Best way to see Martha's Vineyard?
 

My husband and I are in our 50's, active, but not in terrific shape, can bike on flatlands, bad on long distances or hills, and can walk a few miles but thats about it.
We are visiting on probably the busiest day of the year, the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, The ONLY day we can go.
We enjoy checking out the towns as well as the beaches and the overall feel of the island.
The ideas we have been tossing around include bikes, busses, rental car, or a scooter. We like the idea of the scooter for the ease of parking and the mobility, but have read they are heavily frowned upon by the locals and somewhat dangerous because of sand on the roads. My husband has a motorcycle at home and is a regular rider, so we are familiar with riding.
Thanks for any help.

There are busses that take you to various places in the vineyard. If you bike regularly, you could get around that way, but the first time we went there, thinking we would bike we saw a sign that said, Oak Bluffs 19 mi. We didn't get out there then.

with one day, I would go with a rental car or jeep and hit the road hard and long, making sure to try to get the ferry over to Chappy and making a stop at Chilmark Chocolate that employs special needs people to make their chocolate. Bus system would be great, but your time is limited and although I love scooters, they don't interest me on the Vineyard all that much.

Good luck with your plans

I agree with gyppielou - for one day, on that busy holiday, I would rent a car or jeep -
and I would plan for a long day - start as early as you can and end as late as you can depending on ferry times - head for the towns that would be most crowded to get to earlier - ie; I'd hit Edgartown early and first - the line for the Chappy ferry could be long - but I would only do that IF what is on the other side in Chappy interests you - (Mytoi Garden, bare, scrub pine, forest and beautiful secluded beach areas ( you could take the lighthouse jeep tour) - look into those -
OR just see the On Time Ferry, watch it go back and forth (which takes 2 minutes) while eating something great overlooking the water and then head out - Edgartown itself is mostly shops, but beautiful old whaling homes to walk by - spend at least an hour -

Then, if you want to drive up island - clay cliffs, menemsha, tisbury, (chilmark/ chocolates),
you have to figure , with good stops - at least three hours round trip -
you can end up back in Vineyard Haven, and on to Oak Bluffs -

figure out what it is you want to see: beaches? hikes? ( look at www.thetrustees.org - and see if you are interested in some walks/ hikes/ beaches ) - art galleries? antique spots?
craft/artisan fair? - do you want to walk through the gingerbread homes in Oak Bluffs and into the campground/ - look at www. mvcma.org and read about it - the illumination ( while it won't be there while you are, you can learn about it, see the homes, etc ) adn read about the history of the place - if that interested you, plan at least one hour to walk through adn do a self walking tour - also look at the Calendar of Events: www.mvol.com - see if there is something particular that appeals to you -

You could rent a scooter - I personally do not feel sand on the roads is the issue - to me it is the very windy / turning roads, especially going up island- you can not enjoy the scenery and drive / negotiate those turns you are not familiar with easily - and to me, on one of the highest traffic days on island, it is a pain in traffic, i'd rather be in a jeep/car -

I think it would be easier to help you decide if you could choose a few things you really wanted to see - (Up Island: cliffs, beach, menemsha, galleries, artisan/crafts, ) -
edgartown ( shopping, harbor) oak bluffs (campground, shopping, beach) - or do you want a secluded spot also, etc -

and exactly how much time do you have - also, you should reserve car well ahead - sometimes on holidays places want consecutive day rentals, you may prefer to end up with a scooter.

escargot always gives great detailed advice

do you have a big boat that you could bring me to visit the Right Whales!!!! LOL!

gyppielou if I had a big boat available, I'd definitely take us out to see the Right Whales ! But in the meantime, did you happen to catch this great article on them in the NYTimes?
If not, here's a link with some great photos ( and video if it is still up)

http://preview.tinyurl.com/cu88oo

I seem to recall it costs hundreds of dollars to take a car on the ferry -- I could be wrong but I think they want to discourage daytrippers from bringing cars on an already crowded island. You'll be fine getting around on the bus or you could rent bikes once you get there.

