Jayneann

Missypie,

Google Provincetown, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard! IMO a few days in historical Boston and a few days at one of these beach destinations would be a great vacation for your family! Think lobsters, clamboils, hydrangeas, pink beach roses, weather beaten gray shingles, antiques, seagulls soaring in the skies, the smell of saltwater in the air............Summertime in New England.......ahhhhh!!!

Oh yes, Newport RI is a very cool place to visit also!!! Great beaches!!!!!

Jayneann

And great mansion tours there also!! (Newport)

Jayneann

Missypie,

I just found a copy of "Yankee" which is a New England magazine listing the 10 best NE beaches. As follows:

Warmest water: Silver Sands State Park, Milford, Connecticut

Best Walk: Napatree Point, Watch Hill, Rhode Island

Best surfing: Narragansett Town Beach, Narragansett, RI

Best for solitude: Mohegan Bluffs, Block Island, RI

Best sand: Coast Guard Beach, Eastham, Massachusetts

Most scenic: Aquinnah Public Beach (formerly Moshup Beach) Martha's Vineyard, MA

Best freshwater beach: Lake Willoughby, Westmore, Vermont

Best bird-watching: Odiorne Point State Park, Rye, New Hampshire

Best southern Maine Beach for avoiding crowds: Footbridge Beach, Ogunquit

Best Honky-tonk: Old Orchard Beach, Maine

Happy researching!!!!

escargot

I would stick to beaches on the mainland. Adding MV or Nantucket to your "historical" trip, - well they do have some history, but you would be extremely lucky to be able to get your car over on the ferry (I just made a 3rd set of reservations and am wait listed one way b/c all that is left on that mid week day in August is a 9pm, and waitlisted for a return or having to stay a day longer or shorter that trip -

it isn't easy and your alternative is to park your car at the ferry terminal for 8 or 10 per day depending on the lot, also ferry passenger tickets, lodging which is at premium price in the summer, public transport or car rental, only certain beaches you can access w/out a sticker, etc - just so you know to investigate all that.

sobster

I would go to the Commodore Inn in West Harwich Cape Cod. They have a pool and are seconds from a good beach for kids.