Thinking of taking the family to the Cape in July

Hello,

My wife and I are thinking of taking our two girls (7 and 2) to the Cape this coming July. We have never been before and from reading this site Chatham sounds like a great place for first timers. Can anyone recommend places to stay and some fun things for the kids to do? We would be staying a week. Driving up from Philadelphia so we will have our car. Looking to spend about a maximum of $4k for the week. Less if possible. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Thinking of taking the family to the Cape in July

Chatham is lovely. Honestly there is so much to do. Invest in a great guide book. Here are a few ideas:

Seal Watch

Whale Watch from Provincetown/40 min ride

Tea at Captains House

Walk Main St and have lunch at Squire and penny candy across the street

Local Baseball

Town Concert

It might behoove you to contact the Chamber of Commerce for a complete listing of events. I defer to others about lodging. IMHO the B and B%26#39;s are the way to go.

Thinking of taking the family to the Cape in July

First: I think you have a workable budget. The bigger issue is you need to start looking for lodging ASAP! The good places fill up quickly!

Chatham is a great place to be on the Cape for a first time visit. (it%26#39;s where we keep our stuff). There are so many loging options here! Wayside Inn, Bradford Inn (if your kids are 12 and over, but not stuff At All), are just a few.

For a week%26#39;s stay, however, (saturday to saturday) I%26#39;d recommend securing a rental house or cottage. It%26#39;s a great way to save some cash on meals..you could save a bundle just by eating breakfast %26#39;in%26#39; for the week!

(save yourself some hassle and use a Realtor for your first time stay)

Here%26#39;s the Chatham Chamber site; you can get a list of reliable Realtors here to help you find the perfect place :

http://www.chathaminfo.com/

Other options are Falmouth (%26#39;upper-Cape%26#39; but really closer to the lower part of the Cape closer to the bridges), Brewster (on Cape Cod Bay) and the great towns that have the National Seashore in their backyard. (Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, Provincetown). I love Harwichport too. Everyone here has their favorite; I hope you find yours!

Each town has its own Chamber of Commerce that you can access online.

Also, CapeCodCharlie, a frequent poster here and Cape DE, has a house she rents for weekly stays. She might be booked already with %26#39;repeat%26#39; tenants (a very good sign), but you might contact her through a pm to see if she has availability or knows of other rental options. She has recommended Martha Murray Real Estate in the past (as I have) for those looking for weekly vacation rentals. Good luck!

I agree with the others that your budget is realistic and you can probably do better than that if you are willing to drive to a beach and cook some meals at home. You will be able to rent a 2 or 3 bedroom house in your target area for under $2k. And given the economy, I think you will be able to find a rental even in July at this point.

Some website to check for rentals:

www.kinlingrover.com

www.wilkinsonre.com

www.weneedavacation.com

www.homeaway.com

The first two are local realtors and the second two are for homes rented by owner. We often debate the benefits of each on this board but I%26#39;m sure you can decide which type of rental you are most comfortable with.

Chatham is a great spot and have a beautiful Cape Cod feel with lots to do. Other towns that families seem to like are Harwich, Dennis, Brewster, and Orleans. And you might also look into renting a condo at Ocean Edge in Brewster (I think the best site for that is www.atlanticrealty.com) as you would find cheaper accommodations, indoor pools, tennis, access to the fun Cape Cod bike trail and a central location for exploring the Cape.

There are lots of good posts here lately about things to do with the family. Just do some searching and you%26#39;ll find many good suggestions.

This was an old response of mine to Floridguy. check his posts (click on his name) since he has done a lot of research on Chaatham. This will get you started:

Chatham is a quaint town with nice shopping and some great restaurants. I can%26#39;t really help with accomodations since we stay in a house.

In Chatham:

- Visit the light house

- Stop by Candy Manor

- Eat a casual meal at The Squire (very good chowder)

- 4th of July parade could be fun

- Ben Franklin%26#39;s store for inexpensive toys and knick-knacks

- See a Cape Cod baseball league game with elite college players

- Have a nicer meal at the Impudent Oyster (menu probably online)

Nearby in Harwich

- Ride Bud%26#39;s go-carts

- Bumper boats and batting cages on Rt. 28

- Take the ferry to Nantucket from Harwichport

Orleans

- Stop by a Christmas Tree Shop (In Orleans) or Ocean State Job Lot (Dennisport and maybe Chatham0 and buy inexpensive skim and or boogie boards (about $5 each). You can give them away before you leave if you are flying back.

- Visit Skaket Beach on the bay side (warmer, calm water). Check the paper for low tide so the boys can check out the tidal flats, walk aobut 1 mile out, find crabs, and skim board. Get there early to get a parking spot for $15. Skaket has restrooms and a good snack shack (grilled chx sandwich and great onion rings)

- Try Nauset beach for the big waves along the Atlantic. Restrooms, plenty of parking and a snack shack.

- Take a private sailing leasson from Arey%26#39;s

Wellfleet:

- Visit my favorite beach - Cahoon Hollow. Ask to park at the Beachcomer and get a $15 voucher for food or drink. Eat lunch at The Beachcomber. Be prepared to walk up and down a huge dune to get to the beach.

Provincetown:

- Take the boys whale watching. Good shopping and great restaurants. It gets very crowded in the summer.

-Try Art%26#39;s Dune tours.