Cape Cod - Martha's Vineyard Help

[3boymthr]

I hope you don't mind me jumping in here with a question too? My DS will be starting at Mass. Maritime Academy in the fall. This is in the Buzzards Bay/Bourne area. We have a reservation in falmouth for the drop off date, but I'm looking for suggestions of where to stay when we need to be there Labor Day weekend for 3 nights. This will be the weekend we will be moving the rest of his stuff into the college and attending the orientation graduation. Thanks.

Hi,

Mass Maritime Academy is on the other side of the bridge from Falmouth and on Labor Day Weekend and unless it rains alll weekend you are looking at a LOOOONG TORTUROUS GRIDLOCKED RIDE if you are trying to go back and forth to Buzzards Bay as the trip over the Bourne and Sagamore bridges will be really bad and the drive along Rtes 6 & 28 miserable (especially at the rotary just over the bridge).

I can't recommend actual hotels as for us it's only a short drive. But you will definitely want to stay somewhere north of the bridges, convenient to Buzzards Bay - convenient to Rte 495 and not convenient to Rt 3. There are some motels in Buzzard's Bay which are walking distance to the Academy but I can't say as they look particularly spectacular - but check trip advisor as they may actually be very nice. There are also several B&B in Onset (one town over) that are really nice but may be pricey for your needs. There may also be some accommodations in Wareham and Marion. If you want a true hotel then I would go for a chain hotel with an address in Middleboro. When you do a search on Travelocity they come up with Mansfield, Taunton & Foxboro which have lots of chain hotels right along 495 but they are at least a 45 minute ride not factoring in traffic and that weekend there will be a lot of traffic getting down to Buzzard's Bay. Plymouth also has a lot of chain hotels, but again I would not stay there as the traffic along the canal to get to Buzzard's Bay will be bad.

HTH

 

[lindsmom]

I hope you don't mind me jumping in here with a question too? My DS will be starting at Mass. Maritime Academy in the fall. This is in the Buzzards Bay/Bourne area. We have a reservation in falmouth for the drop off date, but I'm looking for suggestions of where to stay when we need to be there Labor Day weekend for 3 nights. This will be the weekend we will be moving the rest of his stuff into the college and attending the orientation graduation. Thanks.

First, congrats to your son for getting into MMA! My niece is looking to apply there as well It's a great school.

Like PP said, Labor Day will be challenging so it would be best for you to not have to go over the bridge back and forth. Although if you're staying 3 nights, it's either Thurs - Sun, in which case Thursday night won't be too bad (but Sunday will) or Friday - Monday, in which case both Friday AND Monday will be bad. I also agree that you want to avoid route 3, as that will be similarly busy.

I was looking at tripadvisor, and I would suggest Holiday Inn Express Suites Middleboro. It's approx half an hour from MMA; even with traffic I don't think it would be more than an hour at the worst travel time. Anything you're looking at for that weekend will be pricey, be warned!

PLEASE avoid Knight's Inn (also referred to as All Season's) on Trowbridge in Bourne. Every time I drive by that place, I think "Yikes, that place seems skeevy" or "I wonder how many people have died there?"

There are a couple other places to avoid in the wareham area, but I don't see them listed on Tripadvisor (Jasper's is one of them) so you probably don't have to worry about them.

 

[3boymthr]

First, congrats to your son for getting into MMA! My niece is looking to apply there as well It's a great school.

Like PP said, Labor Day will be challenging so it would be best for you to not have to go over the bridge back and forth. Although if you're staying 3 nights, it's either Thurs - Sun, in which case Thursday night won't be too bad (but Sunday will) or Friday - Monday, in which case both Friday AND Monday will be bad. I also agree that you want to avoid route 3, as that will be similarly busy.

I was looking at tripadvisor, and I would suggest Holiday Inn Express Suites Middleboro. It's approx half an hour from MMA; even with traffic I don't think it would be more than an hour at the worst travel time. Anything you're looking at for that weekend will be pricey, be warned!

PLEASE avoid Knight's Inn (also referred to as All Season's) on Trowbridge in Bourne. Every time I drive by that place, I think "Yikes, that place seems skeevy" or "I wonder how many people have died there?"

There are a couple other places to avoid in the wareham area, but I don't see them listed on Tripadvisor (Jasper's is one of them) so you probably don't have to worry about them.

Oigh, yes, that place reminds me of one where you'd rent a room by the hour.

Also if you were in Middleboro and rte 495 is bad you can hop off at almost any exit then you can connect with and take rte 28 down to the Buzzard's Bay rotary instead and come at MMA from the other direction (after the rotary the MMA is the first right) - for that matter you can just take 28 right from Middleboro to Buzzard's Bay as it parallels 495 and the traffic on 28 is rarely bad except on the 6/28 stretch thru Wareham where Walmart and all the other big box stores and fast food places are and that traffic is caused mostly by the lights for the shopping plazas.

 

[buffettgirl]

Just a quick clarification when you hear us regulars talk about the Cape:

"Upper Cape" refers to the first part of the cape as you cross over the bridge (Falmouth / Sandwich.

"Lower Cape" is also the "Outer Cape", generally from Orleans out to PTown. If you look at a map of the Cape, this is confusing to many, because PTown is actually higher (hence it looks like "upper") than the rest of the Cape.

Mid Cape is obviously the part in the middle basically Hyannis through Dennis.

I missed this the first time around, but if you look at the cape as big arm, outstretched from the body and bent at the elbow (like if you were showing muscles?) , the upper and lower will make more sense if you pretend it's an arm.
Upper (shoulder), Lower (fingers) the Bay is on your biceps , the flat out ocean is at your forearm. Chatham is at your elbow.

