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No matter how many times you go to Cape Cod, you’ll always find something new to love about it. The hook-shaped peninsula in Massachusetts is unique in a lot of ways, thanks to its many cute towns and sandy, pine-dotted landscapes. In Chatham, for example, people want to shop and eat on the busy Main Street. But Wellfleet and Truro, which are further north, have a more relaxed vibe with quiet beaches and winding back roads. Provincetown, the crown jewel at the very end of the Cape, is a haven for painters, photographers, and writers.
Almost every town on Cape Cod has some of the best vacation rentals and bed-and-breakfasts in New England, as well as award-winning seafood shacks and restaurants. There’s also the natural beauty of the Cape Cod National Seashore, where you can sunbathe, hike, and sunbathe some more on what seems like endless stretches of sand. And each of the Cape’s many other beaches, from Nauset Light Beach in Eastham to Mayflower Beach in Dennis, is a treasure in its own right.
Cape Cod is like no other place in the world when it comes to its nautical charm. It’s true that nothing beats the beaches or lighthouses of Cape Cod, but the traffic could really go away.
When it’s best to go
Summer, from June to the end of August, is the best time to visit Cape Cod, but September and October, when the crowds have gone away, are also great. Fall is also a time when prices tend to go down. In June, don’t miss the Provincetown Film Festival, and in October, don’t miss the Wellfleet OysterFest.
Things to Remember:
The Cape is known for how busy it is, and the Bourne Bridge and the Sagamore Bridge are to thank for that. They are the only roads in and out of the hook-shaped piece of land, and on weekends in the summer, they almost always cause traffic jams.
The best thing to do is to start and end your trip on a weekday. If you have to drive in or out on the weekend, it will take you more than an hour longer. (For reference, the drive from Provincetown to Bourne takes about an hour and a half.) Visit the Cape Cod Commission to find out about traffic in real time.
On the Cape, both the weather and the traffic are very different. Sea breezes make it cooler than you might think in the summer, and at the hottest time of the year, the water in the ocean stays around 67 degrees. It’s also not too cold in the winter because the salty air keeps snowstorms from getting too big. A word of advice? No matter what the weatherman says, always bring a light jacket and keep a pair of flip-flops on hand in case you decide to go to the beach on the spur of the moment.
Getting Around
In some cases, Google Maps might say that you can drive to Cape Cod from Boston in a little over an hour, but in this case, the app is wrong. During the summer, especially on weekends, there is always a lot of traffic. So, if you’re driving, add an hour to your trip time just to be safe.
From Boston or Providence, you can take a short flight to Hyannis or Provincetown. You can also take the CapeFlyer, a seasonal train that leaves Boston’s South Station every Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Tickets start at $22 one way and $40 round trip, and the ride to Hyannis is beautiful and takes about two hours. (As a bonus, kids under 11 ride for free if they are with an adult who pays.)
The fastest boat from Boston is the most fun way to get there. Bay State Cruise Company and Boston Harbor Cruises both offer 90-minute trips across the bay where you can sip a cold beer from the onboard bar. Tickets start at $61 for one way or $93 for the whole trip. To see everything once you get there, you’ll need to rent a car. There is a public bus system, but not every part of the Cape can be reached by it (or every beach). It’s best for people staying in one or two towns or taking short trips. A CharlieCard, which is the way to pay for the subway in Boston, can be used to pay for a ride on a Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority bus.
CapeFlyer (capeflyer.com) has trains.
Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority, capecodtransit.org, has information on buses.
Cape Town Taxi of Cape Cod, towntaxicapecod.com, and Cape Cab, capecabtaxi.com, are two taxi services.
Shared rides: Uber, uber.com Lyft, lyft.com
Bay State Cruise Company, baystatecruisecompany.com, and Boston Harbor Cruises, bostonharborcruises.com, are two companies that run boats.
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