Cape Cod

Cape Cod curls out into the Atlantic for about a hundred kilometres and ends in a hook at Provincetown, and its outer arm has been protected since 1961 as the Cape Cod National Seashore, which is why forty miles of it are dune, marsh and beach rather than houses. The villages behind are grey-shingled and hydrangea-heavy, with clam shacks, oyster beds at Wellfleet and a bike trail running much of the length on an old railway bed. Provincetown at the tip is a long-established artists' and LGBTQ resort town with a working fishing fleet and whale-watching boats going out to Stellwagen Bank, one of the most reliable humpback grounds in the North Atlantic. The water is cold, seals are everywhere, and where seals are, white sharks follow.

What you actually see

• The National Seashore - forty miles of protected dune and Atlantic beach.
• Provincetown - the artists' town at the tip, with whale-watching boats.
• Wellfleet oysters - the beds and the shacks that serve them.
• The Cape Cod Rail Trail - the long bike path down the old railway line.

When to go

June to September is the season, with July and August extremely busy and expensive; late May, September and October are cheaper, quieter and often lovelier. Whale watching runs roughly April to October. Traffic over the canal bridges on summer Fridays and Sundays is legendary.

Honest expectations

In high summer the Cape is jammed, accommodation costs multiply and the bridge traffic can add hours. The Atlantic water is genuinely cold even in August. White sharks follow the seal population along the outer beaches and beaches close periodically; take the flags and signage seriously. Much of the shoreline is private, so the National Seashore beaches are where public access is.

Nearby

Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket are reached by ferry; Boston is ninety minutes northwest.