We are planning a June trip to New England. Need some suggestions as to where to stay on Cape Cod. (like beaches, nice shops/restaurants).

Also, we will have a car, and plan on doing some day trips to Newport, Martha's vineyard, Plymouth. Are these day trips doable?

Also, will be flying into Boston - maybe spend one night there. Is this a good idea, or is there another more convenient airport?

Thanks for any help you can give!

Hi emt:

I live on Cape Cod, and I fly in and out of Providence whenever possible- and almost everyone I know here does the same. It is a much more convenient airport. You could even start or end your vacation by staying a night or two in Newport on the days near your arrival or departure.

Day trips to Martha's Vineyard and Plymouth are definitely feasible. I don't know how long you are planning on staying on Cape Cod, but I would advise staying in the Falmouth area, as the ferries to the Vineyard (from Woods Hole) are more accessible, and its closer proximity to the highways will also cut your drive time to Plymouth (although Plymouth isn't that far from anywhere west of Chatham).

If you are staying over a weekend, Saturday would not be a good day to day trip to Newport or Plymouth, as Saturday is rental turnover day and the traffic is pure hell. Friday afternoon is also not pretty driving down from Logan airport.

I am not that familiar with the Falmouth area beaches(the cape is bigger than most people think), but as far as shops and restaurants, Falmouth has plenty.(Coonamesset Inn is good for dining) And it is a short ride to Sandwich village or Mashpee commons where there is shopping and dining aplenty.

Happy planning!

Thank you, Melissa! I'll look into Falmouth.

ALso, what do you (or anyone, for that matter) know about Wellfleet or Chatham? Those towns sound nice, but I'm concerned about driving times to other places we want to visit - Newport, Plymouth, etc...

To me, Wellfleet and Chatham have more a feel of the real Cape Cod - but they are definitely a greater distance from your other destinations. Wellfleet is very close to Cape Cod National Seashore, one of the most wonderful stretches of beach in New England. But June will be a little cold for swimming.

Agree with above poster that Providence is a good airport choice - but I would check airfare before making a decision. SWA flies into Providence (not Boston), and they are often cheaper. Also, if you haven't spent time in Boston, it might be worth a night or 2.

Try to avoid driving to/from Cape from Friday evening through Sunday evening - even in June lots of weekend visitors and weekly renters that have Saturday turn-over on rentals.

Plymouth can be over-rated, but depending on how much time you have, you might consider it. The Rock is silly - just a small boulder in a cage. Plimouth Plantation is interesting, but not an essential part of visit to SE Mass. Depends on your interests.

In my opinion, if you are going to the Cape, you really should see the huge dunes along the National Seashore (Wellfleet). To me, they are quintessinal (sp?) Cape Cod. Chatham is a lovely small town you could take in in a few hours. And Wellfleet's close to Provincetown. Boston's a great city, and I'd recommend spending a day there if you can.

I had friends from out west visit this past fall and we did lots of New England sightseeing. One of their favorite trips was driving up (and down) Route 6a. They especially enjoyed the Sandwich area. There are 2 beaches there, one we went to for the sanddunes, the other we went to for the boardwalk across the marsh. There's wonderful shops and good restaurants. There was one shop in particular which we enjoyed; it has a circular trail behind the store, with lots of outdoor artwork, and wonderful scenery.

We did a day trip to Nantucket; my friends enjoyed the architecture more than anything else. I think I would have enjoyed the day more had we continued up Route 6 to Wellfleet and Provicetown.

Hi do a search on "seafox", you'll see other similar posts which I have left messages on that may be helpful to you

emt,

Gail is correct. The "real" cape starts in Chatham and goes to Provincetown. Is it less accessible? Yes, a little. Is it less crowded? Yes, a lot. You can still do day trips to Plymouth (a little over an hour)and the vinyard (30 minutes to Hyannis, then the ferry)

Chatham is a wonderful town, the National Seashore is beautiful, and Provincetown, a very gay artists and resort community is delightful.

Hi! Being a native New Englander I will try to help you out. Out of the places you have mentioned, Newport would be more my forte! The drive from Chatham on the Cape to Newport would be roughly 2 hours. If you are trying to exit the Cape on a Sunday, add a few more hours to that travel time! As someone else mentioned, the Cape's traffic is notorious. There are a lot of weekend travelers to the Cape, so try not to enter on Fridays and leave on Sundays!

Newport is a great little city! There are tons of great restaurants (has quite a good food scene - I recommend checking out the Chowhound.com New England message board for recommendations). My favorite is White Horse Tavern, the oldest running tavern in the US! Newport day trip must do list: drive along Ocean Drive, drive along Bellvue (where a lot of the mansions are); take a walk on the Cliff Walk; shop/walk the harborfront. Depending how much time you have to spend there, sailing excursions are a really great way to spend the day. You can go for a couple hours or the day, from everything from a family friendly cruise to an evening sunset sail complete with champagne!

Most Cape vacationers go there for their vacation and don't leave until it's time to go home. I think you are trying to do too much, staying on the Cape & doing day-trips to Newport and Plymouth.

Do you realize how big the Cape is & how much it offers? There are fifteen towns, hundreds of villages and so many other sites to visit and things to do.

Why not do Plymouth/Newport on the way down or the way back or at some other time? I really think you will regret leaving the Cape to take long, dreary trips to visit these off-Cape sites when you could be relaxing on the Cape with everyone else.

My second home(where my heart is) backs into a sand dune in Provincetown. To give you perspective....those who live on the outer Cape refer to the rest of the US as "the continent"...the lesson here is as others have suggested...there is a lot to do on Cape Cod...don't over comott yourself to a lot of traveling...it is a vaction after all