The Important Information to Cape Cod, Massachusetts

This geographic flexed arm jutting from the Massachusetts mainland is greater than only a quirky form on the map—it’s additionally a den of coastal allure and salty heritage.

Cape Cod’s sandy stretch of dunes and kettle ponds has lengthy laid out its welcome mat for these in want of refuge and respite, from the early days of the Mayflower’s “saints and strangers,” who anchored in Provincetown Harbor, to generations of native Cape Codders and “washashores” (the time period locals use for persons are not from the world).

The spit’s relative isolation has helped protect each its bohemian enclaves, like Provincetown and Wellfleet, in addition to its statelier corners, corresponding to Osterville, Hyannis Port, and Chatham. However the Cape is evolving. A wave of recent full-time residents, drawn by distant work and a post-pandemic way of life shift, has sparked a change. 

“The cape is not somewhat sleepy resort city anymore. It is actually a thriving mecca for year-round dwelling,” mentioned Marc Sievers, a cookbook creator and proprietor of Fête Among the many Flowers in Osterville. “It truly is beginning to turn out to be a vacation spot that persons are seeing as greater than only a fast weekend.”

Whether or not you’re chasing sunsets or getting misplaced in a hydrangea-lined village, let the nice instances of Cape Cod butter up your lobster roll.

This is what you have to know earlier than planning a visit to Cape Cod.

Greatest Motels & Resorts

Chatham Bars Inn

Longtime Cape luxurious mainstay Chatham Bars Inn is residence to the head of summer season socializing, the place oysters and rosé at The Veranda can cap a day of studying from a personal seaside cabana overlooking Aunt Lydia’s Cove. The final word splurge is a spa suite with a personal steam bathe and hydrotherapy tub.

Wequassett Resort and Golf Membership

Wequassett Resort and Golf Membership encompasses acres of hydrangea-filled gardens, and there are many methods to go a summer season day, right here—from kayaking to clandestine cocktails. Wequasset’s visitor rooms, villas, and cottages not too long ago underwent a renovation that was accomplished simply in time for the resort’s 2025 centennial celebration. “When individuals assume ‘luxurious’ on the Cape, it is most likely the primary,” mentioned Gayle Price, a longtime Cape Codder and New England’s doyenne of dish, who cowrote the Boston Herald’s Inside Monitor gossip column for 25 years.

Awol Provincetown

There’s no higher spot to catch sundown than at Awol Provincetown, positioned within the far West Finish overlooking the moors. Visitor rooms and suites at this motel-turned-glam-retreat have an elegant, minimalist vibe that carries outdoors to the hearth pits and pool space, the place neighbors for the week toast with cocktails from the guest-only bar.

Candleberry Inn

This Brewster bed-and-breakfast was named one of many finest lodges on the planet by Journey + Leisure readers in 2024. You will really feel like a complicated sea captain at this Georgian-style residence that is only a brief stroll from Cape Cod Bay seashores. Breakfast is a decadent unfold, however you’ll additionally discover considerate touches like a customized bundle of goodies awaiting you within the eating room every afternoon after a day of exploring.  

Bluebird Dennisport

Lark Motels (the identical father or mother firm behind AWOL Provincetown) transformed this former motor lodge right into a modern, beach-y retreat that offers friends an elegant, wood-paneled place to relaxation amid a summer season sojourn to the Cape with out all of the bells and whistles—and exorbitant peak nightly charges—of a number of the space’s extra established luxurious choices.

Greatest Issues to Do

Go to Cape Cod Nationwide Seashore.

This stretch of seashores, ponds, and wooded trails operating from Chatham to Provincetown was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and has a number of the area’s hottest sandy stretches, like Ptown’s Race Level Seashore and Nauset Seashore in Orleans.

“The Province Lands, a part of the Cape Cod Nationwide Seashore, are my favourite escape,” mentioned Ken Fulk, an inside designer who splits his time between San Francisco and Provincetown. “Right here you’ll discover miles of motorbike trails, tidal swimming pools in which you’ll be able to float alongside like a lazy river, and huge stretches of usually empty seashores—and don’t miss the prospect to hike throughout the immense dunes out to the nice Atlantic.”

Stroll by means of Heritage Museum & Gardens.

The Cape’s iconic hydrangeas are solely a small piece of this 100-acre property, celebrating the rhododendrons initially hybridized by Charles Dexter, who experimented and produced tons of of hundreds of the flower varieties that also bloom on the property at present. Flowers could also be the primary present, however the Heritage Museum & Gardens additionally has a classic automotive assortment and a working classic carousel.

See the Pilgrim Monument.

