Boston in summer - any ideas where to stay near a beach

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We have booked our holiday next year with a bit of travel and are finishing up with a week in Boston. We thought we would go to the beach for a few days - does anyone have any recommendations? Our children are 12 11 and 9. Thanks

Cape Cod

Or ask Mananny

Thanks for that. Anyone else?

The cape is the obvious answer and there is tons to do on the cape for kids of that age as well as fantasctic beaches. You need to go up cape (beyond the elbow) for the best beaches. On the Atlantic side (the National sea shore)the surf can get quite rough whereas on the cape side it is a bit calmer. And if you are on the Cape with kids of that age you must do a Whale Watch, you can do them from Boston but you spend your whole time driving from Boston to the feeding grounds, if you go from P'town you are close to the feeding grounds and get much longer looking at the whales.

Forgot to say, if you are going to the Cape during the summer it will be busy especially at the weekends.

Roads on the Cape will be busy, on a Friday evening/Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon/evening roads to and from the cape will be just impossible. There are only two bridges connecting the cape to the mainlnd and tey can't cope when eastern Mass all tries to get onto the cape at the same time.

thanks DIOM. Is there anywhere on cape you would recommend?

Bit north of Boston is Cape Ann - town of Gloucester - very pretty does not have the traffic problems that cape Cod has. You can go out on whale watching trips from Gloucester if that is of interest and there are some beautiful beaches here

deffo stay half way up the cod otherwise you will be driving up and down all the time

Provincetown on Cape Cod is lovely. Beaches, Dunes, the ocean (on both sides), whale watching etc. We stayed there for 3 days or so and didn't need to go anywhere else. Lots of shops and B&Bs.

Anywhere "up cape" or "mid cape" will be good - if you look at a map and imagine the cape as an arm, then Provincetown (P'town) is the fingertips and anywhere on or pass the elbow is upcape e.g. Truro, Wellfleet, Brewster, Chatham.

Generally the further upcape you go the more expensive it gets. So yes as SB says P'town is great but expensive (but definitely the place to get the whale watch from).

The waves can get a bit high, we were there mid August on a calm day on the Boston (sheletered side) and the surf was two foot, if any of yours are nervous of the sea then visit Nickerson state Park, free entry if you are not staying overnight, and lakes (ponds they call them) with beaches and roped off swimming areas.

Having said that when we go we stay in Hyannis (we have family there) and drive everywhere, manageable as long as you don't do the big drives when the roads are busiest at the weekend.

Thanks for all your help. will have a look at all recommendations and hopefully get something