sarastone

Hi We are planning to visit Cape Cod end of August with our preschool kid 3 and 2 years old. They love water and love going to the beach. Could you suggest where is the best place to stay with kids, activities and best kid friendly restraunts

vincenzo32951

With kids that age, it's probably more about where you **don't** want to stay -- avoiding beaches with big waves and cold water.

There are several options, but I'd recommend the bay side of Orleans, near the Skaket Beach area. It's a good spot to take day trips to other parts of the Cape, like Provincetown. It's somewhat busy with vacationers but not too, too busy, as some parts of the Cape can be.

Lots of kid-friendly restaurants. To mention just a few: Cooke's, the Jailhouse Tavern (sit outside), the Lobster Claw. Go to the Cottage St. Bakery for a dirt bomb (trust me).

SusieQQ

We frequently took our kids to Provincetown, renting on the water. They had great fun a low tide exploring and finding all kinds of water animals. It was a never ending activity.

Lots of child friendly restaurants.

At that age you can rent bikes with child seats and ride on the bike paths in the National Seashore.

SambaChula

In general, the beaches on the bay side are calmer than those on the ocean side.

zootsi

The beaches in Falmouth are ideal for kids - calm and warm. Nice down town to walk around - lots of shops, restaurants, and a 50's style penny arcade. A fun restaurant for kids is Seafood Sams - great seafood on paper plates, kid friendly outside tables.

sarastone

Thank you all for the suggestions. Falmouth looks good so far since we can take a day trip to Martha's Vinyard if needed. Our vacation is for 2 weeks. We are planning to drive from Washington DC to Falmouth but stopping over in Philadelphia for 2 nights, the Bronx for 2 nights(to visit Zoo) and then driving to Falmouth. Could you please suggest any other places which you might think would be ideal with kids.

gail

Cape Cod and a vacation with kids that age is a perfect match. Are you planning on staying in a hotel or trying to find a cottage to rent; it is quite late for the latter, but you might catch a cancellation. Schools in much of New England do not start until around Labor Day, and most summer childcare ends weeks before that - hence, the last weeks in August are out of necessity popular local vacation weeks for people with kids, jobs and no childcare

"Idea with kids" that age is simple - a sand bucket and some water is enough. I am not sure Martha's Vineyard would offer them any more - but they might like the ferry ride. Cute little shops and restaurants - not all that perfect for toddlers.

There are multiple paid attractions for families all along the Cape - mini golf, trampoline parks, arcades - some even work for toddlers. The National Seashore has waves too big for little kids, but might be fun for a few hours.

There is a Mass Audubon Society location (?Brewster/Dennis - don't remember) that has a little nature center and walking trails.

If you have never been before, a drive to Provincetown might be a fun day trip for the adults (not when it is raining) - it take a couple of hours depending on traffic. Little shops and restaurants again. There is an outdoor/indoor eclectic museum in Sandwich. The kids can run around or be in strollers and you might get to see something.

Biggest family issue with the Cape. If it rains. The roads are gridlocked - everyone has cabin fever and needs to find something to do. Bring appropriate toys and indoor activities.

Inakauaidavidababy

http://aquarium.nefsc.noaa.gov/index.html

zootsi

it's pretty late to look for a place to stay, but this is a great site for house rentals:

https://www.weneedavacation.com/

There are many nice hotels and such in Falmouth, but with 2 weeks a house would be the way to go.

cgards

Eastham and Orleans on the bay side are great choices...Skaket Beach in Orleans, First Encounter Beach in Eastham. Water is warm and waves are mild. Sand bars stretch for 2 miles during low tide.

sarastone

Thanks again for your suggestions. we looked at rental condos/vacation homes but they are all sold out. So planning to stay in hotel.

looks like other than the beach area and little window shopping there is not much for the toddlers (age 3 and 2) to enjoy. Maybe we can stay little longer in Philadelphia and Bronx area and cut down our cape code plan to 3-4 days.

gail

sarastone - wondering what might be entertaining in any area for toddlers? Really. Their needs are small, attention span short, and ability to enjoy most activities limited. Not sure what in PHL or the Bronx is going to make them happier than running wild on a beach, a playground or grassy area with their family.

Not trying to be snarky, although I don;t think I was that successful. We started traveling with our kids when they were infants. Toddler/preschool was rental cottages and lots of attention. A little older, we found ways to throw some animals in the mix. It was not until they were well into elementary school that we could give much thought to what they really were interested in.

So we settled for a pleasant time, with a few toddler-tolerant things that we wanted to do, thrown in. We actually went to Disney when one kid was 9 months old. Does he remember - of course not. He sat in his stroller and gnawed on a toy. Could have been at the mall for all he knew. But husband had never been and timing was right.

SusieQQ

I agree with Gail. At that age, as I mentioned, my kids on Cape Cod were entertained every day at Low Tide. All kinds of interesting animals, etc. are left behind as the water goes out.

zootsi

My granddaughter could stay on the beach all day, every day and never want to leave. Also there are usually other children on the beach for them to interact with and share beach toys. For rainy days the Woods Hole aquarium (free, 15 minutes from Falmouth) is a good option. There are some motels like the Tides and Green Harbor that are right on a private beach.