The cross-bay rivals of Plymouth and Provincetown lovingly spar over who has a greater declare because the Pilgrims’ preliminary arrival vacation spot. Guests will discover one thing a bit extra spectacular on the almost 253-foot granite Pilgrim Monument that lords over Provincetown. It was constructed within the early twentieth century to honor the Pilgrims’ five-week stint on the Outer Cape, and it is a good various to the (reasonably infamously) underwhelming Plymouth Rock. Plus, you’ll be able to climb to the highest and absorb sweeping bayside and Atlantic Ocean views.

Catch a present at The Cape Playhouse.

This Dennis, Massachusetts, stage can really feel like Broadway’s summer season camp, given that everybody from Bernadette Peters and Julie Andrews to Humphrey Bogart and Henry Fonda has carried out right here since its 1927 inception. At present, you’ll be able to anticipate finding domestically orchestrated productions of hits like “Hire” and “Waitress.”

Watch the sundown at Chapin Memorial Seashore.

Deciding which Cape Cod seaside is the most effective for taking in a sundown with a sip of one thing fabulous can really feel like selecting a favourite little one. However the expansive tidal flats and seclusion of Chapin Memorial Seashore can really feel really otherworldly. “For those who can catch low tide at sundown, your head will explode,” mentioned Adam Dunn, who co-owns The Pheasant restaurant in Dennis together with his spouse. “There’s this jaw-dropping view on the market.”

Greatest Purchasing

Cuffy’s

Certain, there are retailers hawking Cape Cod-emblazoned t-shirts and merchandise all through your complete peninsula, however Cuffy’s is an area establishment that now has a boardwalk-themed flagship full of all of the swag wanted to outfit you, your loved ones, and any good friend again residence that wants a thank-you reward for checking your mail.

Fête Among the many Flowers

These in search of somewhat Cape design inspiration will discover simply the best residence accents at this Osterville specialty meals and floral store that additionally sells throws, candles, and different small items. It is the right place to search out that treat-yourself splurge. 

Sandwich Antiques Middle

Whether or not you’re in search of a Tiffany lamp or a framed closing menu from the Queen Mary, odds are you’ll discover it (and a slew of different classic treasures) at this 5,000-square-foot emporium of eccentric finds. You might also want to select up a classic suitcase to cart your items again residence.

Browse Business Avenue in Provincetown.

It’s laborious to select a selected gallery, boutique, or espresso store to go to on Business Avenue, however we’ll attempt.

“Just a few of my favourite retailers embody The Captain’s Daughters for the right t-shirt, Clove and Creek for the most effective items, and the hidden John Derian store tucked in an impossibly charming shed behind his home—you’ll need every part,” Fulk mentioned.

Different locals within the know all the time swing by for seaside provisions at Pop+Dutch, the city’s go-to spot for sandwiches and sass. You will discover ceremonial dinner staples at Perry’s Tremendous Wine & Liquors, an it’s-an-insult-to-just-call-it-a-wine-shop sort of institution hawking every part from hard-to-procure champagne and caviar to charcuterie and dips (plus, there are complimentary treats for the numerous four-legged guests that come to city).

Nightlife

Wellfleet Beachcomber

Dune erosion means you by no means fairly know what the car parking zone goes to appear like every Memorial Day opening weekend on the Wellfleet Beachcomber, however the good instances are all the time the identical. Imbibing with a rum-forward Goombay Smash to the sounds of an area rock band efficiency is virtually a ceremony of passage for a Cape Codder’s summer season Saturday evening. “I should have been a youngster after they first opened it, and so they’ve been pumping out dance music and oysters ever since,” Price mentioned.

The Atlantic Home

The Atlantic Home, or the A-Home, has been Ptown’s most iconic watering gap for greater than 200 years—and has one of many best-known LGBTQ+ dance flooring for a great chunk of that span. The drinks are sturdy, and the ceilings are low (to not point out the lopsided dance flooring). However the line snaking down an alley and up the primary highway is an indicator that that is the place to spend a raucous evening all 12 months lengthy.

Greatest Eating places

Ceraldi

The seven-course tasting menu at Ceraldi is a celebration of domestically sourced substances and staples from the ocean with an Italian twist (assume: beef shank with Cape Cod blueberries and polenta arriving after a lobster risotto course). Preserve a hawk eye on availability, as an open seat at this Wellfleet chef’s desk doesn’t come round usually.

Sal’s Place

An additional plate of meatballs or platter of cauliflower Caesar salad all the time appears to look whereas diners debate who has the most effective entrée (rooster carbonara or lobster alla vodka, anybody?) en route at this candlelit Italian treasure in Ptown’s West Finish. “It’s the clubhouse for the city’s luminaries and washashores alike,” Fulk mentioned.

The Pheasant

Fried seafood baskets have lengthy been Cape menu staples, however the arrival of The Pheasant in Dennis performed a significant function in elevating the fame of the native eating scene. Caviar service can kick issues off earlier than indulgences like lamb osso bucco and blood orange cheesecake.

