My partner and I are planning to take a 10-day trip to the Cape end-May/beginning-June. We have been in the area before and have visited (briefly) Boston, Hyannis, Plymouth, Provincetown and Nantucket.

However, we have never stayed more than a day or two in any of those places.

I need suggestions on two things: location and accomodations.

Location: We want a place that is quiet and peaceful but also has lots of things to do. We usually like to spend half of our time being lazy on the beach and the other half doing activities. We'd want a place that has lots of restaurants, shops, etc. We love small-town personalities, but don't want to feel isolated. Also, we are in our mid-20's. So, a place that would welcome a younger couple would be wonderful.

Accomodations: We'd really prefer to rent a condo/cottage. We'd like some place that is fairly updated (dishwasher, DVD, WiFi, etc). Ideally, we'd like to be as close to the beach as possible. $1500/week seems reasonable.

Okay.. help me out!

May/June is a good time to visit the Cape -- beat the summer crowds! Plus, prices will be more reasonable
The Chatham/Orleans area is a good central location with lovely villages, restaurants and nearby beaches.

A resort in a nice beachside location is the Chatham Tides, which has a motel and cottages.

Chatham Seaside Cottages offers two cute cottages right next to Ridgevale Beach.

There are cottage colonies all up and down the Cape. You can also rent privately owned houses and cottages through real estate agencies. A reliable one in the Chatham area is Pine Acres Realty. Make sure to ask for a location near one of the beaches.

It could be too chilly to lie on the beach, but you can have great walks, either romantic or for exercise.

The Cape has beaches on the east, south, and north sides. Listen to the Weather Channel in the morning and find out what direction the wind will be coming from. Pick the beach on the opposite side from the wind direction! Normal winds are from the southwest, storms from the northeast. If it is stormy, take picturesque 6A for lots of shopping, interesting villages,historic sites etc.

"Quiet" and "peaceful" might not go along with "a lot of things to do" -- at least, not after Memorial Day on Cape Cod. Although early June should be decent because school is still in session, so crowds won't be too bad. But if you are there on Memorial Day, and the weather is nice, it will be crowded in most towns.

I'm a fan of the Upper Cape towns -- Sandwich and Falmouth especially. Fewer crowds in Sandwich, with some nice restaurants (though not a lot). Both towns have some nice antique shops, Sandwich has a nice garden museum. If you're not on a tight budget, the Dan'l Webster in Sandwich is lovely, but pricey. Has a good restaurant, plus spa, lovely rooms, great location.

However, if by "things to do" you want more of a resort feel, the other poster has a good suggestion for Chatham -- that's a great place for more resort-y things.

thanks for the suggestions! i think we've found a great cottage in provincetown.

we want a relaxing vacation -- so we need a place that can provide some r&r. but, we don't want to have to drive 20 miles if we feel like window-shopping, whale watching or eating a great meal.

good to know about the weather, too. we're going the first week of june. maybe we'll luck out and get some nice weather AND avoid crowds!

Hey - glad to hear you have found a cottage in Ptown. It is a special corner of the world for my parter and me! Sounds like you have spent a short time there before?? I'd be happy to asist a fodors poster with additional details - perhaps "of-line" ( [email protected]). Let me know if you would like some friendly advice. Hey the weather can be crazy, we can be crazy and at the same time the solace that you will find in Ptown is like no where else... Happy to help, just ask....(and I love your author name)