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A first-hand look at the Edgartown Historic Walking Tour and “Amity” Jaws Tour with Mike Currid of the Edgartown Tour Company: what to expect, what you'll learn, and how to book.
If you're planning a trip to Martha's Vineyard and you've been wondering whether the walking tours of Edgartown are worth the time, they are, and the company I’d book with is Edgartown Tour Company.
I joined Mike Currid for two of his tours this summer: the Edgartown Historic Walking Tour and the “Amity” Jaws Walking Tour. Both leave from Main Street in Edgartown, both run about an hour to ninety minutes, and both taught me more about this town than I'd picked up over years of visiting Edgartown on my own.
Mike has been guiding tours here since 2011, and it shows at every stop. His tours have been written up by the Financial Times, The Washington Post, Condé Nast Traveler, Frommer's, The Telegraph, A.V. Club and others, which made sense to me after a few hours with him.
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Edgartown Tour Company is a small, owner-operated business. Mike has done the research, talked with local historians and spent over a decade refining the stories. He knows the production history of Jaws in real detail, which captain owned which house in 1840, and which trees are the original 19th-century plantings and which were replanted after the 1944 hurricane. That kind of detail is why his tours have such a loyal following.
Mike Currid guiding the Edgartown Historic Walking Tour down a tree-lined street.
He offers several tours today:
I took the first two.
This is the tour the others build on. It runs about an hour and a half (there's also a 2.5-hour version) and covers the whole historic core of Edgartown, including landmarks I'd walked past more times than I can count without knowing their story.
Mike starts the tour right on Main Street near the Edgartown Tour Company meeting point and walks you through the town’s history in layers: the Wampanoag, colonial settlement, and the whaling boom that made Edgartown one of the wealthiest small towns in 19th-century America and still shows in its architecture.
A few of the stops that stuck with me:
You might walk past it on your own, but once Mike points it out, the pagoda tree on South Water Street is one of the most striking trees in town: huge, old, and unlike anything else around it. Mike explains how it got there and why it's still standing.
Governor Thomas Mayhew (1593–1682), who led the English colony on an island the Wampanoag had lived on for thousands of years, is buried in the historic Mayhew Cemetery on South Water Street. Mike spent some time here explaining how Mayhew's relationship with the Wampanoag shaped the way the island developed differently from the mainland.
If you've spent any time walking Edgartown, you've probably photographed the Federated Church on South Summer Street. Mike covers both the architecture and the congregation's history.
The Vineyard Gazette, one of the oldest continuously published newspapers in the United States, has its building right here. Across the way, the Davis Academy gets a short history too, and Mike ties the two into a story about how a small island town became surprisingly literary.
Jared Coffin House and Holmes Coffin House (two of the most prominent captains' homes in Edgartown) are stops Mike treats together. Whaling money built them, and the architecture shows where that money came from and how fast it arrived.
Holmes Coffin House, one of the captains’ homes built with Edgartown’s whaling fortunes.
Both buildings are credited to Frederick Baylies Jr. (sometimes spelled Bailey), the master builder behind many of Edgartown's most recognizable structures. Mike's account of how Baylies' style shaped Edgartown was my favorite part of the tour.
The Old Whaling Church, one of Frederick Baylies Jr.’s landmark Edgartown buildings.
The tour winds through the Edgartown Honor Roll and ends near the Dr. Daniel Fisher House, one of the grandest historic homes in town, with an odd history of its own.
The Dr. Daniel Fisher House, one of the grandest historic homes in Edgartown, with event tents up on the side lawn.
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For a lot of people, Mike's Jaws tour is how they first heard of Edgartown Tour Company, and after taking it I understand why. The 1975 film was shot almost entirely on Martha's Vineyard (primarily in Edgartown, which stood in for the fictional town of Amity Island), and Mike has spent over a decade documenting what the production left behind.
The tour runs about an hour and covers the major Jaws filming locations in walkable Edgartown. Along with where each scene was filmed, Mike tells the production stories: anecdotes from people who were there in 1974, where the malfunctioning mechanical shark was kept, the locals who appeared as extras, how the Memorial Wharf scenes were staged and why particular streets were used for particular shots.
Jaws fans will love it, and even if you've only seen the film once, the way Mike tells the production story holds your interest, a bit like a behind-the-scenes documentary on foot.
The 50th anniversary of Jaws in 2025 brought a wave of new attention to these filming locations. The Edgartown Tour Company was selected as part of the official 50th anniversary programming on Martha's Vineyard, and Mike was interviewed by outlets from the Financial Times to the Washington Post around the anniversary.
If you'd like to walk the streets where Jaws was filmed with someone who knows the production inside out, you can book the “Amity” Jaws Walking Tour directly on Mike's site.
A lot of small towns have walking tours, and many of them repeat the same talking points at a hurried pace. Mike's stood out to me in a few ways.
Mike has been doing this for over a decade and the research shows. He had answers to questions I didn't know to ask.
The groups are small enough for a real conversation. You can hear, ask questions and stop to look, which bigger tour groups often don't leave time for.
He has spent years talking with local historians and longtime residents, so he has stories from people who were around when half of this happened.
I filmed parts of the Edgartown Historic Walking Tour in 4K to give you a visual preview before you book:
Filmed June 2026
The video gives you a feel for the locations and Mike’s style. Most of the stories and historical detail on his tours don’t come across on video, though, so treat it as a preview.
Where to meet: 25 Main Street, Edgartown, on the corner by The Paper Store and the Rockland Trust bank, in the historic center of town. Mike will confirm the exact details when you book.
How long:
Group size: walking tours are kept small, so you can hear Mike and ask questions along the way.
Booking: directly through the Edgartown Tour Company website. Booking runs through FareHarbor: pick your tour and date, and you're confirmed.
Phone: (508) 203-1853. Mike answers directly.
Season: tours run during the Martha's Vineyard season. They fill up in summer and fall, the Jaws tour most of all in peak weeks, so it helps to book early.
If you'd like to understand Edgartown beyond the harbor views and the ice cream, a tour with Mike is a good way to spend an hour or two. Jaws fans will want the “Amity” tour. If you like history or old houses, the Edgartown Historic Walking Tour changes how you see the town, and on a first visit either one gives the rest of your trip some context.
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We think so. We joined Mike Currid for the Edgartown Historic Walking Tour and the “Amity” Jaws tour. Both leave from Main Street, run about an hour to ninety minutes, and taught us more about the town than years of visiting on our own.
Mike Currid, owner-operator of the Edgartown Tour Company, guiding since 2011. He knows the Jaws production history in detail, which captain owned which house in 1840 and which trees are original 19th-century plantings. His tours have been written up by the Financial Times, The Washington Post and Condé Nast Traveler.
About an hour to ninety minutes each, and the History Tour is now also offered at two and a half hours.
$45 for adults and $35 for children; it sells out in peak weeks, so booking ahead helps. Our Jaws tour page has the details.
No. Mike has done the research, talked with local historians and spent over a decade refining the stories, so it feels like a conversation.
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