Which Cape Cod Town/s to stay in??

Hi

I am planning a trip to the Cape towards the end of August for 1 week. I can%26#39;t seem to get enough info to decide which town to stay in. We are a couple travelling with a toddler and infant so daily trips to the beach will not be a priority as the toddler will not sit still for long, yet we would like to be walking distance to a beach and to the town centre, and be in a town that offers plenty of places to each and shop and entertain us.

The other thing is do we split or stay between two towns over the course of a week? we dont want to end up in a place that we have done everything in 2 days and regret booking the accomodation for a week. Coming down after spending 4 days in Boston so we will ready for a bit of relaxation but just want to have everything near enough to us.

I think my main concern is we book somewhere and end up dissapointed that we are there for a week and its too long to spend in the area.

Any help and advise would be wonderful.

Which Cape Cod Town/s to stay in??

Will you have a car? If so you can stay just about anywhere and sightsee to your heart%26#39;s content. You will not run out of places to go.

It%26#39;s difficult to be able to walk to beaches and the town in most places, you may have to choose one or the other. We usually stay in Orleans, which has lots of restaurants, shops etc. and access to ocean and bay beaches. You can drive to Provincetown in about 30 minutes, Chatham is a lovely town about 15 minutes away in the other direction.

Hope this helps.

Which Cape Cod Town/s to stay in??

If you can stay in one spot for a solid week you can rent a cabin with a kitchen (they generally don’t rent for shorter periods in the summer months). I think by going this route you’ll get the best deal for your money plus you get a full kitchen. I used this website to rent from this year www.weneedavacation.com but there are lots of other nice sites out there that can help you find a rental.

Cape Cod is not really the sort of place where shopping, entertainment and the beach are right outside your front door. The two areas that might meet those needs are P-Town and Hyannis and neither one says ‘family vacation’ to me (P-Town caters largely toward gay men and Hyannis is so busy, noisy and commercial is ceases to be the relaxing).

Orleans and Chatham or very nice and I like both of those suggestions. I often recommend Wellfleet because there is a walk-able town center but it’s still off the beaten path and the beaches and ponds are great. This is a little article from years ago that sums up the spirit of the place.

query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html…

But my most basic advice is I’d reconsider that dream of ditching the car for a week and having everything outside your front door. I honestly think you’d be happier in a slightly more secluded area that’s still a quick car drive to all the things you’re looking for.

You didn%26#39;t mention your budget. If you%26#39;d like to stay right on the beach I suggest one of the motels (some with kitchenettes) in Dennisport right on the beach. You%26#39;ll need to get in the car for a few minutes to go to other attractions and most dining however.

Alternately check out the Hawthorne on the water in Chatham. This motel has the beach out front and you CAN walk a little ways into town where you would find lots of dining options however this town is rather upscale vs. Dennisport which is more family oriented.

Hope this helps you a bit.

I agree that your best bet is to rent a house/cottage somewhere between Dennis and Orleans....how about Harwich? That way you can take the kids to a different town each day an not be bored.

If you are concerned about having enough to do for a week, definitely consider Provincetown. Despite its reputation as a gay resort, it is definitely family friendly, has a lot of nightlife and good restaurants and shops, is on the water and has easy access to National Seashore beaches, and has tourist attractions. A lot depends upon whether or not you will have a car. If you do, you will have other options that people have suggested. If you don%26#39;t, Ptown is almost the only place on the Cape that you don%26#39;t need one to get around. Also you can get to Ptown by ferry from Boston.