N1cky

We are going to Boston for a few nights in July, I have sorted out our hotel in Boston, but thought it would be nice to drive down to Plymouth and Cape Cod and have an overnight down that way.

Can anyone suggest a good area to stay around there.

tonrob

How far up the Cape are you intending to get? Can be extremely slow going with all the traffic but maybe a bit better midweek than weekend. Many B&Bs etc. on the Cape will have minimum stays (e.g. 2 or 3 nights or more) in the summer which will limit your choice, and there are no bargains to be had. An alternative to driving is to do the fast ferry from Boston to Provincetown for the day - makes for a really nice day out and to be honest unless you intend to spend a week on the beach then Provincetown's the only place on the Cape worth seeing. (There are a couple of other nice looking small towns but nothing any more pleasing than you could find elsewhere in New England for less expense and effort).

There's actually tons of buggering about on boats you can do from Boston, including Salem, the Harbor Islands, whale watches etc. Mrs tonrob and I do this a lot in the summer - it's really fun.

You can also do Plymouth as a day out from Boston by taking the commuter rail, which would then avoid the need for a car entirely.

Sally Redux

Sorry I haven't a clue but an English friend of mine just took a holiday there and had a great time.

N1cky

Thank you Tonrob, this is really helpful, I didn't know about the ferry to Provincetown, it will be great not to have a car at all.

Thanks, that was really helpful

tonrob

Provincetown is fun in the summer. If you do a daytrip then wander round and sightsee during the day, then settle down in a window seat in any of the bars near the ferry terminal for a few drinks before your ferry goes to do some people-watching. Provincetown gets really, really camp really quickly during the early evening and it's great fun to watch. The pub we often go to is quaint old New Englandy at 5pm but is all Dancing Queen and feather boas 2 hours later!

Rockport is a gorgeous picture-perfect coastal town a short train ride north of Boston that's really worth seeing if you have time and is much prettier than many towns on the Cape. Commuter rail trains are fairly cheap too, which is nice.

If you fancy a few hours on the beach then take a 10 minute ferry ride from Boston's Long Wharf to Spectacle Island. The next stop on the ferry, George's Island (only a few minutes more) has an old fort that's fun to explore after loafing around on the beach.

Juswus

that sounds brilliant

Burn1911

ohhh we LOVED Boston, wish I could remember the name of the Thai restaurant we went to as it was quite possibly the BEST Thai phad noodles I have ever had, they were crispy and over here on Seattle they are always soft

Anyway Plymouth was good, but it was weird looking at this tiny rock and trying to imagine the first immigrants all standing on it - not enough room by far

On the Cape we stayed in the Wayside Inn in Chatham!!! which was a complete and utter Taste of England, it was so freakin gorgeous and reminded me of the New Forest, plus there was an English girl working in the hotel, it was so weird a bit surreal actually!

Anyway have a great trip, lots to see and do in Boston!!!! sounds like Tonrob's got it all covered

joto

Try and see Plymouth/Plimoth Plantation. It's a re-creation of a village in Pilgrim times. Really quite interesting. The re-enactors speak as if they live in that time. Enjoy your time there.

N1cky

This sounds great, I wonder what my 8 year old will make of it Rockport sounds nice too.

I like using public transport when we are away, I find it quite relaxing.

I think we will give the beach a miss, we have enough beaches here, and my hubby hates the beach. The fort sounds fun though.

Lots of research to do this weekend me thinks

Bob

I'd think it's a great place to visit before the summer holidays...during, it's just a major b@llock ache anywhere down on the cape, especially with a car.

Just to throw another idea out there, but you can get the CAT and head north to Maine or Nova Scotia...certainly as pretty and lots of family stuff to do.

As for beantown...I think they still do it, tourist travel pass for the T, have to show out of state/international ID and get them at travel info offices, good for 1/3/5 days depending on how long you want them, if you take the T a lot, which you will because walking around Boston in the height of summer is a swamping sack breaker, will save a lot of money, even good for commuter rail and ferries...if you can't get them, see if you can borrow a Charlie card from someone, saves 30c every ride, adds up when you've got a horde of people.

Definitely have a GPS for the car, definitely find a place outside town to park...but also check local garages who have confession rates if you visit museums as it'll save a lot in parking fees...and see if you can pop into a local library to grab museum entry passes, the Aquarium pass makes it a $2 entrance instead of $20 a kid and same for the kids museum, though if you've got kids under 8, the kids museum in Acton is a lot better.

Oh and, not for the best food in the world, but it is pretty good, the top of the hub in the prudential centre, by the Copley Mall, fantastic evening views of Boston....and if you check out the M/S NERD centre for events, they do a lot of business/art/tech talks, can be boring, but often free, for nothing else you get to the 10/14th floor of their building at 1 memorial dr, it has one of the best views over looking the Charles river, absolutely fantastic, especially on the balconies....and the parking is free after 7pm, though taking the T in to MIT/Kendall is sensible because it's all one way pain to drive around...the Brit consulate is also opposite the T entrance, besides MIT, which is also just a really cool place to walk around if you like quirky architecture.

tonrob

Do you mean the Portland/Bar Harbor-Yarmouth run? I read they canceled it - which is a bugger as we were intending to head to Nova Scotia this year..

Bob

You can get it from Boston.

They cancelled the Bar Harbor run and you can see the beached CAT that they used in the dock, because the Nova Scotia end weren't keeping to the agreement of paying for their end of the upkeep and the folks of Maine couldn't afford to keep it going on their own.

N1cky

Thanks Bob, we are limited to the school holidays because of the little one and I think due to Tonrob's advise about the ferry we won't be having a car. We never intended to have one in Boston anyway, too much of a hassle and expense.

I read that we can get a Charlie card online delivered to the house for free, and then just load it once we get there. Which will make life easier I think.

Good tip about the museum discounts at the library, we will definately do that, I'll check out the 'view' places. Although I think I will give the free boring talks a miss

tonrob

Are you sure about that? I found this, but it doesn't look like it's ready for blast off yet...

Bob

Charlie card is the way to go if they don't do the tourist card anymore...makes life easier and cheaper.

Oh and if you do do the MIT/Kendall Square stuff, there's a great place 10 mins up the road called The CBC - Cambridge Brewing Company, great place for dinner and nice drinks...the bar next door isn't to shabby either.

If you've got a spare couple of hours, the Sam Adams tour is also worth a visit, that's out in Jamaica Plain, Boston and whilst there, Doyles Cafe is a great stop off for lunch, especially if politics have any interest, it's where all the Kennedys and a bunch of other politicians used to hang out at.

Something that's a bit different, but nice for family, the Minuteman Trail state park - It's a 12 mile walk from Boston out into the burbs, but only do the last part, around Lexington and Concord, it's called the Battle road trail...it's a nice little walk, great spots for picnics and little spots of info like Paul Revere getting captured, info about troop movements and the homes of the principles involved. The whole area around Lexington/Concord is really pretty and very quaint and make a nice morning or evening outing.

Getting back to the obvious stuff though, the duck trails, with kids has to be done...just don't bother with Cheers, especially the one at Fanueil Hall, it's crap and massively over priced and the food isn't worth giving to the tramps.

The Frog Pond on the Boston Common also worth a visit, nice spot for the kids to cool off, it's right there anyway and a nice spot to eat whatever you've grabbed from local food stands, you'll be there anyway, it's spitting distance of a walk from all the downtown stuff like Faneuil Hall, Quincy market. While your doing that, a nice spot for cheap lunch and/or getting picnic stuff would be Hay Market, it's right around the corner too and the best market around.

All that above could be done in a day