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Provincetown is one of my favorite day trips from Boston, and I have tried quite a few of them. My friends and I used to do an annual summer day trip to PTown, it’s such a perfect girls trip. While driving is quite far from Boston and can take 2 and a half hours +, the fast ferry gets you to Ptown in about 90 minutes, drops you at MacMillan Wharf in the middle of town, and completely skips the Sagamore Bridge. You step off the boat already in the good part. No car, no parking, no designated driver — which matters, because Ptown is the most fun town on the Cape and you’re going to want a drink.
Here’s how to do it as a day trip, and how to squeeze the most out of the hours between boats.
Jump To:
- Taking the Ferry from Boston
- Morning: Arrive & Explore Commercial Street
- Lunch: Seafood on the Water
- Afternoon: Beach or Tea Dance
- Evening: Dinner & Drinks Before the Boat
- Best Bars & Restaurants in Provincetown
- Tips for Doing Ptown in a Day
- Provincetown Map
Disclaimer: This article contains some links where I earn commission through booking. There is no extra cost to you, and I only recommend things I’ve used and love or places I’ve stayed and enjoyed!
Taking the Ferry from Boston
Two operators run the fast ferry and they leave from different docks, so check your ticket carefully before you set off across Boston:
- Boston Harbor City Cruises leaves from Long Wharf, right by the New England Aquarium — the easiest one to get to on the T, since it’s a two minute walk from the Aquarium Blue Line stop.
- Bay State Cruise Company leaves from the Seaport, at 200 Seaport Blvd by the World Trade Center.
Both take roughly 90 minutes each way and both dock at MacMillan Wharf right in the centre of Provincetown.
- Season: daily service runs from mid-May through mid-October, with weekend-only sailings continuing into November.
- Cost: expect around $100 round trip for an adult on the fast ferry.
- Last boat back: generally somewhere between 7:30pm and 8:30pm depending on the operator and the day — check this before you book anything for the evening, because missing it means a very expensive taxi.
Book ahead in July and August, especially for weekends and for Carnival week — the boats genuinely sell out.
Morning: Arrive & Explore Commercial Street
You’ll dock at MacMillan Wharf with the Pilgrim Monument standing over the town, and you’re immediately about thirty seconds from everything. Ptown is tiny and entirely walkable, which is a large part of why it works so well as a day trip.
Commercial Street is the main event — a long, narrow street running the length of town, packed with galleries, vintage shops, drag performers handing out flyers for their evening shows, ice cream, and just genuine good vibes. Just walk it end to end and duck into whatever looks good.
If you want a view, the Pilgrim Monument is the tallest all-granite structure in the US and you can climb it — the view from the top takes in the whole hook of the Cape, the harbor and the dunes.
Lunch: Seafood on the Water
My pick is The Canteen — my favorite beach bar in Ptown. It’s super casual, with tables set out in the sand on the harbor beach behind it, and it’s exactly the right speed for a day trip: order at the counter, take your food out back, sit in the sand.
If you’d rather sit down properly, the Lobster Pot is the classic Ptown seafood spot, and Luke’s Lobster on the wharf is quick and reliably good if you just want a lobster roll and to keep moving.
Afternoon: Beach or Tea Dance
This is the fork in the road, and both options are good. I’m going Tea Dance every time though.
Option one: the beach. Race Point and Herring Cove are both part of the Cape Cod National Seashore and both are stunning — huge, wild, dune-backed Atlantic beaches. Herring Cove is the closer of the two and faces west, so it’s also the sunset beach. You’ll want a taxi or the shuttle to get out there, or rent a bike in town and take the dune trail. If you are staying on the Cape rather than day-tripping, my guide to the 7 best beaches in Cape Cod covers the rest of them.
Option two: the Boatslip Tea Dance. This is the Ptown institution — an afternoon dance party on a deck over the water at the Boatslip Beach Club that’s been running for decades. It kicks off mid-afternoon and it’s genuinely one of the most fun things you can do on the Cape. If you’re here with a group, do this.
Evening: Dinner & Drinks Before the Boat
Check your ferry time first, then work backwards. If you’re on a 7:30pm boat you’ve got time for an early dinner and one good drink; if you’re on the last sailing you can stretch it out properly. We always book the latest ferry back.
Aqua Bar sits right on the water with good cocktails and is an easy pre-ferry spot. Harbor Lounge is the more upscale option if you want a proper cocktail with a harbor view. And if you only do one thing: go to Nor’East and order the painkiller. Trust me.
The ferry terminal is a two minute walk from most of this, which is the whole beauty of it.
Best Bars & Restaurants in Provincetown
These are the ones worth your afternoon. Several of them also made my wider list of the 15 best bars in Cape Cod.
- The Canteen — my favorite beach bar. Tables in the sand, super casual, so much fun.
- Aqua Bar — right on the water with good cocktails.
- Boatslip Beach Club — a fun day club with music, drinks and a pool. Home of the tea dance.
- Harbor Lounge — more upscale cocktail bar with a harbor view.
- Lobster Pot — the classic spot for New England seafood.
- Nor’East — go for the painkiller, trust me.
Tips for Doing Ptown in a Day
- Take the first boat out. The difference between a 9am and an 11am departure is basically a whole extra chunk of the day, and the early sailing is usually quieter.
- Set an alarm for the return ferry. Obvious, but Ptown has a way of making time disappear, and the last boat does not wait.
- You don’t need a car and you don’t want one. Parking in Ptown is genuinely awful and expensive. Walk, or grab a bike.
- Check what week you’re going. Ptown runs themed weeks all summer — Carnival in August is the biggest, and so fun, last year was Summer Camp themed & a complete blast. Brilliant if that’s what you came for, chaotic if it isn’t.
- Bring layers. The ferry deck is cold even in August, and the ride back after sunset is chilly.
- Consider staying over. If you find yourself eyeing the last boat with regret, Ptown is a very good place to have booked a room instead, but pricy and impossible to book last min usually
Provincetown Map
Everything from this guide is pinned on my Cape Cod map below.
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