Travel Guide: Provincetown | Cape Cod
guiding you through the Cape, town by town, starting at the tip + avoiding the crowds (when we can).
Provincetown, Massachusetts is everything. Art. Pride. Freedom. Beaches. Expression. Fashion. Parties. Hidden Gems. Rainbows. Fisherman. Paintings. Whales. Wharfs. Pirates. History. Parades. Treasures.
There's renowned seafood restaurants and dive bars, waterfront cocktail hot spots and new brewhouses. A pizza by the slice counter with a hidden bocce court. Clothing that ranges from wild consignment stores to casual surf shops. Seaside inspired and otherwise pristinely curated home décor boutiques. Marine Supply Companies. The Pilgrim Monument. Penny candy shoppes pulling homemade salt water taffy. Art gallery after art gallery: stunning oils on canvas to unique and funky work on display. Towards the outskirts of each distinct end (East and West), quaint B+B's start to pop up. At the very tip, a picturesque jetty juts outward into the harbor connecting Long Point Peninsula.
DINING OUT
#1 all time is the Lobster Pot. Exceptional seafood restaurants line Provincetown Harbor. None compare to the greatest of all time with a humble yet lively presence. It never fails to deliver the best seafood dishes, cocktails, wine and service. It fires on all cylinders and it has been for years. Yes, Lobster Pot is Ptown’s GOAT.
Top Of The Pot Bar contends for best-of in the drink category. The Bloody Marys here are of Cape legend. My Mom has lived year-round on Cape Cod since 1979. She will order it every time, even at dinner, and remind you there is not a better Bloody Mary to be found anywhere. The vodka is infused with black peppercorn, lemon peel and pepperoncini. Zip-Zip-Zippity-do-da-day.
Strangers + Saints promises to be a romantic east end date night punctuated by elegant plates of food. This was one of those lucky vacations nights where we took both the kids (asleep) in the stroller and dined on the super dark and intimate garden patio under heat lamps. The staff were very accommodating to our family of four. I meandered inside and yearn to reappear to bask in more of that loot plunder pillage and play (go there and you’ll see what I mean) atmosphere.
The Red Inn — Put also in the STAY category for a $plurge or have a fantastic dinner in their cozy and historic waterfront dining room. In the west end on the tip of the outer cape enjoy beautifully cooked fish, such as pan roasted local cod in lemon garlic confit, with applewood bacon and rosemary potatoes. This ones a charmer!
Tin Pan Alley — in the heart of the Commercial Street bustle are a generous bunch who welcome families. Choose from appetizers like piping hot artichoke hearts to crispy coconut shrimp. Pictured below is a blackened lemony swordfish with broccolini entrée. Taste Of The Cape is a nice offering of mini fish n chips, clam chowder + a mini lobster roll. They also have a fun bar scene with live music.
DRINK + DRINK SOME MORE
Harbor Lounge is a regular on our hit list for juicy coupe cocktails in a light filled, inclusive space. With kids or without, large groups to small, it has been so good to us over the years!
Old Colony Tap is not somewhere I am rolling up with my kids in a stroller. (Harbor Lounge and Gov. Bradford are a yes for this). OCT is a salty dive to kickback with a Budweiser and a shot of Old Grandads. To mingle with hardworking fishermen surrounded by a salvaged merchant aesthetic.
Governor Bradford has the freshest draft beer list in town. Think: Trilluim Break & Bake IPA, Japas Yuzu Rice Lager, Bissell Bros. Substance IPA or a Ruthaus Pilsner. The bar is consumed by dark woods and outside a bright graffiti painted patio. If you visit, see if you can find the Anthony Bourdain quote.
Ptown’s historic East and West Ends are distinct neighborhoods oozing with charm. Dripping with harborside sophistication. You will not find anywhere else on Cape Cod quite like the extremely tasteful, architecturally refined, yet classic Cape homes thriving here. Compact uses of space on small downtown meets beachfront lots mean the homes feel modest in size, but not in attractiveness. With visually stunning gardens to boot, or a harbor front yard at low tide, these are ideal neighborhoods to call home base or meander into on a trip.
STAY @ AIRBNBs
Just The Tip also know as The Gatehouse is a super large 3br 2ba west end historic home. Bosting modern renovations and snazzy meets snarky décor, it is also filled to the brim with the owners eclectic art collection. Everything about our stay here was easy and breezy. Showering in the bathroom with jewel toned, rich teal Peacock wallpaper was mega vibes. Our family stayed here with my sister, brother-in-law, my young nieces, and my Mom for my cousins wedding weekend in late September 2023.
