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My sister is coming from Europe this summer, and we want to stay somewhere on the beach for a week. The problem is I took her to the Cape last time - Blue Water in Yarmouth, and it was too low key for her. She travels a lot, and she has pretty high expectations . I am thinking would one of the islands near the Cape be more fun, Newport or may be the Hamptons, which I don't know much about. Budget is not an issue, and it would be nice to be close to restaurants and entertainment. It doesn't have to be in Mass. Hotels or cottages are OK.
This is sort of my complaint about NE beach vacations as well. At least there is nightlife in Provincetown albeit gay nightlife. Everywhere else once you are done shopping for kites and eating dinner there is nothin' goin' on. Maybe try to spice up wherever you pick with a yacht charter, although it's not like you can toss the anchor and jump off for a swim in the icy cold Atlantic so even that is not tremendous.
When I try to asses the "happeningness" of s place I always look for music venues in the area. I might not go to the venue but I like to stay in a place that doesn't roll the sidewalks up at 9 and a good indicator of that is music and dancing on offer at multiple locations.
I would vote for Newport as having the most to do (and even that's not much) in combination with beach/yacht/fancy.
My sister is coming from Europe this summer, and we want to stay somewhere on the beach for a week. The problem is I took her to the Cape last time - Blue Water in Yarmouth, and it was too low key for her. She travels a lot, and she has pretty high expectations . I am thinking would one of the islands near the Cape be more fun, Newport or may be the Hamptons, which I don't know much about. Budget is not an issue, and it would be nice to be close to restaurants and entertainment. It doesn't have to be in Mass. Hotels or cottages are OK.
Any insights would be appreciated!
The White Elephant or the Veranda on Nantucket.
On Martha's Vineyard, the Winnetu Oceanside or if you want more nightlife I could suggest Nahua House in Oak Bluffs.
Out of all of the places, I'd suggest Newport with the caveat being that I've never been to the Hamptons so I can't compare.
Newport has great restaurants (from high end and formal to bistro style to quirky bohemian type restaurants). It also has pretty good shopping. The nightlife is better than anything on the Cape or the Islands (again, don't know about the Hamptons). As far as accommodations go, there's plenty to choose from. You can stay in a luxury hotel (I suggest 41 North, I stayed with my girlfriend last summer- they have standard rooms as well as small "cottages") as the location is perfect and it's a good blend of subtle modern luxury and quaint New England charm. You can also rent (try VRBO or Homeaway) some nice cottages.
The public beaches in Newport aren't as great as the other places. They're also about a mile (or more depending on the beach) from downtown Newport. I would advise avoiding 1st Beach (Easton's Beach) as it's the most touristy and crowded. 2nd beach is much nicer. 3rd is calmer and quieter (both the water and the crowds) than the other two as it's a sheltered beach (not exposed like the others). Both 2nd and 3rd are very pretty. There are some excellent private beaches, especially off of Ocean Drive. While you can't access them as a visitor, many rental cottages and homes offer a beach pass with the rental. When you're searching vacation rentals, read and see if the house includes a private beach pass. That's a big plus.
As far as the Islands go, I prefer Nantucket. Martha's Vineyard is larger and more quirky, but it's also decentralized as there are a few different towns throughout the Island. Nantucket is smaller and has one larger, more centralized town center (well, technically two if you include Siasconset, but it's very small). Nantucket's town center has more of a historic, upscale look and feel to it (cobblestone streets, a lot of brick, boutiques, etc) than anything on MV.
If you did the Cape, Chatham Bars is very nice. Much more upscale than Blue Waters (I've stayed there too). Chatham also has a cute town center with shops and restaurants though there's not much in the way of nightlife. Provincetown is very cool. The beaches are beautiful and there is a lot of nightlife, but most of it is really oriented toward the gay community. Frankly, that's not really a deal breaker for me (I've enjoyed it and I'm a straight guy), but it does make it more one dimensional than a place like Newport. There are tons of great inns and cottages near P-Town.
Martha's Vineyard would be high end enough, but probably too low key. Newport is quite nice as well and has some good nightlife, but honestly, if you want high end and lots of excitement, I would go with the Hamptons. Lots of bars, clubs, restaurants with celebrities, socialites and the very wealthy around.
The problem is that it is "late" to book a great beach vacation at
an upscale location for this summer. I know, I'm a travel agent and
have booked the type of vacation you're looking 6 months to
a year in advance.
Check out the Wequassett Inn in Chatham/Harwich. Very upscale with fantastic amenities and top notch dining.
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. I am thinking would one of the islands near the Cape be more fun, Newport or may be the Hamptons, which I don't know much about. Budget is not an issue, and it would be nice to be close to restaurants and entertainment. It doesn't have to be in Mass. Hotels or cottages are OK.
beach vacation
