We are glad you are joining us on beautiful Cape Cod.
Our cottage is on Lake Wequaquet in Centerville, MA.
We are close, and about equal distance, to Barnstable Harbor (North) and Craigville Beach (South). Hyannis Harbor is also nearby.
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Our tourism recommendations, going from west to east Cape Cod
1. Woods Hole – tour center of town, waterfront, Oceanographic research institute area; if you have 4-5 hours, take the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard and spend a couple of hours in Edgartown
2. Falmouth center – stop perhaps for a few minutes or just drive through
3. Sandwich, the oldest town on Cape Cod. Visit the center, the Heritage museums & gardens, and the glass museum
4. Mashpee Commons – this is a shopping and restaurants area (an open shopping mall). Recommended for lunch or dinner: (1) BLEU at 10 Market St, Mashpee, MA 02649; this is a very nice French restaurant (2) ESTIA, 26 Steeple St, Mashpee Commons; this is a very nice Greek restaurant
5. Osterville center and beaches; walk around, have a meal in the center 6. Centerville – go to Craigville beach at 997 Craigville Beach Rd; If you want old fashioned home-made ice cream at the place where the Kennedys also got their ice cream, go to FOUR SEAS ICE CREAM at 360 S Main St, Centerville. They have sandwiches and lobster rolls as well. Cute old-fashioned place. Stop at an 1856 COUNTRY STORE for touristy type shopping at 555 Main St, Centerville, MA. Public beach on Lake Wequaquet is really nice and sandy; it is at 460 Shootflying Hill Rd, Centerville. Also, if you like concerts, there is the Melody tent. Check who performs on the days you will be in town. You may catch a celebrity concert.
7. Hyannis Port – Kennedy family compound; drive to this neighborhood (for waze just write Kennedy compound); to go close to the house, leave the car on the corner and walk a little. Tour the exclusive neighborhood by car including narrow road along the beach
8. Hyannis – go to 480 Ocean St, Hyannis, MA; visit the waterfront park / beach; from there drive to Hyannis Harbor. Have lunch or dinner at Spanky’s Clam Shack at 138 Ocean St, Hyannis; sit outside close to the water / harbor if not too hot; they have excellent lobster salad on top of green salad or as a lobster roll.Go to Hyannis Main St. and walk around. Visit JFK Museum on Main St. If you have the urge to go a to a big shopping mall, there is one in Hyannis on Rte 132.
9. Barnstable village – Nirvana Coffee Company has good coffee, pastries, sandwiches. 3206 Main St. Barnstable. Walk around the village center. Italian restaurant: Barnstable Tuscan Cuisine at 3176 Main St, Barnstable, MA. Dolphin restaurant is also on Main St. Has been there for a very long time; traditional American menu and atmosphere.Drive from there to Barnstable harbor (very close to center; just enter Barnstable Harbor in Waze) and beach area. If you are hungry, there is a seafood shack on the left, a little before the harbor. If you want to see whales, there are whale watching tours that take about 4 hours.
10. Yarmouth - Gray’s beach and boardwalk; drive to Gray’s beach in Yarmouth (Waze will know). Park the car, walk to the boardwalk and walk on it all the way to the end. Beautiful green marshland and depending on time of day you may see some movement on the ground below (small crabs?)
11. Dennis – Go to the Harbor. 357 Sesuit Neck Rd, Dennis, MA. Eat outdoors at the seafood shack and watch the boats (Sesuit Harbor café). You may want to skip this spot if you go to the next one and if you are pressed for time. This harbor is on the northern side of the Cape. The next one is on the southern side (referred to as Nantucket Sound because it faces Nantucket Island).
12. Harwich Port – go to BRAX Landing restaurant at 705 Route 28, Harwichport, MA in the harbor. There is a parking lot and beautiful views. The restaurant is very good, has views of the water and boats, but if not hungry just enjoy the views. From this little harbor you can take a small boat for a 75 minutes trip to Monomoy Island, a nature reserve, but you can’t get off the boat. The water can be rough sometimes so this is not for everybody. There is also a ferry to Nantucket (but slower than the fast one from Hyannis and on a smaller ship). There are also fishing trips for kids from this harbor.
