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 Steamship Authority Reservation Game: How to Get a Car on the Ferry to Martha's Vineyard, the Rules, the Fares and the Wait List (2026–2027)
Vineyard Haven · the Steamship slipPhoto by MV Vacation
A Steamship Authority ferry in the Vineyard Haven slip, cars waiting on the pier. Every one of those cars has a reservation; on this route there is no other way aboard.
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.
The Steamship Authority’s summer car reservations are the one thing on Martha’s Vineyard that sells out in hours, and the reason so many July trips are decided in February. There is no standby on the Woods Hole route any more, a car needs a reservation every day of the year, and the summer weekend slots go the morning the booking window opens. It is a game, and it has rules that the Authority publishes but few visitors read: an opening date in winter with a virtual waiting room, a five-reservation limit, a wait list that quietly works, a first change that is free and a cancellation that is refundable only fourteen days out. This is the whole game, with the 2026 fares, the dates that matter for 2027, and the honest alternative that most visitors should take instead, which is to leave the car in Falmouth.
In 2026 the general opening for summer travel (May 14 to October 22) was 8 AM on Tuesday, February 3 for online and mail bookings, with phone and in-person bookings from 7:30 AM on February 10. The summer 2027 date is announced in January; watch this page. Reservations for travel from January 6, 2027 open on October 20, 2026.
THE QUEUE A virtual waiting room, five reservations per go
The website puts you in a virtual line that shows your place and the wait; no refreshing. Up to five one-way or round-trip reservations per transaction, by phone or mail. Have your account, your password, the vehicle’s year, make, model and plate, and the length of anything you tow, ready before the clock strikes.
A car under 17 feet, 2026: $73.50 from January 5 to March 31, $115.50 from April 1 to May 14, $127 on weekdays and $168 Friday to Sunday from May 15 to September 14, $127 every day from September 15 to October 31, $79 from November 1. Passengers are $11 each, children 5 to 12 $5.75, a bike $5.25. Longer than 17 feet costs more; a load beyond the bumper is $12.50.
THE CHANGES First change free, then $10; refunds need 14 days
You can change a reservation up to an hour before sailing, the first date change at no charge and $10 for each after. To get a refund you must cancel at least 14 days before departure; a no-show, or a cancellation inside 14 days, is not refunded. Pay for the driver only if you are unsure of your passengers and buy their tickets at the terminal.
THE WAIT LIST Computerized, first come, and it works
If your date is full, join the wait list: the system searches every cancellation and change until your travel date, first come first served, and confirms by email (and by phone inside a week). Cancel the request if your plans change, or the space you asked for will be booked and charged.
Islanders go first. Qualified year-round residents get a head start in mid-January (January 13 in 2026, for up to ten summer reservations, and a second phase a week later for bookings made on behalf of others), so by the time the general opening arrives the most popular Friday and Sunday slots in July and August are already thinner than the timetable suggests. On the morning itself, log in before eight, let the waiting room hold your place, and book the trips you are surest of first: the outbound Friday afternoon and the return Sunday are what disappear. If the boat you want is gone, take the nearest one and join the wait list for the one you wanted; cancellations are constant between February and June because summer plans change, and the list catches them. Midweek slots stay open far longer and cost $41 less each way in summer. Book online rather than by phone that week; the phone lines open a week later and the office (7:30 AM to 4 PM, seven days, 508-477-8600) is for the questions the website cannot answer.
The Steamship ticket officePhoto by MV Vacation
A Steamship Authority ticket office, flag out and the doors open. Passengers buy here or in the app and never need a reservation; the car reservation is made months earlier, online, at eight in the morning.
Do you need the car at all?
Know Before You Go
The honest answer, by trip
A DOWN-ISLAND STAY
No. Walk on for $11 with no reservation, ride the fare-free VTA bus to every town and the big beaches, and rent a bike beside the terminal. The without-a-car guide is the manual, and the Woods Hole parking guide explains the $25-a-day lots and the free shuttle on the mainland side.
AN UP-ISLAND HOUSE
Probably, for the groceries and the beach stickers, but one car for the house, not one per family; walk the rest on. Our family reunion guide works the arithmetic for a big group.
A WEEK IN SEPTEMBER
Reservations are far easier after Labor Day and the weekend premium ends on September 15, when a car is a flat $127 any day. The after-Labor-Day guide has the fall switch dates.
