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 1:45 PM ET
Vineyard Haven · Island AlpacaPhoto by MV Vacation
One of the thirty-odd alpacas at Island Alpaca on Head of the Pond Road. Open every day of the year from 10 to 4, $8 in season, and the first place most toddlers on the island ask to go back to.
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.
Martha’s Vineyard with a baby or a toddler is easier than most parents expect, for three reasons that have nothing to do with luck. The island has a gear-rental service that has delivered cribs, car seats and beach wagons to every town since 1996, so you pack nothing bulky. It has a harbor beach two minutes from the ferry with no waves, bucket swings, lifeguards and real restrooms. And the buses that kneel for a stroller cost nothing. What it also has is ticks, surf on the south shore, one hospital, and a summer where the rental house costs more than the flight, so the honest version of this guide covers those too. Here is the island for the under-fives: where to sleep, what to rent, the three beaches that work, the animals, the nap-proof day, and the things we would not do with a two-year-old.
MV Baby Rent has delivered to all six towns since 1996: a crib about $145 a week, a pack-and-play $65, a jogging stroller $125, a car seat $80, a beach wagon with sand wheels $80, blackout blinds and white-noise machines $6 a day. Same-day delivery if you order before 9 AM.
Walk on with the stroller; no reservation for passengers. The larger Steamship ferries have changing tables. Five to twelve pay $5.75 each way. Bring the car only if you are staying up-island.
Virtually no waves, bucket swings, lifeguards in season, permanent restrooms and a playground. Eel Pond at Fuller Street in Edgartown is the other one: ankle-deep water, crabs to catch, five minutes from downtown.
Every VTA bus kneels and carries a ramp, so a stroller rolls straight on; Route 13 links Oak Bluffs, Edgartown and Vineyard Haven every 15 to 20 minutes in summer. Oak Bluffs has the widest sidewalks and the flattest park; the State Beach bike path is fully stroller-friendly.
A three-bedroom house is $4,000 to $12,000 a week in peak season. Ask for a washer-dryer, an outdoor shower, air conditioning and a walk to a calm beach, and shop for groceries on the mainland before the boat; island prices run 15 to 30 percent higher.
The toddler beach. Harbor water with no surf, a sandy slope, bucket swings on the lawn, lifeguards in summer, and the only permanent restrooms on this list. Two minutes on foot from the ferry, so it is also the first and last stop of the trip.
EEL POND AT FULLER STREET, EDGARTOWN
Ankle-deep, sheltered water on the pond side of the beach, small crabs in the shallows, a five-minute walk from Main Street. No facilities; carry a changing pad.
STATE BEACH, THE BEND IN THE ROAD
Calm Nantucket Sound water, lifeguarded sections, free roadside parking and the bus stopping along it. No restrooms at all, which matters; plan the day around it. Watch the bridge from the sand and keep well away from the channel current.
THE ONES TO SKIP
South Beach’s ocean side and any south-shore surf beach; the rip currents are real and the beach safety guide is blunt about them. Take small children to the calm Katama Bay side if you go at all.
THE KIT
A pop-up beach tent (umbrellas do not hold in the soft sand), rash guards, reef shoes for the stony beaches, and the beach wagon from the rental service. The beach guide has parking, lifeguard hours and dog rules for every beach.
Vineyard Haven · the paddockPhoto by MV Vacation
The Island Alpaca sign on the paddock fence. The farm is open daily 10 to 4 all year, $8 in season and free in the off-season, with walk-and-talk sessions where you lead one through the pasture.
Animals, gardens and the carousel
Know Before You Go
The toddler circuit
ISLAND ALPACA
Head of the Pond Road between Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs, more than thirty alpacas, open every day of the year 10 to 4, $8 in season and free from November through April. Walk-and-talk sessions from 10:30 to 2:30.
THE FARM INSTITUTE
At Katama Farm in Edgartown, run by the Trustees: cows, goats and chickens, free self-guided visits Monday to Friday 9 to 5 and Saturday mornings, a Wee Farmers program for ages two to four, and Autism Welcoming certified. Our farm-stand trail has the rest of the farms.
THE FLYING HORSES
The oldest platform carousel in the country, 150 years old in 2026, $5 a ride. A platform carousel means no up-and-down motion, and the inner-track horses are sized for small riders; call the carousel to confirm the lap-child policy before you promise anything.
POLLY HILL ARBORETUM
Seventy acres of flat, stroller-navigable paths in West Tisbury, free under twelve, with Explorer backpacks and magnifying glasses to borrow at the desk. Toddlers love the hornbeam tunnel.
FELIX NECK
The Mass Audubon sanctuary in Edgartown, $3 for children and $4 for adults, with nature play areas, sensory bins in the Ed Barn, and flat firm trails to the ospreys. The Felix Neck guide covers it.
Oak Bluffs · inside the Flying HorsesPhoto by MV Vacation
The poster for the Flying Horses carousel’s 150th birthday party, July 25, 2026, on the wall inside the barn. The carousel is a platform ride with no up-and-down motion, which is why it works for the very small.
