What are the most romantic things to do on Cape Cod? For many, an occasional romantic getaway is essential to a loving relationship. How to keep that spark going long past the meet-cute stage? Cuddle up in a hotel or inn where sand and sea take center stage.
Your trip to Cape Cod is no-frills-chill escape, especially off season, when you might have the beaches to yourselves. When you visit Cape Cod Massachusetts, don’t expect a big scene (except, perhaps, in Provincetown). “The Cape” is more subtle than that. It’s drawn many, many generations of vacationers and second-home owners due to its natural grandeur.
The Getaway Mavens have written about most towns on this flexed arm-shaped Atlantic Ocean peninsula, so we let you in on our favorite romantic things to do on Cape Cod, as well as our choices for lodgings: from esteemed resorts to dreamy B&B’s. Just follow the links in each recommendation.
Cape Cod Highways And Travel Information
As a frame of reference, it will take about 1.5 hours to traverse the 65 miles of Cape Cod from end to end (Bourne or Sandwich to Provincetown) if you drive without stopping. The Cape is not a small island, just FYI.
Two bridges connect Cape Cod to the mainland. The Bourne Bridge becomes Route 28, which takes the southern (Atlantic Ocean) side of the Cape. The Sagamore Bridge is Route 6 and 6A, which takes you along the northern (Cape Cod Bay) side of the Cape.
From Bourne Bridge – Route 28
From the Bourne Bridge it takes about 20 minutes to get to Falmouth MA. Another few minutes from there to Woods Hole.
Continuing east on Route 28, you’ll pass through Hyannis – the Kennedy Family compound – Harwichport and ultimately to Chatham at the elbow of the Cape. Chatham is at the extreme southeastern point of Cape Cod. Continuing north to Provincetown, Route 28 merges with Route 6 in Orleans: so from there follow instructions from Eastham (below).
From Sagamore Bridge – Route 6
Begin in Sandwich and then stay on 6A, which takes you off the main (and unexciting) highway, Route 6. From there, it’s 30 minutes to Dennis – from there 15 minutes to Brewster – and another 15 minutes to Eastham.
From Eastham it’s 15 minutes to Wellfleet. And from Wellfleet, another 25 minutes to Provincetown.
Romantic Things to do on Cape Cod
Discover Dunes – and Your Favorite Cape Cod Beach
The Cape Cod National Seashore, a National Park established by President John F. Kennedy, takes up nearly 75% of the whole of Cape Cod. JFK signed the bill authorizing the protection of 44,000 acres along 40 miles of shoreline as a place “to preserve the natural and historic values of Cape Cod for the inspiration and enjoyment of people all over the United States.”
Art’s Dune Tours
Much of the National Seashore consists of sand dunes. If you just have one afternoon to spend in Provincetown, take a one-hour off-road excursion with Art’s Dune Tours for a unique perspective of Cape Cod history and landscape.
Province Land Visitor’s Center
On the two-mile bike ride from downtown Provincetown to the Province Land Visitor’s Center at the tip of the Cape, dunes surround you like mountains. Part of the Cape Cod National Seashore, it’s worth the drive or bike trip to get a 360-degree view of the waterfront, dunes, and shacks.
Race Point Beach
From here, it’s a mile to the Race Point Beach and Lighthouse, and the Old Harbor Life Saving Station Museum. Park rangers can even customize a day of exploration based on your interests, even if you’d just like to grab a patch of sand and veg.
Bike It
One of the most popular – and romantic – things to do on Cape Cod, your seashore getaway would not be complete without an easy ride on the flat, attraction-laced 25.5-mile (each way) Cape Cod Rail Trail: starting in Yarmouth and ending in Wellfleet. You can bring your own bike or rent one in several shops along the trail.
Get The Real Story of the Pilgrims And Some Good Exercise Along With It
And here you thought the Pilgrims first landed in Plymouth. The truth is, the Mayflower passengers settled in Plymouth, but they first came ashore in what is now Provincetown.
For a bird’s eye view of Cape Cod Bay, the town of Provincetown, and much of the Cape, there’s no better perspective than from the top of the 252 ft tall Pilgrim Monument. Climb 116 steps and 60 ramps to the viewing platform for optimal views.
The Monument, the tallest all-granite structure in the United States, was completed in 1910 to commemorate the Mayflower’s 102 passengers who landed first in what is now Provincetown. It also is testament to the 41 men onboard who signed the Mayflower Compact on November 11, 1620 in this very harbor.
Take A Hike
Salt Pond Visitors Center, Eastham
Cape Cod is threaded with hiking trails, many, of course, along beaches. Rangers at the Salt Pond Visitors Center will guide you to some of the most picturesque trails on the Cape, including the popular Fort Hill Trail and Nauset Marsh. Sandbars and marsh grass lend texture to the Atlantic Ocean waterscape below where a mile-long path dips down into a cat-tailed rimmed shoreline.
Monomoy NWR, Chatham
Extreme weather has separated parts of Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge from Morris Island in Chatham, creating several barrier islands that include the larger Monomoy Island. With a total 3,500 acres of protected land, Monomoy NWR is ultimately a haven for our fine feathered friends, and a wilderness to us humans.
Smell The Roses and Rhododendrons
Gardening and flower fans will thrill at the copious collection of rhododendrons and other fauna and flora, at the multi-faceted, 3-museum, outdoor sculpture Heritage Museums Gardens in Sandwich. You can spend a whole day meandering the 100-acre grounds together.
Eat A Lobster Roll
Personal taste is a very subjective thing, but most can agree that some of the best lobster rolls on Cape Cod can be found at nearly-falling-down shacks, or right off the boat fish markets. Sesuit Harbor Café in Dennis and Mac’s Shack in Wellfleet, and Cobie’s Clam Shack in Brewster fit the first category, Chatham Pier Fish Market (Chatham), the second.
