! My mom was in Ptown about 10 years ago in October and we have good friends from RI who have been there a lot. I had heard Ptown is gay friendly, which won't bother me in the least, I just wanted to make sure that visiting the Cape in general would not be awkward for our Midwest family! We will continue our plans!

Amy - I am a pretty open-minded person and I think Provincetown is fun and lively, but it can be pretty "out there". We visited on the day that Sandra Bernhard was doing a show and there were all sorts of interesting people on the streets - my parents were pretty wide-eyed...

Cape cod is all about families! My favorite vacation destination when I was a kid.
The beach, ice cream, mini-golf, go-karts.
One of our favorites were the beaches on the bay side - which have extra low tides, creating salt pools and ponds - where you can find horseshoe crabs and starfish, beach glass.
You will have a blast.

P-town is a bit more liberal - with some shops with slightly racy stuff. But it is not any worse than late-night TV.

I have been to Ptown with 2 teens, it is very family friendly, for families of all definitions, and we loved the shops and whale-watching trip. Go to the Edward Gorey house museum at Yarmouthport. Ride bikes on the rail trail. go to the parks. Eat lobster rolls! Tour the Cape Cod potato chip factory. Go to the beach. Shop! You will have a great time!