allison46

Have one day to spend in Martha's vineyard - will take ferry from Falmouth to Oak Bluffs, shop, rent bikes, ride to Vineyard Haven, shop, sightsee, ride back to Oak Bluffs, return bikes and take a shuttle over to Edgartown to shop and sightsee. Then grab shuttle back, eat dinner in Oak Bluffs and catch 8pm ferry back to Falmouth. Is this too much to do for a ten hour period or will we be able to see all three towns the way I have planned? Any tips would be appreciated. We will be there on a Sunday in early August.

allison46

Also, are most of the business's open on Sundays, including bike rentals, shops, etc. or will we find most places closed?

kgk52

Essentially, all 3 towns have the same shops, so I would save my shopping til Edgartown. Also, that way you won't have to carry your purchases around all day. I would assume most places are open on Sundays, but I honestly can't say for sure.

allison46

Thanks for the shopping tip! Have you rented bikes and are the paths more leisurely or will we need to prepare for all kinds of terrain? Thanks

kgk52

I'm not much of a cyclist but my husband and daughter rented bikes. Nice bike paths, relatively flat.

china_cat

I might skip Vineyard Haven. You can spend a bit of time sightseeing in Oak Bluffs -- be sure to check out the little houses in the Camp -- the bike to Edgartown. If you have more time, you could take the ferry to Chappaquidick, bike to the Mytoi Gardens to walk around, then back to Edgartown, shop, and head back to Oak Bluffs. I think you will do better with your sightseeing by sticking to the 2 more interesting towns.

Bike paths are relatively flat. I will point out that things will be insanely crowded on a Sunday in August. Lots of bikers, cars, and tourists. if there is anywya to change to a weekday, you will be happier. But yes, most everything will be open. Sundays in the summer is when these places do most of their buisiness for the year.

tamryn

Allison-I love the shopping on MV. IMO the Vineyard Haven shopping is a bit more eclectic and the Edgartown shopping more traditional. Different stores for different things.

escargot

Well which do you want more of - sight seeing or shopping ? Personally, I think the bike ride from Oak Bluffs to Edgartown is delightful - all along the road with the ocean on one side and the pond on the other for a good part of the way - Edgartown shops are nice, but in height of the season there are no bargains and what are you interested in purchasing that you could haul on a bike?

From Edgartown, I would take the ferry to Chappy, bike to Mytoi Gardens and bike back to OB and then return the bikes and shop in OB.

Vineyard Haven is cute, but one small street with a dozen or so shops - and a few places to grab lunch.

If you really want to see OB, VH and Edgartown, and biking isn't essential to you, then I would consider hopping on and off the island shuttles which run frequently in the summer and leave the biking and Chappy for another time. The bike paths are well marked and mostly flat from OB to Edgartown - going into Vineyard Haven you are on the road w/out bike paths for much of the time.

It's just that when you say go to VH to shop and sightsee, I am trying to figure out what you think you will 'sightsee' - not that the charming side streets aren't quaint, ditto for sightseeing in Edgartown- aside from the harbor view, lighthouse, looking across at Chappy, there isn't much sightseeing unless you are going to actually go into the old churches, etc.

To me, the towns mentioned are quaint and each different, but the real 'sight seeing ' is more off the beaten path.

I would spend time in Oak Bluffs seeing the campgrounds, the gingerbread houses, etc, - all of which you can walk through (or bike through)
But if you really want to bike, I would rather bike from OB to Edgartown and shuttle it to VH if you are set on a mix of biking and shuttle. So I would get off ferry, get the bikes, head to Edgartown, (or shuttle there) then shuttle to VH and lunch there (maybe at Black Dog, on the water) and walk around and then go to OB, see the campgrounds, etc, shop and eat dinner.

Sunday is crazy and busy on island - it could take you awhile just to get your bikes, the map and get acclimated if you've never been before. If you do bike to VH from OB, just before you go over the bridge to VH, there is a little beach on your right, pull in and stop there and sit by the bridge and enjoy the view for a bit -

allison46

Thanks for the advice. I have been to Martha's vineyard years ago, just for the day, and remembered trying to see all three towns. This time I am taking my mom and wanted to try and mix biking and shopping because we both enjoy that. When I say shopping and sightseeing - it's more just browsing around shops and with the biking, I'm sure will have enough scenery in itself. Thanks for the advice - it helps in all the planning. When you only have one day, you want to make it worthwhile.