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[eugenides]

Dear All,

I would like to know if you have any tip regarding a short trip (maybe 2 days/1 night) to Provincetown MA (and some interesting spots on Cape Cod). I plan to drive my own car there, with a close friend, either from Boston or from RI. I know it is expensive to find accommodation in Provincetown in summer, but my friend and I, both being from from rich, really want to visit Provincetown in summer.

If we pass this summer, it might be difficult for my friend and I to be so geographically close to Cape Cod again. After 2008, my friend and I might be somewhere far from New England.


If you have had some experience there, I would like to know
(1) what you like about Provincetown in summer.
(2) what you dislike about it.
(3) how do you survive it with a car.
(4) how you find reasonable accommodation-- do you really need to find a hostel several miles away from Provincetown? (*** I search on several hostel and travel websites, and find that the cheaper options are kind of far from Provincetown).


By the way, I read Land's End: A Walk in Provincetown (Crown Journeys) by Michael Cunningham (Hardcover - Aug 6, 2002) (by the famous writer of the famous novel THE HOURS) some years ago. I like it, but it is more personal (of the author's own youthful past) than informational.

I would like to know anything informational -- and even personal-- about Ptown from you.
Thank you.

[rockprof]

Depends on exactly when you're going.  I've avoided the place during the peak tourist season usually visiting in early June during mid-week.  There's essentially one road in and out which makes it a traffic nightmare at certain times (e.g. holiday weekends).  There are some reasonable hotels (not great quality, however) just outside of P'town and lots of hotels in other towns (if traffic isn't bad, P'town's a relatively short drive from the elbow and above on the Cape).  If you're adventurous, you can always camp at Nickerson State Park.  There are lots of interesting glacial geology features!

[larryc]

Get a fantastic seafood take out dinner from Clem and Ursies and eat it at Herring Cove beach as you watch the sun set. You can camp right on the edge of P-town--I think the campground may be called The Dunes.

[lacohen]

I second rockprof's note about the traffic.  Whatever you do DO NOT attempt to cross the bridge (from mainland MA to the Cape) on a Friday afternoon or evening in the summer. Its a traffic nightmare, same for leavening the Cape on a Sunday.   

I haven't been there in several years, my memory is that on Commerical street there are lots of expensive swanky places to stay and eat.  In terms of more affordable options, you might want to consider the towns directly south of ptown. 

I really like the beaches in that area, I remember them as beautiful and warm in August.  FYI, that is a free option.  I remember there being a local bus that ran from downtown to the beaches, such that a car was not necessarily.  In others of other things to do, beyond the beaches its pretty limited to various clubs, shows and bar.  Ptown is also the place for people watching and eating seafood.

Also, just so you know, there is a ferry from downtown boston to p-town that runs several times a day.  I've found it to be a less stressful option then sitting in traffic jams, but if your attached to having a car then the ferry is not relevant.

[crowie]

There are parking lots in Provincetown fairly close to the main drag that, IIRC, aren't too expensive, so you can stay a bit further out of town, take the car down to the lot, park it and then walk into the downtown area.  If you have plans for an evening you can go in about 4 or 5pm and you should probably be ok getting a parking spot, then walk around the streets window shopping or have a drink before dinner.  There is also the possibility of bike rental if that attracts you.  So again you could stay a little further out, but a bikable distance from the center of town.   Staying further out isn't such a sacrifice, really, it's a bit more peaceful.  I can't speak to the accommodation question because I was staying with friends.  Anyway, Provincetown is just beautiful.  The pilgrim monument is quite fun if you like the satisfying feeling of climbing to the top of something, and the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, with a beautifully designed recent extension of their building, is excellent.

Getting there is the worst part because of the single road problem.  From then on it should be grand.  Have fun and report back!  And consider two nights.  One night might be too short with the (horrible) driving to and from.  And yes, try to go midweek if you can, to avoid the worst traffic.

[larryc]

There are some great whale watching tours from P-town. You can rent bicycles and ride one of the trails through Cape Cod National Seashore.

[bookishone]

Great bike trails through the dunes, too.

There's a decent campground in Truro, I seem to remember. If you don't mind camping. (Or staying within range of hordes of vacationing psychoanalysts).

[return_to_sender]

Take the Ferry from Boston and avoid all the Traffic along the coast, as the previous posts have suggested, it gets pretty nasty in the summer.  Or you can also take the ferry from Plymouth, less congested, equally nice, more rooms, and you get catch some history also. You can take you car on the ferry, but I think it costs more.  If I were I would ditch the car in Boston and take the ferry to Ptown and ride the bike around.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=ferry+from+boston+to+provincetown&btnG=Google+Search

[history_grrrl]

I went to Provincetown for a couple of days in early August, shortly before moving away from Boston. The timing was perfect. It wasn't crowded, and we quickly found a place to stay, at a reasonable price, just by wandering past a couple of B&Bs with "vacancy" signs (sorry, I can't remember the name of the place, but it was a block or two from the beach). I think we were there during weekdays, which helped. We did the whale-watching thing, which was terrific, and ate lots of delicious seafood. We drove rather than taking the ferry and had no traffic problems -- but again, time of year and time during the week were crucial factors. It was beautiful, and I only wish I hadn't waited to go until right before I left the area.

[iomhaigh]

Take the Ferry from Boston and avoid all the Traffic along the coast, as the previous posts have suggested, it gets pretty nasty in the summer.  Or you can also take the ferry from Plymouth, less congested, equally nice, more rooms, and you get catch some history also. You can take you car on the ferry, but I think it costs more.  If I were I would ditch the car in Boston and take the ferry to Ptown and ride the bike around.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=ferry+from+boston+to+provincetown&btnG=Google+Search

Second -- just take the ferry from Boston if you're already going to be in Boston.  You can see some whales on the way over. 

[schoolhouse]

Hi, I suggest taking a look at a place simply called "The Colony" located in Wellfleet.  It is a great place, not commercial whatsoever and the woman who runs the place is superb---very private, 1960's modern sep. villas.  Wellfleet is a quiet and academic town. .