We plan to spend our honeymoon on Martha's Vineyard and we would like suggestions on where to stay. We will be going the week after the July 4th weekend. Plan to stay 5 days. Coming from Nova Scotia, Canada. We would like to stay fairly close to beaches, shopping and restaurants. Trying to decide whether to bring a car or fly into Boston and rent a car. Would rather stay in a Hotel than a B&B. It is our honeymoon and money should not be an object, but we would prefer not too spend a small fortune. Rooms for $150 - $250 a night would be our limit.

The Harborside Inn in Edgartown is one of the few hotels on Marthas Vineyard. Edgartown has the best shopping on the island, and the hotel has a pool and is on the water, but not the ocean beach (which is a quick bike or car ride from downtown). You will find more romantic rooms at one of the guest houses or B&Bs.
But my main suggestion to you is to make your ferry reservations NOW if you are going to bring your car over. The ferries are generally full for summer weekends already. Call immediately if you havent already.

As far as location, my favorite area to stay in is Edgartown. Each town on the island has a slightly different flavor. Edgartown has nice shops and restaurants, and my favorite beach is South Beach (also called Katama). As Tom correctly points out, there are no real hotels on MV, so you really should consider a B&B. He is incorrect, however, in saying the ferry is already sold out. Ferry reservations for the summer won't go on sale until the end of January. Problem is, they currently require you to give the auto's plate number to make the reservation, because they want to restrict transferring reservations. So you may have trouble making a reservation for a rental car. Call the Martha's Vineyard Steamship authority and try to get more info. If you are travelling on weekdays, and not weekends or Fridays, getting a reservation is much easier. Another thought, if your budget allows it, is to fly all the way to the Vineyard, and rent a car on the Island. Although expensive, if you can rent a car with 4-wheel drive and a beach permit, you can drive out on the beaches to nearly deserted areas, its much more fun.

I just checked the website www.islandferry.com. It says auto reservations for the summer won't be made until April 1st 2000. Seems later than I remembered, but there it is. There is also contact info there if you need more info.

Another website that might be useful is www.vineyard.net/biz. They have links for various businesses on the Vineyard, including several nice B&B's. I can't really make a recommendation because I always rent a home when I go.

Thanks Beth for the correction. I dont mean to sound like a doomsdayer - I just remember in the past not getting ferry reservations for summer weekends because I waited too long. Good luck.

Tom, you are absolutely right, in that it can be difficult to get a car reservation if you wait too long. I'm planning for a 2 week trip this summer and have been looking for rentals now, with hopes of being set by the end of the month.That's why I doublechecked on when the ferry reservations would go on sal. The Vineyard can be a busy place during the peak season. But I do love it there!!