“It’s this fabulous outdated construction with plank flooring, shiplap partitions, and outdated oil work, however then they’ve a fully killer wine listing and a fully over-the-top, inventive however nonetheless earthy menu,” mentioned Sievers.

Sesuit Harbor Café

Clearly, one can’t go to Cape Cod with out splurging on a minimum of some fried seafood. Sesuit Harbor Café serves heaping piles of fried complete stomach clams, shrimp, scallops, and oysters (plus lobster rolls, in fact) with waterfront views from picnic tables. Plus, it’s BYOB. “We’ll convey a tablecloth, glassware, wine, and make it a factor,” mentioned Erica Dunn, who’s married to Adam Dunn, and co-owns The Pheasant with him.

Sundae College

Selecting a favourite ice cream store on the Cape is as heated a debate as something you’ll discover on Capitol Hill. Sundae College gives all of the classics (don’t miss the ice cream pies or the oh-so-popular banana splits) at places in each Harwich Port and Dennisport.

Greatest Time to Go to

The summer season season runs between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends and is finest for individuals who need the comfort of extra frequent ferry service from Boston or airline service into Cape Cod Gateway Airport (HYA) in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Some seasonal eating places and retailers don’t stay open outdoors this timeframe, however the shoulder season from Labor Day by means of Halloween is an more and more widespread time to go to. Most retailers and eating places stay open, resort and Airbnb charges are decrease, and sunny seaside days are nonetheless potential.

Tips on how to Get to Cape Cod

Driving to Cape Cod over its two important entry factors (the Bourne and Sagamore bridges) and the following summer season exercise is a part of the “allure” and simply the preferred solution to get to trip. However 90-minute ferries from Boston—which has the closest main airport, Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS)—are a simple solution to eclipse the Outer Cape visitors. Cape Cod Gateway Airport in Hyannis has seasonal service on choose main U.S. carriers, plus year-round Cape Air service. The Hyannis Transportation Middle has weekend rail service to Boston within the summers and year-round bus connections.

Cities to Go to

Provincetown

The Cape’s longtime haven for the bohemian, the eclectic, and the LGBTQ+ group has additionally turn out to be one in all its toniest—whereas nonetheless sustaining the allure that attracts individuals within the first place.

“Provincetown is as shut as I ever really feel to being a child once more,” Fulk mentioned. “We trip bikes recklessly down the slender avenue, bounce with abandon into the chilly harbor, then nap like a child curled up with moist canine. Might there be extra pleasure?”

Chatham

This lace-curtained enclave of the luxury and fabulous additionally has boutiques for trendy post-beach dinner garb and housewares in addition to jaw-dropping waterfront actual property for these trying to actually splurge on a summertime residence.

Wellfleet

This artist group beckons these in search of galleries to peruse, waterfront cocktails, and even a spherical of nine-hole golf with a waterfront view.

Dennis

Dennis is a seaside lover’s dream, and it has ample spots to dip your toes within the sand on each the Cape Cod Bay aspect (simply thoughts the occasional oyster farm) in addition to the Nantucket Sound aspect.

Hyannis

The Cape’s transportation nexus, Hyannis, can be the final cease for big-box procuring if you happen to’re heading onward to the Outer Cape. Hyannis Fundamental Avenue has a mixture of memento procuring and enjoyable bars and eating places, whereas neighboring Hyannis Port is the place the Kennedy clan’s compound served as a significant backdrop to Camelot.

Falmouth

Considered one of Cape Cod’s largest communities, Falmouth is a significant connecting level for these trying to hop on a ferry to discover Martha’s Winery or Nantucket. 

Tips on how to Get Round

Relying on what a part of Cape Cod you’re heading to, you’ll be able to attain it by land, by sea or by air.

• Ferry: 90-minute quick ferries are a handy solution to get from downtown Boston to Provincetown. They usually run through the summer season or shoulder seasons with Boston Harbor Metropolis Cruises and Bay State Cruise Firm. Spherical-trip companies are $100 with Boston Harbor Metropolis Cruises, whereas Bay State service is $128.
• Prepare: CapeFlyer prepare service connects Boston’s South Station to Hyannis on the weekends in the summertime.
• Bus: Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority runs bus service inside Cape Cod; Peter Pan Bus Traces connects Hyannis to Boston’s South Station; and the Plymouth & Brockton Bus Firm connects Hyannis to Boston Logan Worldwide Airport.
• Air: Cape Cod Gateway Airport is the most important airport on the peninsula and sees seasonal service from main airways like American Airways and JetBlue, whereas Cape Air serves the airport year-round. Provincetown Municipal Airport (PVC) has seasonal Cape Air service in the summertime.
• Rideshare: Service is restricted, particularly on the Outer Cape from Orleans north to Provincetown, however you’ll be able to sometimes hail Uber or Lyft drivers. If you cannot catch a trip share, Cape Cab is among the greatest taxi suppliers within the space.