Having a car is a good idea on Cape Ann, as there are many scenic beaches and exploring the coast is best if you can drive yourself. However, the Cape Ann Transportation Authority does have bus services around the Gloucester and Rockport region. These buses only run Monday through Saturday and cover the entire Gloucester/Rockport area with their seven colored lines. Fares are generally $1 for one zone and $1.25 for two. However, these buses run only a few times a day, so you must plan your schedule around bus departure times.

The buses also stop running quite early, usually 5pm or so. The Cape Ann Transportation Authority also has shopping trip buses on Saturdays that run to the North Shore Shopping Center and Liberty Tree Mall in Peabody/Danvers a few towns south on the coast, with the first bus leaving around 10am for the malls and the last bus coming back to Gloucester around 5pm. These trips are $5 roundtrip.

Getting between towns on the Massachusetts coast is possible via the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) commuter rail. Rockport trains run to Manchester, Beverly and Salem, which all have scenic beaches for you to visit. A change to the Newburyport outbound train in Beverly will also get you to Ipswich, another excellent beach. The first train from Gloucester leaves around 5am in the direction of South Station and the last train back arrives around 1am on weekdays; on weekends, the first train leaves around 7am and the last train back arrives around 12:30am.