Family resort near Boston?

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Staples

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Flying to Boston in June for a two week holiday. Never there before. Reckon the first week will be spent in or near the city meeting relatives.

Would like to spend at least a week on a nice seaside resort with plenty of things to do for our four year old. Have heard of Cape Cod, Martha's vineyard etc but don't know much about them.

Would appreciate other users' experiences of family/seaside holidays in the area.

Thanks
 
Only been to the Cape once and that was for a couple of days in Spetember 4-5 years ago. Stayed near Plymouth with friends, what amazed me was that the beaches were much quieter in comparison with European beaches.
I wouldn't describe the towns on the Cape as resorts like a Spanish resort, with the exception of Provincetown they tend to be very quiet
 
Cape Cod is nice, as previous poster said the crowds are all out (in all senses of the word :)) in Provincetown, but the rest of the cape is less hectic.
Hotels are not generally brillant, most of them are motels and are simple but adequate. House rental is the way to go, but don't expect anything cheap. I rented a house on the net in Indian Neck about five years ago for instance, great house with pool and bbq, but it was nearly three grand for the week at the time. Was ok because we had all the family in it, but I felt that it was expensive nonetheless. Things may have changed now with the downturn, worth googling "cape cod rentals" to see what's out there.
Another possibility that will be a bit cheaper, similar terrain, is to go north to Maine. Kennybunkport (have I spelled that right?) is lovely (the Bush Clan have a home there), and there are plenty of holiday cottages for rent. Nearer Boston you could try Plum Island, again lots of holiday lets on the beach, lovely location., great seafood restaurants. If in Maine, be sure to try the Maine Diner for the chowder.
 
I've had a couple of great holidays in Cape Cod, both in Falmouth and in Chatham, which was particularly nice. The beaches are lovely, and the heat isn't oppresive. We stayed in a motel in Falmouth first time round, which was grand if fairly basic. It did include basic kitchen facilities. In Chatham, we rented a chalet at a reasonable cost. Again the facilities were fairly basic, but clean and comfortable. I'm not sure if there are a whole lot of 'family' activities, but you could Google and see what's going on. There is whale watching off Provincetown, which was good fun.

I'd love to go back to Cape Cod - the whole place was very clean, safe, laid back - with loads of great seafood at reasonably prices.
 
Some good beaches around the West Yarmouth region. Hyannis is a nice if you want to take trips out to Nantucket or Martha's Vinyard.

Some great fishing to be had.

It gets really busy from the 4th of july through to September. The roads are clogged but you should be ok in June.
 
Try Kittery and Old Orchard (Maine) and Portsmouth (New Hampshire). Kittery Trading Post is a mega outlet store (in a sea of outlet stores). Try a bite at The Weather Vane.
 
I lived in Boston for several years. When going to Cape Cod, travel well beyond the exit for Hyannis and head towards Provincetown or "P-Town" as the locals call it. About 5 miles before P-Town, you will come across Wellfleet and there's a beach on the East side called Cahoon Hollow Beach. The beaches on the West side are not as good. Cahoon Hollow Beach is unspoilt and under-developed but spectacular. Search for pictures on the web. Marthas Vineyard and better still, Nantucket are worth the ferry rides (from Hyannis Port, I think). Up north of Boston, you have Cranes Beach, which is fantastic. After July 4th, you will be charged a fee per day to park in most beaches and it can be quite steep but the services are good (toilets, showers). Rockport is another beautiful village north of Boston (the setting for the film Mermaids with Cher). West of Boston is a village where Norman Rockwell used in a lot of his pictures is Old Sturbridge Village. On the way down to Cape Cod, is Plymouth (full of history on the Pilgrims) where they have Cranberry Farms (Ocean Spray factory). If you have time to travel to Rhode Island, go to Newport Mansions (homes of Vanderbilts, among others). Visit the Childrens Museum in Boston city. For shopping, I recommend the Outlets in Wrentham, which is about 1 hour's drive SouthWest of Boston. Hope this helps.
 
Sorry about the long post but I must mention "The North End" for fantastic Italian cooking. It's an area of Boston close to the center of the city where a lot of the Italian immigrants settled and kept the traditional cafes and family run restaurants. Many of the locals there still speak in Italian. You feel like you are in a Soprano's set when you walk through there with all the big guys leaning against the cadillacs shooting the breeze.
 
Hi Redtop

Thanks for the insights. I'll certainly check out those Italian restaurants when in Boston. I'm a big fan.

For the rest of the trip, I've begun to get a better sense of the geography of the area. If travelling without children, I'd favour visiting most of he places mentioned, if only fleetingly.

With Junior in tow, however, the preferred option is a bucket-and-spade type holiday with some good local amenities, restaurants, etc. I was actually thinking of P-town (because of the whale-watching) but get some sense that it might be too manic. On the other hand, I'd soon tire of "quaint" if that's all that was on offer.
 
Staples, P-Town itself is a great spot but you should probably be aware that it attracts a group of a certain sexual persuasion. As long as you know up front, then you will be prepared. It's a good idea to visit there with your partner, rather than on your own. Perfectly harmless, but some sensitive people may be a bit surprised. It also has a large artist community who sell their paintings & crafts in small shops. It's the dunes & beaches a few miles before you get to the town itself that are more of a family attraction.
 
RedTop said:
Staples, P-Town itself is a great spot but you should probably be aware that it attracts a group of a certain sexual persuasion. As long as you know up front, then you will be prepared. It's a good idea to visit there with your partner, rather than on your own. Perfectly harmless, but some sensitive people may be a bit surprised. It also has a large artist community who sell their paintings & crafts in small shops. It's the dunes & beaches a few miles before you get to the town itself that are more of a family attraction.
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Thanks Redtop

I'd read something about some of the "locals" alright. It wouldn't bother me but given that the little guy gets upset with parts of "Finding Nemo" I don't think I'll risk it.

Are there other towns that might fit the bill?
 
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