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The nap-proof day
The rhythm that works here is the one the island keeps anyway: a morning outing, a midday nap at the house, and a late-afternoon second act. Morning at Owen Park or the alpacas, lunch somewhere with a kids’ menu and space for a stroller (Giordano’s in Oak Bluffs has fed families since 1930, the Edgartown Diner does funny-face pancakes, Fish MV in Vineyard Haven keeps a treasure chest of toys, and the Dunes at the Winnetu is the one island restaurant with a staffed kids’ corner), the nap, then an early evening on the Oak Bluffs harbor or the Campground lanes and an ice cream; our ice cream guide ranks every shop. Massachusetts law protects breastfeeding everywhere, the larger ferries and the museum have changing tables, and every town library runs free storytimes and play hours, which are the island’s best rainy-hour answer along with the Barn Bowl in Oak Bluffs, ten lanes with pop-up rails for toddlers and pizza brought to the lane. The rainy day guide has the full list.
Oak Bluffs · an ice cream standPhoto by MV Vacation
A gingerbread-trimmed ice cream stand in Oak Bluffs. The late-afternoon ice cream is the second act of every toddler day on the island, and the queue is short before six.
The honest part
Know Before You Go
What we would not skip, and would not do
TICKS, EVERY DAY
The island is one of the highest Lyme-risk places in the country. Long trousers on trails, permethrin on the clothes, a full-body check every evening, and fine-tipped tweezers in the bag. The tick guide is the one page to read before you land.
THE HOSPITAL
Martha’s Vineyard Hospital in Oak Bluffs has a pediatrics department and a 24-hour emergency department, affiliated with Mass General, with MedFlight to Boston for complex cases. Pharmacies are few since Leslie’s closed in 2024; bring every prescription and the children’s medicines you might need.
THE SUN AND THE WIND
A pop-up tent, not an umbrella, and a hat that ties. The ocean breeze drops the temperature after sunset; pack a layer for the evening walk.
THE CAR SEAT QUESTION
If you bring the car, you bring the seat. If you walk on, rent the seat from MV Baby Rent for any rental-car or taxi day rather than assuming one will be provided. For a down-island week, most families with toddlers never need a car; the without-a-car guide explains how.
WHAT WE WOULD NOT DO
The Jaws bridge (the signs prohibit jumping and the current is strong; watch from the sand), the south-shore surf with a small child, a July arrival without a booked house, and any trail without the tick check afterward.
Where to sleep
Edgartown is the toddler town: flat brick lanes near the harbor, Fuller Street and Eel Pond on foot, the diner, and the quietest evenings of the three harbor towns. Oak Bluffs is better from about six, when the carousel, the arcade and the harbor start to matter. Vineyard Haven puts Owen Park two minutes from the boat and has the year-round shops. For a house, book by January or February, ask for the washer-dryer and the outdoor shower, and read the rental guide for what a lease includes; for a hotel, Edgartown Commons has full kitchens, a pool and a playground steps from Main Street, and the where to stay guide covers the rest. The family guide is the companion to this page for every age.
Yes: calm harbor beaches with lifeguards and restrooms (Owen Park), a gear-rental service that delivers cribs and car seats to the house, free kneeling buses, an alpaca farm and a free farm to visit, and a platform carousel with no up-and-down motion. The cautions are ticks, the south-shore surf and the cost of a summer house.
Do I need to bring a crib, a stroller and a car seat?
No. MV Baby Rent has delivered to all six towns since 1996: cribs about $145 a week, pack-and-plays $65, jogging strollers $125, car seats $80 and beach wagons $80, with same-day delivery if you order before 9 AM.
Which beach is best for a baby or toddler?
Owen Park Beach in Vineyard Haven: no waves, bucket swings, lifeguards in summer, permanent restrooms and a two-minute walk from the ferry. Eel Pond at Fuller Street in Edgartown is ankle-deep and sheltered. Avoid the south-shore surf beaches with small children.
Do children pay on the ferry and the bus?
Under five ride the Steamship Authority free and the bus is free for everyone through June 30, 2027. Children five to twelve pay $5.75 each way on the Steamship.
Is there a hospital?
Martha’s Vineyard Hospital in Oak Bluffs, with a pediatrics department and a 24-hour emergency department affiliated with Mass General. Pharmacies are limited; bring prescriptions and children’s medicines with you.
How we checked this
Gear rental prices and delivery terms are MV Baby Rent’s published 2026 rates; ferry and bus fares are the Steamship Authority’s 2026 rates and the VTA’s fare-free notice; the alpaca farm, the Farm Institute, Polly Hill, Felix Neck and the carousel details are from the organizations’ own sites and our visits; beach facilities are from the town beach departments and our beach guide; the hospital’s services are from Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Restaurant kids’ menus were checked in summer 2026. Call the carousel for its lap-child policy before you promise a ride.
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.
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