Message: Imagine this . .. our wedding anniversary is Sept. 11! We've decided to get out of DC for that weekend and husbanded suggested Martha's Vineyard out of the blue (neither of us has been). For a long weekend in early Sept. the traffic/ferry reservation etc. scene driving from DC to Boston or Boston to Cape etc. sounds like a nightmare. Looks like we could fly Southwest to Providence for $39 and take the new fast catamaran from there to Oak Bluff. Does that sound like a sane idea? We'd be carless (perhaps the good news). Could we then get to Edgartown and elsewhere via buses/taxi/bikes etc? Is there even any chance that lodging will be available.

Thanks, experts!

A ferry from Providence is new to me. If it exists, and you can get to it without too much cost, and again if it exists the cab from the airport will equal your flight....still once you're on a ferry to the Vineyard, the rest is easy! Hope it works out!

The new fast ferry actually runs from New Bedford, but that's only 15 miles from Providence and of course they'll help you make arrangements to get from Prov (Amtrak or airport) to the ferry.

An alternative is to fly directly to MV. For just a weekend, that will save a signigicant chunk of your available time.

They're a new and fluctuating service, I would CALL them to check on current schedules and other arrangements.

Thanks for the responses. Yes it is the ferry from New Bedford I'm talking about and they do have a shuttle that picks up at the Providence Airport (according to Website). I would call them of course to make any plans. But one more question . . .
Is there any nice lodging on MV (B&B or whatever) that goes for $175 a night or less? Not that I'm surprised to see prices that look very high .. .

There is a new ( 2003) fast ferry from Quonset Point RI to Martha's vineyard. The trip takes 90 minutes. You can get a cab from the airport and be at the ferry in about 15- 20 minutes. (vinyardfastferry.com).
Also, check out Cape Air which flies from TF Green (the Providence airport)to MV and Nantucket.

New Bedford is at least a 45 minutes - 1 hour drive from Providence and about 1 hour 20 minutes from the airport(during peak traffic).