We are planning on having a mini family reunion out at Cape Cod in June. The date is not variable, but we're from Seattle, so a little rain/clouds is no big deal.

We're looking for a house to rent that can house us all. Ideally, I'd love if we could walk to town (some sort of a retail/restaurant district) as well as the beach.

Any suggestions for where (what part of the cape) we should be looking at for a short stay? Any insight on rentals? I am looking at vrbo as well as weneedavacation.

Looking for that ideal East Coast experience!

Here are the parts I know about:

We like Wellfleet best. It is a little removed from the most crushing crowds, and has a nice down-town that you can walk to. Eastham is also nice, but there isn't a similar town center -- it has a more suburban feel.

The bayside beaches are mild and gentle. The ocean side is national park, so not much in the way of rentals; there are also several fresh-water ``kettle ponds'' that you can swim in if you have a Wellfleet town parking sticker (which you will get with the rental).

Truro has a more wild/remote vibe -- lots of dunes.

Provincetown is bustling -- lots of shops and tourists.

We've stayed in Hyannis but were really unimpressed -- much traffic, and the beaches were smaller than their parking lots, and trashy.

The first time, we just picked a couple rental agencies cold, and everything was great.

I'm sure others will chime in.

We have a place on the bayside in Truro. When the tide is out we walk the beach up to Provincetown. (P)town offers a nice walking town with many galleries, shops and owner operated restaurants.

You can rent bikes for the many bike paths, go for a whale watch, kayak or enjoy some great people watching.

As for beaches, you should be able to find something on a bayside beach for that time of year, if your quick. The oceanside however, does not have many rentals as it's 40
miles of pristine national seashore.
Check out cyberentals.com
Good luck!

One more thing. There's local shuttle buses that will take you from Truro to Ptown center and the surrounding beaches beaches or the flex bus which will take you from Truro/Ptown all the way down to Harwichport.

Hi Lovesadventure,
Because the Cape is on septic systems, and wells, many towns have a limit on how manypeople can occupoy a house for rental. Besides going on we need a vaction.com, and cyberrentals.com, I would suggest you call several tental agencies, in the towns you are interested in. I too, would suggest Wellfleet, go to the Wellfleet Chamber of Commerce website, and you will find real estate firms with rental divisions. It is quite regional- the towns you wish will have most of the listings for those towns. In case you have difficulty accessing, try Cape Shores, Thomas Brown, Kinlon Grover (in Wellfleet) V.I.P. No, I don't work in any of these agencies, but do know they have a large inventory! June is early in the saeason, so you should be able to find something to your liking. It will definitely depend how many people are in your party- we suggest many times to take two cottages nearby.

loves,
You should be able to find many large multi bedroom cottages and compounds thruout the cape. Also, Truro, Ptown, and Yarmouth and many more have town water.
Many of the rec. sites will state the rec. amount of max. occupants.
How many of you are there.

Thanks for your input, so far, all.

There will be 8 of us (4 bedrooms would be adequate). We'll be heading out just for 2 nights following my sister's graduation in Boston.

I'm also looking at the B&B option. Tripadvisor has some nice ones ranked. However, I know my parents would much prefer a king sized bed (which I haven't yet found).

I'll look at cyberrentals and at the map to find where Wellfleet is. Otherwise, maybe Provincetown so that the group can split up without worrying about transportation into town etc.

I'll check back, so if you have any more input Thanks again!

Ohhh. I don't think you can rent a house for just two nights -- usually they are by the week.

That may be a deal-killer, so you might have to go with the B&B. There are lots of nice small mom&pop motels in the area too. Or maybe you can find a realtor willing to be flexible with a June rental.

If you are only going to be on Cape Cod for 2 nights and need 4 rooms, in town but want some old-time atmosphere how about the Wayside Inn in the center of Chatham? www.waysideinn.com They have a full service restaurant as well as rooms, are located right in the center or Main Street, are close to beaches, lighthouse, fish pier and are large enough to accommodate your party. You will be about 1 hour from Provincetown and 1 hour from Woodshole in case you want to take day trips to other parts of the cape.

Continued thanks. It appears that some of the properties will rent by the day in June. However, I'm thinking B&B may be a better way to go anyway. Who wants to buy groceries for 2 monrnings when you can have a hot one waiting!

The Chatham Wayside looks wonderful, but requires 3 nights stay in June (for weekends). Any properties of a similar caliber that you'd all recommend?

Also, since we're there for such a short period (keeping in mind that it is the first time for all of us), I assume we should choose just 1 locations (MV, Nantucket or Provincetown). "personality"-wise, what's the difference between the 3, and what's your personal preference (and why).

