Cape Cod this July 4th Weekend..Traffic?
 

Looking for good advice:
1) We are looking to arrive in Cape Cod, late evening on the 3rd. Will the traffic be insane? Should I consider a different time?
2) We are 5 New Yorkers and 1 Bostonian in our late 20's, early 30's..and will be based out of Hyannis (due to late booking).. How does this itinerary sound?
July 4th-Marthas Vineyard
July 5th-Falsmouth/Woods Hole
July 6th-Provincetown
July 7th-Sandwich & head back to NY

Any suggestions, ideas, recommendations are welcome!

Sergey

Yes, traffic will be insane. Don't know how much flexibility you have, but it sounds like you are locked into long July 4th w/e - leaving either NYC or Boston on the 3rd - I can't really give you a good time to leave. The earlier in the day the better or if you do not mind driving at night, wait until after 7 or 8 PM to leave and traffic should improve.

2). Sounds like a lot of driving around to me, with less time than I would like to relax, go to the beach, have dinner, drink. Depends on what your goals are for this trip. I am not sure I would want to do a day trip to MV on the 4th. I would skip Woods Hole/Falmouth all together or if you have some compelling reason to go there, do it on the way back home. Sandwich is a cute little town, somewhat authentic Cape with some nice antique shops, but also skippable in the time you have. If I had to pick, I would just do MV and perhaps Provincetown and spend the rest of the time on the beach or having fun, not driving.

Traffic may not be all that great on the Cape over that weekend either. While distance from Place A to B is not that great, if it rains, the entire Cape can be a traffic jam. I am guessing that is not how you imagined spending your weekend.

Agree with gail on all points.

Again, not sure of your interests, but you might enjoy Cahoon Hollow beach in Wellfleet one day, with drinks on the deck of the Beachcomber afterward. They also have live bands at night.

I agree with most of this, but I think that seeing MV and P-town on successive days could be a nightmare.

From Hyannis, allow an hour or a bit more to get to Wood's Hole, park, and get to the ferry. It isn't far but the road is busy.

P-Town is about 50 miles from Hyannis, again not far but two lane roads and undivided 4 lane highways make it seem longer than it is.

isn't there a fast passenger ferry to Nantucket from Hyannis? Since you are staying in Hyannis, it might make more sense to daytrip to Nantucket and avoid the driving. even though the ferry ride is longer, i think it might make an easier trip.

you also could consider a whale watch out of Hyannis.

Ferry schedules for both islands are here:
http://www.steamshipauthority.com/ssa/index.cfm

Yes, the fast ferry (Steamship Authority) takes an hour each way. The Hyline fast ferry takes a bit more than an hour and costs more.

1) No one can predict the traffic. How late. It could be okay.
2) Go as early as possible like 7 or 8 am. There is nothing in Falmouth.
P-Town is great. Watch the sunset at Herring Cove Beach. Why Sandwich.
Cahoon Hollow and the Beachcomer are great. However there is very limited parking.
The best advice...if you are going to the beach get there before 9 am. The outer Cape beaches are the best.

Actually Falsmouth and Sandwich I got from a book as recommended towns...what other towns are there that are not too far from Hyannis..I think taking one long day trip to Ptown is enough and as someone mentioned here I don't want to end up driving too much. What other towns are not that far from Hyannis?

Well what do you want to do? Do you want to spend the day at the beach or are you interested in shopping/siteseeing?

I don't think of the Cape as a sightseeing destination. While each of the individual towns has its own character, I think of it as a place to relax, go to the beach, eat seafood, and hope it does not rain.

So I would take a trip to Provincetown and spend the rest of your short time on the above activities. Go to the Cape Cod National Seashore and body surf, perhaps rent a bike, eat clams, stop in some local art galleries or antique shops if that is your thing.

Does Hyannis have all these activities? I raed that there isnt much to do in Hyannis.

Im not interested in shopping..so def lots of beach time, but also other activities would be nice..I remember when i was at Marthas in 01 we rented scooters and drove around the island..that was fun..although i was only 20 at the time :)
We love to relax, eat seafood and people watch and also stroll through a cute town. Just not sure Hyannis is the right town for that.

There's plenty to do in Hyannis....some people say it's too commercial, but there is certainly plenty to do. Main Street has shopping, eating, drinking, and people watching.

I have to respectfully disagree w/poster who said that there is *nothing* in Falmouth. It is a lovely town with a long "Main Street USA" to stroll, a pretty town green and many beaches and other smaller "Falmouths" (West Falmouth, Woods Hole--to name two) as well as the Shining Sea Bikeway, that goes along the ocean w/spectacular views of the ocean and Martha's Vineyard across the sound.

I would go to Falmouth over Hyannis any day of the week. Katharine Lee Bates who wrote "America the Beautiful" hales from there and her home is the local historical society. Part of that beauty resides in Falmouth. (And no, I am not from there, we just vacation there for 2 weeks every summer.)

There's plenty to do in Hyannis, but not for more than a day, maybe two.

You can certainly do everything you have planned, but Martha's Vineyard on the 4th might involve parking far from the dock and full ferries. You may want to consider the MV Ocean Queen ferry from Falmouth, which is less well known that Woods Hole. But, you'd still need to get there well ahead of departure time to park and make sure of tickets for the next departure time.

You can easily drive through Falmouth and/or Woods Hole on your way to the MV ferry.

Better would be a drive along the coast rather than the main roads, anyway.

Traffic may not be so insane. More and more people avoid the Cape over July 4th weekend and/or stay put assuming the traffic will be insane.

We stayed in Hyannis mid-July last year and were pleasantly surprised by the lack of traffic everywhere, especially sailing over the bridge at 5PM on a Friday.

Other than those you've mentioned, Chatham is a nice place to visit.

I travel to Ptown every weekend from hartford. This one will be bad. My plan is to leave at noon. I know of many short cuts that can get me around most of the back-ups, but reality is the earlier you leave the better off you will be. In terms of what to do. The Cape will be very busy with much traffic. Use Hyannis as your base, plan a day trip to Ptown (about an hour from Ptown) and one (only one) other town, you are trying to do too much. Remember that Saturday is changeover day for cottages and hotels that do weekly rentals. Try to avoid traveling between 10 AM and 2PM that day. If you find yourself considering Ptown for fireworks. The town will be mobbed. parking will be gone by 10 AM and the drive back to Hyannis will be 2 hours plus....my advice stay in Hyannis...

Thanks for all the wonderful advice..will def. take into account everything which was said..I do think we're gona cut Sandwich out of the equation and just relax at the beach near Hyannis.