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 · Steere the CoursePhoto by MV Vacation
The clubhouse at Steere the Course mini golf on State Road in Vineyard Haven, reopened under new owners in 2026 and open until 10 PM on summer nights. The island’s after-dinner answer for a table of teenagers.
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 teenagers works for one reason above all the others: they can go. The buses reach every town and cost nothing, there are 35 miles of bike paths, the harbor towns are walkable and lit at night, and the island is a place where a fourteen-year-old on a bike is an ordinary sight rather than a worry. Give them the bus map, a bike and an ice cream budget and the week takes care of itself. What the island adds on top is the stuff that gets the phone put down: surf lessons on the south shore, a night kayak with lights under the hull, a jet ski tour out of Oak Bluffs harbor, the Jaws locations, a bike ride to an island with no cell service, and, in September, a fishing derby with a junior division and a free kids’ day. Here is the teenage version of the island, priced, plus the honest notes on what they cannot do here and the rules a rental house lives by.
The VTA carries anyone of any age for nothing through June 30, 2027, on every route to every town and beach. Down-island the towns are walkable and well lit in the evening. Verizon has the strongest signal, every carrier congests in peak summer, and offline maps are the fix.
6K6 Surf School on the south shore: private lessons $140 to $160 for 90 minutes, kids’ groups $70 to $80. Island Spirit’s night Glow Tours on Sengekontacket, kayaks and boards with LED lights under the hull, $120 a person, four nights a week, age seven and up. MV Oceansports in Oak Bluffs harbor: jet ski tours from sixteen, parasailing, wakeboarding, tubing.
Ryan Family Amusements, 75-plus arcade games, VR and racing sims, an unlimited 90-minute pass at $25.95, open until 10 or 11 PM in summer. Steere the Course mini golf until 10. Back Door Donuts from 7 PM. Night fishing off the Menemsha jetties for the ones who would rather not be on an avenue.
A four-hour Jaws locations tour is about $100 a person, or free with the map and our guide. Chappaquiddick by bike is a day with one store and no signal. The Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, September 13 to October 17, has a junior division for ages 9 to 14 at $25 and a free Kids’ Day.
The drinking age is 21 with no exceptions and no drinking on beaches or streets; three up-island towns serve beer and wine only with meals and Chilmark serves none. The Jaws bridge signs prohibit jumping and the channel current is strong. A rental house is noticed after 10 PM.
Island Spirit’s night paddle on Sengekontacket Pond, boards and kayaks lit from underneath, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, $120 a person, from age seven. In our experience the one thing teenagers on the island ask to do twice.
THE SURF LESSON
6K6 Surf School on the south shore, where the Atlantic swell is: private $140 to $160 for ninety minutes, groups $70 to $130 a person by age. The waves are real, which is the point; read the beach safety guide on rip currents first.
THE JET SKI
MV Oceansports in Oak Bluffs harbor runs guided jet ski tours for sixteen and over, plus parasailing, wakeboarding, tubing and banana boats for the younger ones. Book the morning slot; the harbor is calmer.
SAILING
Sail MV, the island’s nonprofit sailing program, takes ages 8 to 18 from beginner to racing and windsurfing; the 2026 session ran June 22 to August 14 and the 2027 dates post in spring. A week of it is the best value on this page.
THE BIKE DAY
Rent bikes by the ferry and ride the six flat miles of State Beach path to Edgartown, cross on the Chappy ferry, and follow the Chappaquiddick guide to the Dike Bridge and the lighthouse safari. One store, no signal, and back for dinner.
Oak Bluffs · live musicPhoto by MV Vacation
A full band on a small island stage in 2025. The summer has free music most nights of the week, from the Ocean Park bandstand to the Tabernacle, and all of it is all-ages.
The nights
The island’s nightlife is a dive bar and a bandstand, and for teenagers that is the good news: nearly everything with music is outdoors and all-ages. The Sunday concerts in Ocean Park at 5:30, the Tuesday Dock Dance on Memorial Wharf in Edgartown, the Wednesday Community Sing in the Tabernacle, and First Friday in Vineyard Haven cost nothing and end early. Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs is the only strip, and its teenage hours run from Back Door Donuts at 7 PM through the arcade and the mini golf to the 10 or 11 o’clock close; the bars beyond that are 21 and over and the island enforces it. The drive-in movies in the YMCA lot on Friday and Saturday nights in July and August (gates 7:30, about $40 a car) are the other night out, and the nightlife guide and the July guide have the weekly calendar. Grand Illumination Night in the Campground in August and the Agricultural Fair in West Tisbury the week before are the two nights every teenager who has been here remembers; the Illumination guide and the Fair guide plan them.
