We were lucky enough go on vacation twice this summer. We traveled to Martha’s Vineyard in the end of July and just got back from Cape Cod this past weekend. Below you will find a Cape Cod travel guide.
I talked about why we decided to go on vacation during COVID 19 in my Martha’s Vineyard travel guide. Just to refresh your memory we live in what is considered a “safe state” (NJ) and we were traveling to another “safe state” (MA), and no one in our family has any underlying conditions, so we felt safe traveling.
Canceling Our Trip
This trip was planned long before the pandemic. Every year we go on vacation with my husband’s extended family. For years we went to Wellfleet on Cape Cod. Two years ago we decided to switch things up and try The Outer Banks, and liked it so much we went last year as well. This year was going to be our third year in a row. However, earlier this summer North Carolina saw a swift rise in Coronavirus cases and became a quarantine state.
There were a lot of factors that led us to cancel our OBX trip. Coronavirus cases are still on the rise, we would have to quarantine when we got home, and because my husband’s family all live in MA they were going to fly to NC. All in all it just didn’t seem worth the risk.
Instead of scraping the trip all together we decided to see if we could find a last minute rental on Cape Cod. We were lucky enough to find a house large enough for our family (we are 11 in total) in Harwich Port. The fact that we found a rental so late in the summer is definitely due to COVID. Under normal circumstances this never would have happened. Under normal circumstances we would have been in OBX and not scrambling for a last minute rental. I guess you could call it a win win?
Cape Cod Travel Guide
Our rental was in Harwich Port which is situated along Nantucket Sound, and just a short walk to a great private beach. Harwich Port is a cute little town with everything you could need. It is about a 15 minute drive to Chatham which is a bigger with more things to see and do. We spent some time in both places so I’ll give you info about both towns.
Harwich Port – Cape Cod Travel Guide
We spent a lot of time on the beach but we did go into town a few times. Harwich Port is a cute little town with everything you need. The local grocery store (Shaws) was right down the street, and was fully stocked with everything you could want. We cooked dinner most nights instead of going out. However, from what I saw every restaurant in town was following COVID guildlines requiring masks and providing socially distanced seating.
Eating
Even though we ate in most nights we did order in some fresh lobster from George’s Place Fish Market. Cooking it was a blast and the kids even had a lobster race. It was so delicious, and considering we had bad lobster rolls on Martha’s Vineyard we were very excited to get our lobster fill for the summer.
If your in the mood for something sweet after your lobster head to Sundae School. A cute little ice cream spot with tons of great flavors all homemade, and according to Food and Wine Magazine one of the best ice cream spots in the US.
You also need to check out Dr. Cavities Candy Shop. My kids had a blast there and got a ton of candy! They have penny candy, gourmet chocolate and other locally made treats. Right next door to the candy shop is Dr. Gravity’s Kite Shop. If you in the market for a kite or some other kid friendly souvenir this is the place.
Shopping
There is a great bookstore in Harwich Port called Reed Books. It’s small, but has a great selection of new and used books. I bought a copy of this while I was there, which has been on my list for a while. I’ll let you know how it is.
Right next to the bookstore is Hunters Ladies Boutique. It’s a women’s clothing store and gift shop. This store is not necessarily my style, but I bought my daughter a cute little wristlet there. It’s a cute little shop with affordable prices.
If you’re in the market for some out of the ordinary souvenirs stop by Murphy’s General Store. Not your typical gift shop. It’s full of cool, quirky books, t-shirts and trinkets. They even have a Jaws board game.
Chatham – Cape Cod Travel Guide
Chatham is about a 15 minute drive from Harwich Port. We spent an overcast day there exploring and checking out the shops.
Shopping
There a lot to see in Chatham. The downtown area is about twice as big as Harwich Port with lots of shops and restaurants. Chatham T Kids is the first place we stopped. A kids clothing store that my kids loved. They both got a pair of these super soft fuzzy pajama pants.
There are two great bookstore in Chatham. Yellow Umbrella Bookstore, and Where The Sidewalk Ends Books. Both had great selections as well as fun souvenirs.
Eating
We had a quick lunch in Chatham. Everyone was craving Clam Chowder and The Chatham Squire is the best place to get it! We ordered it to go and sat outside to enjoy our lunch. It was perfect. Exactly what we needed on a wet drizzly day.
Where to Stay
As I mentioned before we rented an airbnb for our trip. However, the Chatham Bars Inn is a beautiful hotel and a great option if you don’t need/want to rent a house. We sent my parents there in September to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. They raved about it so we drove by to check it out. It looks like a lovely place to stay.
What to See
Chatham has this great event every Summer called Art in the Park. A theme is chosen and local artists create art work related to the theme that is available to purchase at the end of the Summer. This year’s theme was called Whales in the park. You can see some of the artwork below. All proceeds are then donated to Chatham Merchants Association which is reinvested in preserving the town of Chatham.
We had a great trip. I would definitely go back to both Harwich Port and Chatham. We felt very safe and every store and restaurant was very good about observing COVID guidelines. Every store we went into had hand sanitizer right inside the door and they were all very aware of how many people where in a store at any given time. If things appeared too crowded you were kindly asked to wait outside. Everyone appeared to be very patient and willing to wait their turn. Fingers crossed next summer will be different.
Thanks for reading. Hope you are having a good week!