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Cape Cod Traffic Predictions

by Kevin
(Chicago, IL)



Question: Would you be willing to gaze into your crystal ball and paint a picture of what traffic leaving the Cape may be like?

Our rental ends on Saturday June 30th and I am trying to decide if I want to leave Saturday, Sunday, or Monday (any time between 6am and 10pm) without spending a lot of time in traffic. Either bridge, the Sagamore or the Bourne, would be fine.

I'd rather not spend the $ on extra nights, but I'd rather do that than sit in traffic. I should be able to check traffic live from the car.


Dee's Reply: Aaaaah, Kevin. A traffic prediction for Cape Cod on the weekend before 4th of July week? H-m-m-m-m-m. I'm good ... but am I that good??

Okay. Here's what Crystal Ball (no relation to Lucille!) is showing:

The "4th of July week" is a big week for vacations on Cape Cod. This year, the 4th falls mid-week, on the Wednesday after you leave.

What that means is that there will be lots of people driving to the Cape the weekend before the 4th to begin their vacations.

So, Crystal says ... traffic will be especially heavy coming onto the Cape on Friday, June 29th, and probably in the realm of "nightmare" on Saturday, June 30th.

What about traffic going off-Cape on June 30th?

Prognostication is that traffic leaving the Cape on June 30th won't be nearly as heavy as traffic leaving the Cape on July 7th - the Saturday after the 4th of July.

So, what does that mean for you and your travel plans?

Well, (this is me talking now - not Crystal :) ... I'd say that if you want to leave on Saturday morning, then your best bet is to get on the road as early as possible. Grab breakfast, then boogedy-scoot.

If you're approaching either bridge by 8 a.m., you should be okay. Any later than that, you'd be pushing your luck.

Leaving on Saturday evening? That's another possibility.

If you want to spend the day at the beach or sightseeing, then head out in the late afternoon/early evening, you could "wing it".

Keep an eye on the weather (sunshine keeps day-trippers here longer, resulting in more traffic going off-Cape later in the day), and keep an eye/ear to the traffic reports.

The hitch to waiting until later in the day to leave, is that there's no telling when traffic will lighten up at the Sagamore or Bourne bridge. Could be as early as 6:30 or 7 p.m., but it could be later. Do you really want to begin your journey home that late in the day?

As far as leaving on Sunday ... nah. I wouldn't. Off-Cape traffic on Sunday in the summer is almost always heavier than Saturday off-Cape traffic.

Personally, I'd either leave on Saturday morning or stick around until Monday. (If you're going to stick around, I suggest you make lodging arrangements for Saturday and Sunday night ASAP. That's 4th of July week, ya know!)

Hope this helps. Feel free to get back to me if you have any other questions!

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