 

[lpizzuro123]

We own a timeshare in Cape Cod in Dennisport that is beachfront called Edgewater Beach. There are studios, one and two bedrooms. Not sure what they go for (our week is the last week in August). You can also look into renting from an owner - check out Redweek.com.

Check out this link to photos and info.

http://edgewaterresorthoa.org/

Linda

 

[Dizzyworld]

First, congrats to your son for getting into MMA! My niece is looking to apply there as well It's a great school.

Like PP said, Labor Day will be challenging so it would be best for you to not have to go over the bridge back and forth. Although if you're staying 3 nights, it's either Thurs - Sun, in which case Thursday night won't be too bad (but Sunday will) or Friday - Monday, in which case both Friday AND Monday will be bad. I also agree that you want to avoid route 3, as that will be similarly busy.

I was looking at tripadvisor, and I would suggest Holiday Inn Express Suites Middleboro. It's approx half an hour from MMA; even with traffic I don't think it would be more than an hour at the worst travel time. Anything you're looking at for that weekend will be pricey, be warned!

PLEASE avoid Knight's Inn (also referred to as All Season's) on Trowbridge in Bourne. Every time I drive by that place, I think "Yikes, that place seems skeevy" or "I wonder how many people have died there?"

There are a couple other places to avoid in the wareham area, but I don't see them listed on Tripadvisor (Jasper's is one of them) so you probably don't have to worry about them.

Thanks for the well wishes for my DS going to MMA. We think it is a good fit for him. We just wish it wasn't so far way for home so we wouldn't have to deal with hotels. Oh well...... I hadn't thought about the vacationers traffic. Good point. I wish the hotels were WDW resorts. I keep thinking in the back of my head is the orientation, orientation graduation, and when he becomes a member of the academy only happens the first year. Thanks everyone for the hotel suggesions.

It is weird that he is going to college in this location since I worked in Falmouth for 2 summers when I was in college. I loved my time there. I was home by Labor Day though.

Good luck to your niece in whatever direction she decides to go.

 

[Evi]

You can rent the cottages on the beach in Turo they are about 1700 for the week during peak season. But honestly you will not find beach front for less. Better to find something close and ride your bicycle to the beach.

 

[duffy]

I must present an argument to the "don't go in early June" argument.

We got a very cheap, last-minute deal, and went in early June 2010, for our first trip to the Cape. We are not people to want to spend hours swimming, so we didn't care that the water in the ocean and bay was freezing. We biked, hiked, drove, explored. We visited little antique shops, strolled along the beaches, relaxed by the pool and just generally enjoyed the Cape. We took the ferry to Martha's Vineyard, and spent a few hours there.

We didn't get to swim in the ocean or the bay. We also enjoyed practically empty beaches, little to no traffic, and practically never had to wait for anything!! We've been back in August-what a difference! Having to endure such crowds, just so we have warmer water, just wasn't worth it to us.

I loved going to the Cape in early June, and we're thinking of going back again, but we're thinking of September, to avoid the crowds.

 

[pershing]

I'm in Eastham and walked Nauset Light Beach yesterday. Put my hand in the water and gotta say, it wasn't that cold. We had a very warm winter here, I think that made a big difference. There were 20 surfers in the water also, and more putting their gear on in the parking lot. So it may have been an unusual day.

Anyway, I know alot of people renting their homes this summer. More people with second homes and even people with primary residences are renting out their homes for the summer and staying with relatives. (Construction workers still have few jobs around here-families hurting) Many close to the beach. So I would try the local vacation rental agencies before you settle for the hotels. I pass them everyday on the way to work, but haven't really noticed their names.

There are also many B&B's that could be reasonable and beachfront. My parents used to do that when they first retired here and people returned year after year!

 

[pershing]

btw- Nauset Schools get out the 19th of June. School bus times are 7:30 to 8:30 and 2:30 to 3:30. Both sides of Route 6 have to stop when a bus is letting kids off. So it can get congested around that time.

 

[Amii]

I'm in Eastham and walked Nauset Light Beach yesterday. Put my hand in the water and gotta say, it wasn't that cold. We had a very warm winter here, I think that made a big difference. There were 20 surfers in the water also, and more putting their gear on in the parking lot. So it may have been an unusual day.
QUOTE]

I went to South Cape Beach in Mashpee yesterday and the water was warmer than it usually is at this time of the year.

 

[jkclark68]

Glad to hear the water is pretty warm. We are renting for a week in July and I despise the freezing water. As someone who spent her summers in the water in Maine, I should be used to it, but after having my third child, I just can't take the cold water. I'm even more excited for my vacation now!!!!

I know a couple families in my area (about 2 hours north of the Cape) who own vacation homes, and they have all spent time there already and spent time at the beaches. It's been a great season so far...hoping it continues!!!

 

[kbmt143]

I second the BaySide Resort in Yarmouth. Stayed there last August for girls weekend. Taking the family at the end of June for a couple days to celebrate the end of school year. If you want to be beachfront, Wildwood or Cape May, NJ are very nice places. We head there for our big summer vacation in the middle of August. Can't wait to have my biggies in the sand!

 

[ctpooh]

Something you might not have considered... We are going to a wedding in the end of June and after searching for hotels and seeing the prices I thought I was going to lose my lunch.. So we are camping, there is a nice campground in Brewster, great reviews and we are staying for 5 nights on a preferred site for a total of what a lot of our friends are paying for 1 night in a hotel.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

We have stayed at this bed and breakfast twice. Absolutley love it, and it sits right on the beach.

http://www.bytheseaguests.com/