Cape Cod or Marthas Vineyard

Old Sep 11th, 2012, 07:27 AM
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Cape Cod or Marthas Vineyard

If you had one day to explore which one would you choose? Would you choose to explore each town in Cape Cod or to go to Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket? I'm assuming all can't be done in that limited time. So which one is a MUST see?
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Old Sep 11th, 2012, 08:56 AM
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Both Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard are about 100 sq. miles in area and Cape Cod is about 400 sq. miles in area (15 different towns) making them too large to fully explore any of them in one day.

Also, you have to take ferries to reach either Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket thus you'll have less time to explore if you visit either one of those places.

You'll be able to make the most efficient use of your time on Cape Cod. Of course, a lot depends on the time of year you are planning to visit.
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Old Sep 11th, 2012, 09:07 AM
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Just curious (I've never been to the area, and would love to go someday) -- you mention Cape Cod has 15 different towns. What about Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket? How long would you recommend for a trip to "adequately" visit all three? (like to leisurely bike, poke around towns/windowshop/shop-shop/people-watch), eat out but not at fancy dress-up places, hike, look at beautiful scenery)
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Old Sep 11th, 2012, 09:54 AM
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Nantucket is perfect for a one day trip. It is small, and interesting. No need to take your car....leave it at the ferry dock.
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Old Sep 11th, 2012, 11:36 AM
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sf7307, it's hard to tell you how long you would need to explore everywhere. I can spend a week in one town and go to different restaurants every night, and take a different walk every day.

The lower Cape--Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, and Eastham, is dominated by the Cape Cod National Seashore. There are gorgeous beaches, both ocean and bay side, and two well-defined town centers, Provincetown and Wellfleet. You could easily spend a week here.

I'm sure others will chime in about the areas they are most familiar with on the Cape. But it's all about relaxation, being out walking, beaching, boating, eating seafood, and less about touring.

If I really wanted to see everything, I think I would base myself somewhere near Hyannis and then take day trips (or overnight) to both Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. I would allow a day to drive through Falmouth and up to Sandwich and follow Rt. 6A, which has lots of small shops, including antiques. Chatham is a nice town and worth exploring--then you can move to the National Seashore area, which is stunning.

Most people I know have their favorite areas on the Cape and never go anywhere else. I guess because it's vacation and they have already found a favorite place to be.

It also depends on what time of the year you are visiting. Summer, of course, is the busiest, but September is usually lovely. Fewer people, less traffic, and nice weather, though not always beach weather.

So, figure out how long you have, and we'll help you figure out where to go! (Someday.)

For the OP, I think going to Nantucket is a good suggestion for one day. Otherwise you could spend the day driving up to Provincetown and back and be on the main road the whole time, where it's not necessarily scenic. Of course, it depends where you are coming from, the time of the year, and where you're going afterwards.
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Old Sep 11th, 2012, 11:59 AM
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How long you'll need really depends on HOW MUCH of each island you want to see. We did 4 days on Martha's Vineyard with a car and got to see pretty much the whole island and thought that was the right amount of time. You can probably expect to spend the same amount of time to see all of Nantucket. To experience all of Cape Cod I think you need at least a week. Of course, you can spend less or more time - it's toatlly up to YOU.

As for "leisurely biking" - all together the three islands comprise some 600 square miles - so ask yourself, how long will it take you to expire that much area. Consider this, on Cape Cod if you made a "loop" starting at Buzzard's Bay (where the main bridge connects the western edge of island to the rest of Massachusetts) and bike along the northern coast to Provincetown (on the eastern tip) and then traveled toward Falmouth along the southern coast finally ending up back at Buzzard's Bay you'd have to travel some 160+ miles - that's a lot of biking and you'd only be riding through those towns along the coast. If you wanted to venture further inland you'd obviously have to cover more distance.

On the other hand Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket are small compared to Cape Cod. Doing a "loop" on either of those islands is probably somewhere between 35 and 40 miles and could easily be driven in a day. How long it would take for you to bike around either of those islands will depend on your level of fitness but I suspect you need a couple of days at the very least.
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Old Sep 11th, 2012, 12:06 PM
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One hint - go to Google Maps and zoom in on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. This will give you a feel for how the different towns on the island are laid out. You can then click on "Get Directions" and plot out a route between the major towns to get the distances and "drive times" With that information you should be able to estimate biking times (assuming you still want to bike around the islands).
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Old Sep 11th, 2012, 12:32 PM
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sf7307 please show some respect to the OP and start your own thread with you own questions.

Slanger, it is really impossible to answer your question without knowing where you are coming from that day and where you are leaving for that night.
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Old Sep 11th, 2012, 02:37 PM
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Frankly Lookin_Glass, I think the answers to the question I asked will be quite helpful to the OP.

Plus, if the OP has a problem, I'm sure she'll speak up.
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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 12:06 PM
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Thanks for all the suggestions and comments. I am willing to learn as much as possible about the area. I will be visiting Cape Cod mid Sept. and staying in Hyannis for 1 1/2 days and 2 nights. I didn't necessarily want to tour every town of either island - just the highlights. I don't know when I'll be back in this area so I wanted to make sure to visit the right places. I think I have decided on a 3 hour tour of Nantucket and the remaining time will be spent on Cape Cod.
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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 12:08 PM
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Any recommendations on restaurants? Best seafood?
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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 02:24 PM
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With 2 nights I would consider spending all my time on Nantucket. It's really beautiful this month and lots of great restaurants are still open. We like to stay at the Cottages at the Boat Basin off season and rent a jeep for a day to explore the island and head out on the sand for a picnic. The cottages have some off season deals, or you could stay at an in that is not ocean front more affordably.

http://www.thecottagesnantucket.com/

http://www.affrentals.com/
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