Martha's Vineyard Guide

Martha's Vineyard is one of America's most famous vacation destinations, and home to a gorgeous array of bed and breakfast & inn options. Martha's Vineyard is an island south of Cape Cod and is accessible only by boat and by air. Boats to the Island sail from 5 Massachusetts ports: Woods Hole, Falmouth, Hyannis, New Bedford, and Nantucket (another Island) and also seasonally from Quonset Rhode Island. For information about ferry schedules, reservation requirements, and bringing your car by boat to the Island, visit here. There is year-round scheduled plane service to the Martha's Vineyard Airport from Boston, Hyannis, Nantucket, New Bedford, and Providence. Charter services also are available, and the airport has facilities for private planes. M.V. Airport is located in the center of the Island. Taxis and cars can be hired at the terminal.

Once a bustling haven for whaling and merchant fleets, Martha's Vineyard has become a vacation resort, and, more recently, a holiday spot for the rich-and-famous. Despite popular perceptions of the Vineyard as "Hollywood East", the island is very low-key and quiet; celebrities go to the Vineyard to enjoy the atmosphere, and not to be seen. Locals tend to be protective of celebrity privacy. Most Vineyard social life occurs in private, down country roads, and not in the small towns, only two of which even sell alcohol.

The Island of Martha's Vineyard covers roughly 100 square miles, and is home to both year-round and seasonal residents. Some live "up-island" in the more rural towns of Aquinnah, Chilmark and West Tisbury, and others live "down-island" in the more populous towns of Edgartown, Oak Bluffsand Vineyard HavenVineyard Haven (also known as Tisbury). Each Island town is unique in its geography, personality, and character.

GUIDE TO THE TOWNS OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD

Vineyard Haven is characterized by excellent shops, fine restaurants, and a beautiful harbor, making it a prime tourist destination. The beach at Owen Park is a beautiful place to view the harbor. Ferries shuttle in and out, providing the Island's year-round connection to the mainland. In addition to Main Street and the harbor, the Tashmoo Lake overlook on State Road, the nearby Tisbury Water Works, West Chop Lighthouse, and the area around the drawbridge on Beach Road are favorite spots for photographers. Please visit our Vineyard Haven Bed & Breakfast Inns page for more information about the town.

Edgartown is an old whaling town that re-emerged in the 20th century as a summer sailing and beach town. It is characterized by 18th and 19th century homes, including well-preserved whaling captains' homes and historic churches, as well as the Edgartown Lighthouse, located in Edgartown harbor. Edgartown offers many activities for the nature-lover, including the Whaling Church, run by the Martha's Vineyard Historic Preservation Society, and the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, run by the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Please visit our Edgartown Bed & Breakfast Inns page for more information about the town.

Oak Bluffs is the home of the Flying Horses Carousel, the oldest continuously operating carousel in the country. Its horses were hand-carved in New York City in 1876. This historic landmark is open daily during the summer and on weekends in the spring and fall. Once the site of annual summer camp meetings for the Methodist Church, Oak Bluffs remains a thriving Methodist community. The Martha's Vineyard Campground Meeting Association, (MVCMA) includes an elaborate collection of over 350 Gingerbread Cottages which encircle the Methodist Tabernacle. Please visit our Oak Bluffs Bed & Breakfast Inns page for more information about the town.

The more rural town of Aquinnah still draws visitors because of the brilliant colors of the mile-long expanse of the Aquinnah Cliffs, where layers of sands, gravel, and clay of various hues tell a hundred-million-year-old story of a land first covered with forests, then flooded and laid bare, then covered with new growth. The seas, glaciers, and land itself have contorted these once-level layers into waving bands of color that stream above the sea. The Aquinnah Cliffs are a national landmark, yet they are seriously threatened by carelessness. To protect the Cliffs, climbing and the removal of clay are both prohibited by law.

Chilmark, a town of rolling hills and unmatched coastline, has only recently become a setting for summer homes. All roads from the center of town at Beetlebung Corner lead to points of scenic beauty. Middle Road, perhaps the least improved of Island main roads, provides a beautiful view of a placid farm with the Atlantic Ocean as a backdrop.

West Tisbury has many characteristics that are typical of a quaint "New England Village," including a white church, post office, old mill, farms and ponds. Another point of interest is the Cedar Tree Neck Nature Preserve, a beautiful piece of unspoiled Vineyard woods with a freshwater pond and brooks, bounded by North Shore Beach. Picnics, fishing, and bathing are not permitted here, but there are marked trails for those who appreciate the opportunity to watch birds, follow woodland paths, and walk along a quiet shore.

Martha's Vineyard Beaches

One of the best ways to experience the Island is through the plethora of outdoor activities and sights Martha's Vineyard has to offer. The unspoiled charm of Martha's Vineyard is probably best exemplified by the many scenic beaches located there. The beaches vary from protected, shallow, clear-water stretches on the northern and eastern sides of the Island to expanses of rumbling surf along the south side. Some beaches are open to the public without restriction, while others are reserved for residents and summer visitors who are staying in the towns where the beaches are located. For more information on public and conservation beaches, please visit here. Water sports, camping, biking, fishing and golf are also available on the Island.