Cape Cod: A Romantic Getaway
Published October 16, 2019 by Tanya Thelen
If you’re looking for a long weekend getaway with your husband or wife, then I highly recommend the charming area of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. My husband and I recently flew with Delta Vacations on a short nonstop 1 ½ hour flight from Detroit to Boston, we rented a car, and then drove another 1 ½ hours to Cape Cod. One of the great things about this peninsula is that no matter where you stay on the Cape, you are only a short drive away from the waters on either side, its beaches, and all its cute little towns. We loved the New England feel it gave us with its colonial-style homes, tree-lined streets, rock-walls, picket fences, and all the history it has to offer. After all, this is where the Pilgrims first landed before sailing to Plymouth Rock.
Our accommodations in Cape Cod were just perfect for the romantic weekend we were trying to achieve. We stayed at a charming B&B called the “Inn at Cape Cod” in Yarmouth. I had booked a few of my clients at this lovely place before and thought I’d experience it myself. Helen and Mike, the owners of the Inn, made our stay very welcoming and comfortable. The Inn started out as a private mansion before becoming a luxury stage-coach boutique B&B in 1830. Each bedroom has its own unique appeal and are all quite lovely with plush pillow-top beds, quality linens and their own luxury private bathrooms with robes and luxury amenities. A few of the rooms have fireplaces as well. And because there are no small children allowed it gives a sense of serenity and relaxation we were looking for in our weekend-getaway. We loved the personal attention Mike and Helen gave to each individual guest. I especially looked forward to breakfast time each morning…it was just lovely. Mike and Helen would greet us each morning with a smile and a homemade breakfast they made themselves with fresh baked muffins, eggs-to-order, and more. Each morning they would ask us what our plans were for the day and would give us their personal tips and recommendations. We enjoyed our evenings at the Inn with their tea and cookies too.
The location of the Inn was perfectly located off Route 6A, the “Old King’s Highway” (which is very historic and protected). Another popular roadway was Route 28 on the Southern part of the Cape. These two routes gave us easy access to many sites that we wanted to see on Cape Cod. Here’s some of the sites we visited:
PROVINCETOWN
Plan a full day for this area at the tip of the cape. About a
1 ½ hour scenic drive on Route 6A from our Inn in Yarmouth. Along the drive are beautiful beaches such as Marconi and Race Point Beach, as well as cute little towns to visit. I recommend making a stop in Wellfleet for lunch at Mac’s Shack on the waterfront (or perhaps dinner on your way back). Once you arrive to Provincetown, spend the day in this LGBTQ community walking the narrow streets with its cute little shops, restaurants, and bars. You can also climb to the top of the Pilgrim Monument. Parking in Provincetown can be challenging so I recommend visiting the monument for their parking fee and 1 free pass to the monument/museum.
CHATHAM
On a separate full-day we drove about 30-40 minutes southeast from our Inn to Chatham. We really enjoyed the scenic drive on Route 28. I recommend beginning the route in Hyannis. You can enjoy the long main street full of shops and restaurants like the Naked Oyster or drive down to the waterfront to see the boats and arty shacks. We loved the scenic drive along Route 28 but we especially loved the town of Chatham. This upscale community has a charming main street you can stroll with boutique stores, restaurant/cafes, ice cream parlors, and a Candy Manor with homemade fudge and chocolates. At the end of Main Street, you’ll definitely want to take the scenic drive along Shore Road. Be sure to take in the views from the Chatham Bar Inn too. We especially enjoyed visiting the Fish Pier in Chatham. Every afternoon around 1pm the fisherman returned with their catches and you can watch them throwing scraps to the seals right from the docks. The Fish Pier has a little food counter where we had the best Fish-n-Chips too! The drive along Shore Road was very scenic in itself – we loved looking at the luxury homes and manicured landscaping overlooking the coastline. The Lighthouse and beach are worth a visit as well – be sure to walk down the beach to see “The Shack.”
MARTHA’S VINNEYARD AND NANTUCKET
Spending another day (or two) visiting one or both of these islands is also a must. There are ferries that run from different ports on the Cape to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. We took the ferry from Falmouth to Martha’s Vineyard because it was a shorter distance and less expensive – and because I had to see the sites where the movie JAWS was filmed. Our ferry brought us to Oak Bluff on the island. Here there are lots of touristy shops, restaurants, and bars. Also be sure to take a walk down the side streets to see all the Gingerbread Houses that the residents live in.
From Oak Bluff you can rent bikes, mopeds, and cars to get around the island. We bought a bus ticket to Edgartown and back. The drive between allowed us to see the bridge and pond where JAWS was famously filmed. We loved the quiet charming town of Edgartown. It was a little more upscale with its boutique shops and tiny restaurants and pubs.
We ended our romantic getaway with an additional 2 nights in Boston. The Hilton Back Bay that I booked in my Delta Vacations package was perfect for us. We especially enjoyed our city-view from our upgraded “Panoramic View” Room. The Hilton was a perfect spot to pick up the “Hop-on Hop-off Old Town Trolley Tour” of the city. I was glad we did this first so we could get a sense of what we wanted to do in this big city. Our main objective was to walk the historic “Freedom Trail” which we thoroughly enjoyed. It was interesting to see where some of our Founding-Fathers began this country. It was a perfect way to end a perfect getaway with my husband.
Want to learn more? Contact us!