dartdart

We are taking a 1 1/2, 2, and 4 year old to the Cape in May and were hoping to take a day trip to Martha's Vineyard. Any suggestions of things we could do there? Is there a cute town right where the ferry comes in? I don't think we'll have our car so not even sure if this would be worth the effort. Would you do it?

emalloy

If your kids would get a kick out of a boat ride, it might be worth the trip to either of the islands, but not really kid type places. The ferries do land in towns with shops and places to eat, and there are busses on the Vineyard that will take you all around town. That said, I wouldn't make my kids leave the beach where they can play in the sand and run in the water to go visit cute shops after an hour on the ferry and depending on where you are coming from, a considerable ride in the car to get to the ferry.

Ackislander

They aren't going to enjoy the beach in May. The water temperatures are only in the high 50's or low 60's, and it may be difficult to get to a public beach without a car. Many (most?) beaches on the Vineyard are not public.

Oak Bluffs has the oldest carousel in the US, in operation from Easter to Columbus Day and thankfully in a covered situation. Oak Bluffs also has a neighborhood of fantastic Victorian cottages. I think both would be fun for the 4 year old (and you) but kids that age have pretty limited attention spans.

It is less true of Oak Bluffs than of Edgartown, but narrow sidewalks often limit the usefulness of side-by-side strollers. The front-and-back ones are fine. But it isn't likely to be crowded anywhere in May.

wyatt92

If you take the ferry to Oak Bluffs then it might be worth it. As Ackislander mentioned, there's the carousel, which kids absolutely love. There's also a lot of shops and places to eat. Oak Bluffs is probably my least favorite town on the Vineyard though.

Day trips to both the Vineyard and Nantucket may be a little much for the little ones. Especially if you're staying on the outer cape.

zootsi

I would also recommend Oak Bluffs. There is a very safe, kid friendly public beach there as well as the carousel, pizza parlors, salt water taffy, etc. As others have mentioned, it will probably be too cold to go in the water however.