Top Tip! The key events and festivals attract huge crowds which can make finding accommodation difficult.

Make sure you book a hotel in gay Provincetown as far in advance as possible, especially if you want to visit during weekends in July and August. Be aware many hotels will require a three to five-night minimum stay during high season.

P-Town is a small town. It is just three miles long, and just a few streets wide. But its attractions spread well beyond the town’s outer limits with more than 4,000 acres of rolling sand dunes and 30 miles of beautiful beaches.  The town sees a huge influx of visitors over the Summer season to fill its 40 guest houses, 2 gay beaches and 12+ gay bars and clubs.

Commercial Street is where you will find most of the action in Provincetown. The pedestrian-only street is home to some of the most popular gay bars and restaurants and is also the scene for some crazy parades and parties.

Meanwhile, on nearby Bradford Street, you will find most of Provincetown’s gay owned or gay-friendly boutique hotels and bed-and-breakfast inns.

The Winter months are the quietest in gay Provincetown. Business picks up from the end of May as visitors arrive from Memorial Day Weekend.

High season kicks off on the 4th of July weekend and lasts right through until the August Carnival. The scene quietens after Labor Day, but picks up on long weekends and holidays such as Halloween and Thanksgiving.

If you can’t visit during the peak tourist weeks around the biggest events, don’t worry: there’s always something happening in Provincetown. Indeed, Winter here is charming and is the perfect time for those who prefer the peace and quiet of snowy sand dunes.

Getting to gay Provincetown is easy. Just do not drive!  There is only one highway into and out of the town and Summer traffic from Boston can be quite chaotic.

• The best way to get to Provincetown is by ferry.  The town is just a 90-minute fast ferry ride from Boston. The ferries run roughly 18 times per week.
• There are two speedy ferry services from Boston, Bay State Cruises and Boston Harbor Cruises. Relax and enjoy a cocktail at the bar and enjoy the view. You might even spot whales during the 90-minute journey.
• Peter Pan buses also run to Provincetown from Boston, New York and beyond.
• Alternatively, you can take a small charter flight to Cape Cod with Boston. Cape Air and avoid summer traffic on the busy roads to the Cape.

Getting Around

The best way to get around PTown is on foot or by bike. Streets are narrow and filled with pedestrians and few parking spots, so avoid driving.

• Visit P-Town Bikes for a rental and keep the bike for a day or your entire trip. Bikes come with a lock, helmet, and optional basket. What would be a 40-minute walk would be a 9-minute bike ride. It also makes it a lot easier to head to Herring Cove, which you must go to at least once while you’re in town.
• The Cape Cod Provincetown Shuttle provides a seasonal (May – September) bus service between Provincetown and the Province Lands Visitor Center, Herring Cove Beach, North Truro, the Provincetown Airport, Race Point, and the Plymouth & Brockton Bus Stop at Dutra’s Market.
• You can flag the bus down anywhere along the bus route. The fare is $2 or buy a $6 day pass. Buses have bike racks, but space is limited.

It will not take long for you to familiarize yourself with the layout of gay Provincetown. Commercial Street is the pedestrian thoroughfare that runs through the town. Bradford runs parallel and his full of car traffic.

The town is divided into East End and West End by the MacMillan Wharf, the central pier where the ferries dock.

East End

Home to the town’s art galleries, with a more relaxed vibe. Visitors looking for a quiet guest house escape choose this part of town.

Centre and West End

This is where you will find the gay scene. Commercial Street is full of gay men from sunrise to sunset. In the summer months shirtless men can be seen spilling out into the streets, relaxing by guest house pools and dancing by the seafront at The Crown and Anchor resort.

Most of the bars are in the centre along with the larger hotels.  Further towards the west end you will find downtown and the gay beaches.

Provincetown’s party offering is quite extensive featuring everything from open-air lounges to underground leather bars to sprawling dance clubs.

All of the bars close at 1am so don’t start your night too late. Most evenings begin with post beach cocktails at the Boatslip Resort T dance from 4pm to 7pm followed by dinner and drinks. Then the fun begins from around 10pm onwards.

While most of the bars are at their busiest during the Summer Season, many stay open year-round and attract visitors from nearby Boston and Providence. Bars and clubs will be busy throughout the week in high season. During the months of May and October, busy periods occur over the weekend.

• Aqua Bar – Chill hangout on the harbor with a spacious deck, offering an array of specialty cocktails.
• Boatslip Beach Club is set by the bay. The club has a pool, deck and grill. The Buoy Bar is open daily for post beach drinks from 4-7pm.  You never know who you might meet and connect with at the T Dance. An historically important and revered institution for almost 50 years, the legendary Boatslip Tea Dance is a “must do” event for first timers and seasoned visitors alike.
• Harbor Lounge is a minimalist mixed bar popular for drinks on the water with leather couches, giant wraparound windows & a pier.
• Vault at Crown and Anchor is a Leather, bear and uniform bar, open year-round, and party-central during Summer Bear Week and Mates Leather Weekend
• Wave at Crown and Anchor is a sports bar with large screen and TVs throughout. It also has a poolside bar during the summer months, and pool games by the cozy fireplace during off-season.
• Dive Bar at the Crown and Anchor – great piano bar with live entertainment during the weekend.
• Shipwreck Lounge at Brass Key is in the West End area of Provincetown. A relaxed and easygoing setting, the Shipwreck Lounge has an outdoor patio and serves handcraftedexotic cocktails.
• Squealing Pig Pub & Oyster Bar is a convivial fixture known for its beer selection, creative pub grub & occasional live music.

Dance clubs & entertainment complexes.

• Paramount at Crown and Anchor is where you will wind up dancing the night away. Part of the Crown and Anchor complex, Paramount is the largest club in Provincetown and has a great pool patio. Other bars in the complex include Wave video bar, a cabaret venue, a poolside bar, a piano bar and a leather bar known as The Vault.
• Purgatory Gifford House is a gay dance club with various theme nights in the basement of a vintage inn, open tourist season only.
• Atlantic House – P-town’s favorite gay club for over 25 years with three bars. You can relax during the day at the Little Bar, complete with a cozy fireplace during the cooler months, dance in The Big Room with top DJs and themed nights and cruise the leather bar, “Macho” upstairs at night, 7 nights a week!

Insider Tip! – If you plan to visit the Atlantic House, there early, say 9:30 PM, and get your stamp. You can then leave and return at 11 PM. If you arrive after 11 PM, the line is going to be long, and it will take you at least 20 minutes to get in.