A SPONTANEOUS SUMMER WEEKEND
Not with a car. Standby has been suspended on the Woods Hole route since November 2024, and the Authority says plainly that all vehicle travel is reservation-only. Rent a car on the island for the day you need one; the car rental guide has the agencies.
FROM THE CAPE OR RHODE ISLAND
The passenger boats from Falmouth, Hyannis, New Bedford and Quonset Point all land in Oak Bluffs and none needs a February reservation; our Island Queen, Hy-Line and Rhode Island guides compare them.
Vineyard Sound · from the bowPhoto by MV Vacation
The bow of a Steamship ferry cutting across the Sound. Forty-five minutes, every day of the year, and the only boat that carries a car.
The island letter
Three island guides, free on arrival
The Beach Guide, The Vineyard in the Fall and Where to Stay, plus a short letter from the island when there is something worth telling.
One-click unsubscribe, and we never share your email.
On the day
Be at the terminal, in line and ready to board, at least 30 minutes before departure with the confirmation and identification; in summer the Authority’s own advice is to arrive an hour early to get through the off-site lots and the shuttle if you are dropping the car in Falmouth, and the staging lanes at Woods Hole fill well before the boat. Vehicles over six feet six inches high may be restricted to particular boats or spaces, so declare a roof box or a tall van when you book. The new Woods Hole terminal, opened June 25, 2026, has proper waiting room, restrooms and ticket windows; the Woods Hole guide covers the village if you have an hour, and the Boston routes guide the drive down.
When do Steamship Authority summer 2027 car reservations open?
The Authority announces the date in January; in 2026 the general opening for summer was 8 AM on Tuesday, February 3 (online and mail), with phone and in-person bookings from February 10, after a mid-January head start for island residents. Reservations for travel from January 6, 2027 open on October 20, 2026. We update this page the day the summer date is posted.
How much is a car on the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard?
For a car under 17 feet in 2026: $127 each way on weekdays and $168 on Friday to Sunday from May 15 to September 14, $127 every day from September 15 to October 31, $115.50 from April 1 to May 14, $79 from November 1 and $73.50 from January 5 to March 31. Passengers pay $11 each on top.
Is there standby for cars?
Not on the Woods Hole to Martha’s Vineyard route: all vehicle travel is reservation-only, year-round. The wait list is the way to get a full date; it searches cancellations automatically and confirms by email.
Can I change or cancel a car reservation?
Change it up to an hour before departure; the first date change is free and later ones are $10. Cancel at least 14 days before departure for a refund; inside 14 days, or if you do not show, there is no refund.
Do I need a reservation as a walk-on passenger?
No, never. Buy an $11 ticket online, in the app or at the window and board. Reservations are only for vehicles.
How we checked this
Opening dates, limits, the waiting room and the residents’ head start are from the Steamship Authority’s January 12, 2026 announcement and its reservation-opening-dates page; fares are the Authority’s published 2026 fare table for Woods Hole to Martha’s Vineyard; change, cancellation, no-show and arrival rules are from the Authority’s FAQ; the standby and wait-list rules from its wait-list page. All read in September 2026. The summer 2027 opening date will be added when the Authority posts it.
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.
Useful?
More on
Four free downloads · 2026 editions
Four island guides, in your inbox
The Beach Guide (all 20 beaches decoded), The Vineyard in the Fall, the season date by date, Where to Stay, every town and price band, and What It Really Costs, the 2026 budget line by line. All four PDFs free, plus a short island letter when there is something worth telling. No schedule, no spam.
No spam, unsubscribe in one click. Want a look first? See what you get.
First email ever from us? Give it a minute, and peek in spam once.
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.
Parking for the Woods Hole ferry: there is none at the terminal, so here are the three Steamship Authority lots (Palmer Avenue, Thomas B. Landers, Cataumet), the 2026 rates ($25 a day April to October, $20 otherwise), the free shuttle timed to every sailing, when to arrive, the annual and off-season permits, the drop-off rule and the cheaper Island Queen lot in Falmouth Harbor.
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.
Block Island vs Martha's Vineyard, honestly: a 9.7-square-mile island with one village and a $12 year-round ferry from Point Judith against 96 square miles, six towns and an $11 boat from Woods Hole. Size, ferries (the car fare gap is huge), beds, beaches, the week versus the weekend, and which one fits your trip from Rhode Island.
Subscribe
The free island library · 2026
One short island letter, and all three guides to start
Beach reports, events worth a day, ferry heads-ups. Sent when there is something worth telling. The Beach Guide, The Vineyard in the Fall and Where to Stay arrive with your welcome email.
