Things to do in Cape Cod
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Cape Cod
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best overall. Warm, everything open, lower crowds and prices than July and August.
Peak season. Hottest weather and all events, with worst traffic, prices and queues.
Lovely shoulder months for biking, birding and oysters. Sea is cold and some shacks close.
Off season. Many businesses close, quiet beaches and low rates, a different stark trip.
What's on
- Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival mid-July
Ten days of garden tours at peak bloom, centred on Sandwich, Brewster and Chatham.
- Barnstable County Fair late July
Classic county fair in East Falmouth with rides, livestock and fair food.
- Provincetown Carnival Mid to late August, parade on the Thursday
Week of parties and costume events ending in the Commercial Street parade. Book rooms in winter.
- Wellfleet OysterFest A weekend in mid October
Two days of Wellfleet oysters, raw bars and the Shuck Off in the centre of Wellfleet.
- Provincetown Women's Week Usually a week in mid October
Week of shows, dances and readings in Provincetown at its autumn best.
- Yarmouth Seaside Festival Columbus Day weekend each October
Family fall fair with crafts, races, sand sculpting and fireworks over Seagull Beach.
- First Night Chatham 31 December
Town wide alcohol free arts New Year's Eve with early fireworks in Chatham.
Best things to do in Cape Cod
Cape Cod National Seashore
Forty miles of protected Atlantic beach, dunes and marsh. Coast Guard Beach is the essential Cape swim and walk.
Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch
Shortest boat run to Stellwagen Bank with naturalists aboard. Best chance to see humpbacks feeding up close.
Sea Salt Charters
Small boat private whale watch with room at the rail and a captain who follows your group, not a loudspeaker.
Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum
Tall granite tower where the Pilgrims first landed. Climb for a view of the whole curve of the Cape.
Commercial Street
Three miles of galleries, bakeries, bars and people watching. The liveliest main street in New England.
Chatham Fish Pier
Working pier where day boats unload and grey seals cruise below the viewing deck waiting for scraps.
Wellfleet Drive-In Theatre
One of the last drive-ins in Massachusetts, running double features since 1957 under Outer Cape skies.
Veterans Field
Home of the Chatham Anglers in the free Cape League. Blanket on the hillside, future major leaguers on the field.
Where to stay in Cape Cod
Chatham
first trip, all-round classic Cape base
Prettiest Main Street, fish pier and beaches minutes away, best dining outside Provincetown.
Provincetown
nightlife, art, car-free stays
Walk to whale boats, galleries and the best bars and restaurants after dark on the Cape.
Brewster
families, golf, quiet bay beaches
Huge tidal flats, Rail Trail and Nickerson ponds, with Captains and Ocean Edge golf in town.
Falmouth
Martha's Vineyard trips, lively Main Street
Walkable centre, Shining Sea Bikeway to Woods Hole and the Vineyard ferries ten minutes away.
Hyannis
ferry staging, transport hub
Fast ferries to both islands and the Boston train and bus, with the least classic Cape charm.
Think twice about
- Route 28 strip, West Yarmouth to Hyannis, and Route 132, Hyannis
Chain motel and fast food sprawl on a busy arterial, poor on foot, with visible homelessness around the transport centre. Cheaper for a reason.
- Bourne and Sagamore as a base for the Outer Cape
Every Outer Cape day means the full length of Route 6 plus bridge traffic twice. Base for the trip you are actually taking.
Best restaurants in Cape Cod
twenty-eight Atlantic
The Cape's only five-star restaurant, in a captain's house over Pleasant Bay. The splurge dinner.
Ceraldi
Tiny chef led tasting menu built on Cape farms and boats, narrated course by course. Book far ahead.
Impudent Oyster
Chatham's reliable favourite by Main Street, strong on oysters and the full Cape seafood canon. It takes bookings.
Mac's Shack
Wellfleet oysters, sushi and cooked seafood in a lively old house. Order oysters first, whatever else you do.
Sesuit Harbor Cafe
Picnic tables over the harbour, BYOB and a lobster roll many locals call the best on the Cape. Cash only.