13. Chatham center/Main St. – don’t follow Waze for a while. Just drive east on Route 6A which is pretty. Eventually you can listen to Waze instructions and drive to Main St in Chatham. Park the car in the center, on the street. Walk around. Nice shops. Tourists. Drive to Chatham Lighthouse (from the center drive straight and take a right) and park the car nearby. Walk around, enjoy the ocean view, read the story about an heroic rescue by the coastguard of a tanker crew in the 1950s. There is a movie on this (The finest hours). Drive to Chatham Pier Fish Market. Park the car. This is real working fishermen harbor. Go close to the water. You will probably see lots of seals. Go up the stairs to the deck from which you can see boats unloading their catch of the day. If hungry, you can buy lobster rolls, fish and chips etc at the shack downstairs. Eat outdoors at a picnic table
14. Orleans- can here stop on the way to Provincetown
15. Wellfleet – can stop here on the way to Provincetown 16. Provincetown. Drive to MacMillan Pier Parking Lot (or that general area) and park the car. Walk to the main commercial street; walk up and down the street. Plenty of places to eat and drink. Visit Pilgrims Monument and Provincetown Museum if interested but walking around is most of the fun.
17. National or State parks on Cape Cod – there are a few if you are interested in woods or beaches. Some close to Provincetown (National Sea Shore Park). Some mid Cape more or less (Nickerson State Park)
18. Bike path – Cape Cod Rail Trail is a 25-mile bike path. There are additional ones.
19. Nantucket Island – if you have an extra day, take the fast ferry from Hyannis to Nantucket (one hour each way). Spend 3-4 hours there, walk around the center, go to whaling museum, etc. If you get to the Hyannis Harbor by car, park in one of the parking lots close to the harbor. 20. If you finished all of the above, or just prefer to take it easy at the cottage, enjoy swimming, boating, relaxing, listening to the birds, cooking/grilling a nice meal, playing the piano, listening to music, reading a book etc. Useful reading about Cape Cod: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cod Tripadvisor recommendations: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g185492-Cape_Cod_Massachusetts-Vacations.html
1. Woods Hole – tour center of town, waterfront, Oceanographic research institute area; if you have 4-5 hours, take the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard and spend a couple of hours in Edgartown
2. Falmouth center – stop perhaps for a few minutes or just drive through
3. Sandwich, the oldest town on Cape Cod. Visit the center, the Heritage museums & gardens, and the glass museum
4. Mashpee Commons – this is a shopping and restaurants area (an open shopping mall). Recommended for lunch or dinner: (1) BLEU at 10 Market St, Mashpee, MA 02649; this is a very nice French restaurant (2) ESTIA, 26 Steeple St, Mashpee Commons; this is a very nice Greek restaurant
5. Osterville center and beaches; walk around, have a meal in the center 6. Centerville – go to Craigville beach at 997 Craigville Beach Rd; If you want old fashioned home-made ice cream at the place where the Kennedys also got their ice cream, go to FOUR SEAS ICE CREAM at 360 S Main St, Centerville. They have sandwiches and lobster rolls as well. Cute old-fashioned place. Stop at an 1856 COUNTRY STORE for touristy type shopping at 555 Main St, Centerville, MA. Public beach on Lake Wequaquet is really nice and sandy; it is at 460 Shootflying Hill Rd, Centerville. Also, if you like concerts, there is the Melody tent. Check who performs on the days you will be in town. You may catch a celebrity concert.
7. Hyannis Port – Kennedy family compound; drive to this neighborhood (for waze just write Kennedy compound); to go close to the house, leave the car on the corner and walk a little. Tour the exclusive neighborhood by car including narrow road along the beach
8. Hyannis – go to 480 Ocean St, Hyannis, MA; visit the waterfront park / beach; from there drive to Hyannis Harbor. Have lunch or dinner at Spanky’s Clam Shack at 138 Ocean St, Hyannis; sit outside close to the water / harbor if not too hot; they have excellent lobster salad on top of green salad or as a lobster roll.Go to Hyannis Main St. and walk around. Visit JFK Museum on Main St. If you have the urge to go a to a big shopping mall, there is one in Hyannis on Rte 132.
