I'm looking for the best beaches in Cape. For summer time, a place where i can go for great sight-seeings and good restaurants.

Where will you be coming from and going to - and what day of the week?

Head for Provincetown for food and funk, and go to Provincelands in the National Seashore for beaches.

nytraveler: I am coming from New London, CT to Cape Cod. I've heard a lot about Cape Cod but i have no idea where i should head for for a day trip. And i can only go on a Sunday since it's my only day off.

Emalloy: For Provincetown, do you have any recommendation on restaurants and some places for other fun activities? I will definitely look for a nice beach in the National Seashore area. Thanks a lot.

Figure two hours each way to mid-Cape from New London, probably more on the way home. It is a bit farther to the National Seashore and a lot farther to PTown, say at least 3 hours from New London. It's 60 miles from the Cape bridges.

There are good beaches long before you get to the Cape in both RI and southeastern Massachusetts (Horseneck in Westport, for example).

If a beach isn't the big thing, Route 6A along the north side of the Cape is beautiful, quaint enough to make your teeth hurt, lined with antique and other cute shops, and well-sprinkled with good places to eat.

My first trip to the Cape I enjoyed Hyannis. The Kennedy memorial, the Kennedy compound. Hyannis is called "touristy", but, well, I was a tourist!

Also, as I'm sure you've experienced on I-95, summer traffic is definitely an issue. On a Sunday, expect heavy traffic heading off-Cape; the first, last and middle of each month also are bad due to the changeover in summer rentals.

IMO, where there are great beaches on the Cape don't particularly coincide with good sightseeing spots, or even "fun activities". P-town is the exception, but do note that the beaches on the "outer arm" of the Cape along the National Seashore are known for their rather rugged nature.

The best beaches on the Cape are along Nantucket Sound. But if you choose, for example, South Yarmouth, there's not a lot of sightseeing, and activities are more of the mini-golf type!

Some might say the best beaches of Cape Cod are contained in the Cape Cod National Seashore. I would concur. Consider staying in Eastham near both Bay and ocean beaches,wonderful restaurants nearby in Harwich, Orleans, Wellfleet and Provincetown, reasonable driving distance to the funk and fun and all other nonsense of Provincetown, another reasonable drive to the quaintest of all Cape towns: Chatham. I think you'd like it there.

Oh, I see you're only visiting for one day! That changes things a bit. If you're coming from Boston, consider taking the ferry from there to Provincetown and enjoy that little town.

If you're driving onto the Cape consider visiting Falmouth or Sandwich for the day. If you want, you can drive into Woods Hole and just bag the entire Cape and head off for Martha's Vineyard for the day. There are worse things to do on a summer's day....

Bowsprit, OP says originating in New London and only has Sundays off.

I would suggest Falmouth since it's upper Cape and you only have one day. Traffic coming off Cape on Sun is brutal and often backed up for miles and miles from the bridges. I don't think you'll have much time for sightseeing if you want beach time. Beach parking could be an issue if you don't get there early.

If I may be so bold as to blow off your question, since I live between you and the cape. . .
Two of our favourite beach trips are in RI

1. East Beach, RI
http://www.riparks.com/eastbeach.htm
and then a visit to Matunuck Oyster Bar
http://www.rhodyoysters.com/

2. Westport, MA
Horseneck Beach is lovely, but we really enjoy the peninsula on the right at the bend in the road. I forget the name, but it is lovely to walk and relax.
Here I would recommend
http://www.thebackeddy.com/

And on the cape, since you are talking about a day trip and not an overnight trip, I'd suggest WoodsHole/Falmouth.

http://www.qhpt.org/quissett_revetment.htm
http://www.woodshole.com/

I adore the lower cape, but that is quite a day trip.

Kealalani, that's Cherry & Webb, one of Westport's town beaches. You can't park there without a permit; they're very strict about that.

The Back Eddy is a great place to have a cold beverage on the deck and watch the comings and goings in the harbor. Food is probably the most upscale in the entire town. For more beach-appropriate fare, pop across the street to the clam shack. (I forget what it's called now - maybe Jack's??)

Also, it might be that the OP could use a little Cape geography (even hearing it all my life, I always find it counter-intuitive!). FYI, "upper Cape" actually refers to the part on a map closer to the mainland, from the canal to Chatham, whereas "lower Cape" runs from Chatham up to P-town.

Oh wait! Cherry & Webb is the beach closest to The Back Eddy, so I was momentarily confused. You might be talking about Gooseberry, which does have (limited) public parking - though the adjacent East Beach is another town beach with no general-public access.

Yes, it must be Gooseberry, I'm thinking of. I have bought quite a few trees at Sylvan Nursery so perhaps I was visiting off season in regards to parking in that area.

Yes it sounds like it was Gooseberry if you were on your way to/from Sylvan's! The thin strip of rocky beach along the ocean there is East Beach - also identifiable by the RVs and shacks that line the road.

At the end closer to the bend in the road towards Sylvan's, there is a tiny bit of parking available to go to Allen's Neck - conservation land and a nice little hike if you've not done it before.

At the other end is the causeway over to Gooseberry. Last year they finished restoring an historic Lifeguard Station at the causeway entrance, worth a quick peek when you're up that way again.
http://www.heraldnews.com/features/x...pens-its-doors

When you're at the Back Eddy, take a walk continuing down the roadway there; the main parking lot for Cherry & Webb is at the end on the left, after the boatyard on the right. Getting to the beach requires running a little mosquito-gauntlet on a sandy path through some trees, but once you're up and over the dunes you'll be very close to the south/west tip of the stretch of beach that includes Horseneck.

The ferries run on Sunday, from Boston, Woods Hole, wherever.
But Mystic to the Cape is really an easy day trip if driving. Have done it many times.

Ackislander: Oh wow, 6 hour-drive back and forth and I have only one day. Looks like the National Seashore and PTown aren’t good choices for me. Route 6A? Is there a name for that particular place?
DivineMissM: Oh I might have to check it out then. But what is so attractive about Hyannis though?
GGreen: Thanks a lot for the info. This really helps.
Bowsprit, irishswampynakee: Great info. Traffic really is an issue on Weekends. I probably even make more than just one trip then.
Kealalani: I like the links you provided! Thank you so much. I’m sure I will make it to each place you recommend on each Sunday.
Thanks a lot everyone!

Route 6A runs from Sandwich to Brewster, roughly.