I'm thinking about going on a long weekend (2-3 nights) in March to Cape Cod, away from NYC.

What's the weather like in March? Obviously it won't be beach weather, so will there be anything else to do in March? Are any particular seafoods in season around that time?

Pretty much just thinking of a relaxing, romantic getaway for two.

It will be cool and pretty quiet, but if relaxing and romance are your goals, I think you can be happy.

Do you have a car? If you need to rent one, check Amtrak to Providence and rent there rather than Boston, which is farther away.

I would look for a place to stay in Chatham or Eastham. Many of the resorts have winter weekend specials, and believe me, this is long before spring has sprung!

My wife and I did this when we had kids and lived in Boston and enjoyed walking on empty beaches and exploring the back roads, empty at this time of year.

thanks for the reply! could you give me more details and ideas on what more we could do? what is the temp like in mid-march? if you're walking on the beach, then i imagine it can't be that cold.

The weather is so "iffy" in March- it can be rather spring-like one day, and very windy,rainy and cold the next.

I would suggest Chatham, for a weekend getaway at that time. It will have some excellent restaurants open (The Impudent Oyster, The Chatham Squire, amongst them) and many of the village boutiques /stores are open.

For a romantic getaway, I can't think of a better spot than the Inn, The Moses Nickerson House, in Chatham. It is lovely, very private and romantic, a beautifully restoreds old Sea Captains home. The Captains Inn is another I would recommend.

Orleans is a short drive away, with many more good restaurants. The gateway to the National Seashore, the ocean beach, if it is a sunny day is fun to walk, and a trip to Provincetown to visit the monument and its museum is also worthwhile.

I would suggest you go to the Chatham Chamber of Commerce website, and find what will be open.
Enjoy your getaway.

It can be very cold on the Cape in March and it's actually the month when the water is at its coldest -- so the beaches, even on a warm day, will always have a seriously dank chill to them.

I meant to add the website Capecodonline.com, which may help you discover what is happening in a weekend in March.

I went to Cape Cod for the first time in March (after a conference in Boston). It was cold. Bitterly cold that week. I saw enough to want to go back - and have gone back in summer and fall. If you decide to go in March, I'd suggest finding a place with a fireplace to snuggle up and stay warm during your romantic getaway.

A few years ago we stayed at the Cranberry Inn in Chatham, and thought it was lovely. It is on Main Street, easy walking distance to all of the shops and restaurants, and across the street from a windmill (the old fashioned kind). Some of the rooms have fireplaces, so that might be a good choice for you in March; you can have a romantic fire in your room. Here's their web site:

www.cranberryinn.com

My favorite in Chatham is the Captain's House Inn (www.captainshouseinn.com), which was mentioned by another poster. The rooms are beautiful, and several have fireplaces. The breakfast and the afternoon Tea are wonderful.
The prices in March are quite reasonable, plus they have a Sunday-Thursday special.

I'm looking into the Moses Nickerson House - it seems to be the cheapest so far, with rooms with fireplaces running at $139. Anyone know how the breakfast is here?

Any other B&B's in Cape Cod of equal or lesser costs?

If you go to www. Moses Nickerson House.com, you will find all the information you need. The breakfast, when clients stayed there during the summer, was a full breakfast, and delicious.(I met them for breakfast one morning).
The hostess will answer all tyour questions, if you contact her. She is most helpful, and nice.

The Cranberry Inn is also delightful, if it is open. As is the Captains inn, as others have pointed dout. If you google the Inns, you will find each has a web site. All are close to the village, which is fun, and the Chatham Fish pier, which is active all year long. You will see seals at that time of year, off Lighthouse Beach, so bring your binoculars.

Since I live on the outer Cape, I am not sure what would be open in the mid-cape towns. I don't think you will find a more romantic, nicer place that what the posters have mentioned.

You have gotten a lot of good suggestions to folow up on....however, please be prepared, b/c it most certainly can be that cold walking on the beach !! We have had to run off shivering in September, with that wind that blows in off the water !!

yeah i'm starting to highly consider Chatham now. we're on a budget, so Moses Nickerson will probably be our best bet. open to suggestions of similar cost though.

while i'm hoping for walkable weather on the beach, i'm aware that it has the potential to be bad. but at least it seems like there are things to do around there besides the beach.

besides cozying up to a fireplace (provided that we get a room with one) and eating seafood, what else can we do? i mean of course we are looking for a relaxing getaway, but at the same time, we don't wanna just sit in our room ALL day.

any scenery?

The Cultural Center of Cape Cod is in South Yarmouth, about eight miles from Chatham. It has a very nice art gallery with changing exhibits, which is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. I went to an exhibit there last fall, and it was wonderful. It's a beautiful space in a renovated historic brick bank building; it opened last year, I believe. Looking at their web site, it appears that they also have some concerts and other events:
http://www.cultural-center.org

Scenery? Yes, of course. Chatham has a very picturesque light house, and beautiful beaches. You could drive out to Provincetown for a few hours - many of the shops and restaurants will likely be closed, but I'm sure some will be open, and you could go to Race Point, which is beautiful, and walk on the beach there. It's a great place to watch the sunset - because the tip of the Cape curls around, you see it setting over the water.

If Art is doing his Dune Tour outside of Ptown, take the tour. It is wonderful.

If the Lobster Pot is open (and it should be) EAT THERE! It is wonderful.

You didn't say when in March you will be going to the Cape but there are interesting things to do throughout the month on the outer cape. From Chatham, Eastham is about 20 minutes, Wellfleet about 35 minutes and Provincetown just under 1 hour. You can go to a play reading and dinner at the WHAT in Wellfleet, www.what.org, or perhaps catch a folk concert in Eastham at the First Encounter Coffee House. www.firstencounter.org
For the goings-on in Provincetown take a look at www.celebrateprovincetown.com

"The Cultural Center of Cape Cod is in South Yarmouth"

No offense....but that's the first I've ever heard of that....and I grew up there!

South Yarmouth Cultural center is a building that houses art exhibitions, et al, in South Yarmouth. It most definitely is not the cultural center of the Cape!! You will find wonderful galleries in almost every town, and along 6A, the old Kings Highway on the North, or bay side of the Cape is a wonderful way to poke around off season on the Cape. Here you will find the Cape Cod Playhouse, the Sape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis, the Brewster Ladies Library (and the name does indeed have a story to it), with its various activities happening all winter,the Drummer Boy Museum, the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, In Yarmouth Port the old apothecary, still in use, called Hallets, where you can sit and eat lunch at the old fashioned soda fountain, and the small museum on the 2nd floor, antique stores and boutiques galore,the old courthouse in Barnstable village, the JFK museum in Hyannis, and on to Sandwich, where lies Heritage Plantation, and its antique car museum in the round barn.
You will find you aren't able to do all you'd like- even in March.
Do drive and visit the National Seashore visitors center in Eastham. The museum is interesting,and they have several short documentaries in the auditoriam that are interesting. And, do take a trip to Provincetown. Arts Dune tours will not be open, I'm afraid, but it is a great town, with something always happening, even in the dead of winter.
Do use the sites suggested to find out what is happening.

i'm afraid we're not really into art or plays!

are there any wineries/wine tastings that are good and open in march? we love good food and good wine.

Not really too many wineries on the Cape. One in Falmouth and one in Truro...not sure if they're open in March.

There is a couple of wineries in RI and Westport, MA...a little bit of a detour on the way to the Cape.

Newport, RI might be a possible destination instead of the Cape....alot more going on in March there than on the Cape.