Travel advisoryStorm Warning on the ferry waters until Sun 10 AM · Steamship Authority travel advisory · High Wind Warning for Martha's Vineyard until Sun 8 AM · Coastal Flood Warning for Martha's Vineyard until Sun 8 PMThe Steamship Authority is continuing to monitor the forecast for the upcoming nor'easter that is expected to have significant effects for Cape Cod and the Islands through Sunday. We are waiving change and cancellation fees for travel scheduled for through Sunday, September 27.Steamship Authority · checked 1:00 PM ET
HomeTrip Planning GuidesGetting HereThe Island Queen Ferry: Falmouth to Martha's Vineyard in 35 Minutes, With the 2026 Timetable, Fares and Parking
The Oak Bluffs pier on a summer morning, the Sound flat beyond it. The Island Queen lands here, in the middle of town: the carousel, the harbor and the bus stop are all a few minutes’ walk.
The Island Queen ferry from Falmouth to Oak Bluffs: 35 minutes, $30 round trip, its own $20 lot 200 yards from the dock, seven sailings a day in summer, the 2026 season (May 22 to October 12) and fall timetable, fares for children and bikes, why it beats the Steamship for Cape day trips, and its honest limits (no cars, no dogs).
The Island Queen is the boat most Cape Cod visitors should be taking to Martha’s Vineyard and most have never heard of. It leaves from Falmouth Harbor, not Woods Hole, crosses to Oak Bluffs in 35 minutes, costs $30 round trip, has its own parking lot 200 yards from the dock at $20 a day, and lands you at the foot of Circuit Avenue with the carousel, the harbor and the bus stop a few minutes’ walk away. It carries no cars and no dogs, runs from the Friday of Memorial Day weekend to Columbus Day, and in summer sails seven times a day each way. For a day trip from the Cape, a car-free weekend, or a family that wants to skip the Steamship reservation game entirely, it is the best value on the water. Here is the 2026 timetable, the fares, the lot, and how to use it.
The dock is at 75 Falmouth Heights Road in Falmouth, not the Steamship terminal at Woods Hole four miles away. Passengers, bikes, kayaks and paddleboards only; no cars and no dogs.
Youth 5 to 12 pay $14 and $18, children 4 and under ride free but need a ticket, active military $15 and $20, bikes $4 and $8. Online reservations are new for 2026 and every passenger, including the free ones, needs a booked seat.
Spring timetable May 22 to June 18, summer June 19 to September 7, fall September 8 to October 12. Memorial Day, Labor Day and Columbus Day weekends run the fuller weekend schedule.
THE SUMMER TIMETABLE Seven sailings a day each way
From Falmouth at 9:00, 10:30, noon, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30 and 6:00; the last boat back from Oak Bluffs is 6:45 PM. In the fall, three weekday sailings (9:00, 10:30 and 3:00 from Falmouth) and five on Fridays, weekends and holidays.
The Steamship Authority is the island’s year-round lifeline and the only car ferry, and for a walk-on it is cheaper, at $11 each way. But the Steamship lands most of its boats in Vineyard Haven, its Woods Hole terminal has no parking of its own, and the summer road into Woods Hole is the Cape’s worst bottleneck. The Island Queen is the opposite in every way that matters on a summer day: a dock in Falmouth with its own lot, a boat that lands in Oak Bluffs where the summer actually is, and a 35-minute crossing with an enclosed lounge, open decks and a snack bar. For a day trip it is the difference between a day on the island and a day in a parking-lot shuttle. For a family the arithmetic favors it too: two adults and two children round trip cost $96 on the Island Queen against $22 for each adult and $11.50 for each child on the Steamship, but with a $25 lot and a shuttle on one side and no lot at all on the other. Our cheapest-way guide ranks every boat by what it actually costs door to door.
Oak Bluffs · the harborPhoto by MV Vacation
The gingerbread rooflines and umbrellas of the Oak Bluffs harbor front. Off the Island Queen and around the corner, this is the first thing you see, and the last drink before the 6:45 boat home.
How to use it
Know Before You Go
The practical version
BOOK THE SEAT
Reservations opened online in 2026 and the summer weekend boats fill. Book both directions, including the free tickets for children under five, and keep the return flexible if you can; the last boat back is 6:45 PM in summer and earlier in the fall.
GET TO FALMOUTH
Off Route 28 to Falmouth Heights Road. From Boston without a car, Peter Pan’s Woods Hole bus stops at the Falmouth bus depot on the way; our Boston routes guide has the connection. Cash for the lot.