Arnold's Lobster & Clam Bar
Classic Route 6 shack for whole belly fried clams and lobster rolls, with mini golf while you wait.
Chatham Pier Fish Market
Lobster rolls from lobster steamed on site, eaten at picnic tables on the working pier by the fleet.
The Lobster Pot
Provincetown institution since 1979 for lobster every way, bisque first, with harbour view rooms.
Outdoor things to do in Cape Cod
Cape Cod Rail Trail
Paved 25 mile trail past kettle ponds, bogs and marsh. The best active day on the Cape with children.
Shining Sea Bikeway
Flat coastal bike path from Falmouth to Woods Hole past harbour and Sound beaches, ending at the ferries.
Highland Links
True links golf from 1892 on bluffs above the Atlantic beside Highland Light. Wind, fescue and history.
The Captains Golf Course
Thirty six well kept public holes in Brewster. The best all round golf value for mixed ability groups.
Ocean Edge Golf Club
Nicklaus Design resort course with premium conditioning. The luxury golf round on the Cape.
Art's Dune Tours
Four wheel drive tours into the protected dune shacks since 1946. Sunset tours are the ones to book.
Outermost Harbor Marine
Seal cruises to the sandbars and white shark tours off Monomoy with spotter pilot support from one marina.
Great Marsh Kayak Tours
Guided paddles through marsh channels at the pace of the tide, past osprey nests and eelgrass flats.
Best hotels in Cape Cod
Chatham Bars Inn
Grand 1914 resort on its own beach above Chatham Harbor, with spa, farm and two restaurants on site.
Wequassett Resort and Golf Club
Waterfront luxury on Pleasant Bay with Outer Beach boat days, pools and the Cape's best restaurant.
Chatham Inn
Small smart inn steps from Main Street with a strong restaurant. The couples sweet spot in Chatham.
Crown & Anchor Inn
Guesthouse rooms in the middle of Commercial Street above the town's main cabaret and club venues.
Surfside Hotel & Suites
Beachfront hotel with pool and calm harbour water, a practical family base a walk from the centre.
The Provincetown Inn
Large old West End inn with pool and harbour beach, at rates below the central guesthouses.
Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club
429 acre resort with Nicklaus golf, pools and a private bay beach. The easiest luxury family trip.
Captain Freeman Inn
Sea captain's house inn on Route 6A with a pool and breakfasts reviewers return for. Calm and well hosted.
Is Cape Cod expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $150 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $290 a person |
| Splurge | $650 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch: a few days ahead
- Sea Salt Charters: weeks ahead
- Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum: a few days ahead
- Heritage Museums & Gardens: a few days ahead
- Whydah Pirate Museum: a few days ahead
- Cape Cod Rail Trail: a few days ahead
- Highland Links: weeks ahead
- The Captains Golf Course: a few days ahead
- Luxury hotels and Chatham and Provincetown rooms book months ahead for July and August.
- Private whale boats, shark tours and sunset dune tours book weeks ahead in summer.
- Check town beach parking permits when you book your room, not on arrival.
Is Cape Cod safe?
- Swim at lifeguarded beaches, obey purple shark flags and closures, and stay clear of seals and fish schools.
- Download the Sharktivity app for white shark sightings before ocean swimming or surfing.
- Watch for rip currents, shore break and Lyme carrying ticks in dune grass and woodland. Emergency 911.
Cape Cod travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Waterfront deck restaurants in Hyannis and Falmouth charging dinner prices for ordinary seafood.
- Taking a car to the islands in peak season instead of walking on and hiring a bike.
- Suspiciously cheap lobster rolls, which are small or frozen in a market priced week.
Getting around Cape Cod: public transport and more
- Drive Route 6 for distance and Route 6A for pleasure. Avoid Route 28 for long drives.
- Cross the canal bridges before 10am or after 7pm on summer weekends.
- In Provincetown arrive by Boston fast ferry if you can and do not move the car.
Who Cape Cod suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Cape Cod your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store