It is about $ 135.00 roundtrip for a car - you can book ahead on steamship authority web site if you want to bring your own - for example, on that Sunday of Labor Day, there are openings at 8:15 am and return trip openings at 8 and 9:15 PM - which is a good long stretch on island - - and takes away the hassle of renting on island, but that is also an option, to pre -reserve on isalnd rental of something - although there may be minimums on a 3 dy holiday wknd and not as many daily rentals available

if you want to bring your own car over, that is something you should book asap

the bus route is good, but then you can not stop and explore extra places - you are limited to where the buses stop - a moped - as long as the weather allows - is also good -

trying to narrow it down is hard, but if you could do some more homework and try and
choose what are your "must sees" it would be easier to recommend options -

Get a bike, and you will not only enjoy yourself, but get some excercise. Wheel Happy in edgartown is your best bet.

i have done martha's and nantucket by jepp ( well it was a suzuki i think ) soft top so i could feel the sun and wind and get a better view, but when it rained ( which it did ) i was protected. this little jeep was great small enough so i could park anywhere that allowed cars whether it was beaches or in town, and i could buy food and shop a bit and store it all in the jeep so i wouldn't have to return to my hotel so often. plus the jeep made it easy on rougher roads and terrain.

from your opening comment " can bike on flatlands, bad on long distances or hills, and can walk a few miles but thats about it. " - I would nix any idea of bicycles and stick to moped or jeep/car - because biking can be tiring even tho they have excellent bike paths in many areas - it can be tough on a warm day - and there are not paths should you decide to go up island and the roads are windy and uphill -

Hello Everyone,

I've been out of touch with my job. Late getting back to all of you. Thanks for your patience.
We've done a bit more research and decided the following are our must do's.
Gingerbread houses,Up island- Menemsha, clay cliffs (are these at Aquinnah beach?), we love artisan/crafts shops or fairs and would love to check that stuff out. The calander of events shows nothing on that day.
We decided after reading these posts to rent a jeep once we to the island. We have reservations on the high speed ferry on the first boat there in the morning so maybe we won't take so long in the picking up car process. We booked the 4:50 boat back to Hyannis because we have dinner with friends in Truro. With leaving late afternoon we've chosen to pass on Chappy.
Thanks to all for your tips, and for any future help.
Escargot, thank you for your time and links.

DonnaMarie6:
If you are taking the first boat I think it gets in around 9:15 in Oak Bluffs, if you pick up your jeep right in OB, and have already reserved it,( there are a few right there, including a Budget) you should be able to grab coffee "and/or" right there in town before you head out - I would suggest driving directly up island to the clay cliffs at Aquinnah=Clay Cliffs and lighthouse- they will give you a map at car rental, but look at one online and familiarize yourself a bit with where you are going -

I will add a suggested driving route, but too late now for my brain to do it ! But I would definitely have you go up one way and down another -

There is an artisan/craft show on Labor Day Weekend !!- you will pass it on your way back from Aquinnah - it is in West Tisbury - you'll pass it on your way up island too, so stop either on way up or back, but I would head straight to Aquinnah and hit things on your way back
here is the link for the artisan/craft show -

www.vineyardartisans.com

click on calendar, and you will see the address, times, etc for Labor Day - there is a parking lot clearly marked for it - parking is free -

The Field Gallery/Sculpture Garden is diagonally across the street, so you can leave your car, walk thru it and that gallery of artists inside too -

also you will pass Martha's Vineyard Glassworks, you can stop even if for five minutes, watch them glass blowing, see the beautiful gallery of things they make, and head back out - this is always another favorite stop with guests - www.mvglassworks.com

then you can head back down island or think of following signs to Menemsha as a small detour -then heading straight for Vineyard Haven - over the bridge - and doing the East Chop loop / lighthouse road as your return before you head back to OB, return jeep, and walk the Campground/ Gingerbread Houses before getting your ferry back

I will post you some suggested driving routes soon !

