Trip Report: Cape Cod/Nantucket/Martha's Vineyard/Boston
Aug 20th, 2007, 09:35 AM
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Trip Report: Cape Cod/Nantucket/Martha's Vineyard/Boston
I have relied on posts on this site for some time now and wanted to post our trip report in an effort to help others with their planning! My husband and I spent 3 nights in Chatham, 2 nights on Nantucket, 2 nights on Martha's Vineyard, and 2 nights in Boston.
We rented a car in Boston and drove direclty to the Cape (can't imagine visiting the Cape without a car). We stayed in Chatham, at the Captains House Inn. It was wonderful; we loved it there. Everything is just like it appears on their website. Food is out of this world. We drove all around the Cape and were really happy with our decision to stay in Chatham. We spent one day at Lighthouse Beach, which was beautiful. We did Art's Dune Tour in P-town, which was quite fun. We caught a Chatham A's game and the Friday night concert at the gazebo. Pizza at Carmine's was delicious, Brewster Fish House was fantastic, Buca's Tuscan Roadhouse a bit overrated (good food but terrible service). We dropped our rental car off in Hyannis and took a taxi to catch the ferry to Nantucket.
Nantucket was by far our favorite (to give you a sense of what we're looking for on vacation: we're not real outdoorsy people and are interested in nice beaches, nice homes, good shopping and dining, and somewhere we can easily walk around). We stayed at the Sherburne Inn, which was lovely. Sort of a long way to pull your bags after you get off the ferry, so you might want to think about a cab (even though it's a short walk, pulling luggage up hill on cobblestone is not fun). The Inn is really close to downtown Nantucket so there was no need for a car on this island. We had dinner at the Centre Street Bistro, which was very good and inexpensive. We rented bikes one day at rode to 'Sconset, where we had lunch at the Summer House Beachside Bistro, right on the ocean. We went for a 90-minute sailboat ride aboard Endeavor--well worth it to get out on the water with a small group of people. We were scheduled to take the ferry from Nantucket to Martha's Vineyard (there is one per day), but the boat broke down so we were out of luck. Small disaster, and we ended up having to take a ferry to Hyannis, a shuttle to Falmouth, and then a ferry to the Vineyard. Everything worked out.
We got off the ferry in Oak Bluffs and picked up our rental car (can't imagine doing the Vineyard without a car). We drove to the Victorian Inn in Edgartown. Loved the Inn and thought Edgartown was the place to be after seeing the rest of the island. Had an amazing dinner at Atria in Edgartown. We took the ferry to Chappaquiddick and did the 2.5 hour natural history tour of the island, which was quite interesting and fun. We had lunch in Menemsha at the place where they have live lobsters swimming around; kind of cool! Nothing fancy but good. We took the ferry from the Vineyard to Woods Hole, where we caught a bus to Boston (because we didn't want a car in Boston). It was very easy to catch the bus because it is right at the ferry dock in Woods Hole.
In Boston we stayed at the Newbury Guest House, which I do NOT recommend. Great location but so what...the place was just gross. Had dinner at Stella's, which was fun and hip and reasonably priced. Caught a game at Fenway, which was awesome. Definitely worth it to get tickets and experience the fans.
All-in-all, a great trip. We moved around a lot because we wanted to try out the different places. Next time, we will go to Nantucket and stay on the beach for a week. We just really liked it there. If you're into the outdoors and serious biking, Martha's Vineyard would probably be better. Hope this was helpful.
We rented a car in Boston and drove direclty to the Cape (can't imagine visiting the Cape without a car). We stayed in Chatham, at the Captains House Inn. It was wonderful; we loved it there. Everything is just like it appears on their website. Food is out of this world. We drove all around the Cape and were really happy with our decision to stay in Chatham. We spent one day at Lighthouse Beach, which was beautiful. We did Art's Dune Tour in P-town, which was quite fun. We caught a Chatham A's game and the Friday night concert at the gazebo. Pizza at Carmine's was delicious, Brewster Fish House was fantastic, Buca's Tuscan Roadhouse a bit overrated (good food but terrible service). We dropped our rental car off in Hyannis and took a taxi to catch the ferry to Nantucket.
Nantucket was by far our favorite (to give you a sense of what we're looking for on vacation: we're not real outdoorsy people and are interested in nice beaches, nice homes, good shopping and dining, and somewhere we can easily walk around). We stayed at the Sherburne Inn, which was lovely. Sort of a long way to pull your bags after you get off the ferry, so you might want to think about a cab (even though it's a short walk, pulling luggage up hill on cobblestone is not fun). The Inn is really close to downtown Nantucket so there was no need for a car on this island. We had dinner at the Centre Street Bistro, which was very good and inexpensive. We rented bikes one day at rode to 'Sconset, where we had lunch at the Summer House Beachside Bistro, right on the ocean. We went for a 90-minute sailboat ride aboard Endeavor--well worth it to get out on the water with a small group of people. We were scheduled to take the ferry from Nantucket to Martha's Vineyard (there is one per day), but the boat broke down so we were out of luck. Small disaster, and we ended up having to take a ferry to Hyannis, a shuttle to Falmouth, and then a ferry to the Vineyard. Everything worked out.
