Spend the day on Martha’s Vineyard
Plan Your Martha’s Vineyard Vacation
Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard is a nice place where you can visit and enjoy. The busy main port, Vineyard Haven, welcomes day-trippers fresh off ferries and private Far less developed than Cape Cod—thanks to a few local conservation organizations—yet more cosmopolitan than neighboring Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard is an island with a double life. From Memorial Day through Labor Day the quieter (some might say real) Vineyard quickens into a vibrant, star-studded place.
A Fast Ferry service now runs from Quonset Point, Rhode Island. It has two advantages for those traveling from the south (NYC area). First, you can get there faster than to Woods Hole and second, it has dockside parking ($10/day). It’s about $73 round-trip, takes about 90 minutes and arrives in Oak Bluffs.
If you are departing from Woods Hole and not taking your car, I suggest you park at Island Parking, about 100 feet from the terminal. It is more expensive ($25/day in season) but so much more convenient that getting on a bus to one of the lots 5 miles away. Get there a little early and stop in at Pie in the Sky, 10 Water Street, right around the corner from the ferry. Homemade breads, pastries and soups. Much better choice than what the boat has to offer. Call ahead and they’ll have your order ready to take on the ferry.
The island population explodes in July and August, so unless you don’t mind crowds and waiting for everything May/June and September/October are the best months to go. Having said that, however, a recent trip in August was very enjoyable and if you can remember to make dinner reservations early in the day, you’ll be fine. The island can be very charming in winter, but call ahead to be sure which restaurants are open. Some of the websites say they are open all year but actually aren’t.
You may want to rent a car for a day and visit the towns of Vineyard Haven (shops and restaurants) Oak Bluffs (boat rentals and boat trips, restaurants and shops) and end the day by visiting the clay cliffs at Gay Head and then sunset at Menemsha Beach. We rented bikes and biked around the island for the day. So much family fun!
When you are away on vacation, there are few things worse than a bad dining experience. We agree, so we follow the same process for identifying restaurants as we do for accommodations, but with an extra step. We believe that the best dining experience has the strongest combination of food, ambiance and service. Good food is a given in our recommendations, but the best food in the world just doesn’t taste as good in a poor setting and the best setting with poor service just doesn’t cut it for us…enjoy! See our Favorite Restaurants.
There’s fabulous seaside golf, tennis, biking, sailing, kayaking and horseback riding for the very active. You can rent a powerboat to explore or fish on your own or you can charter a fishing boat and let someone else do the work. There are nature walks, historical tours, boutique shopping, excellent art galleries and antique shops or you can just relax on the many beautiful beaches.
This is a special place which has unique, fun and romantic things for both couples and families to do together in a particular destination. An excellent list of the best is offered from breakfast to burgers, cocktails to after dinner fun and much, much more. Why stumble around trying to find the best visit and enjoy!
