Not everyone considers the idea of exploring Cape Cod without a car, but it can be done -- I've done so, myself. If you want to use public transportation, Orleans is a good base for this.

Two of the main local bus routes have a stop here. One is the Flex, which goes from Harwich to P-town via Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, and Truro. The other is the H2O, which begins in Orleans and runs through Chatham, Harwich, Dennis, Yarmouth, and Hyannis along the south coast. Plus, the Plymouth and Brockton bus travels between Boston and P-town with several stops in between on the Cape.

Incidentally, it looks like visiting Sandwich via public transportation is now possible via the local bus. There's a new line that runs from the Sagamore Park and Ride to Mashpee Commons, running through Sandwich. Plus there's a new line that connects up the Sagamore Park and Ride and Falmouth. I say good for them -- it's great that the Cape is making it easier for the car-less to experience its attractions.

Re the Kennedy Compound: everything I've seen in guidebooks suggests that you can't see this from the street, which Bowsprit seems to agree with. Feel free to give it a try, but all reports suggest there's nothing to experience.

I think chain hotels came up because of the time of year, and also because many of the Mom and Pop type motels on the Cape are in rough shape at this point. I know of two I could personally recommend, both closed in April. If you aren't splurging, the B&Bs and resorts can be expensive, even when I travel in the shoulder season. A chain hotel is probably going to cost the same as a Mom and Pop, and they are often better kept. The location is sometimes a tradeoff, for sure.

April is further off season though, so if you can find a great deal at a B&B or resort, that's great! I'd stay at the Chatham Bars Inn for $140 too...

marthav, I think I'd stay in one place for all 4 nights. Chatham or Eastham are good options, as mentioned above.

Driving at that time of the year on the Cape is a breeze and Wellfleet is a nice stop on your way to or from Provincetown. It has a town center and some nice shops and galleries though I'm not sure how many are open. The Left Bank Gallery in Wellfleet and Orleans is open year round and is one of my favorites. The Wellfleet gallery has lots of craft type items as well as painting.

I also always stop at the Atlantic Spice Company for spices and other sundries. It's in Truro on 6A near the split with Rt. 6.

Do go to the Provincetown National Park Visitor Center it it's open. There are great views from there. Walk the beaches in Wellfleet and elsewhere, have some oysters, and relax.

cw 'gets it'. Enjoy your visit marthav; Goodness knows that the Cape is a great place to visit anytime of the year!

My pick would be Provincetown. The first time I visited was in March, after a conference in Boston. A lot was closed at that time of year but it was still nice to be able to walk the small town and choose from several restaurant options at night. I've returned many times in summer and fall but really enjoyed being there in the off-season too. We stayed in a little B&B behind the library. Days can be spent visiting different locations on the cape but I'd prefer to come back to Ptown at night.

Provincetown is a special place. It's just a bit out of the way for those touring the area. Great restaurants in Provincetown.

Returning posters with false identities shouldn't hijack threads.

Anyhow, disclaimer, I have a place close to PTown so I'm a bit partial to it. That said, are you driving in from Maine, taking the ferry over from Boston or flying in?

If driving, you could hit a few towns on the way in and on the way off Cape and stay in PTown. Take rte 6 in and stop at Chatham on the way in. Go to Wellfleet for dinner one night.
Then drive scenic rte 6A on the way out of town and see a few historic villages on your way.

Here's a couple nice places in PTown. The first two have great views of the water. The harborhotel has a hip vibe and is mid priced.
The Red Inn is higher - check discount outfits for deals. The third is med priced and quite nice - I like the renovated detached rooms in the back. This B&B is on a quiet downtown street.
Enjoy the Cape.

http://www.harborhotelptown.com/

http://theredinn.com/accommodations/room-rates/

Carpe Diem B&B

cybor: Where's your favorite place to eat dinner in Provincetown these days? Anything new on the horizon up there? I love Chatham, but it's not a hotbed of great restaurants.

Our favorite go to place is Devon's. It's a very small place with a rotating menu. Also love Terra Luna in N. Truro. Ross's Grill was a favorite until they gave me a 1/2" fillet like over cooked piece of tuna instead of a thick steak.

Love the burgers at Pepe's and people watching at Bubala's.

Fannizzis, Napi, Michael Sheas, The Red Inn, Montanos, Enzo? and a few others will be open in April.

Also love Chatham - nice walking town with a beautiful beach. There's a small Italian restaurant (I think in Harwichport) that we love. Forget the name of it. There's a few nice B&Bs there.

Have you been to Cafe' Edwige or The Mews lately? Both expensive, both very good. I haven't been to Devon's!

Maybe it's because I like Ptown so much, but I'd still prefer staying there. On a 4 day trip, you'd be driving out to Ptown on Day 1 and returning on Day 4. That gives a lot of time to stop and visit places on the cape on the way. Personally, I wouldn't spend much of Days 2 and 3 driving around but would prefer to settle in a bit and enjoy my vacation. BUT if you wanted to keep on the move for all 4 days, it's only about an hour back to Hyannis. I'm not sure staying in Chatham or Brewster will save that much drive time if you plan to drive to Provincetown at least once. You could drive back and forth every day for all four days and still be doing little driving. That's what I like best the cape - it's not too far to anything. But then, I drive every road on an island whenever I visit the Caribbean. I love walking the town of Ptown at night - and I liked feeling like I was at the end of the world in a snowy little shipping town when I visited in March for the first time. It made a big impression on me - obviously.

I prefer P-Town also, great food and tea dancing

Bowsprit,
Love Edwidge. We like to go at the end of the season when they offer all their wines for half price.
We've never been to the Mews. Not sure why.. it gets great reviews and has wonderful views. I'll put that on the list.
Also 'usually' like Front street.

I 'usually' like Front Street too.

What great descriptions, starrs! Sounds idyllic.

For us, we are always on the Cape in season and since our timeshare is in Falmouth, we never end up going to Provincetown b/c in season the drive feels endless and when you do get there, there is no place to put your car.

You most certainly can see the Kennedy home in Hyannisport. Take Scudder ave all the way down until you reach Marchant ave. If you stand on the corner of Scudder and Marchant it is the small road that deadends. You can see the home, it is white and not fancy at all. I will post my pictures the first chance I have. The Kennedy's have sold that home so perhaps the no trespassing sign has been removed. We have never been able to walk down Marchant ave because of the sign, at the time I was last there Ed Kennedy was sick and living in the home. It is awesome to find yourself looking at something so rich with history. This is not something advertised in tour books, we were just lucky that a local told us the location.

Sorry, I was not clear the Kennedy home is on Marchant ave off Scudder ave in Hyannisport.

I never much like the Mews, thought it is well reviewed.

Thank you all!!! I've printed all your great informative suggestions to take with us & am excited to go! And thanks also for the website links. We decided to stay the 4 nights in one spot, Chatham, which seems to be exactly what we're looking for. The Bradford Inn has availability for the first 3 nights at $145. So, we either cut our trip down to 3 nights or move for the 4th night at $165 to their sister property, the Wayside Inn. Not sure we'd want to change hotels for that last night. I know we could find other accommodations for all 4 nights but we prefer inns to B&Bs or motels so The Bradford seems to be a right fit for us.
One more (maybe)question. About what time should we get to Boston area to avoid morning rush hour traffic (this would be on a Friday) - 9:00 or 10:00? Thanks so much!

10 is less crowded traffic wise than 9.