LAND IN OAK BLUFFS
The boat ties up in the harbor at the foot of town. The Flying Horses, the harbor bars, the Campground and the Inkwell are all on foot, and the fare-free VTA bus to Edgartown, Vineyard Haven and up-island leaves from the terminal a few minutes away. Bike shops sit beside the dock.
THE DAY TRIP
The 9:00 boat over and the 6:45 back gives you about nine hours on the island: Oak Bluffs and the bike path to Edgartown, or the bus to the cliffs. Our day-trip guide has the plan.
THE BUDGET STAY
A Falmouth motel at $88 to $200 a night plus the $30 round trip beats the $350-plus an on-island room costs in peak summer. Our budget guide works the numbers.
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The one night it runs late
Grand Illumination Night in the Oak Bluffs Campground, a Wednesday in mid-August, is the one evening the Island Queen’s final Falmouth departure may hold until the show ends, which makes it the easiest way for Cape families to see the lanterns and get home the same night; our Illumination guide has the details each year. The Oak Bluffs fireworks, normally the third Friday of August with an 8:45 PM sailing added, were canceled for 2026 and return in 2027. On Labor Day and Columbus Day weekends the boat runs its fuller weekend timetable, and it makes its last run of the year on Columbus Day itself, October 12 in 2026, the same day as the Seastreak from New Bedford. After that the only boat is the Steamship, and from October 23 it lands at Vineyard Haven only.
Honest limits
It is passengers only, so anyone who needs a car on the island is on the Steamship regardless. It carries no dogs; leashed dogs ride the Steamship free. It does not run before late May or after Columbus Day, and its fall weekday timetable is thin. And it is a small boat on open water for the last stretch into Oak Bluffs; on a windy afternoon the Sound can be lively. None of that changes the verdict: from anywhere on the Cape, or from Boston by bus, it is the quickest, cheapest and best-placed way onto the island between Memorial Day and Columbus Day. The complete ferry guide compares all six boats, the Oak Bluffs guide covers the town you land in, and the without-a-car guide takes it from the dock.
Falmouth Harbor, at 75 Falmouth Heights Road in Falmouth, with its own parking lots 200 yards from the dock at $20 a day, cash. It is not the Steamship Authority terminal at Woods Hole.
How much is the Island Queen ferry?
$20 one way and $30 round trip for adults in 2026; youth 5 to 12 $14 and $18; children 4 and under free with a booked ticket; bikes $4 and $8. Online reservations are recommended and the summer weekend boats fill.
How long is the crossing?
Thirty-five minutes from Falmouth to Oak Bluffs. In summer there are seven sailings a day each way, from 9:00 AM out of Falmouth to a 6:45 PM last boat out of Oak Bluffs.
When does the Island Queen run?
May 22 to October 12 in 2026: a spring timetable to June 18, the full summer timetable June 19 to September 7, and a reduced fall timetable September 8 to Columbus Day, with three weekday sailings and five on Fridays, weekends and holidays.
Can I bring a car, a bike or a dog?
Bikes, kayaks and paddleboards yes ($4 each way for a bike). Cars no; the Steamship Authority from Woods Hole is the only car ferry. Dogs no; leashed dogs ride the Steamship free.
How we checked this
Season dates, timetable, fares and the dock address are from the Island Queen’s own 2026 schedule, fares and directions pages, read September 2026; the parking rate is the company’s published lot rate; the Steamship comparison uses the Authority’s published 2026 fares and Falmouth lot rates; the Illumination and fireworks notes are from the operator’s event schedule and the Town of Oak Bluffs. Confirm the day’s sailings on the company’s site or app before you drive to Falmouth; the boat is weather-dependent.
Island tip of the dayTransportNo. 11 of 86New tip at midnight, island time
Uber and Lyft operate on MV but surge hard in peak season. Local taxis are often steadier: a typical cross-town ride runs about $28, van-pool style, and airport pickups add a small rideshare surcharge.
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Disclaimer: The information in this article is provided for general guidance only and was accurate at the time of writing. Beach conditions, hours, prices, lifeguard schedules, ferry fares, and business operations change frequently and without notice. Ocean swimming carries inherent risks including rip currents, undertow, and cold water shock. Always verify current conditions with official local sources before your visit. MV Vacation assumes no responsibility for any loss, injury, or inconvenience resulting from the use of this information. Swim only where lifeguards are on duty, supervise children at all times near water, and follow all posted safety signs.
Your insider guide to Martha's Vineyard: beaches, dining, events, and island living. We write down what we know about the island so your trip goes the way you hoped.
EV charging on Martha's Vineyard: about 34 public stations, nearly all Level 2, listed town by town with ports and prices (Cronig's by the ferry, 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.
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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.
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 every beach is free, 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.
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