9. Barnstable village – Nirvana Coffee Company has good coffee, pastries, sandwiches. 3206 Main St. Barnstable. Walk around the village center. Italian restaurant: Barnstable Tuscan Cuisine at 3176 Main St, Barnstable, MA. Dolphin restaurant is also on Main St. Has been there for a very long time; traditional American menu and atmosphere.Drive from there to Barnstable harbor (very close to center; just enter Barnstable Harbor in Waze) and beach area. If you are hungry, there is a seafood shack on the left, a little before the harbor. If you want to see whales, there are whale watching tours that take about 4 hours.
10. Yarmouth - Gray’s beach and boardwalk; drive to Gray’s beach in Yarmouth (Waze will know). Park the car, walk to the boardwalk and walk on it all the way to the end. Beautiful green marshland and depending on time of day you may see some movement on the ground below (small crabs?)
11. Dennis – Go to the Harbor. 357 Sesuit Neck Rd, Dennis, MA. Eat outdoors at the seafood shack and watch the boats (Sesuit Harbor café). You may want to skip this spot if you go to the next one and if you are pressed for time. This harbor is on the northern side of the Cape. The next one is on the southern side (referred to as Nantucket Sound because it faces Nantucket Island).
12. Harwich Port – go to BRAX Landing restaurant at 705 Route 28, Harwichport, MA in the harbor. There is a parking lot and beautiful views. The restaurant is very good, has views of the water and boats, but if not hungry just enjoy the views. From this little harbor you can take a small boat for a 75 minutes trip to Monomoy Island, a nature reserve, but you can’t get off the boat. The water can be rough sometimes so this is not for everybody. There is also a ferry to Nantucket (but slower than the fast one from Hyannis and on a smaller ship). There are also fishing trips for kids from this harbor.
13. Chatham center/Main St. – don’t follow Waze for a while. Just drive east on Route 6A which is pretty. Eventually you can listen to Waze instructions and drive to Main St in Chatham. Park the car in the center, on the street. Walk around. Nice shops. Tourists. Drive to Chatham Lighthouse (from the center drive straight and take a right) and park the car nearby. Walk around, enjoy the ocean view, read the story about an heroic rescue by the coastguard of a tanker crew in the 1950s. There is a movie on this (The finest hours). Drive to Chatham Pier Fish Market. Park the car. This is real working fishermen harbor. Go close to the water. You will probably see lots of seals. Go up the stairs to the deck from which you can see boats unloading their catch of the day. If hungry, you can buy lobster rolls, fish and chips etc at the shack downstairs. Eat outdoors at a picnic table
14. Orleans- can here stop on the way to Provincetown
15. Wellfleet – can stop here on the way to Provincetown 16. Provincetown. Drive to MacMillan Pier Parking Lot (or that general area) and park the car. Walk to the main commercial street; walk up and down the street. Plenty of places to eat and drink. Visit Pilgrims Monument and Provincetown Museum if interested but walking around is most of the fun.
17. National or State parks on Cape Cod – there are a few if you are interested in woods or beaches. Some close to Provincetown (National Sea Shore Park). Some mid Cape more or less (Nickerson State Park)
18. Bike path – Cape Cod Rail Trail is a 25-mile bike path. There are additional ones.
19. Nantucket Island – if you have an extra day, take the fast ferry from Hyannis to Nantucket (one hour each way). Spend 3-4 hours there, walk around the center, go to whaling museum, etc. If you get to the Hyannis Harbor by car, park in one of the parking lots close to the harbor. 20. If you finished all of the above, or just prefer to take it easy at the cottage, enjoy swimming, boating, relaxing, listening to the birds, cooking/grilling a nice meal, playing the piano, listening to music, reading a book etc. Useful reading about Cape Cod: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cod Tripadvisor recommendations: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g185492-Cape_Cod_Massachusetts-Vacations.html