My east end Airbnb recommendation does not have a whimsical name. Vacasa named it: 2BR | Balcony | Partial AC | Beach Access. Perfect. My job here is done. This is a small condo as opposed to a spacious home, among a cluster of condos where locals live. We stayed here as a family when Ryder was a baby. The beach across the street is more of a walking beach (small, seaweed-y) at high tide, but you could also spend a couple hours lounging. Low tide reveals stretching sand bars.
Traveling with babies? The ERGO BABY CARRIER + UPPA BABY VISTA STROLLER (+ MESA CAR SEAT) are our most used items. They go with us everywhere!
Both Airbnbs are on the outskirts of each end. Neither are pictured in any of these photos, just jump over to Airbnb (links above) for that. They are medium-walkable to the center of town. (15 to 25 minutes — are you fast paced? Are you wheeling kids in a stroller? Stopping to take it all in?) Whether you choose to stroll or skip along the white picket fence-lined brick sidewalks, prepare to feel content and allured.
STAY @ Hotels
Coincidentally, the hotels I have rested my tipsy head at over the years are adjacent to both of the Airbnbs above, respectively. A hotel room feels more apropos for traveling solo / as a couple / sans young kids. Both The Provincetown Inn and The Harbor View Hotel (clean + contemporary) are waterfront lodging options on the affordable side.
As I alluded in my opening paragraph, The Historic East and West Ends of town are separated in the middle by a crux of fine art galleries, apothecaries, surf shops, dispensaries, scoops of ice cream and some of Cape Cods most exemplary dining on Commercial Street. A sensational and iconic strip that beams with pride, the community is at once vibrant and eclectic, artistic and refined, nautical and bold.
BEACHES
Race Point Beach is Atlantic Ocean facing situated at the crown of the Cape on the very outer edge. ORV oversand permits are sold annually and by the week. The uninterrupted beauty of Race Point dunes lead with good intentions. They are vast and largely protected. Hopefully a Piping Plover nest won’t keep you out.
ORV = Off Road Vehicle. You must have a 4-wheel drive and/or an SCV (self contained vehicle i.e. campervan, RV) and follow the detailed instructions here to obtain an oversand pass.
The remote trails bumping and winding you though the sands and the dune flora are where it’s at, but you can also visit Race Point Beach via the good old parking lot!
Herring Cove Beach. locals bike in from town to these laid back sands stretching from the bay towards the Atlantic. Long walks on the beach await you. There is plenty of parking here. The Province Lands Bike Trails are connected so you can also park at the visitor center and bike from/to/between both here and Race Point.
Beaching it out here is, and believe me when I give this sermon, unlike anywhere else on the Cape. (And I’m obsessed with every town.) It is giving vast province lands energy that washes through your salty windswept body like a resplendent wave cascading in with the tide. It feels like you’re at the end of the earth. Oh wait…
Provincetown in the summer is a rainbow buoys and lobster pots great time. A seasonal house frenzy and tourist mecca if you will. Indian summer season (September) and shoulder seasons (May/early June, October) are lovely times to be a part of the goings on.
I have been visiting Ptown since I was a kid. “Mom/Dad, why are those two women making out?” ~ age 8, intro to same sex love 101. Through high school — 4th of July best fireworks ever + Shop Therapy delights! Then as a young adult able to experience the bar scene — to now vacationing here with my own kids! It is a place I crave to return with each passing season.
I am lucky to have grown up on Cape Cod and excited to share these guides with you. Do not hesitate to let me know what questions you have, if I missed your favorite spot, or how I can better refine them.
(I am very well aware I omitted some of my own favorite dining destinations — there are so many. The Mews! Spiritus Pizza. Bubalas! I’ll keep refining this!)
Substack is all about the network and pushing ourselves as writers. Imagine you just got a new assignment from your editor ~
from her Substack Writers At Work Friday Office Party: a writing prompt connection.I responded to
. He Posted:“PLACES TO GO TO ESCAPE THE SUMMER HEAT. This is of course critical to those of us who live in Texas, especially after last year’s heat and drought. Lol! I could also use it as a writing retreat. Never want to see a writer panting over a keyboard!”
Too funny! Geoff responded that New England is not too far for him to travel. Geoff, if you have any interest to escape the Texas heat on Cape Cod, Ptown is an artists haven and could be a perfect retreat for writing!!
Oh wow!!! The Lobster Pot looks like a real treat—I'm drooling over here! Your photos reminded me of my home on the East Coast of Canada and it really brought me back. The vibe of Provincetown reminds me of some towns near my home.
Your photos really connect with so many of the artful & historic vibes of Provincetown. Loved this article. Love a stroll down MacMillan Wharf with the old but sturdy fishing vessels. The Expedition Whydah Museum at the end of MacMillan Pier is moving out and the sharks are moving in! An exhibit to learn about white sharks and research. We'll have to take the kids to the Whydah Pirates Museum in W.Yarmouth.