Cape Cod, MV in May
 

DH and I will be driving from N.Y. to Boston the last week in May & would like to spend a few days at the Cape/ MV & vicinity before we arrive at our friends' in Boston area. We usually enjoy touring on route and stop at a motel around 4 p.m. when we're tired. Can we expect to get a room just by walking in, or do we need to reserve beforehand. Any recommendations for reasonalbe motels or B & B (with ocean view if possible) would be appreciated as well as recommendations for interesting places to see such as seal watch etc.
Marcia

Chatham is a great place to go seal watching. There are numerous B&B's in town that shouldn't be fully booked in May. Chatham Bars Inn has the best view anywhere! (not a B&B, however)

The Chatham Bars is wonderful, though pricey. Chatham is a lovely town, especially off-season, and there are many B&B's in the village, though not water front. We love the Captain's House Inn.

A less expensive, but very comfortable option is the Harbor Breeze in Harwich Port (www.harborbreezeinn.com). It is a pleasant, motel style B&B, situated across the road from Allen Harbor. Harwich Port is a nice mid-Cape location, not far from Chatham, beaches, good restaurants and other Cape attractions.

You don't say if you are planning your trip for the weekend or mid-week. Memorial Day is the start of the popular time for a people to start visting the Cape (especially from the Boston area) so you may want to consider making reservations as you may encounter some places being filled up, particularly if the weather is nice and warm. There are a lot of motel type places to stay on Route 28 in the Harwich/Dennis/Hyannis area so you may find a place to stay easily if you don't mind a motel-type place. It really depends on what you feel comfortable with (you seem to like to stop when you're tired). I'm a planner so I feel more comfortable with a reservation! When you decide what your plans are, please post back for some suggestions as far as things to do. We like to venture out to Truro/Provincetown and explore that part of the Cape (the Pilgrim Monument and Race Point in P-town are worth a visit). You can also arrange for a whale watch out of P-town which you may enjoy. The Marconi area off of Route 6 heading back mid-cape from P-town has some nice walking trails. The Audubon reservation (if you like birdwatching) on Route 6 in Eastham is also fun to explore. Also in Eastham is Arnold's for great fried seafood. As already mentioned, Chatham is a really nice town to use as a home base. Enjoy your trip!

Falmouth has a perfectly wonderful inn on the water- Inn on the Sound. You will LOVE it there; a bit pricey but worth every cent. You could spend a night or two there, then head further up the Cape. Chatham is a lovely town.

Marcia, I think you will find that you are happier with your accommodations on the cape if you do some research ahead of time and find one place that you are happy with to use as a base. Making a reservation ahead of time is always a good idea, especially on a weekend, because it guarantees that you will have a nice place to stay without spending hours wandering around looking for lodging. With the Google map feature and travel forums/reviews, you should be able to find several places that fit your requirements so, even if you do not make the reservation, at least you will have definite places in mind. Since most of the motels on the cape are seasonal and located on busy roads, you will want to make sure you get one that is clean, not musty and not too noisy.

What do you consider "reasonable"?

Sorry to differ with ssvw27 but I stayed at Inn on the Sound (in Falmouth) a couple of years ago. It wasn't terrible but was very overpriced and was actually across the street from the water, not on it. The bathroom was the size of an airplane bathroom with about the same amount of counterspace and the "balcony" barely held the 2 of us and we're not fat.

Thanks for recommendations. We'll be touring mid-week. What are the must sees for 2-3 days?
MarciaR