Thank you, experts!

I say stay in Chatham if you want a quaint town to walk around in.

Provincetown has alot of couples during all times of the year and can be a bit "touristy".

If you are going for only a few days, you will be using up valuable time by taking the ferry to Nantucket or MVineyard - plus remember to get your car reservations for the ferry early - it can book up.

I agree -- I don't think the islands have enough extra attraction to make it worth the long ferry rides getting back and forth, on a two-day visit.

Provincetown can get busy, but I think it would be a reasonable place to visit in June. Nice to walk around downtown, with stunning scenery in all directions.

You can take a fast boat from Boston to Provincetown, by the way, and save driving the long way around.

Don't know Chatham, having only driven through it. Quaint.

Sandwich has the feel of old Cape Cod - very quiet and quaint. Harwich and Chatham - very nice, but pricey. Falmouth crowded. Hyannis is in need of a major makeover. Provincetown, Truro and Wellfleet are way out on the tip,but are beautiful.
How many people do you need to house and what are the ages? If you have teenagers you probably want to be in an area that has more to do like Falmouth. Provincetown is an artist community. Chatham and Harwich are beautiful , but like I said rentals tend to be more expensive.
We have a cottage in Sandwich that overlooks the salt marsh. You can walk to the beach and the downtown which is small and quiet. Our cottage sleeps 7. Let me know if you want more info.

Has anyone heard of or stayed at "A Little Inn on Pleasant Bay"? It gets good reviews on TA, and the website looks darling.

It is located between Orleans and Chatham. We'll have cars so getting around won't be a problem. Is Orleans a charismatic town, like Chatham?

A Little Inn on Pleasant Bay is mid-way between Orleans Center and Chatham center. We have never stayed there but it might be just right for your reunion. It looks lovely from the road and has a good location on route 28, (set high on a knoll overlooking Pleasant Bay so you should not be bothered by the noise of summer traffic on that busy road.) They have a small private beach on the shore of Pleasant Bay but you most certainly will want to spend some time at the big ocean beaches in the National Seashore...you can go to one in Orleans called Nauset Beach. Orleans and Chatham are only 15 apart and both are nice in their own way. Orleans is a larger town and serves the needs of a year 'round population with almost everything open all year. It has beaches on the Ocean, Pleasant Bay and Cape Cod Bay. Chatham is very quant, with 60% of its population as second home owners and so many stores are seasonal. In June however, everything should be up and going full steam! Parking at Chatham Ocean beaches is difficult, it might be best to plan to walk around Main Street in Chatham to shop and visit the Fish Pier to see the seals. ...save your beach-time for the Eastham or Wellfleet Ocean beaches.

Perfect. Thank you Yellowbrd.

I've emailed the Little Inn and they have been both prompt and kind in their response. They also have rooms with king-sized beds, which I know my parents would prefer.

Unless someone pipes in with any warnings, I think that's the way we'll go.

Go for it. It is a lovely place, between the towns of Chatham and Orleans. You will need to drive to both places, as it is not a walking area, but is beautiful.
Orleans is not as charasmatic in the downtown as is Chatham. BUT- East orleans, on the way to Nauset Beach is a little village unto itself. The Nauset Beach Club is a great restaurant, and at Nauset Beach itself if the Clam Shack. The onion rings are wonderful.Orleans has more "landings", with deep water access than anyother town on the Cape. It is a boaters paradise. Go onto the National Seashore of Cape Cod website, and see what is happening the weekend you are here. They have wonderful programs for all ages. If you can, take their canoe trek out to Nauset Marsh. And, if you can, in Provincetown book Art's Dune tours, for the group. You go on the Outer Beach, only access is by special permit, and 4 wheel drive, seeing the dune shacks, still rented by lottery each summer, that Eugene O'Neil and other artists and playrights stayed in during the '20's.
We had 14 classmates and their husbands in last fall for a reunion, those two activities were a big hit!

Terrific pointers! Big thank you, capecodshanty!

I think you're going to find what you're looking for anywhere on Cape Cod. The only suggestion I would make is about Hyannis. There a small pockets of Cape Cod Cottage areas, but by and large, there's a lot of traffic, and it will be the most crowded. If you're looking for a quieter area, definitely not Hyannis. Provincetown can get very busy with traffic and crowds, but not in the commercial way that Hyannis does. Also, the ferry (no vehicles) direct from Boston to Provincetown will take hours off your travel time.

For lodging, VRBO is my favorite, but I also like homeaway.com or greatvacations.com or a1vacations.com