orangetravelcat

Flying into Providence in September - will have five days - would Plymouth be a good base for daytripping to Cape Cod, Boston, and maybe southern Maine?

Anonymous

No, it would be horrible. You're an hour south of Boston (more at rush hour) and Maine is beyond that. Stay on the Cape for 2 or 3 nights, then in or close to Boston for the rest.

gail

Agree with Anon - atrocious choice. If you want to see Cape Cod and Boston, you will really need to split your stay between 2 hotels.

If you were considering Plymouth as a possibility because you saw prices of Boston hotels and were looking for cheaper alternative - you have fallen into the trap people posting here sometimes do. Any sensible person would look at distances or map and think this might be a good idea, especially if you come from a part of the country (or world) where greater distances are traveled on a regular basis. Boston is different - it can take an hour to go 15 miles at many times of the day.

If you must see Cape Cod, then rent a car and drive from Providence to Falmouth or Sandwich - spend a night or 2, drive rental car to Boston, park it for the duration of your stay and enjoy Boston on foot or by public transportation. Return to Providence for return flight.

However, alternatively, I would stay a night in Providence on either end of your trip and the rest of the time in Boston. Rent a car for one day and drive to north shore (Gloucester, Rockport) if you want to see a beach and ocean.

cigalechanta

and the famous Plymouth Rock is pathetic!

gail

Forgot about Plymouth Rock - a medium sized rock in a wire cage with a worn sign saying it is a rock. Plimouth Plantation can be interesting for a half day - but with only 5 days in the area, I would skip that as well.

travelisfun

I'm not sure if you have to fly into Providence or not, but when my mother and I went, we flew into Boston, stayed there for two nights and enjoyed the sights, then took the train out to the airport to rent a car (we didn't need or want it while we were in Boston), and drove the car to Cape Cod to spend a few nights there. We drove the car back into Boston and dropped it off at the airport on our way out. It worked out perfectly...we made sure to time our trip to Cape Cod so we were driving out at the beginning of the week and back to Boston at the end (to avoid weekend traffic). With only five days I would skip Maine and do two days in Boston and three on the Cape or vice versa. You could also take a day to see Lexington/Concord and other places closer to Boston.

sam

I agree about skipping Plymouth. It's not that bad but it wouldn't really be a good "base". I'd stay on Cape Cod 2 nights, then do Boston by foot for 1 or 2 nights (it's cheaper if you stay outside the city). It's going to cost you to park whether you park at a hotel overnight or go in for the day & park at a parking garage for a day. Then head up to southern Maine (York, Ogunquit, Kennebunkport, etc.) and stay overnight there. If you drive from Maine back to Rhode Island, stay away from the route closest to Boston as the traffic will be much worse. Have fun!

Topper

We stayed near Lexington, parked the car at the hotel, and used the T to get into Boston. We then daytriped north to salem from that hotel. Moved hotels to Plymouth, spent 2 days and then flew out of Providence. It took us all afternoon to get from Boston to Plymouth

orangetravelcat

Thanks for your input. I think we will overnite in Providence the day we arrive, then head for Maine the next morning, either to Ogunquit, Kennebunkport, or York Harbor, spend three nites, and then overnite someplace between Maine and Providence for the last nite. Definitely sounds like Plymouth wouldn't be a good choice.