Every year we make it a priority to take a week long beach trip in this summer with just our little family. It is always a highlight of the year! This year we went to the Cape and it was amazing. The last time we were in Cape Cod, we were shooting Jack and Katherine’s wedding at the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club. It was a blast going back for vacation to explore and show the kids around!
I wanted to share a few of our favorite places that we visited while we were in Cape Cod. There are so many beautiful beaches and delicious places to eat!
Here were a few of our favorite beaches:
Craigville Beach in Barnstable
This beach was about 20 minutes from our AIrBnB and we loved how the parking lot was right next to the beach. To get to some of the beaches in the area you have to walk down hundreds of steps to get to the beach and with all our gear that would have been too much! The water was warm and the girls loved playing in it. We went to Craigville Beach three or four times in the afternoons.
Nantucket!
Taking the ferry to Nantucket was one of the highlights of our trip. We took a Hy-Line Cruise which is an hour ferry to Nantucket for the afternoon. We walked around the shops, ate lunch by the water and walked to Brand Point Lighthouse where we had a family photo session with the fabulous Rebecca Love. Kevin and I definitely want to go back just the two of us to explore the towns and beaches for a longer period of time! If you are taking a trip to Cape Cod, it is definitely worth doing a day trip or overnight in Nantucket. It is a beautiful little island!
Gray’s Beach in Yarmouth Port
Gray’s Beach is a fun afternoon activity because there is a very long pier you can walk on that shows you a fabulous view of the blue water and islands. It is a cute little find and the kids liked walking on the pier!
Breakwater Beach in Brewster
This is the best beach to take kids to during the day because the tide is so low and you can walk far out into the water without it getting deep. Because we didn’t get a parking pass ahead of time, we didn’t go to the beach during the day, however we did watch the sunset at Breakwater Beach the last day. It is a gorgeous beach to watch the sunset since its s on the Bay side. Bring bug spray though because the bugs will get you!
And some of the yummy restaurants we loved:
British Beer Company in Falmouth
There were a few shops we went to in Falmouth and this Resturaunt was the perfect lunch spot because you can see the beach from the outdoor seating! They have a nice kids menu and delicious burgers and sandwiches
Mom and Pops Burgers in Chatham
This place was 5 minutes from our AirBnb which made it an amazing place to pickup food to take back to the beach house. The burgers are amazing especially with their special sauces!
Schoolhouse Ice Cream in Harwich Port
There are so many good ice cream spots in Cape Cod because its s a beach town, but we loved Schoolhouse! They have a nice outdoor seating area and delicious flavors.
Palio Pizzeria in Hyannis
This was such a yummy pizza place! We got it to go after spending the afternoon at Craigsville Beach. We loved it!
I post this in all of my vacay posts because I think it is so helpful to be prepared. Here are some things to bring on vacay that really helped with two babies under 3!
Travel Tray: This was wonderful for Payton to have a surface to play on for the 7 hour car-ride. She also used it to eat her lunch on and it wipes down easily which is great. I also got a few new small toys for Payton and gave her a new one every few hours when she would get bored. This really helped since toddlers will play with new toys for hours! Thank you to the Target $1 section!
Portable High Chair: We used this on the beach and at home. It is great because it folds up to transport easily.
Blow Up Toddler Mattress: This portable was AMAZING! This is great for 2-4 year olds. It was really comfortable and had padding on the sides so she couldn’t roll out. It also has a small mattress that comes out that fits a crib sheet which is great. We brought her blanket and pillow so it felt like home!
Beach Tent: Having shade for the babes is a MUST. We had an umbrella over the baby pool but Hallie was able to nap in the tent which was amazing. It also folds up super small but is big enough for a few people to sit in to get out of the sun.
Small Baby Pool: I got this idea from a friend and it was the best thing we brought! They are super cheap and makes for fun water play for toddlers at the beach. Payton was too scared to swim in the ocean so it was fun for her to play in the pool instead. It was also nice to be able to put Hallie in the pool to cool off when it got really hot.
Water Babies: We played with lots of small beach toys, measuring cups to pour water into the pool and multiple buckets. I also got a water baby for each of the girls and they had a blast playing with them in the pool and in the waves.
We also took our reveal photo while we were in Cape Cod since I was 12 weeks pregnant and we were ready to announce baby number three! The girls did not want to take the picture, which you will see below, but thankfully Kevin captured an adorable candid of me and the girls for our announcement photo. Enjoy these images from our beach vacay in Cape Cod!
At the end of the day our kids will remember the fun experiences they had and bonding time our family shared. It is so sweet having these memories with the girls! I hope this post can be helpful for anyone traveling to Cape Cod as a family with kids. Want to see another Paulovkin family vacay? Check out our trip last year to Emerald Isle!