More thanks than I can say, Escargot. Your knowledge is incredible!! I'll look forward to your driving route.
We are staying on the Cape in Truro at a friend's summer home. We'll be there Fri. night and Sat. with Sun on MV and Monday driving to Boston for four days.
We figure we'll check a couple of beaches on the Cape and Provencetown. At the risk of being pesty, any quick suggestions?

I do have some beach suggestions - and are you going to post on Boston questions or are you all set there - I live part time in Boston, so definitely have my favorite things in town also !
I am juggling a few things over next few days but will definitely post driving route and some other suggestions - promise ! I'm sure your friends on Truro will have plenty of great Provincetown suggestions ( Art dune tours or private spots they know of - the beaches there are wonderful) - and there are some things to see on your drive to Boston, if you have time, you might prefer the older rte 6/ 6A versus highway with some antique stops, smaller village centers, etc - you can jump on and off highway - or you might have had enough of that and want to jump on highway, but maybe jump off at Scituate area and from there head in to Boston "back road" rte 3A and see Scituate / Cohasset Harbor and old common - Hingham, some great spots for lunch - thru Quincy - Adams house/etc if any interest in history - and straight into Boston - - when you start thinking about that driving route .....!! :)

I've had such great help on this board from so many wonderful people when planning trips to areas I am not familiar with, that I am just happy when I can help make suggestions to someone else - even if they take any of them or not !!

Yes, Boston suggestions would be fantastic! We were actually thinking of taking our time getting to Boston from the Cape, checking out historic sites along the way. Your knowledge is perfect for us for this trip. It is our first time to Boston and what we have going is a ballgame on one of the evenings in Boston but otherwise have no real schedule. Of course, Freedom trail, we are thinking of walking it by ourselves with maybe an audio tour, but would love your opinion of this.We think the Faneuil Marketplace sounds fun, your thoughts? Is Bunker Hill worth it? Is Old Ironsides too touristy? We actually have only three days in Boston so I know some priorities have to be made. Maybe one museum, no aquarium. We like to stress the historical, as you can probably tell. THANKS AGAIN!!!

You might want to start a new thread asking about Boston - it would attract people who might not open a thread on martha's vineyard, but who have great ideas about Boston !

I am happy to give you my take - and yes, I'd walk Freedom Trail on my own w/ audio b/ I like stopping when I want, taking longer when I want, etc. I would also highly suggest Michele Topor North End Market Tour if she is doing it while you are in town - it is a great take - a good combo of history ( it was not always the Italian North End as it is today), architecture, and tastings of great Italian food and spices, etc all along the way ! If you do the 10am tour, it is perfect to have a lunch afterwards in the North End - it is 3 hours, but leisurely walking from store to store - just wear comfortable walking shoes - I think it is one of the great takes in Boston. You can buy tix online in advance, and she often sells out. -

If i had to choose one museum, I personally would choose the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum over the MFA or ICA - but you should look at all three websites - the first is a very different museum, eclectic collection, rather low light (except for magnificent courtyard) - the MFA is more of a typical big city museum, with collections, special exhibits,-and the ICA the contemporary of the three -

Faneuil Hall you will walk through doing Freedom Trail I think that will be enough - it is mostly chain stores - - some street performers can be fun to watch, while having an ice cream, or even something from the food court - if you like it, go back at night, watch some performers, have a drink. Don't limit yourself to just the city proper if you like history look at some of the Boston Harbor Islands - rich in history - and summer is a great time to be on the harbor - look at www.Bostonislands.com - At George's, Spectacle, see if one of the tours interests you -

Sometimes a good rec is to start Freedom Trail backwards, - I ahve a post on this I will try and find - but I will add Boston stuff to your Boston thread - and I won't forget the driving itinerary ideas either - promise ! Just can't do it for another few days !

Thanks Escargot, I'll start a Boston thread now.

DonnaMarie6: I did not forget about your and some driving tips: keep seeing "note to self" on my desk, and won't forget you in time !