Cape Cod is about 55 miles from Boston at the Sagamore Bridge, where you cross onto the Cape, and about 70 miles to Hyannis, its main town. Without traffic the drive from downtown Boston takes about an hour to the bridge, about 1 hour 15 minutes to Hyannis and a little over 2 hours to Provincetown at the far tip, 115 miles away.
Those are Google's no-traffic driving figures from South Station, checked on October 1, 2026. How far the Cape feels depends on which end you are going to and when you leave: Provincetown is another 60 miles by road beyond the bridge, and summer weekend traffic at the canal bridges can add a lot to any of these times.
How far is each part of Cape Cod from Boston?
The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce groups the Cape's 15 towns into four regions. Driving distances and no-traffic times from South Station in Boston:
| Destination | Region | Distance | Drive, no traffic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sagamore Bridge | Entry to the Cape | 55 miles | About 1 hour |
| Falmouth | Upper Cape | 71 miles | About 1 hour 20 minutes |
| Woods Hole (Martha's Vineyard ferry) | Upper Cape | 75 miles | About 1 hour 25 minutes |
| Hyannis (Barnstable) | Mid-Cape | 70 miles | About 1 hour 15 minutes |
| Chatham | Lower Cape | 86 miles | About 1 hour 35 minutes |
| Provincetown | Outer Cape | 115 miles | About 2 hours 10 minutes |
The Chamber puts Bourne, Falmouth, Sandwich and Mashpee on the Upper Cape; Barnstable, Yarmouth and Dennis on the Mid-Cape; Brewster, Harwich, Chatham and Orleans on the Lower Cape; and Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro and Provincetown on the Outer Cape.
What is the best route from Boston to Cape Cod?
For almost every trip it is the same: south from Boston on I-93 to Route 3, then Route 3 south through the South Shore to the Sagamore Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal. Over the bridge, US-6 (the Mid-Cape Highway) runs the length of the Cape toward Provincetown. Google's fastest routes to Hyannis, Falmouth and Woods Hole all use Route 3, and the routes to Chatham and Provincetown continue on US-6. If you need a car, rentals at Logan Airport can be compared on Expedia.
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Route 6A, the Old King's Highway, runs along the Cape's north side from Bourne, just east of the Sagamore Bridge, to the Orleans Rotary, through Sandwich, Barnstable, Yarmouth Port, Dennis and Brewster. It passes historic houses, farms and salt marshes and goes through town centers, so take it for the drive itself rather than to save time.
Plymouth is on the way. It sits 39 miles from South Station, about 45 minutes without traffic, and Route 3 passes it, so it makes a natural stop going down or coming back.
Can you do Cape Cod as a day trip from Boston?
Yes, to the nearer half. Sandwich, Falmouth and Hyannis are each a little over an hour away without traffic, which leaves most of a day there. The Outer Cape is a stretch for a day trip by car: Provincetown is over two hours each way before any traffic. For Provincetown, the ferry is the better day trip.
If you go in summer, leave early and come back late. The times above assume empty roads, and the two canal bridges are the only road links onto the Cape, so every car going on or off the Cape funnels through them on busy summer weekends.
Is there a ferry from Boston to Cape Cod?
Only to Provincetown, and only in season. According to Provincetown's tourism office, two companies run 90-minute fast ferries from Boston to MacMillan Wharf in 2026. Bay State Cruise Company sails from 200 Seaport Boulevard from May 16 to October 18, with a late-fall schedule from October 23 to November 15. Boston Harbor City Cruises sails from 1 Long Wharf from May 16 to October 12. No ferry runs from Boston to Hyannis or the rest of the Cape.
Getting to Cape Cod without a car
Buses run from South Station and Logan Airport to Hyannis and other Cape towns all year, and the CapeFLYER train runs from South Station to Hyannis on summer weekends between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day, stopping at Buzzards Bay and Bourne on the way. Our guide to the bus from Boston to Cape Cod compares the options, with times.
More day trips from Boston
If the Cape is too far for the time you have, our guides to things to do west of Boston and north of Boston cover closer trips, and the Boston to Salem ferry is under an hour.
Sources: Google Maps Routes API, Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, Provincetown Office of Tourism, CapeFLYER. Checked October 1, 2026.