We got off the ferry in Oak Bluffs and picked up our rental car (can't imagine doing the Vineyard without a car). We drove to the Victorian Inn in Edgartown. Loved the Inn and thought Edgartown was the place to be after seeing the rest of the island. Had an amazing dinner at Atria in Edgartown. We took the ferry to Chappaquiddick and did the 2.5 hour natural history tour of the island, which was quite interesting and fun. We had lunch in Menemsha at the place where they have live lobsters swimming around; kind of cool! Nothing fancy but good. We took the ferry from the Vineyard to Woods Hole, where we caught a bus to Boston (because we didn't want a car in Boston). It was very easy to catch the bus because it is right at the ferry dock in Woods Hole.
In Boston we stayed at the Newbury Guest House, which I do NOT recommend. Great location but so what...the place was just gross. Had dinner at Stella's, which was fun and hip and reasonably priced. Caught a game at Fenway, which was awesome. Definitely worth it to get tickets and experience the fans.
All-in-all, a great trip. We moved around a lot because we wanted to try out the different places. Next time, we will go to Nantucket and stay on the beach for a week. We just really liked it there. If you're into the outdoors and serious biking, Martha's Vineyard would probably be better. Hope this was helpful.
Aug 20th, 2007, 09:51 AM
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Sounds like a great trip! Many people will try to push Nantucket over the Vineyard or vice versa but I think it really depends on the person as to which island they enjoy more. Glad you found your spot, Nantucket is a great place.
Aug 20th, 2007, 10:11 AM
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All that planning really pays off!
Terrific report.
Totally agree about Newbury Guest House. Years ago, it was a "hidden gem" with nice rooms, low rates. They are renovating, whereupon the rates will probably go way up. Some friends stayed there last month, despite my admonitions, and were shocked that they were not advised of the work going on (even in the breakfast room during breakfast) or the noise (jackhammers at the crack of dawn outside their window).
It's nice that the rest of your trip was wonderful.
June and September are terrific times to visit Nantucket. Nice weather, better rates, fewer Summer Folk, vacationers, day trippers.
Terrific report.
Totally agree about Newbury Guest House. Years ago, it was a "hidden gem" with nice rooms, low rates. They are renovating, whereupon the rates will probably go way up. Some friends stayed there last month, despite my admonitions, and were shocked that they were not advised of the work going on (even in the breakfast room during breakfast) or the noise (jackhammers at the crack of dawn outside their window).
It's nice that the rest of your trip was wonderful.
June and September are terrific times to visit Nantucket. Nice weather, better rates, fewer Summer Folk, vacationers, day trippers.
Aug 20th, 2007, 11:43 AM
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Really nice report. Sounds like you did a lot during your stay. Do you remember where Carmine's was on the Cape? My husband likes pizza and we are always looking for new places to try (we live in the Boston area and are headed to the Cape for a weekend soon). Also interested to see that you got to a Cape Cod League game while you were in Chatham. That's a great way to spend a summer evening!
Aug 20th, 2007, 12:40 PM
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wyatt, totally agree that me liking one island over the other means nothing...I was really surprised at how different they were, despite how close together they are.
Carmine's is on the main street in chatham. Really casual; we actually ended up getting our pizza to go, and we took it with us to the cape league game. I had always wanted to see one of those games, and it did not disappoint. We were lucky enough to catch a playoff game!
Carmine's is on the main street in chatham. Really casual; we actually ended up getting our pizza to go, and we took it with us to the cape league game. I had always wanted to see one of those games, and it did not disappoint. We were lucky enough to catch a playoff game!
Aug 20th, 2007, 02:13 PM
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We did a Cape Cod trip about three years ago and the overwhelming advice was for us to go to Martha's Vineyard over Nantucket and I'm glad we decided to do both.
Nantucket was by far our favorite as well. Just stepping off the ferry, I felt like I had stepped back in town, it's so beautiful!
We stayed a few nights in Chatham too, which I thought was charming!
Nantucket was by far our favorite as well. Just stepping off the ferry, I felt like I had stepped back in town, it's so beautiful!
We stayed a few nights in Chatham too, which I thought was charming!
Aug 20th, 2007, 04:42 PM
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Great trip report, Marquette! Glad you liked our part of the world. And I think you offered great information to those choosing to explore the Cape and Islands. I'm one who prefers MV to Nantucket but I'm more of an outdoorsy person (or I should say, I have become a more outdoorsy person now that I'm married to my husband who hates to shop...). So I think you characterized everything perfectly.
Sorry about the Newbury Guest House. Not fun to end a great trip being grossed out.
Sorry about the Newbury Guest House. Not fun to end a great trip being grossed out.
Aug 21st, 2007, 12:06 AM
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Interesting what you say about Newbury Guest House - it is consistent with what I have heard but have not posted it here since I had no first hand experience. Also, there are a couple of regular posters here who report different impressions than yours - so I deferred to their first hand reports.
Excellent report - people visiting area should pay attention to your observations.
Excellent report - people visiting area should pay attention to your observations.
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