Perhaps the most longstanding Cape Cod tradition (over 45 years!) is to gather with the hungry hordes outside at Arnold’s Lobster & Clam Bar in Eastham for consummate fried and steamed clams, delicate “onion straws” and all manner of fresh shellfish, seafood, burgers, and of course, lobster rolls.
Visit An Historic Lighthouse
There’s something mysterious, sometimes dark, but also beautiful and life-affirming about lighthouses. It’s why a slew of romance novels are set in these lonely, wind and sea-swept towers. There are 14 historical lighthouses on Cape Cod. But if you don’t have time to see them all – visit the one that serves as the logo on the Cape Cod Potato Chips packaging: the Nauset Lighthouse. No big surprise that the Nauset Light is one of the most photographed on the Cape.
Get Steamy in Private At A Drive In
The last of its kind on Cape Cod (and one of just 300 left nationwide), the Wellfleet Drive In in Wellfleet MA has been a family and couples favorite since 1957. Yes it’s age old, age old. But nothing says summertime romance like a drive-in-theater. Whether you’re 16 or 86, neck with your honey while watching a first-run flick from the comfort of your own car.
Watch Some Whales
Most of the commercial Whale Watching excursions leave from Provincetown – and there are a slew of them. Most vessels are large, crowded with families, and not the most optimal for a romantic few hours – unless said whales come close to the boat. Then, all bets are off.
It is possible to see whales from land. And the best place to do so on Cape Cod is from Race Point Beach: a much better option for duos who’d like to be as alone as much as possible. To increase your odds of getting really close to these regal sea creatures, and you’re amenable, hike out to Race Point Lighthouse (4 mile round trip).
Visit A Fantastic Museum
Sandwich Glass Museum, Sandwich
Throughout the 1800’s Sandwich, MA served as our nation’s pressed glass manufacturing center, and in the clever, engaging Sandwich Glass Museum you’ll be privy to glass-blowing demonstrations, an ingenious holographic depiction of a colonist’s use of glass in her home, and glass shelves brimming with the colorful crystal that made this town famous.
Cape Cod Museum of Art, Dennis
With more than its share of famous artists, Cape Cod residents were irritated by the fact that much of what was created here was shipped off Cape into the hands of collectors. This beautiful sunlit soaring space – the phenomenal Cape Cod Museum of Art – was built to keep at least some key pieces of art “on Cape.”
PAAM, Provincetown Art Association and Museum
Encompassing five galleries and over 3,000 works of art, including 96 drawings by Edward Hopper and 69 by Jo Hopper (the second largest collection of Hopper works outside of the Whitney Museum) in its permanent collection, PAAM should certainly be a stop on your gallery crawl.
Edward Gorey House, Yarmouthport
A chip of Charles Addams, a snippet of Lemony Snicket, a tad Tim Burton, Edward Gorey brought cutsie macabre to high culture. You’ll discover his opera furs, first illustrations, love of Balanchine and other quirks of the cartoonist, playwright, set and costume designer himself in the Cape Cottage he called home.
Ferry to An Island On The Perfect Day Trip
For the ultimate in romantic gestures, head to an island, with waters nearly as blue-green as the Caribbean. It’s just a 45 minute ferry ride from Woods Hole to Martha’s Vineyard. There – you can rent a bike and pedal 6 miles on Seaview Ave. from Oak Bluffs to Edgartown, and then across the island 25 miles to the magnificent Aquinnah Cliffs (formerly, Gay Head) and its iconic lighthouse.
Grab the Brass Ring
Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard is home to the Flying Horses – the country’s oldest continuously operating platform carousel. Built in 1876 for a Coney Island NY amusement park, the merry-go-round moved to its Martha’s Vineyard enclosure in 1884. So, even in rainy weather, you can still try to grab the brass ring for your beloved, as generations of couples have done.
Stay in a Romantic Cape Cod Inn
Candleberry Inn, Brewster
Candleberry Inn in Brewster MA – currently, and for good reason, is rated #1 Inn on the Cape by tripadvisor. With a recent change of ownership Candleberry Inn has retained its country-fine charm and upped its breakfast game: it does help when one of the owners is a chef.
The Captains House, Chatham
The Captains House Inn in Chatham was built for romantic getaways. Literally. The young packet clipper ship Captain, Hiram Harding, built this Greek Revival home in 1839 as a first-year anniversary gift to his wife. New owners in 2019 have kept the 1800’s seafaring-captain’s vibe alive.
Belfry Inn and Bistro, Sandwich
There are no bats at the superb Belfry Inn and Bistro. What you will find are opulent Jacuzzi guest rooms – soaring ceilings, beds topped with high- thread-count sheets, and morning sun streaming through stained-glass windows – in a former Catholic Church.
Sea Crest Beach Hotel, Falmouth
It’s not a B&B, but the Sea Crest Beach Hotel in Falmouth, is that rare property – right on the shore. This beachfront, sand in your toes hotel is a favorite of many for a reason. Like Mallory Square in Key West, humans are drawn the Sea Crest Beach Hotel for the breathtaking sunset over Buzzard’s Bay.
Ocean Edge Resort and Golf Club, Brewster
Again, not a cute little B&B, but the gorgeously set Ocean Edge Resort and Golf Club with its own private beach and golf course, has a romantic-tragic-philanthropic backstory as home to Roland and Addie Nickerson (who donated the land for Nickerson State Park). Dine at one or all three restaurants in the fieldstone mansion: the most formal inspired by County Roscommon in Ireland. This fireplace-warmed space, the most romantic of all, was the Nickerson’s dining room.
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