Boston to Provincetown, by ferry

If you depart Boston for Provincetown on the first fast ferry of the day and return on the last one, you will have 10 hours to see the dunes and seashore, survey the art scene, shop, eat, and generally immerse yourself in the surreal parade that is P-town in summer. It’s like running off to join the circus — and coming home the same night. Read the full Boston Globe story.

The Boston Harbor Cruises ferry departs from Long Wharf at 9 a.m. and the 90-minute cruise allows plenty of time to get in a vacation state of mind.

Boston Harbor Cruises recommends arriving a half-hour early and it’s a good idea if you want to score one of the window-side booths on the second-level deck.

Decks of the big catamaran stand high above the water and the boat cruises at 33-34 knots.

The ferry docks at the end of MacMillan Wharf — literally in the middle of Provincetown.

You can walk everywhere, but if you flag, hail a pedicab (Ptown Pedicabs, 508-487-0660). The fee is “what you want to pay,’’ generally $6 per person.

Take the shuttle from MacMillan Wharf (800-352-7155, capecodrta.org, $2 per ride, seniors $1, day pass $6, seniors $3) to the Province Lands visitors center. You can walk down through the dunes to the beach at Race Point. With traffic and scheduled stops, the shuttle can be a bit slow, but it’s also easy to pedal out to the Province Lands.

A rented bike can get you anywhere you want to go in town, from beach to bar.

One good bike rental shop is Arnold’s (329 Commercial St., 508-487-0844, half-day rental $16).

Shopping in P-town comes in every shade, from tourist tchotchke to fine art.

Locals favor the big plate of fish and chips at Bubala’s by the Bay (185 Commercial St., 508-487-0773, sandwiches and entrees $10-$32), a prime people-watching location.

Nor’ East Beer Garden (210-212 Commercial St., 508-487-2337, sandwiches and entrees $12-$24) offers a great beer list and spot-on pub grub in a garden setting.

The second floor of the Provincetown Public Library (356 Commercial St., 508-487-7094, free) is filled stem to stern with a 66-foot half-scale model of the Rose Dorothea, the 1905 Grand Banks fishing schooner that won the Lipton Cup in 1907.

Visit the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (460 Commercial St., 508-487-1750, www.paam.org, $7, free 12 and under and Friday evenings for all), where a major exhibition of work by Robert Motherwell is up through September.