Trip Planning Guides

EV charging on Martha's Vineyard: about 34 public stations, nearly all Level 2, listed town by town with ports and prices (the Edgartown Park and Ride, town halls, libraries, the airport, the Aquinnah cliffs), the one fast-charging site in Chilmark and what we could not verify, no Supercharger, the ferry's EV rules, and how to run an electric week on a 20-mile island.

Parking for the Woods Hole ferry: there is none at the terminal, so here are the three Steamship Authority lots (Palmer Avenue, Thomas B. Landers, Cataumet), the 2026 rates ($25 a day April to October, $20 otherwise), the free shuttle timed to every sailing, when to arrive, the annual and off-season permits, the drop-off rule and the cheaper Island Queen lot in Falmouth Harbor.

How to get a Steamship Authority car reservation to Martha's Vineyard: the February opening and its virtual waiting room, the residents' head start, the five-reservation limit, the wait list that works, the 2026 fares ($127 midweek, $168 summer weekends), the free first change and the 14-day refund rule, no standby, and why most visitors should leave the car in Falmouth.

Halloween on Martha's Vineyard, town by town: Edgartown's Happy Haunting on the Sunday before (October 25, 2026), Vineyard Haven's puppet parade at 4 PM and William Street trick-or-treating with the roads closed, Oak Bluffs on Circuit Avenue and in the Campground, the museum's Halloween on the Hill, the fire-department parties up-island, the haunted house, and how to come for it off-island.

Every public restroom we know of on Martha's Vineyard, town by town: the two ferry terminals (open year-round), Kennebec Avenue in Oak Bluffs, Church Street in Edgartown, the Stop and Shop lot in Vineyard Haven, West Tisbury Town Hall, the Menemsha beach lot and the Aquinnah cliffs, which beaches have them (not State Beach), what is seasonal, and the fallbacks that work in winter.

The Hamptons or Martha's Vineyard? A New York scene two to three hours away by Jitney or train, with ocean beaches behind a $750 season permit, against a six-town island reached by an hour's flight or a day's train and boat, where thirteen beaches are free to all, the bus is free and the nights are quiet. Getting there, beaches, beds, towns, nightlife, children and cost, honestly.

Newport or Martha's Vineyard? A drivable Gilded Age city with the Breakers ($32), the free 3.5-mile Cliff Walk, festival weekends at Fort Adams and a late harbor front, against a six-town island reached by an $11 ferry with twenty beaches, a free bus and quiet nights. Getting there, sights, beds, nights, children, weddings, and doing both from Rhode Island.

Block Island vs Martha's Vineyard, honestly: a 9.7-square-mile island with one village and a $12 year-round ferry from Point Judith against 96 square miles, six towns and an $11 boat from Woods Hole. Size, ferries (the car fare gap is huge), beds, beaches, the week versus the weekend, and which one fits your trip from Rhode Island.

A bachelorette or bachelor weekend on Martha's Vineyard, done right: the $500 BYOB sunset charter, the sloop, the $100 party-boat fishing morning, the three-bar avenue with last call at 12:30, the biergarten with a free shuttle, the house rules (quiet after ten, no drinking outside, occupancy by bedroom), and why September is the month.

A girls' weekend on Martha's Vineyard, planned: the boutique inns for four to six, a private sunset sail with an all-female crew, the garden brunch in Edgartown, the shops where the jewelry is made on the spot, the 1962 thrift shop, the spa with the only indoor pool, the dinners to book a week ahead, the one late night, and the house rules.

Martha's Vineyard with teenagers: the free buses and 35 miles of bike path that let them roam, surf lessons, the night glow kayak, jet ski tours, the arcade and mini golf open late, the Jaws locations, Chappaquiddick by bike, the Derby's junior division, the free outdoor music, and the honest notes on ticks, surf, mopeds, the last bus and the rules a rental house lives by.

Martha's Vineyard with a baby or toddler: rent the crib, stroller and car seat from the island service instead of packing them, the three calm beaches with somewhere to change (Owen Park first), the alpacas, the free farm, the platform carousel, a nap-proof day, the town to sleep in, and the honest cautions on ticks, surf and the hospital.