dred07

My family is thinking of renting a house on either Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard in the middle of May. Which town is the best as far as activities and proximity to a main street?

Ackislander

Nantucket is one main town, with two tiny villages at either end of the town, each with a tiny general store.

Martha's Vineyard is composed of several towns: Edgartown, Oak Bluffs,and Vineyard Haven are the three largest. Each has its own character.

Both places have pretty good public transportation in the summer.

Almost all beaches on Nantucket are open to the public, even when privately owned. The majority of the beaches on the Vineyard are privately owned and less accessible.

Both islands have many fine restaurants and a great many other things to do. Oak Bluffs has a carousel and a Victorian cottage colony that Nantucket cannot match. On the other hand, Nantucket has had strict architectural controls since the late 1970's, and as a result, we have very, very few of the "hey, look at me" variety of modern buildings.

The Vineyard has more show business personalities and politicians, Nantucket tends to attract business people, though the Vice President has vacationed here for years, and it is very popular with journalists (the late David Halberstam, Chris Matthews).

I am prejudiced because I live on Nantucket, but I will report this conversation overheard on Main Street last week.

An obviously prosperous woman in late middle age was standing outside Murray's Toggery Shop at the top of Main Street, speaking on her cell phone. She said, "I always thought Edgartown was lovely, but this is the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life."

Gwendolynn

We used to spend vacations on Nantucket... and that lady is right!

Does Russell Baker still have a place on the island? Years ago he used to refer to it frequently in his column in the NYTimes. At one point he had many humorous items about Police Chief Wendall Howes. I suppose, like me and my spouse, the chief is rather long in the tooth now -

Kealalani

While Nantucket is my favourite I would consider some other details. Who are your family? Ages and expectations. May is often rainy and coolish. The cost of bringing a car over to Nantucket is much more expensive then the Vineyard. There won't be a lot of time sitting at the beach for hours on end that time of year. We would choose Nantucket that time of year for a 3 night stay, taking in the sites. However with a week and in May, I think there is more exploring and hiking and biking and trails to explore on the Vineyard.

You will be blessed to stay on either island during the off season. Just be prepared for weather. I love weather, wind, rain, sun - for me it's all part of the island life.

alley

Never been to Nantucket but have been to MV about 20 times.

Same q as Kealalani's post, above: what are your ages/ expectations? And if you're going to MV, will you have a car?

There's lots to do on MV, more so if you have a car. Lots of great bike paths so if you are bicyclists, it's a great spot.

If you're driving, you can drive out to Aquinnah (formerly known as Gay Head) and see the beautiful clay cliffs/ beaches. Take a ride out to Martha's Vineyard Glassworks in West Tisbury - if you're lucky they'll be blowing glass. The Old Grange in West Tisbury has weekly events likes artisan shows and farmer's markets, but not sure if May is too early.

You can take the ferry from Edgartown to Chappaquiddick and visit some of the stunning properties owned by the Trustees of the Reservations. They have all kinds of tours: fishing, lighthouse, self-guided kayak, etc.

You can also take a ride to other side of the island and see more of a true fishing port at Menemsha. A few shops and clam shack type places there too. Bring a picnic dinner and sit on the rocks and watch the sunset.

If you like wandering around little shops, go to Edgartown or Oak Bluffs. Oak Bluffs has the famous carousel, and lots of little restaurant / cafes down on the water. I think Oak Bluffs has a few more restaurants to choose from, but you'd be fine at either.

I know that there are buses that will take you around MV, but I don't know anything about them.

If you do plan to bring a car, you need to go to MV Steamship Authority website for all the info about making reservations. May won't be as tough, but my advice is to request your reservations as soon as they begin accepting them (probably sometime in January?) because they book up quick.

mclaurie

I adore Nantucket but I think weather is a serious consideration for your expectations at either place. Where do you live and what did you plan to do? This is not beach weather. The "season" usually starts on Memorial day so there may be many things not open at both. wunderground.com has a trip planner where you can see historic weather conditions for the dates you're considering. http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp

Ackislander

Sorry, I didn't notice the "May" part. mclaurie is right. If you like to ride bikes, look at flowers and historic buildings, May in Nantucket and the Vineyard is great. But it is not beach weather.

The water temperature is likely to be in the low 60's, colder than the Gulf Coast of Florida in January. You might be able to sit on the beach, you could certainly walk on the beach, and you could do some awesome surfing if you had wet suits, but you can't do the kind of water play that kids generally expect.

There is also fog, when warm air from the south meets our chilly ocean, but that can be charming (unless you are having a wedding). Schools in New England don't get out until the third week of June, so things are usually pretty quiet around here, especially mid-week, until then. So early June might have better weather, and you could still get good prices.

dred07

Thank you for all your wonderful suggestions. We live in Connecticut and my sister's family live in southern California. The weather issue is o.k. with my family but it might take my sister's family some time to get used to it. But they are New Englanders at heart so they should be fine. My brother-in-law is a huge fly fishing fan so I was wondering if he might be able to get that in. The reason we picked May is because my daughter is graduating from college and we will have that one week to be together and thought a family vacation that is near to us would work (it's hard to get a family together nowadays).

Ackislander

Well, as long as it is not a bunch of elementary school kids wanting to build sand castles on the beach, I would go for Nantucket, he says totally without prejudice .

You should be able to find a house in or close to town at a very reasonable rate at that time. Many restaurants will be open but some will not open until Memorial Day weekend. The shops will be delighted to see you, and the merchandise will not have been picked over. It will be great weather for hanging out together, playing games, sitting around the fire, eating, walking. That's what those of us who live here do at that time of year!

If you want to come and help us clean up the garden and do some weeding and mulching, let me know! That's the other thing we do at that time of year! Spring flowers should be good.

mclaurie

What about Montauk or the Hamptons? Weather would be much warmer and since it's before Memorial Day, you might find a very good deal. You can use one of the ferries from Ct. and they can fly into JFK or even Islip.

dred07

The Hamptons sound great. Which area is mid price with a nice beach/