Barnstable, Centerville, Yarmouth, Dennis or Mashpee - ??

I have looked at some of the info on the Cape Cod forums and have found some vacation homes in the above mentioned areas. Now, my question to you all is which one is the best fit for us?

Us being a family of 4, 2 kids aged 8 and 12, looking for good beaches, small town feeling, real Cape ambience etc.

Thanks for helping out!

Barnstable, Centerville, Yarmouth, Dennis or Mashpee - ??

You%26#39;d have to be more specific about the location of the houses....

Those are all mid-cape towns that have areas of the ';real Cape ambiance'; but also have commercial areas (chain stores, restaurants, malls, etc...) that some tourist aren%26#39;t into.

Of those towns though, Dennis has the better beaches as they have the north side ';Bay'; beaches, as well as the south side ';Sound'; beaches.

Barnstable, Centerville, Yarmouth, Dennis or Mashpee - ??

Mashpee has a great beach called South Cape, and a Children%26#39;s Museaum, but it doesn%26#39;t have a that Cape Cod small town feel. Falmouth is the next town over and has all that you want plus more! Check out the web site for the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce.

Ok. some more details about the houses we have found:

Centerville - Waterfront home on fresh water lake. 2 decks overlook the water less than a mile to Craigville Beach .

Yarmouth - faces beautiful Long Pond, distance to beach: Across the street.

Barnstable Village - waterfront home overlooking Barnstable Harbor and the ever changing tidal marsh, distance to beach: 5 min walk to Millway Beach.

Mashpee - Set in the woods, back from the road is this brand new Cape, distance to beach: 1 minute walk.

South Yarmouth - located on James Pond, located 1.5 miles off of Rte.6, Exit 8., distance to beach: 1 mile to Smugglers Beach.

Osterville - water views complete with Osprey, three bedrooms, distance to beach: 1/10 mi. Joshua%26#39;s Pond , 1 1/2 mi. to Dowses Beach.

Please let me know if any of you have some insights into these areas.

Thanks a lot

Hi,

Well they all seem to be in good areas. It may just come down to price. A couple of notes though. First, some say ';beach across the street';. Be advised that ';beach'; doesn%26#39;t always mean ';ocean';. I noticed a few of them are on or overlook freshwater ponds that have a beach area. Second, there are a couple ';beaches'; that you mentioned that are ';residents only';. I am not sure how those work. Does the owner/realtor give you a pass to get on? Check into it.

As far as the bigger ';ocean'; beaches with all the amenities, in your case those would be Craigville and Smugglers. www.capecodweb.com/capeinfo/beachesmid.htm

Finally, I%26#39;m not sure when your planning your vacation, but if it%26#39;s around July 18th-25th., the Barnstable County Fair will be going on which is a good time. www.barnstablecountyfair.org

Whatever you decide, I%26#39;m sure your family will have a great time

I can only comment on a few of them:

The one in S.Yarmouth: while James Pond, is a pond, I wouldn%26#39;t swim in it....not even sure if you can. It%26#39;s in a residential area off of busy, and commercialized RT. 28. Most of the beaches you would go to would be the southside beaches (Smugglers, Parkers River, etc...)

Yarmouth: Long Pond is a quite year round residential area, just up the road from the S.Yarmouth house....generally the same area, but a little bit more quiet because you are away from Rt. 28 a bit.

Barnstable Village: Nice area north of Historic 6A...mixed year round residents and 2nd home residents. Barnstable Harbor has a whale watch that goes out from there. Matakeese Wharf Restaurant is right there...Barnstable Village has a few small restaurants and stores, but nothing very commercial. Driving down RT 6A is nice.

Osterville: Nice 2nd/3rd home residential area....close enough to Hyannis for commercial things but a world away...nice little village with a few shops and restaurants.

Centerville: Mixed residential/seasonal houses Craigville beach gets crowded and is popular. Closer to commercial areas of Hyannis

I Hope some of that might help....

Mashpee house- could be a fresh water beach. Being deep in the woods that is what it sounds like.

Re: Osterville- Dowe%26#39;s Beach is very nice and the village is so lovely it looks like a post card.

Yarmouth has that honky tonk feel(sorry Yarmouth people) and it is a mosh pit of congestion.

Have you tried something in Falmouth, yet? We boast 65 miles of beachfront. You are bound to find something near a beach there.

If you really just want a pond or lake you could get that in any state. You mentioned Dennis but I didn%26#39;t see the house location, for a few years we rented a place in dennisport which is near really wonderful beaches where the kids can use wake boards etc... it%26#39;s not on the honky tonk side of the cape but still within driving distance of minature golf and go-karts.

And I have to agree with the last post, you really should look into Falmouth, it has everything to offer plus quick access to Martha%26#39;s Vineyard. I have spent over 40 summers and by 2 kids are 13 %26amp; 16 and they still enjoy going down there, they love taking the bike path into Woods Hole to go to the Pie in the Sky bakery.

Looking at the all the rentals in the boston globe, it seems there are a ton of available places to rent.

Good luck!

Come to Dennis, something for each of you! Sixteen, yes 16 beaches including clear lakes. Kayak, swim, professional theatre, classic village with artisans, craftsmen,restaurants, art museum, cool cinema, bike path, golf. Loads of great rentals in every price range. Hope to see you! http://dennisculture.wordpress.com

Lisa Morales, Realtor

I%26#39;m voting for Osterville .... Dowes beach (south side) is great for the kids, its right in Osterville, has plenty of parking and doesn%26#39;t usually have big waves.....its got a lot of sand. YOu need a beach sticker to get in I think so check on how that works for a visitor. Occasionally it can have some seaweed muck at the shore. The town is wonderful, small, quaint with some nice stores. Its got a real town area.

There is fantastic pizza at Sweet Tomatoes. Fine dining at 5 Bays Bistro, family dining at Wimpy%26#39;s. Waterfront dining at Keepers.

If you somehow get a Barnstable beach sticker with the rental then you can hit the north side beach Sandy Neck. If not you can still pay to go there. Its fabulous! Go at low tide (tide charts are on the internet the tides are the same at sandy neck as for Barnstable harbor). The beach is a bit rocky, but at low tide you have a ton of sand bars where you can set up your chairs. There is a snack bar, lifeguards, and hiking. Its colder then the south side beaches but very different, rarely big waves (outer cape has them).

Susan

Hello CapeCodRealtor1 ! Welcome to the Cape forum! I love that you%26#39;ve put your name and occupation right out there front and center! Good for you and for this forum.

I don%26#39;t know if you can post the name of your Realty here; recent TA forum rules have changed to a more %26#39;open%26#39; approach to advertising so you might be within the TA boundaries if you do post the business name. I wanted to ask: does your Realty have a lot of summer rental properties? What area of the Cape?

I suppose posters here could private message you with more questions about reliable rentals.

Again, welcome to the forum; I consistently support the work Realtors do for those visiting the Cape and for Cape property owners.