Vineyard Haven

West Chop Light · the keeper's roof

Two miles out of town the streets run out at West Chop, where the light still stands over its red-tiled keeper's house and the ferries turn in below.

Plate 01

Vineyard Haven (Tisbury, MA) is the island's main year-round port and its busiest working town. Thousands of travelers arrive daily by Steamship Authority ferry, which makes it the island's front door. Known to the Wampanoag as Nobnocket and later to sailors as Holmes Hole, the town officially adopted the name Vineyard Haven in 1871.

Finding Vineyard Haven

Main Street

Once you step off the ferry, you are already downtown. Main Street is lined with locally owned shops, bookstores, galleries, cafés, and vintage boutiques. It is an easy town to walk: small, real, and all within a few blocks.

A

B

C

The working harbor · three studiesPlate 02

A: Main Street at dusk under the bookstore clock; B: the Steamship boat that runs every day of the year; C: Five Corners, the intersection everyone complains about.

Dining in Vineyard Haven

Vineyard Haven has some of the best food on the island, from casual harborfront seafood to cozy cafés and high-end dinner spots. Tisbury Marketplace adds even more variety with bakeries, specialty groceries, and artisan food producers. There are dessert shops and ice cream stands downtown too.

The town offers boutique inns and family-friendly lodging.

Vineyard Haven isn't known for large surf beaches, but it offers some of the calmest, most family-friendly shoreline on the island:

The Year-Round Town

Unlike some purely seasonal towns, Vineyard Haven operates year-round. Grocery stores, hardware shops, bookstores, coffee shops, and second-hand stores create a lively local rhythm that continues long after summer ends. Tisbury is where much of the island's Brazilian community lives and works year-round, and that, along with the trades, the boatyards and the schools, is what keeps the town open in February.

Vineyard Haven Harbor · pastel hourPlate 06

The last boat is in, the sky goes the color of the sail lofts, and the working harbor turns briefly ornamental.

Vineyard Haven on Film

Vineyard Haven on Foot: Walks and Videos

We've filmed and written up more of Vineyard Haven than any other town. Start with Church Street, then try the State Road walk, Skiff Avenue, an evening beach walk, a full tour around town, the Franklin Street to West Chop run, a sunny-day stroll, or the original full walking tour.

From Our LensA working port, all year round.323 photographs · View the Vineyard Haven gallery

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More photos: our Vineyard Haven gallery.

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