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Take a guided Jaws tour of Martha's Vineyard with local guide Mike Currid. Walk the real Amity Island in Edgartown and book the “Amity” Walking Tour.
In the summer of 1974 a film crew set up in Edgartown, on Martha's Vineyard, to shoot Jaws, with the town standing in for the fictional Amity Island. The film became the highest-grossing film of all time and is usually credited with inventing the summer blockbuster.
Fifty years on, and even more since the 50th anniversary celebrations in 2025, Jaws fans from all over the world come to Martha's Vineyard to walk the streets, harbors and beaches where Steven Spielberg shot the movie. If you're planning to be one of them, the question we hear most is whether a guided tour is worth it. We think it is, and the one we'd book is Edgartown Tour Company's.
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Part of the pull is the film itself: fifty years on, the storytelling holds up better than most movies made last year. Part of it is the production, one of the most chaotic in Hollywood history, which worked anyway, and part of it is the place.
Jaws was shot almost entirely on real locations on Martha's Vineyard, with very little on a soundstage or a Hollywood backlot. The Edgartown ferry, the harbor, the drawbridge, the beaches and the streets are all still there, and you can walk them.
Edgartown harbor, the working waterfront that stood in for Amity Island in 1974.
Standing where a scene was shot shows you things a rewatch at home can't: the geography, the size of the streets, what was changed for the film and what was used as it was in 1974.
You can find Jaws location maps online, and we've mapped every Jaws filming location on Martha's Vineyard in a separate guide. Plenty of people drive around, take pictures and call it a day.
On their own, though, the locations are buildings, streets and water. A good guide fills in what you can't see: the production stories from people who were there, the local characters who became unofficial cast members, the chaos of the malfunctioning mechanical shark, the decisions that ended up shaping the film.
Mike Currid has guided the “Amity” Walking Tour through Edgartown since 2011.
Mike Currid has been guiding the “Amity” Walking Tour through Edgartown since 2011. Over more than a decade he has collected production stories, talked with longtime residents who were around in 1974, researched the film's history and kept refining the tour, so what you get is a conversation with someone who has done the work. We took his tours ourselves and wrote up a full first-hand review of the Edgartown Tour Company.
If you've taken a movie locations tour anywhere else, you know the difference between someone reading off facts and someone who knows the story, and Mike is the second kind.
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The tour runs about an hour with a small group and covers the major Jaws locations in the historic core of Edgartown. We'll leave the stops and Mike's stories for the tour itself, but we filmed a short 4K preview that gives you a sense of it:
Filmed June 2026
The tour mixes the on-screen moments with the behind-the-scenes context. Jaws fans will hear things they haven't heard before, and if you're with someone who hasn't seen the movie (or hasn't seen it in years), Mike keeps it easy to follow without dumbing it down. He's good company, too, and the hour goes by like a conversation.
Mike Currid pointing across Edgartown harbor during the tour, which has been written up by the Financial Times, The Washington Post and Condé Nast Traveler.
The Financial Times included the tour in its coverage of Jaws tourism on Martha's Vineyard, and The Washington Post wrote about it during the 50th anniversary. Condé Nast Traveler, Frommer's, The Telegraph, MV Times and The A.V. Club have covered it too.
The Edgartown Tour Company was also selected as part of the official programming for the Jaws 50th anniversary celebration on Martha's Vineyard.
Book the “Amity” Jaws Walking Tour →
Peak summer weeks fill up, so if you have dates in mind, it's worth booking early.
The whale tail sculpture and the Old Sculpin Gallery in the historic core of Edgartown, where the “Amity” tour begins.
If you're on the island for a few days, Mike runs other tours too, all booked through the same site:
Summer on the Edgartown waterfront, the real Amity Island.
If Jaws is part of why you're coming to Martha's Vineyard, a tour is worth the hour. After taking it ourselves and seeing how seriously Mike approaches the work, the one we recommend is the Edgartown Tour Company's “Amity” Walking Tour.
Book your “Amity” Walking Tour →
Exploring the town? Start with our complete Edgartown guide: food, beaches and parking.
Almost entirely on real locations on Martha’s Vineyard in the summer of 1974. Edgartown stood in for Amity Island, and the ferry, the harbor, the drawbridge, the beaches and the streets are all still there to walk.
We think so. On their own the locations are buildings, streets and water. A guide adds the production stories, the local characters who became unofficial cast members and the chaos of the mechanical shark.
Mike Currid of the Edgartown Tour Company, who has guided the “Amity” walking tour since 2011 and has spent more than a decade collecting stories from residents who were there. We took it ourselves and wrote a first-hand review.
$45 per person for the one-hour walk in a small group. If you're bringing kids, the booking page shows whether there is a child rate this season. Peak weeks sell out, so booking ahead helps.
Yes. Our complete guide to every Jaws filming location maps them all, and a lot of people drive the loop themselves.
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