We set out driving from New York up to the Cape on a Sunday afternoon in a larger than life Ford Expedition.
If you choose to drive out of the city then a Sunday afternoon is the perfect time to avoid the chaos of the New York Streets. Once we left the city limits the driving is easy. Large highways take you up right to the end of the Cape. Being October the colours of New England on the drive up were spectacular. While you can fly to the Cape, public transport around the cape is limited so I would recommend the car option. If you don’t want to drive out of the city, rentals cars can be picked up at most towns along the way.
After about five hours of driving we arrived at Chatham, a small town on the far east part of the cape.
It was picture perfect; large Cape Cod style homes spread across the beach. The township is quaint and authentic; the homewares stores divine. We stayed at Chatham Bars Inn, a stunning complex incorporating the main inn and accommodations dotted on the beachfront. Our rooms had balconies overlooking the bay with the traditional Cape Cod flair, chairs and fences. The main inn housed two restaurants and a bar, and the furnishings throughout stunning.We stayed three days at Chatham, visiting the very end of the Cape being Province Town and Hyannis, the home of the Kennedy compound. While worth a visit Province Town is eclectic and very touristy, Hyannis does not really have the same charm as Chatham. To really experience the Cape, Chatham provided a great base and has a good golf course.
We then drove from Chatham to Wood Hole (just south of Falmouth) to catch the car ferry across to Martha’s Vineyard. The drive to Woods Hole is only about an hour. Martha’s Vineyard is one of several islands off the coast of the Cape. The other major one being Nantucket. Contrary to the name there are actually no vineyards on the island. The name is said to have been given by a British explorer who named it after his daughter. Martha’s Vineyard is also famous for the Island John F Kennedy Junior was heading to when his plane went down.
The car ferry from Woods Hole to the island is a very painless drive in / drive off experience. It can be pre-booked online and I recommend doing so especially if you are there in the American summer. Within 40 minutes were docked at Vineyard Haven, the island's main town.
We chose to stay in Edgar Town, about a 15-minute drive. It is a delightful town established in 1642 on the waterfront. We stayed at The Charlotte Inn, a stunning inn adorned with antiques.
In total we spent two nights at Martha’s Vineyard.
The place is steeped in history, great food, seafood, walks and beaches. Rather than drive back to New York, we made a spontaneous decision to change to fly out Boston. From the ferry at Woods Hole to Boston is only about two hours. This was great decision and gave us a night to enjoy the city before making the journey to Los Angeles and home.Overall Cape Cod is another destination to tick off the bucket list. It surpassed my already high expectation and if you are travelling all the way to New York you won’t regret taking on an extra few days to enjoy it.
See all the snaps from our trip in the Alliotts' Facebook photo album.
Copyright 2015. Alliott NZ Ltd Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors Auckland, New Zealand