How to get from Boston to Martha’s Vineyard

Boston is the capital of Massachusetts and one of the most well-known cities in the United States. The city played host to the nation’s first-ever Thanksgiving celebration and is home to the country’s first public beach. Today, Boston is famous for its baked beans, Fenway Park (where the Red Sox play), the Boston Marathon, and the bar from the TV show Cheers.

Martha’s Vineyard is a Massachusetts island located in the Atlantic Ocean just south of Cape Cod. It is famous for its harbour towns, lighthouses, sandy beaches and farmland. Due to it being a very charming and beautiful place, it is a very popular New England holiday destination.

Today, almost 23 million people visit Boston every year. Between summer residents, vacationers and day trippers, more than 150,000 people visit Martha’s Vineyard each summer. Visitors often make the journey between Boston and Martha’s Vineyard. So, if you’d like to do the same, there are five ways you can do it.

Getting from Boston to Martha’s Vineyard

Tour

Avoid the hassle of driving and planning, and have a stress-free day by getting to Martha’s Vineyard on a tour. You’ll relax in comfort on a luxury coach that picks you up from your hotel in Boston, takes you to Cape Cod, and then takes you on the ferry across the Vineyard Sound to Martha’s Vineyard. On a full-day tour, you’ll explore all six of the island’s towns, including Vineyard Haven and Aquinnah. Your tour might also stop at Nobska Lighthouse in Falmouth, Cape Cod.

Check your itinerary, but your tour might also include a drive through downtown Falmouth and along the Cape Cod Canal in Cape Cod. Most tours also allow plenty of time to explore the island on our own.

Ferry

Taking the ferry from Boston is an incredibly scenic journey. You sail across the Vineyard Sound from Cape Cod to Martha’s Vineyard on either The Steamship Authority or the Island Queen Ferry. The Steamship Authority departs from Woods Hole in Cape Cod all year round. It departs from Oak Bluffs seasonally. If you want to take your vehicle across, this is the ferry that you use. The ferry ride takes 40 minutes.

The Island Queen Ferry runs from May to October and goes from Falmouth to Oak Bluffs.

Hy-Line Cruises runs high-speed catamarans from Cape Cod’s Hyannis to Oak Bluffs.

Bus

Travelling from the two places along the public bus route is another relaxing mode of transport as you don’t have to worry about driving the unfamiliar roads; you simply get to sit back, relax, and take in the sights. The Peter Pan Bus Line has a regular service from Boston’s Logan International Airport and South Station transportation terminal Downtown, which goes to the Steamship Authority terminal at Woods Hole, Cape Cod. You then take the ferry across the water.

The bus journey takes around two-and-a-half hours from Logan Airport and two hours from South Station when there is minimal traffic.

Car

As Martha’s Vineyard is an island, there is no direct road there and no causeway to connect it to Boston. Therefore, you need to drive to the Cape Cod ferry terminal of Woods Hole and take the ferry across. You need a reservation if you want to bring your vehicle on the ferry.

Travel time on the road is anywhere from an hour-and-a-half to two hours, depending on traffic.

During the summer months, the parking lot at the Steamship Authority ferry terminal is almost always full, but the towns of Falmouth and Bourne have off-site parking lots where you can catch a shuttle bus to the ports.

Plane

Cape Air has daily departures all year-round from Boston’s Logan International Airport (BOS) to Martha’s Vineyard Airport (MVY). Flight time is roughly 40 minutes. JetBlue has nonstop flights from Logan Airport to Martha’s Vineyard during the summer season.

Martha’s Vineyard airport is located in the middle of the island, three miles south of Vineyard Haven.

Melanie May

Melanie is an intrepid solo traveller, endlessly curious about people, places and food. She is a fan of slow travel and loves exploring the world by mouth, discovering a culture through its food. Having backpacked her way around the world she turned her wanderlust into a career and is now a full-time travel writer.

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