West Tisbury · the Agricultural FairPhoto by MV Vacation
An ice cream trailer lit up at the 2026 Agricultural Fair in West Tisbury. The Fair is the island’s teenage August: rides, the skillet toss, the animals, and a midway that runs into the night.
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THE SKATEPARK
MV Skatepark on the Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road in Oak Bluffs: free, all concrete, a half pipe and flow terrain, dawn to dusk every day.
PICKLEBALL
Public courts in three towns, first come first served with a posted in-season fee and paddles to rent, and an indoor gym by the airport for rain. The pickleball guide has the courts and the summer queue.
THE ICE ARENA
MV Ice Arena on the YMCA campus in Oak Bluffs, the island’s indoor rink, with public skate sessions and rental skates; check the arena schedule.
SURF CASTING
Free from Wasque, Lobsterville and Cape Poge, and during the Derby the weigh-ins on Dock Street in Edgartown run twice a day. The Derby guide explains the junior division.
VOLUNTEERING
BiodiversityWorks takes volunteers from fifteen for beach bird monitoring, which is the most island thing a teenager can put on a college application.
The honest part
Teenagers can roam here, and they should, but the island has its own hazards and they are not the ones parents worry about at home. Ticks first: long trousers off the paths, a check every night, and the tick guide read by the teenager, not just the parent. The south-shore surf and the tidal channels at the jetties and the bridge are the second; lifeguards leave every beach after Labor Day. Mopeds are rented only in Oak Bluffs, to licensed drivers riding alone since the town’s November 2025 vote, and the island’s hospital and both newspapers agree the up-island roads with no shoulder are where the accidents happen; we would rather they biked. Rideshare is thin after dark, so know the last bus (Route 1 runs to 11:32 PM) and agree the ride home before the evening starts. And the rules and etiquette guide is worth a family read before the first night in a rental: quiet after ten, no fireworks, cars in the driveway, and neighbors who live here all year. Our family guide is the companion for every age, and the without-a-car guide is the manual for a teenager’s week on the bus.
Yes, if they are allowed to roam. The buses are free, the bike paths run 35 miles, the harbor towns are walkable at night, and the island has surf lessons, night glow kayaks, jet ski tours, an arcade and mini golf open late, the Jaws locations, a fishing derby with a junior division and free outdoor music most nights.
Can teenagers get around Martha’s Vineyard on their own?
Yes. The VTA buses carry riders of any age for free and reach every town and beach, the down-island towns are walkable and well lit in the evening, and the bike paths link the three harbor towns. Download offline maps; the carriers congest in summer. Know the last bus, which on Route 1 is 11:32 PM.
What is there to do at night?
Ryan Family Amusements arcade on Circuit Avenue until 10 or 11 PM, Steere the Course mini golf until 10, Back Door Donuts from 7 PM, the drive-in on Friday and Saturday nights in summer, the free Sunday concerts in Ocean Park, the Tuesday dock dance in Edgartown and the Wednesday sing in the Tabernacle. The bars are 21 and over.
Can a teenager rent a moped or a jet ski?
Jet ski tours with MV Oceansports are sixteen and over. Mopeds are rented only in Oak Bluffs, to licensed drivers with no passenger allowed, and the up-island roads with no shoulder are where the accidents happen; a bike is the better answer.
What are the rules teenagers get wrong here?
The drinking age is 21 with no exceptions and no drinking on beaches or streets; jumping from the Jaws bridge is prohibited and the current is strong; fireworks are illegal in Massachusetts; and a rental house is expected to be quiet after 10 PM.
How we checked this
Activity prices, ages and hours are the operators’ published 2026 rates and schedules (6K6 Surf School, Island Spirit, MV Oceansports, Sail MV, Ryan Family Amusements, Steere the Course, the Derby committee and the YMCA), as recorded in our family guide and checked in summer 2026; bus and rideshare facts are from the VTA and our rideshare guide; the moped rules are the Oak Bluffs bylaw as amended in November 2025 and the state licence rules; the alcohol rules are the four towns’ licensing status. Sail MV’s 2027 dates and the drive-in’s 2027 nights post in spring.
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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